“So, thanks for agreeing to go out tonight…” Jim said, stuffing his hands deep into his pockets. He had to find somewhere to put them that would keep them out of trouble.

“No….thank you. I had a great time…” she said, glancing towards the ground and to her neighbors porch light behind Jim’s head.

“Well, I appreciate you…you know, giving it a shot,” he said, sighing.

“No problem,” she nodded and smiled. Her hand touched lightly to her doorknob to her right. Jim took a step back at her action and gave a brief smile.

He rubbed his palm over his left elbow. “Well, I’ll let you go. I don’t want to keep you out all night…You‘ve probably had a long day…”

Her hand fell from the doorknob and grasped on to her purse strap in front of her. “No…I’m having a good time despite how long my day was. Didn’t you have a good time?”

“Definitely,” he smiled. He turned in the direction of a noise from another apartment. When he glanced over his shoulder, he spotted a bench below on the green lawn. He turned back towards Pam and smiled. “Do you want to go sit out there on the grassy knoll with me?” he asked, throwing a thumb over his shoulder.

“Sure,” she said, smiling and taking a few steps towards the stairs. They made their way towards the dark lit lawn in front of the apartment building.

Jim held out a hand for Pam to sit first. She did, holding her purse in her hands still. Jim sat, uncomfortably folding his hands in front of him.

“So…what’s new Jim?” Pam asked, taking the silence from the air. Jim looked out into the dark night before them before answering her.

“Uh…What’s new? Let me think…..” he said, making a face as he thought. Pam chuckled. “A lot,” he said, honestly.

“I know…” she said, causing a pang of regret pass through his abdomen. He furrowed his brow when he felt the past years hurt crash against his body.

Pam sat up and leaned out to see his face. “Hey, I’m just asking how things have been. We haven’t really gotten to catch up…” she said, assuring him that everything from now on was fine and free of pain.

He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his legs. Jim rubbed his hands together. “I’m doing much better these days. What about you?”

“I’m doing better too,” she said, smiling at him.

A breeze ruffled their hair as no words were spoken. Just a few sighs and some looks. Pam was the first to break the silence.

“So, you already told me that you broke up with Karen today….what else happened?” she said, quietly.

Jim chuckled. “Today was insane,” he said, looking to the right to see Pam’s face shining brightly as he spoke. “I nailed the interview.”

“Really?” she asked, genuinely excited for him.

“Yeah…But if you didn’t notice, I’m here instead of…there.”

“I noticed….” she smiled, bumping her shoulder into his.

“I declined the job,” Jim said strongly.

“Ah-ha. That’s what I was hoping to hear,” she said, as Jim feigned a gasp and leaned back in shock.

“You wished me luck and everything Beesly! I cannot believe you lied to me…” he said, shaking his head as she laughed.

Pam held out her hands. “I’m sorry. It’s the truth. You have no idea how hard it was to sit in Scranton all day wondering about you.”

Jim looked up at the dark night sky. “Yeah, I think I do.”

“Let me guess, you were thinking about Scranton all day…” she said, shifting on the bench.

“You could say that,” he said, smiling.

After Jim filled Pam in on how his day was, Jan’s breakdown and his decision to return to Scranton, they sat in a moment of peaceful silence as the dew formed on the plants and grass around them. Jim leaned back with his arm resting on the back of the bench. If he didn’t have his jacket on, he would have been able to feel Pam’s hair on the skin on his forearm.

“I’m really glad you’re here,” she assured him, picking up a piece of grass to play with in her hands.

“Me too. It’s taken a while to get back, huh?” he asked, shrugging.

She broke a piece of the grass and tossed it into the wind “Yeah, you’re back. You’re a little different…”

“I am?” he asked, slightly offended even though he knew the truth.

“You haven’t seemed like Jim these past few months. But maybe that will change.”

“I’m sorry…” he said, watching the blade of grass dance down to the ground. “I didn’t even realize I was acting different until it was too late.”

“It’s okay. People change all the time. Maybe it’s a good thing…”

“Are you sure about that?”

“No,” she said, looking for another weed to pluck from the ground below her feet.

Jim chucked lightly. “Nice to know you’re being honest…”

“I’m trying to be honest…from now on.”

Jim shifted uncomfortably on the bench again, this time shifting slightly towards Pam’s direction. “I think that’s a noble thing to do. And…I really admire you for what you said on the beach. It took guts.”

Pam looked up at him. “You’re telling me. You poured your heart to me. That took guts too…” she said, leaving him speechless. “I don’t regret saying what I did. I’m glad I said everything.”

“Me too. We wouldn‘t be here if you hadn‘t.”

“I wonder if you’d ever come to your senses if I hadn’t said anything,” she stated, eyeing the blade of grass in-between her fingers.

“I like to think I would have but… you never know…” he said, taking the grass from her hand. His hand lingered over hers for a moment before pulling the grass away and tossing it to the side. “I think I owe you a ‘thank you’ for what you did.”

“A ‘thank you’?”

“Yeah. Because if you hadn’t opened up that night, where would we be?”

“I’d be upstairs in bed by now,” she said, grabbing his wrist and tapping at his silver watch.

Jim chuckled. “Me too,” he said, almost sadly. “So, thanks…for saving me from disaster,” he said, looking her in the eyes.

Pam smiled. “Oh, I think we’ve already been through the disaster. It’s time to…uh, rebuild,” she said, grinning sheepishly.

“It felt like it…” she said, smiling.

“Well, from here on out, I’m here. 100% here,” he said, feeling her warmth through his jacket sleeve. She beamed and nodded. “Good,” she said, closing her eyes slowly.

As the moon shined behind the clouds, Jim felt her body nestle in closer to his. He took the extra step and leaned forward and inched her chin up. Her eyes flickered shut as his hand found her cheek and held it there. He sighed as he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers.

Of all the things that he could say that had changed over the past year, there was one thing that still seemed like it did before:

Her kiss.