Jim, Amy, Pam, and Phil shared a rowdy cab ride home, since the three of them lived in the same neighborhood, and Amy was spending the night with Jim. Pam’s stop was first.
Pam was looking down, drunkenly trying to fish money out of her purse, when she heard a male voice say, “So, Pam, are we going to see you back at Olde City next Saturday?” It took a moment, in her beer-induced haze, to realize that it was Phil asking if she would be going, not Jim. She looked at the back of Jim’s head, but because he was sitting in the front seat, she had no idea what his reaction to the proposal was. She decided she didn’t care.
“Sure, that would be great. You guys could use the help.”
Phil smiled and gave Jim a light punch on the shoulder. “Yeah, with people on the team who mix up Jack Nicholas and Jack Nicholson, we could use some fresh blood.”
Jim turned around, and to Pam’s relief, he was smiling. “Listen, that was a damn-good drawing of Jack Nicholson. I challenge you to translate the ‘all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy’ scene to paper.”
“Yeah, but everyone was drawing people playing golf,” Phil laughed.
“Sorry to interrupt the argument, but this is my corner,” Pam said, reaching for the door handle.
“Pam . . .”
Pam turned towards him. This time, the voice was Jim’s. Their eyes met for a moment, and silence filled the cab. Amy looked at Jim, and then at Pam. A disturbing feeling began to grow at the bottom of her stomach.
“Um . . . see you next week?”
“See you then.”
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It had been a rough week for Jim. As soon as they had gotten back to his place on Saturday night, Amy had asked him about Pam. He could tell she was trying to be casual, but he heard a hint of tension in her voice.
“So, how exactly do you know Pam?”
“Oh, we just used to work in the same office.”
“Really? I don’t think I would invite someone outif wejust workedtogether three years ago.” She smiled tightly. “I mean, that’s totally cool that you guys are still friends. Its just surprising, that’s all.”
“Oh well, it was a strange office. We kept each other sane.”
“That’s all?”
Jim looked at her. He knew what she was getting at. “Yes, that’s all.” It wasn’t a lie. They were never more than friends. She had made sure of that.
Amy looked unconvinced, but dropped the topic.
Since then, though, he started to feel guilty. Maybe he should’ve told Amy. But told her what? He couldn’t define their relationship back then, and he certainly couldn’t describe what it was to anyone now. Really, what did it matter? Whatever had happened in their past, she was just a friend now.
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Pam joined the team at Olde City the next Saturday, and the next one, and the one after that. She was really enjoying herself. For the first time since she had moved to the city, she felt like she was becoming part of a “group.” She had made friends in the city—she and Susannah, a fellow receptionist at the publishing house, had become close. Two of her friends from high school lived in the city, and they got together a few times a month. She had gone on a few dates since her divorce was finalized, and even had someone she called her “boyfriend” for three weeks. It turned out that thetitle was premature. Despite a few missteps, she had been pretty content with her life. It wasn’t until she began spending time with Jim and his friends that she realized how lonely she had been.
She didlove hanging out with Jim and his friends, but it was difficult to see Jim and Amy together. He always helped her with her jacket and always poured her beer before his own. She didn’t think Roy ever poured her a beer, period. She burned with jealousy the first time she heard him call her “Amers;” it was just too cozy.
The worst thing was that Amy was hard to hate. She never had a bad thing to say about anyone, and that damn Minnesota accent was so . . . so . . . charming. She had a great sense of humor, and she always seemed to be in good spirits. In fact, Amy seemed to have made a point of making Pam feel like one of the gang. It was almost as if she was determined to make the two of them best friends. Amy always greeted Pam with a hug, and often pulled Pam over to talk with her and Theo.
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At the end of the night, after another failed game of Pictionary, Pam found herself alone with Jim, waiting near the door while Amy and Phil were in the bathroom. Pam hadn’t been alone with Jim since the day at Duane Reade. They were always with the crowd, and despite the fact that she genuinely enjoyed everyone’s company, she was desperate to spend some time alone with Jim. She wanted to talk to him about how things had ended between them, about what she had gone through over the following year, and what she was feeling now. But more than anything, she wanted to move their relationship beyond the superficial point it was at right now. She wanted to be friends—real friends.
She had come up with a plan a few weeks ago, just in case she found herself alone with him. Now was the time. They were both putting on their coats and hats, the winter having reared its ugly head for the first time that week. “Hey, can I ask you a favor?”
He looked a little uncomfortable. Perhaps he, too, realized that this was the first time they had been alone. “Yeah, sure.”
“Well, um . . . my super? He’s really irresponsible. He hasn’t returned my calls all week, and I haven’t had any heat in my apartment. I think the lever to my radiator pipe is turned off, but I can’t reach it, and I don’t have a ladder.” Pam knew how pathetic it was to play the poor distressed woman, but desperate times call for desperate measures.
“Of course, sure, I can come over and help.”
“Great. When’s good for you?”
“Well, its getting cold. I don’t want you to freeze to death. What about tomorrow?” He sounded concerned. Pam was glad.
“Tomorrow’s good. Why don’t I give you my number, and you can just call whenever you have time to come over?
“Sure, sure. What’s your number?” Jim said in a rushed manner, fumbling with his cell phone, ready to program it in. Pam understood. He didn’t want Amy to see them exchanging phone numbers. She gave it to him quickly, hoping to finalize things before Amy arrived.
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The conversation ended as Amy walked up to them. An awkward silence formed between the three of them. She shouldn’t have left them alone. Phil was with the two of them when she had gone to the bathroom—damn him.
She immediately plastered a smile on her face and linked her arm with Pam’s, pulling her close. “So, wasn’t that so funny when Theo asked the waitress for a virgin Shirley Temple? Isn’t he just so hysterical?”
Pam gave a small laugh and allowed herself to be pulled towards the door, and away from Jim. Amy smiled back at her. She had always prided herself on her good nature, but she wasn’t going to let this little secretary get between her and Jim. Pam had no idea who she was dealing with.
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