He recognized the number instantly. It nearly paralyzed him seeing it flash up on his screen. Of course this was what he wanted, he wanted her, he wanted to talk to her, to be with her. No one else.

But now with her calling him, it felt different. Sending in the post card was one thing. They could hide behind the anonymity. On the phone they couldn’t. It was him and it was her. Could they really actually talk about it? He feared they would fall back into their old patterns, the casual, easy, banter that defined their relationship up to that point.

“Hello?” his voice croaked.

“Hi, Jim?” her voice sounded small on the phone.

“Hey.”

The silence felt uncomfortable, a new feeling for them both.

Pam was the first to break the silence. “So, um, how are you?”

“Pretty good, um, still getting settled.” Jim instantly regretted saying that. Just for now, for these few minutes, he wanted to pretend that he wasn’t 150 miles away.

“That’s cool. Um, do you have a roommate?”

“No, just me.”

“Oh…”

The conversation lulled. Jim didn’t want to be the first one to mention the postcard, but he knew they were both dancing around the subject, hoping the other would bring it up. “So, are we going to ignore the obvious?”

“The postcard?”

“Yeah.”

“I didn’t know you looked at PostSecret.”

“Same. But, I think I’m glad I do.” Jim left it open-ended. He wanted her to admit to the postcard, just to hear her say it, once. He already had his heart broken, and he couldn’t risk it again.

“Yeah, I am, too.”

“Pam?” He asked, his voice soft.

“I didn’t marry him.”

Jim paused, not saying anything. It was as if the air was sucked out of his lungs. He was waiting for more, he needed to hear it. Hear her say that he had made a difference. That she still cared for him; she wanted to be more than just friends, something, anything.

“Because … of you.”

Jim let go of the breath he didn’t know he was holding. She said it. She called off the wedding because of him, of what he said, of what he did. It was worth it. “Really?”

“Yeah. I just, I couldn’t spend the rest of my life wondering.”

“Okay, I think we can work with that.” Jim joked, happy to break the tension.

They both laughed.

“So, really, how’s Stamford?”

“Well, Josh is actually competent, so that’s new. But the receptionist leaves something to be desired.”

“Yeah, I never liked Megan much.”

The conversation started to flow like old times. Except there was something different about it now. Jim felt freer, as if he wasn’t restricted by his secret anymore. It may have seemed minor to anyone else, but he could fell a difference.

They never really talked about what would happen next – would Jim transfer back, would they do the long distance thing, or what. They laughed over the antics Michael pulled, and compared Dwight and Andy horror stories. They compared apartments – they both agreed Pam’s was better – and talked about the weather.

The conversation only waned when Pam started to yawn, but even then, Jim refused to hang up. They both lay down on their beds, phones beside them. They were tired, but still they talked. They said goodnight, but their phones still lay beside them, connected.

Maybe they didn’t know what was next, but they were happy with the way things were going. Finally.

She doesn’t know it yet, but, she’s going to marry me