Pam couldn’t control the tears that were falling. A bystander would think that her breakdown was immature and melodramatic but they hadn’t felt the emotions that she did. She had gone through so much pain to finally get where she was with Jim. Now that they had found each other, she felt completed. It was as if before, her heart was a puzzle and she couldn’t find the missing piece. Finally, the piece was found and it fit perfectly. And then she saw Jim with Karen and that piece was lost again. She used to be so excited for the trip and she was looking forward to what it would result in. She never expected it to begin like this.

Her head was aching from her sobs but she still couldn’t stop them from rolling down her cheeks. Her head was in her hands and was rubbing her temples. She was crying so hard that she didn’t even hear the knocking on the bathroom door.

“Pam?” a concerned voice asked. This caught her attention.

“Who is it?” she asked in a quivery voice.

“Jim.” Her breathing stopped and she immediately felt nervous. She didn’t know how she could face him or what she would say. She knew she would have to confront him at one point, but she didn’t except it to be this soon. She took a quick look in the mirror and saw how red and splotchy her face was. Taking a deep breath, she slowly turned the knob and opened the door. Now that she was face to face with Jim, her eyes started watering again. He lightly placed his hand on her arm and she flinched. He noticed and asked, “Pam, what’s wrong?”

“Are you really asking me that question?” she asked a little harshly. “I think you know what’s wrong. I saw how much you were enjoying being with Karen!”

“Oh,” he said and stepped back to sit on the bed. “About that.”

“Yeah, really, Jim. What was that about?” she asked angrily. He took a deep breath. “First off, it’s really not what it looked like. Wait, that’s always what people say when it was what it looked like. Okay, let me try this again—”

“I get it, Jim. But just tell me, if it wasn’t what it looked like, then what was it? Because it looked to me as if you were treating her like she was your date.”

“My date?!” He said while standing up. He was begging to get angry himself. “I was just trying to be polite!”

“Oh, that’s for sure,” she replied sarcastically.

“Just—” He stopped and took another deep breath. “This is getting out of hand. Come here.” He patted a spot on the bed and she went to sit next to him. He took her hand in his. She looked in her lap and sniffed. He took her chin in his hand and pulled her face up so she was facing him. “Look at me,” he said. She slowly moved her eyes so they were looking into his. “Now listen. I know you’re thinking that I didn’t notice how Karen was trying to win me back but believe me, I did. I just felt bad that I left her so unexpectedly and as soon as I did, I asked you on a date. So I felt as if I should give her the benefit of the doubt and treat her as if we had never dated.”

“But Jim, do you know how I felt each time we were near her? You and I have never had a real talk about her and what happened between you guys. I felt as if you still had feelings for her.”

“Pam, listen. I liked Karen; but I never felt for her…I never felt for her what I feel for you.” This caught Pam’s attention and she was silent for a moment before she spoke.

“While you were with her, you treated me like I didn’t exist. That was a lonely part of my life and I just want to forget about it. But when Karen comes by, I’m reminded. I felt as if you got completely over me to where I was nothing but the receptionist you worked with.”

“My feelings for you never left. They just grew even stronger, no matter how hard I tried to push them away. I was in love with you then and I’m even more in love with you now.”

Pam’s heart skipped a beat and she felt dizzy. He hadn’t said that to her since the fateful night before he transferred.

“Oh, Jim,” she whispered.

“I love you so much. I never stopped,” he whispered back. Tears were falling from her face yet again, but this time it wasn’t out of pain. It was out of happiness and love. He wiped a tear from her cheek and then cupped her face with his hands. Their faces inched closer and she placed her hands on his shoulders.

“I love you too and I always have. I love you more then I ever thought I could love a person. I love you, I love you, I love you.” Then, their lips touched softly once, and then again. She snaked her arms around her neck as he inched her closer. The kiss was intimate and expressed everything they both felt. When they pulled away their foreheads remained touching. They both were smiling.

“I’m so sorry,” he whispered.

“I am too. I completely overreacted.”

“No you didn’t. And don’t worry; I’ll be keeping my distance from Karen from now on.”

“You better,” she said before pressing her lips to his once more.

“What do you say we get back to the party?” he asked when they parted.

“I say okay. But let me just wash my face. It’s so red; I look like I’ve been hanging upside down for three hours.”

“No you don’t. You look great.”

“That’s what every boyfriend is supposed to say,” she said with a smile as she stood up.

“Yeah, but I actually mean it.”

“And that’s another reason why I love you. God, it feels so good to say that.”

She walked into the bathroom feeling like she could run a marathon with all of the sudden energy that she held. The missing piece was found and her puzzle was complete again.

*****

They walked back into the Glory Atrium with radiant smiles pasted on their faces. Pam resisted the urge to shout out of happiness. She knew people were wondering why they both looked so high spirited but she could care less. The smile just wouldn’t go away. First of all, Jim had made it clear that Karen never meant anything to him. Secondly, they both finally said that they love each other.

The first thing they noticed when they walked in was that karaoke had started. They didn’t pay much attention to the people singing until Love Song by Sara Bareilles began.

“Woah, Jim! Look on the stage!” What he saw was definitely a sight. Andy was holding a microphone and was bobbing his head. Then, he started to sing in an incredibly off-key voice. He was completely missing the beat as well.

“Somebody needs to get him off the stage. He’s ruining one of my favorite songs!” she said.

“Well, I guess we’ll just have to go up next and sing for ourselves to make up for it.”

“You’re kidding me, right?”

“No, I’m dead serious,” he said, smirking.

“I’m scared to death being on a stage in front of a lot of people!” she complained.

“Then we have more of a reason to do it. We’ll get you over that fear and we’ll make up for Andy making our ears bleed.”

“Okay, fine.”

When the song ended, Jim grabbed her hand and dragged her up onto the stage. He flipped through the songs while Pam looked at the people in horror. Once he chose the song, he handed a microphone to her and held her hand. The music started and she looked at him and asked, “Don’t go Breakin’ my heart? Really?” He winked at her and squeezed her hand then turned his attention to the screen where the words were being prompted. By just simply at looking at him, her nerves faded. “Don’t go breakin’ my heart,” he sang. He certainly wasn’t American Idol worthy but his singing voice was cute. A little off-key, but cute.

“I couldn’t if I tried,” she sang back. They were getting applause from the whole room and Michael was trying to start the wave. She knew they weren’t great singers but she figured the fun they were having must have been contagious. The dull office party had now turned into a blast. This karaoke thing was one-hundred times better than she thought.

“Ooo, nobody knows it,” they sang in unison. She giggled when he wiggled his eyebrows at her as he sang, “When I was down”. She sang, “I was your clown” and winked at him.

While she was singing, she spotted Karen in the audience. She was slumped down in a chair and looked dejected and defeated. Pam figured that she saw how genuinely happy she and Jim seemed around each other.

They song finally finished and they stepped down from the stage. Their cheeks were flushed from the laughter.

“See, Beesly? That wasn’t so humiliating!”

“I actually had a great time!”

“I hate to say I told you so, but I told you so!” he said like a five year old would. Just then, Michael ran up to them out of breath from trying to start the wave.

“You guys, that was so awesome! I mean like, awesome to the max! Like—”

“Thanks, Michael,” Jim interrupted.

“Since when have you had such pipes?” Michael asked.

“Yeah, Jim, I never knew you could sing like that,” Pam teased.

“You know, you should try out for American Idol. I could be your secretary!” Their boss suggested.

“I like that idea,” Pam said. “Oh, and maybe afterwards, you and Randy can go out for Cosmos.”

“But Michael wouldn’t that mean I would have to quit Dunder Mifflin?” Jim asked.

“You can have two jobs. I mean, look at Hannah Montana. She is a rock star and she goes to school.”

“I don’t think school is a job,” Pam said.

“Wait. You watch Hannah Montana?” Jim asked.

“Duh, who doesn’t?” Michael asked, dumbfounded. Jim gave a single nod and then said, “You know, I think I’m going to go and get another drink. Pam, do you want to come with me?” She nodded in response and said, “Bye, Michael.” When they were out of earshot she asked:

“Did you just say that so you could get away from Michael?”

“Exactly.”

“So, since when does he watch Hannah Montana?”

“Think about it, Beesly. What show doesn’t Michael watch?”

“Good point.”

They got their drinks and mingled a bit. When they started to get tired of the party, they headed back to the room for the second time that night. They each took a shower and changed into their pajamas. Then, they crawled into bed and Jim pulled out his portable DVD player he brought.

“What are the movie choices?” Pam asked.

“We have Meet the Parents—”

“Nah, we watched that last week. I’ve seen it too many times anyway.”

“Same here. I also have Wedding Crashers, Pirates of the Caribbean —”

“Oh! Pirates of the Caribbean ! I love that movie!”

“And we are taking a Caribbean cruise.”

“What if this scares me into thinking that Captain Barbossa is going to come and attack our ship?”

“Just remember, it’s all make-believe and they are just actors,” he said, mimicking a mother soothing her child after watching Jurassic Park for the first time.

“Can it.” She snuggled into his chest and he wrapped his arms around her. She always got easily frightened in movies such as these so when the scarier parts came, she would tighten her grip around Jim’s shirt and he would rub her back. Once it ended, he put up the DVD player and turned off the lights.

“You’re so easily scared in movies like that,” he said.

“When I was little, I thought the witch from Snow White was hiding under my bed holding a poison apple. I would have to sleep under the covers with my lamp on and the doors open.”

“I actually think you’re really cute when you’re scared. Especially at that one part when you closed your eyes and turned away from the screen. Priceless”

“Hey!” she exclaimed while hitting him with a pillow. He grabbed her and pinned her on her back.

“Drop the pillow,” he said.

“Not gonna happen.”

“Okay, then.” He started tickling her which caused her to let out little shrieks. He didn’t stop and she was laughing so hard that tears were running down her cheeks. She tried to hit him with the pillow to get him to stop even though she was secretly enjoying it.

“Stop it! You know I’m ticklish!”

“Not until you let go of the pillow.”

“Okay, okay! I surrender!”

“That’s what she—”

“Don’t you dare.”

“That was a good one and you know it. Anyway, I knew I’d win.”

“That so unfair and I—” he leaned down and kissed her which interrupted her sentence.

“Forget what I said,” she continued and pulled him down for another kiss. When they parted, he rolled back over and let her go, but she immediately cuddled back next to him. They were quiet for a moment and her eyelids started to close. She was almost asleep when Jim said, “Goodnight, Pam.”

“’Night. I love you.”

She could hear the smile in his voice when he said, “I love you too.”