Pam awoke to the sound of birds chirping. She opened her eyes and realized she had fallen asleep on the wicker couch on the patio. The air was foggy and cold, not exactly a perfect morning.

She rubbed her eyes and sat up. The concrete was cold on her bare feet. She sighed. "Damn it."

She got up and went into the house, determined to make things right with him. She hadn't said what she should have, didn't react the way she wanted to. She needed to explain why she couldn't be with him. She lived in California. She was married now. Her life wasn't romantic, sure, but she had given up that a long time ago. The minute she said "I do" it no longer mattered that her husband and the man she loved were two different people. She couldn't disappoint everyone now. She had commitments, obligations, responsibilities. She owed it to everyone to make this marriage work, didn't she?

She hoped Jim would understand, or at least be polite enough to pretend to.

She took a deep breath and knocked on his door. "Jim? Can we talk?"

When she got no response, she knocked again. "Jim?"

There was still no response, so she pushed the door open. The bed was made and his luggage was gone. The only evidence that he had been in the room at all was the faint smell of his aftershave.

She went to the bed, sat down and buried her head in her hands.

The tears came freely and she told herself it was okay. She was crying over more than just Jim. With his absence came the realization that this was her life now. California was her future. She would spend her mornings with a woman old enough to be her grandmother, she would work alone in the afternoons, and at night she would come home and hope her husband was already asleep. She would eat dinner alone every night and sit on the porch swing with a glass of wine until she couldn't keep her eyes open any longer.

It wasn't so bad, was it? The weather was nice at least and nobody would be disappointed in her.

Except herself.

She put her hands in her lap and noticed a note on the nightstand. She wiped her tears away and picked it up.

Pam,

Took a taxi to the airport. Don't worry about me any more.

I think it'd be best if we didn't keep in touch from now on. I need to get over you, because that's what you want.

I just want you to be happy and if you think you are, then, well, who am I to ruin that, right?

- Jim

P.S. It may be stupid, but you'll always be my best friend.

She clutched the note in her fist and began crying again.

This would be the last letter she would get from Jim Halpert, and it left a terrible, bitter taste in her mouth.

Why was she crying? She was getting what she wanted, wasn't she?