When Pam looked blank for a moment, Larissa explained.

“So, Jim has a medical power of attorney—we all do, after what happened with Great Uncle Theo—and I had a copy because I’m on it. But I don’t have any of his other medical records or insurance stuff, or any prescription meds he might be on. And right now he’s kind of out of it but eventually he’s going to need, like, homey stuff—any decoration you can find, some books, stuff like that. His iPod’s here because he was taking it on the trip, but there’s not a lot of other entertainment. He won’t even be able to change the TV. So anything you can find that you think would make Jim feel at home, feel comfortable, feel less freaked out—I’d love whatever you can think of.”

Pam nodded. “I can do that. Anything else? Anything for you? It looks like you’re kinda beat.”

Larissa smiled a weak smile. “Yeah. Um, I’m kinda holed up here for the duration, so…I guess a toothbrush, toothpaste, that kind of thing? I didn’t think to grab it before I headed out for the hospital.”

“Deodorant?”

“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea.” Larissa sniffed her own armpit in a gesture that Pam was surprised to realize reminded her of Jim. “Upgrade that to very good idea.”

“Got it.” Pam hesitated. “I’ll definitely get that stuff, but, Larissa…”

“I know, I know, you may not have time to…”

“No, that’s not it. I, um…” She glanced up at Larissa, who was standing looking at her with a quizzical expression that really belonged on another, more familiar face. She took a deep breath. “I should probably tell you that today…it’s not my wedding day.” She saw that Larissa looked, if anything, more confused. “I mean, it was my wedding day, but it’s not. Um. I didn’t marry Roy.” There. It was out there. “So, um, I have time.”

She wasn’t quite sure how to read Larissa’s reaction. Then again, she wasn’t sure what she expected to see. If this was Jim, she’d have expected…well, actually, she wasn’t sure what she would have expected. She had had an idea of what this might mean to him before May…before Casino Night (it wasn’t like she hadn’t thought about it ever before) but that idea had blown up with five simple words: “I’m in love with you.” So if she didn’t even know what her best friend would have looked like when she said she’d called off the wedding, how was she supposed to interpret this stranger’s face, even if she did look ridiculously like Jim? But even in that context, Larissa looked less surprised than she’d expected her to. Then it occurred to her that maybe she hadn’t been as clear as she could have been.

“We’re not…we broke up. Um. You called me Anderson, and, I think you should know…it’s still Beesly. Definitely Beesly. So I can definitely get you anything you need. I’d like to help.”

Larissa broke into a familiar smile. “I’m glad to hear that, Beesly. And I think Jim will be too.”

Pam reflected on that conversation as she drove to Jim’s house, key in hand. It had gone better than she’d expected—but then again, she hadn’t been talking to Jim himself, had she? She didn’t know how much Larissa knew—though it was obvious she knew something—and no matter how much she knew about their whole…situation, she still wasn’t Jim. Would Jim even want to talk to her even now that she wasn’t with Roy? Had that ship sailed? She was pretty sure, right now, that she wanted him to. That she wanted him to do, well, more than that. There was something about learning that he was in the hospital, in critical condition, that really crystallized things for her. Was she still mad at him? Yes. Was she still worried he wouldn’t want anything to do with her? Very much so. But right now that was all secondary to her need to be there for Jim right now.

Jim, who she still hadn’t seen. She wasn’t sorry to help out Larissa—when she got back she’d have to raise the idea that maybe, just maybe, Pam herself could sit there at least while Larissa got some sleep, some food, or a shower—but she was definitely going to insist on seeing him when she got back. Which made a good argument for getting in and out of his apartment fast, she thought, as she turned into the driveway.

She grinned to herself. Jim had always said there would be a quiz later about the tour of his house. She couldn’t wait to tell him how right he was.

If he was willing to talk to her. If he got better. If, if, if.