Downstairs, Jim found Michael in the kitchen, leaning against the counter drinking a beer and talking to Stanley and Bob Vance.  He could overhear something about new lighting in the building.

“So guys, we’re getting new lights?” Jim leaned against the counter, wedging himself between Michael and the refrigerator, “Sounds like fun.”

“Jim...my good friend...where you been?”  Michael’s spirits seemed to have improved considerably. Obviously, the mix of martinis, wine and beer were beginning to take hold.  “Yeah, Bob got the word that Beekman Properties is changing all the lights in the building to those fancy new low energy ones.”

“Yup, got a memo yesterday...they’re starting Monday.  You should have gotten a letter too, Michael.”

Michael frowned.  “I’ll have to check with Pama-lama...maybe she shredded it by mistake?”  Michael laughed at his own cleverness.

Jim shook his head, “I really don’t think so Michael.”

“Hey, where is that girlfriend of yours’ anyway?  I want to give her...a hug!” 

Jim, raised his eyebrows, “I think Jan’s giving her the upstairs tour.”

“Okay, then later...so where’s Terri ...I want to give her a hug, too!” 

Stanley looked at Jim as Bob Vance rolled his eyes, “Oh thanks for reminding me...I better find her, I think we need to get home before it gets too late...great evening Michael!”  Stanley shook Michael’s hand before retreating to the dining room.

Bob took his opportunity as well,  “Yeah...I’m gonna find Phyllis...we’ve got a pretty big day planned for tomorrow, so thanks for everything...lets do this again, soon.”  Bob gave Michael a perfunctory pat on the shoulder, then turned to look for his wife.

Almost as an afterthought, and with a slight look of concern on his face, Michael managed a “Bye...Bob, glad you came.”  Bob didn’t hear him and as he disappeared around the corner, Michael added softly, “sorry about the wedding!”

A brief silence ensued as it appeared to Jim that Michael was inwardly tallying up the night’s score.  From the look on his face, it seemed as though things weren’t going exactly the way Michael had planned.

 “You’re not going to leave...are you Jim...it’s early and I have plenty of wine and beer?”

“Kind of sounds like you’ve had plenty of wine and beer...if you ask me!”

“Well Jim...I’m not asking...I’m offering....have a cold one...it’s on the house!”

Jim couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen Michael this drunk, not even the Christmas party two years ago when he’d bought all that vodka.   But, what the hell, he’d only had the two martinis and a glass of wine, himself...so why not?   Besides, Pam had driven anyway.  “Sure.” 

“Follow me...I have Sam Adams in the cooler on the deck.”

“Oh....the revolutionary war guy?” Sometimes, it was just too easy and he couldn’t help himself.

“No, Jim...the beer...duh!”

The beer actually tasted good in the crisp, but not too cool late autumn air.  Jim and Michael leaned against the railing that surrounded the small wooden deck that really seemed more like a porch.  “Not a bad party Michael, thanks for inviting us.”

“Thanks for coming...I was worried you two were going to bail on us!  I really wanted you and Pam to come.”

Jim felt a pang of guilt.  “No...why did you think that?”

“Cause every time I asked you or Pam about doing something with us, you were busy with something else.  Jan thought you were trying to avoid us.”

“Oh...sorry if it seemed that way.  But I thought tonight worked out pretty well!” 

“Yeah, I guess so...except for Andy.”

“I’m sure it was just an honest mistake.”  Given the circumstances, Jim thought it better to be generous.  “Anyway, why was it so important to you for Pam and me to be here?”

“Well, I don’t know if you noticed, but we only invited the ‘couples’ in the office.”

“Yeah, Pam mentioned that...what was that about, why not everyone?” 

“Cause...I had to show Jan.” 

Jim caught himself.  “Show Jan what?”

“How real couples are...you know...how they can really work!”

A confused “Wow!” was all Jim could muster in response.

“Yeah, Jim....I wanted Jan to see how Phyllis and Bob Vance get along and Kevin and Stacy and even Oscar and his friend, Gil...he seemed nice enough.” 

Jim still had no real idea where this was going. 

“And how Stanley and his wife are with each other, and Darryl and Kelly and even Andy and Angela?” 

“Actually, Michael...it didn’t seem like Andy and Angela were really having all that much fun, did it?”

“No...no Jim...you are definitely right on that account, my friend...they did not look happy tonight, did they...I guess that was probably my fault.  How the hell did those two get together, anyway?”

“I think it was the singing...and the cat!”  Again, too easy!

“Huh?”  Michael’s head sort of snapped around as he gave Jim a bewildered look, but he evidently lost his train of thought.  “But you and Pam...I really wanted Jan to see how you and Pam are.”

“Pam and me?  How we are...what do you mean, Michael?”

Michael gulped the last of his beer and tossed the empty bottle over the railing into the small back yard, where it landed with a soft thud.  “I mean... how you two are with each other...how you and Pam are so good together!”

****

Pam tried to comfort Jan as best she could, but was unsure as to what exactly she could do.  “Jan, can I ask a question?”

“Sure...what?”

“If Michael is mad at you and the two of you aren’t really getting along right now...why did you invite all of us to this dinner party, tonight?”

Jan straightened up, shaking her shoulders slightly trying to clear her head, “Michael thought it would help.”

Pam furrowed her brow, “Help...how?”

Jan squirmed slightly, indicating to Pam her continuing reluctance to fully open up.

“Look Jan, you need to talk to someone about this...I’m here and I’m willing to listen.”

Jan let out a deep breath.  “Michael thinks I don’t know how to be in a relationship.  He says that even though I was married...well, maybe even because of who I married, that I never learned how to trust the other person in my relationships...he even says I don’t trust my own family.”

“Do you?” 

Jan laughed nervously, “I’ve sued my father twice and both of my younger sisters once...you tell me!” 

Pam thought it might actually be best to just not say anything.  

Clasping her hands together, Jan rubbed her palms against one another in an agitated, rhythmic motion.  “So Michael thought if we got together with other couples, and saw how they interact with one another that I’d see that trust they have, even if they disagree on something.  He said that despite any kind of disagreement, a good couple doesn’t lose the trust that the other person really only wants to look out for what’s best for the both of them.”

Pam was surprised that she didn’t find it that ridiculous an idea.

“And Michael has this idea in his head that he and I aren’t getting along because I don’t trust him...it’s why I didn’t think he’s a good manager and wanted to roll him back to sales and it’s why I read his diary and didn’t trust that he’d support me at the deposition.”

“So...do you trust him?” 

Jan exhaled deeply, “Pam, as strange as this may seem...I do.  I mean deep down...I do trust Michael.  I know he’s going to screw up more times than probably not and I know he’s not the quickest guy around the block...but he truly cares about me.  He’s been there when I needed him, after my divorce...after getting fired...when I needed someone, he was there.  I trust him for that.” 

Pam folded her hands, bringing them to rest under her chin, her extended forefingers brushing contemplatively against her lips. “I know something about that, too!” 

For the first time, Jan looked directly into Pam’s eyes, “Jim?”

“Yes...Jim.” Pam’s voice betrayed a bit of the emotion she felt whenever she thought back to how it had always been Jim she could turn to...that she could count on.  “All those years...I always knew that I could go to Jim with anything, whether it was Roy, my job....Michael....or the dreams I’d once had as a little girl.  And he always listened...but I mean he really listened to me.  Jim never complained, he never made fun of me and he never made it seem as though whatever was bothering me was silly or trivial or something that I couldn’t find a way to deal with.  The thing of it was, I always knew I could trust him to try and understand me when I couldn’t trust Roy to do the same thing.” 

“And Jan...” Pam brushed aside a couple of tears that began rolling down her cheeks, “the idea that you can have such faith in another person’s trust just makes all the difference in the world.  With Jim...it’s nothing like it was with Roy...nothing like it at all!”

****

Jim had never thought of himself and Pam as any kind of role models, not after everything they’d gone through.  Now, here was Michael, fairly gilled to the nines, telling him that he was looking to them to somehow help solve his problems with Jan.  He really didn’t know what to make of all of that.  On one hand it was sort of flattering...to think that Michael or anyone for that matter would look at the way he and Pam were together and envy them, never mind trying to emulate them.  That was pretty heady stuff and the thought brought a wide smile to his face.  He knew inside just how good he and Pam really were together...better actually than anything he’d ever imagined.  It was strangely satisfying to know that someone else looking at them could see even some of that as well.

But, to think that people were watching them, observing them almost as though they were guinea pigs in some absurdist lab experiment also made him cringe just a bit.  All he wanted, all he was looking for was to be with Pam.  The two of them making a life, a normal life...and growing together.  It really didn’t matter what anyone else thought and he certainly wasn’t inviting anyone to anoint him and Pam as Scranton’s model couple of the year...not even Dunder-Mifflin’s couple of the year.  He knew all too well that every day wasn’t all ‘puppy dogs and rainbows’...they’d had their moments.

“Hey, Michael...don’t get the wrong idea here, but Pam and I aren’t perfect.  Believe me, we have our share of disagreements...just like any other couple.”  

“I know...I know...that’s exactly what I mean... that’s what I told Jan.  You and Pam are this really normal couple.  I know you fight...I hope you fight...it’s good to fight, right...cause it’s all about figuring out how to be together.”  His enthusiasm for domestic squabbling would have been more disconcerting to Jim, had he not been able to merely chalk it up to Michael’s alcohol-fueled overindulgence.

“Well in some way, yeah.”  Jim was hesitant to agree fully with Michael’s line of reasoning as he’d learned long ago, that when it came to his boss it was always a good idea to hedge one’s bets.  “I will admit, you do have a point.’

“Thanks Jim...I knew I was right.”  Michael smiled at Jim with a loopy grin as he turned to pat his shoulder.

“But Michael, we work at it...some days it’s just not that easy.  You know how it is, something comes up, she wants it one way, I might want it another...we haggle it out.  We work at it everyday.”  Jim saw Michael’s eyebrows rise in hopeful acknowledgement.  “And, I’m no expert at any of this, but the point is, I trust Pam and I know she trusts me...and in the short time we’ve been together that faith and belief in our trust has created something that’s just so much better than anything we ever were before.  Michael, I really don’t know how to describe it...all I know is that now, with Pam...I see possibilities.  I see things that really mean something, I see a future and I see a reason to get up every morning and just try to be the very best person I can be.”

“That’s all I’m trying to do Jim...that’s really all I’m trying to do with Jan.  She needs to see how it can work with other people. That’s what I wanted to show her tonight.  See, that’s why I wanted you and Pam to come.”

“Well...it’s not something that’s easy to show...you’ve got to let her know...you’ve got to talk to her about it.”  Again Jim watched as Michael seemed to actually absorb what he’d been saying.  “Hey, if you ever want to talk...”  Jim couldn’t believe that he was actually saying those words.  As he took another sip of beer, the door opened.  It was Jan. 

“Tour over?”  Jim took a step toward the doorway.

“Oh...yeah, we just came downstairs.  She’s inside, Jim.  Michael you should probably come in too, I think some people are getting ready to leave.”

“Okay, hon...is it that late already?”  Michel reached for Jan’s hand.

“Getting there...it’s almost eleven...some people have early plans for tomorrow.”

Once inside, Jim found Pam talking with Stacy and Kevin.  “Hi Pam...how was the tour?”

Pam slid next to Jim as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “Good, it’s a nice condo.  I’ll tell you about it on the ride home. Stacy was just asking if we’d be interested in having dinner at their house in the next couple of weeks...so you and Abby can finally have your ‘date’”.  She gave Jim a little jab in the ribs and glanced up to flash him a wry smile.

“Yeah Jim,” added Stacy, “you’d better hurry because I think she’s starting to get interested in a boy at school.”

“Oh, oh...hope I haven’t lost my chance?” Jim smiled.

“So how about it lover boy....you think next weekend works for you?”  Pam gave him a squeeze. 

“Sounds good to me...just as long as I don’t have to wear a suit.”

“I’ll check with Abby, but I think you’re good.”  Stacy smiled then looked over her shoulder to find their hosts.  “Well Kevin, I think we should say our ‘goodbyes’ to Jan and Michael...so we’ll see you guys next Saturday.  I’ll call you during the week, Pam to finalize everything.”

“Okay Stacy...nice seeing you...and nice seeing you Kevin.” She leaned forward and gave each a light peck on the cheek.  Jim thought he saw Kevin blush.

As most everyone had left or made their way to the hallway, offering their thanks and goodbyes, Jim and Pam found themselves alone in the living room.  Pam slipped from Jim’s arm to move closer to the fireplace but caught hold of his hand slipping her fingers through his.  From the short distance Jim watched as she poked at the glowing embers.  Her green dress shimmered with a slightly bronzed hue in the waning ebb of the flickering light and the crimson glow caught the highlights of her soft auburn curls.  God she was beautiful!  Pulling her back into his arms, Jim kissed Pam, softly...sweetly.

“You two like a nightcap...” Michael called out, “or maybe a room?” 

Startled, Jim and Pam turned to find Michael and Jan standing just inside the hallway.  Michael’s collar was undone, a bottle of wine dangling loosely at his side.

“Don’t be embarrassed, it was just a kiss.  How about some wine?  Can you guys stay for a few minutes, it’s not that late?”

Pam looked at Jim with a desire he easily recognized and shared.  “I’m sorry...but I think Pam and I should probably be going, too.”   Pam squeezed his hand with a growing sense of urgency.

“Yes, Jan...Michael, it was a lovely evening.  We really enjoyed ourselves, didn’t we Jim?” 

“Oh, definitely,” Jim responded.

“But, it’s early, I still...”

Jan cut him off, “Michael...enough...I think they want to get home.”

Pam gave Jan a brief smile.  “Is there anything we can help you with before we go?”

Jan approached with their coats, “No thanks...we’ll take care of everything in the morning, besides you’ve already done more than your share for this evening.”  Jan gave Pam a knowing look.

Goodbyes were exchanged and soon enough Jim and Pam were standing next to her car.  Without a word Pam stepped forward, turning into Jim’s arms and arching against him.  Maybe it was the wine or her talk with Jan, but in that moment she knew only that she had to feel his lips against hers.  She kissed him softly, slowly...letting her lips linger teasingly.  Jim’s hands circled her waist as he leaned into her hips.  In response, her hands found their way to the back of his neck, pulling him even closer.   Pam pressed her lips to his with a yearning that never failed to make his heart skip a beat.  When they finally broke their embrace no words were spoken as none were needed...they only had to look into the other’s eyes to see everything they needed to know.  

It was time to go home.

THE END