Pam doesn’t call right away, and Jim tries not to let it get to him. As is, he’s afraid to leave his cell phone for even a minute and accidentally miss her call. He attempts to keep himself busy, forces himself to eat, considers playing basketball, but even his favorite sport doesn’t have the same appeal it once did. He wants to call her, but he doesn’t want to overwhelm her. He tells himself that he’ll give it a day, and if he hasn’t heard from her by tomorrow, he’ll reach out, just to get the confirmation that she’s okay. Jim is lying awake in his bed, the same bed Pam had spent the night in. It smells like her, and he plans to get away with not washing the sheets for as long as possible. He’s about to resign himself to a sleepless night of worry when his phone beeps. It’s a text from Pam. She’s never texted him before. “Hi Jim, it’s Pam. Thanks for all your help. Everything’s okay. It was hard, but okay. And I’m going to stay in a hotel for a while until my parents help me find an apartment. Let’s talk tomorrow over the phone. Sound good?”

He can’t respond fast enough. “Hey Beesly. Nice to hear from you. Ooo, Fancy New Beesly is going to get herself a fancy new apartment. Let me know if you need any help. Talking tomorrow sounds great. What time were you thinking?”

“How’s 3:00PM? I’m gonna try sleeping in if I can.”

“Perfect. Be there or…”

“Oh boy.”

“Be square.”

“*Rolls eyes* Such a dork! I’ll be there.”

“Good. You don’t want to be square, do you?”

“Definitely, definitely not.”

“Well then, I’ll call you at 3:00PM.”

“Night, Jim.”

“Night, Beesly.”

Jim smiles to himself in the dark of his bedroom. Holy shit. Pam must have left Roy. She must have. She moved out of their apartment, and now she’s staying in a hotel until she finds her own apartment. For the first time in Jim’s knowing Pam Beesly, she is single. So is he. Both of them are single at the same time. And she knows he loves her, is in love with her. And she said he didn’t misinterpret anything, meaning maybe, just maybe, she has feelings for him as well. He would never push her, but he feels more hopeful about his future than he can ever remember feeling. How crazy to think that the entire state of his happiness rests on this one girl. But she’s not just any girl. Michael was right. “Engaged ain’t married.”  And now (he’s pretty sure) she isn’t even engaged anymore. He needs to wait until she’s settled, until she’s ready. But then there’s nothing stopping him from simply manning up and asking her out, as in on a date, an actual date. And the rest? Well, he’s excited to find out.