Had it not been for his growling stomach, he might have gone right to the car after leaving the corporate office. Had he arrived at his car and called even 30 minutes earlier the call might have been received by her and the cheer he’d have heard in her voice he would have merely equated to her relief and happiness that her job was safe.

More likely, he wouldn’t have called at all and let Jan be the one to reveal their reversal of fortune once she had completed the logistics and paperwork.

But he had missed breakfast, unable to think about food that morning, much less chew and swallow anything and keeping it down if he did was a hit or miss proposition. But the curse of Jim’s metabolism, aside from his lanky build was he couldn’t miss a meal and not have his stomach growl in protest, which it had done in the office with David. He’d ignored it but he knew they both heard it. In fact, it was after the distinct gurgle arose from his midsection that David stood up and wound up their meeting.

Lunch was a must before he drove back to Stamford. Luckily in the city of New York, food was available at every turn and so he didn’t have far to go to satiate his noisy stomach.

He stopped into a place at the corner of where his car was parked in the nearby lot.  The sign identified it as Famous Ray’s.   

It seemed the fame had a surcharge. $6.50 for a slice and a Coke. He’d never paid so much for pizza, pizza that he couldn’t even taste since he scarfed it down so fast.  

It was another reassurance he’d made the right choice. With the cost of living here his generous bonus would be gone before he could even cash it. Things were even more expensive here than in Stamford which was already much more than in Scranton. He saw the monthly parking rates of the lot where he parked and it was close to what he had paid in rent for the house he shared with Mark. Luckily for Jim, the office validated his parking for the meeting today otherwise he’d be out another 50 bucks for the two hours he’d left his car deep in what felt like an underground bunker a block from the office.

But it wasn’t about money. He was after something else in his decision.

Happiness.

It was the only thing he had on his mind now. He had been happy in Scranton. Sure, it was tough watching her with Roy. And he’d never felt pain in his heart like the crushing ache that came from hearing her say “I can’t” and later from her pulling away even after the kiss that he swore had her saying “I can.”

He knew now lips were never meant to hear and so that’s why they heard wrong. His ears too, must have malfunctioned when they twisted her words to make them sound like she’d said, me too before they reached his brain.

But the pain, still palpable at times had become more bearable with each day that passed and he was hopeful he’d be able to find his way back to happiness as her friend once again.

He wished for her happiness too and hoped that the news would bring some of that back to her. But he had decided while inhaling his slice of “famous” pizza that the news was best delivered by Jan or Michael or anyone but him. He wasn’t yet ready to be merely her friend again. He needed to prepare, build a better wall, one with sturdier bricks and stronger mortar. According to the preliminary timeline David and Jan had mentioned back in the meeting, he had about two weeks. Two weeks to become as good a mason as he was a salesman, better perhaps. 

Still hungry after the slice, he ordered another but the two hours his parking ticket was covered for was almost up so he ate it while he walked back to the lot. He’d forgotten to grab napkins and being he already wasn’t the neatest eater when sitting at a table, he knew he was leaving oil and sauce on the corner of his mouth and down his chin as he walked and chewed, something confirmed when the parking attendant’s eyes went straight to the lower portion of his face as he handed over the ticket.

He tried wiping it with the back of his hand but now the oily sauce was on his hands and shirt sleeve as well as his face.

No wonder Pam didn’t want me, he thought as he waited for the attendant to return with his car. What would she want with a schlump like me who can’t even eat without making a mess of himself? She didn’t want to be with the messy goof, the class clown, the jokester. She might enjoy the pranks, revel in the silliness and admire wit in a good friend, but when it came to the person she wanted to be, she wanted suave and professional.  And now that she’d rid herself of the other schlump in her life, the one that had a unexplainable hold on her for so long, she was free to pursue the life she wanted with that type of man. 

His car finally arrived and he slipped the guy who delivered it a few saucy dollar bills as he himself slipped into the driver’s seat careful not to touch too much inside the car except the glove box where he hoped he had stashed some napkins. Sure enough there were a few, probably left over from the fast food he had on his last drive back to Stamford from Scranton, back in October when he went home to celebrate his birthday with his folks and his hometown friends.

He grabbed a napkin and finally wiped away the grease from his face and fingers. Hands clean at last he went to close the glove compartment when the light from the interior dome caught on something that refracted back into his eyes.

Pushing aside the flashlight and the car manuals, the maps and phone charger that no longer worked with his current model phone, he came upon the metallic disc that had caught the light. It was a crinkly gold circle still linked to a paperclip chain, the yogurt lid that with her artistic creativity had been transformed into the keepsake award for their office Olympics. He’d had this one hanging from his rearview for some time after the ceremonial day. He took it down not too recently, as the sun’s glare kept bouncing off it and into his eyes as he drove. He decided then it was not safe for him to be distracted by its gleam or the memories it evoked.

But finding it today was a reminder of what he’d be going back to and all the fun they once had. Pranking Dwight, goofing around, putting on screenplay readings and elaborate events of silliness, they were good together, partners, a perfect team and even if they were not meant to be a romantic couple, they were best friends once and hopefully could be again. That started today, not in two weeks. And his first act as her best friend would be to give her the news that would return the smile to her face.

He first had to get out of the city and navigating the streets required most of his attention but as soon as he hit the West Side Highway he pulled out his phone and dialed his old office.

“Dunder Mifflin, this is Kelly. How may I direct your call today?”

He didn’t know how but somehow he knew it wasn’t Pam even before Kelly picked up the phone line.

“Hi Kelly. It’s Jim. I was expecting Pam. Is she not in today?”

“Jim, hi. I haven’t heard your voice in so long. You sound different. I didn’t recognize it was you. How’ve you been? Did you hear about our office? Can you believe it? Jim, did you know? You know when you transferred there. Is that why you left? Because you were aware of what was coming? You know, Michael said you and Josh were BFFs. Is that how you found out? From your BFF in Connecticut? Did he tell you to come over because we were getting shut down? How did you know him back then anyway? And how come you didn’t tell us? Or at least me? I thought we were friends, Jim? You know I should hang up on you right now. But I won’t because I’m forgiving like that. See that’s how you act like a friend, Jim.  Anyway, things are so bad here. Everybody’s sad and nervous and on edge. It’s been like a real downer here and that’s really hard for me since I’m such a sunny person, you know. Everyone is grumpy. Well except Stanley, he seems almost excited. Between you and me I think Angela’s even gone on an interview or two. She’s disappeared twice this week for extended periods of time. I think it’s going well because she always comes back with what is almost a smile on her face and you know how rare that is. I think Dwight’s interviewing too since he’s also gone a lot. Michael just mopes around here with this weird look on his face. You know we haven’t heard anything more yet and we’re not sure when it’s going to happen. Toby won’t tell us much but I’ve tried to listen to him on the phone. It sounds like they could move some of us over. How’s the customer service there Jim? Do you have any say in who they’ll relocate? If you do, you’ve got to tell them me. Me and Ryan. Both of us cause I won’t go without him and he won’t go without me. He promised.  Please Jim, please. I can’t go without him. Oh, and do you think I’d like Stamford? What’s the vibe like?”

“Kelly,” Jim was finally able to interrupt Kelly’s prattle when she finally took a pause after her last question, “about Pam, is she out sick today”.

“Pam, no she’s on her lunch hour. It’s my flex time today to cover the front desk.”

Of course, Jim thought, flex time. Ever since the day of their office Olympics when their biggest client was unable to get anything but voicemail for the whole day, Jan decided someone needed to be at the desk anytime it would be unmanned for more than 15 minutes. But Kelly at the front desk. Voicemail was certainly the better option here.

“Come to think of it maybe she’s interviewing too since she left the office and she never goes out to lunch.”

“Or… she’s on a lunch date,” Jim mumbled under his breath, suddenly second guessing his decision to make the call, while seriously reconsidering his decision to take the position back in Scranton. He wasn’t even there yet and already he was feeling like he had back when she slowly decimated his heart as she planned for a future with someone else.

He hadn’t intended to say it aloud but it slipped out. Hopefully Kelly hadn’t heard, hopefully her mind was already thinking ahead to her next rant so she would have missed the quiet remark that blurted out from Jim’s lips.

But Kelly’s ears were as sharp as her tongue especially when what she was hearing was anything resembling gossip or that she could add her two cents to.

“No Jim, she’s definitely not on a date. She swore off dating – twice now. After she called off her wedding, she was so mopey. It was weird, I mean she called it off so why was she sad. I tried to convince her to get back out there because she was like bumming us all out with her sad face all the time. Nothing like a new romance to get over a failed one, right Jim? Anyway, I helped her pick out new clothes and gave her tips on flirting. It took forever, like over two months and I practically had to strong arm her into it but I finally made her agree to a double date with me and Ryan and my neighbor, Alan. These two should have been perfect for each other and I can’t believe they didn’t hit it off. I mean, they were both into drawing and stuff. It was like a match made in heaven, just like Ryan and me. But I guess she didn’t think so, she told me there was no chemistry. I tried to get to her to give it another try with him. Chemistry, doesn’t have to be there from the start, you know. Right? It’s not like it’s the only thing to build a relationship on, you can slowly find love too. And slow and steady wins the race, right? Except for in the case of Ryan and me, we were hot and heavy from the start but that works for us. But Pam, she seems like the the type that needs time to let things build. That’s why for months I kept bugging her. But she kept telling me she’d pick her own dates. She didn’t need my help. Anyway, I digress.”

Um, you think? This time Jim knew enough to keep his thought to himself.

 Finally, last Friday when we were all out after we heard the news, it was pretty devastating for all of us and she was drinking pretty heavily, almost as much as she had that night when she got plastered at the Dundies. You remember Jim when she fell off the chair and was acting all goofy and silly.”

It was exactly the same thing that came to mind when Jim first heard her voice Friday night. Pam wasn’t one to get rip-roaring drunk often, but when she did, she left an impression. Had the circumstances been different, Jim might have played with Kelly here, pretended he had no idea what she was talking about, but this conversation had already gone on long enough. He just wanted Kelly to get to her point so he kept his mouth shut and let her go on.

“Of course, you do Jim. It was you she sat with you all night while drinking like a lush. I mean she was totally out of control. Her speech after her Dundie, man how embarrassing. The way she danced back from the stage, what a dork. She even kissed you that night. Come on Jim you have to remember that.”

Of course, Jim remembered. Her lips on his, that was the highlight of his evening and even though it lasted less than a second, in that second he became more liquid than solid. He should have been the one in a heap on the floor.  But he knew it wasn’t a real kiss. It was the four drinks, and the second drinks and the excitement of having won something else besides longest engagement that had her acting impulsively, celebrating her win with a peck to the mouth of her best friend. But Jim remembered the taste of her lips, so soft and warm, a mix of salty and sweet still lingering on them from the frozen margarita she’d just finished. He could almost taste her lips again now but the memory was not of that kiss but the one they’d shared 6 months ago after another work event, this one with not quite such a happy ending.

Thinking back to the Dundies again, he realized that night was the first time Jim had been her hero without her knowledge. He’d never told Pam it was him who convinced Michael the joke had grown stale and a different award would get more laughs. But that’s what friends did, they found ways to make sure their friend stays smiling, gets home safely and keeps her job, and they do it without letting on they were behind it.

“Yes, Kelly, I remember. But what happened when she was drunk at the bar this time?”

Kelly had no idea that Jim had been on the phone with Pam that night. That he had heard the desperation in her voice made worse by the copious amount of alcohol she consumed. That he had been witness to the pick-up at the bar. But there was obviously more that he hadn’t been aware of, something she might have said earlier or after Jim hung up and he was desperate to know what Kelly knew and what she meant when she said Pam had sworn off dating again.

“Oh yeah well, we were in shock you know about what we heard about the branch closing. Meredith ordered us a round of shots. Pam downed hers before anyone else and I then I think she may have swiped Angela’s to knock back with the rest of us. It’s not like Angela was going to drink it but I think we were all pretty surprised. Then she had a few more drinks after that. She even kept up with Meredith, drink for drink.”

Jim was getting impatient with Kelly, losing hope she would ever divulge anything new or revealing to him. He was seconds away from hanging up when she finally said something that pricked his ears.

We were all so bummed about the news but Pam, she seemed so much sadder than everyone else though and maybe not just because of the job stuff. Which was weird since she seemed pretty happy at the Diwali festival, but who wouldn’t be. Diwali is so much fun. I looked awesome by the way. I wore the most amazing sari. And you should have seen Ryan in his Kurta, he looked so handsome.”

                “Kelly, focus. Tell me about Pam and what she said that night?”

“Chill, Jim. I was getting there. So, she was all weepy about the job but I think she may have also been sad about Roy too. Maybe being at Diwali without a date made her lonely. Or Michael proposing made her remember how she burned down her own life when she called off her wedding. I kinda think she was planning to start things up again with Roy that night because I saw him show up at the festival, but he took one look at Pam dancing and then turned right back around. I think she got stood up.”

This was not the news Jim wanted to hear. Pam back with Roy, that was worse than Danny.

“You know by Friday she was probably really regretting not getting married when she had the chance. Anyway, after her many drinks on Friday, she started jabbering on and on about her love life. It was hard to listen to. I mean, I’m all for girl talk but this was, like too much.”

Was she serious? Kelly having a hard time listen to someone else’s love troubles. Got a mirror Kelly? How many times had he got caught listening to her amble on about her situation with Ryan? And it was nothing compared to the times he had to imagine Pam was held captive to Kelly’s tearful rants when Ryan didn’t call her or chose to go out for lunch instead of eating with her in the breakroom.

“She kept going on about it, lamenting how she’d known love, real true love, but hadn’t realized it at the time and how she had sent him away, the one she was meant to be with, the person she loved more than she even knew. She went on about how in one night she’d hurt him and cast him out and off into the arms of someone else. Someone called Karen, which is strange since I’ve never heard any talk of Roy dating someone new.  Up until the other night he still seemed very, very into Pam. Now, if I’d been dumped like that, no way, there’d be no second chances with this woman.”

Kelly’s self-delusion aside, she was finally providing Jim the information he was waiting for and while it wasn’t like he had a choice anyway, he let her continue.

“Yeah, like before Wednesday he was like up in the office more than ever and so this one time when he was in the breakroom getting his kajillionth soda for the day I asked him if he was still into her and he told me to get lost and mind my own business.  Jim, can you believe how rude that is?  Roy can be a real jerk, sometimes. And he’s so unsophisticated.  I mean he’s good-looking and all – ooh and you should see him now; he’s been working out and taking better care of himself – but sometimes I wondered what Pam saw in him. I thought she could do better than a warehouse guy. Don’t you think Jim?”

Jim couldn’t agree more but he didn’t answer Kelly because his mind was stuck on something she’d said earlier about him dating a girl named Karen. Karen was a common name but was it possible that Pam could be talking about him? Him and Karen? How would she have even heard of her? Did he bring her up during the conversation he couldn’t remember? But what would he have said? He hadn’t done anything with her at that point and it wasn’t even something he’d been considering, not until he spoke to Pam on the same night she was ranting to Kelly, and he learned the call from a few weeks back, the one that he hung his hopes on, didn’t mean to her what it meant to him.  

The thoughts running through his head distracted him from what Kelly said next and when he finally started listening again, she was talking about Pam’s date with Danny.

“So… she went on the date Saturday and now it’s Thursday and he still hasn’t called her.  She said she doesn’t care that much, she wasn’t all that into him, he’s not really her type. She was just trying to move on and was flattered he liked her or at least she thought he did. But she feels like shit now because she feels used even though all they did was kiss. She said she got the sense on the date that he was expecting her to sleep with him and when she didn’t, he quickly changed his attitude towards her. She said she knew he wasn’t calling again, he was only ever interested in getting her in the sack and that made her feel even more terrible. Then she starting going on again about how she made the biggest mistake of her life giving up the man who saw her and loved her for all that she was and all that she might be. Her words, not mine I would never say something so sappy. And she’s a bit delusional if she thinks that was Roy. But anyway, she said she was done with dating. Forever. Crazy, right Jim? I mean if I had given up on dating after one bad date, I wouldn’t be with Ryan. But anyway Jim, I think she’s interviewing because aside from the being mopey and sad which by the way she’s been pretty much for months, now she’s really freaked out about losing her job too.”

Jim had long since pulled over. He had at the first mention of Karen, unable to focus on the road and Kelly at the same time and trying to make sense out of everything he was hearing. Kelly had a tendency to exaggerate, get things wrong, make the story more complicated than it needed to be but in this case Jim was pretty sure she’d gotten it all right. Pam wasn’t with Danny. She wasn’t with Roy and if he was deciphering correctly, her sadness was not about her cancelled wedding, or that loser who didn’t call her back after their date. It was that she’d thought she’d missed her chance with him. Her biggest regret was turning him away when she did.

How he wished she were on the phone now so he could tell her. Tell her about the Scranton branch staying open and how her job was safe, but more than that, about how he still loved her, how he never stopped and how he was coming back soon. And sitting there with Kelly still rambling on about who knows what now, he started flashing back to all the photos of her and to his dream and Michael’s words. And suddenly he knew he wasn’t going back to Stamford today.

As the cars whizzed by on the highway and Kelly kept talking, he reached back into the glove compartment, this time to pull out a map.

He wanted to get back on the road but he didn’t want her to wait until he got there to take away the worry about her job. That, he could let Kelly take care of. Knowing Kelly like he did he knew telling her was the fastest way to get word back all his old friends, but mostly to Pam.

He cut Kelly off for a fourth or maybe fifth time, he’d lost count a long time ago and finally shut her up by delivering news that had her in silent disbelief for longer than he thought possible with Kelly. And he

was right. As soon as he told her how it was his branch that would be closing and not Scranton, after the minute of dead air she suddenly squealed with delight bringing everyone into the bullpen. Jim hung up as he heard her share the news with those who were around. The rest he knew would find out in no time, certainly before he got there, no matter how fast he drove, which was as fast as he could, praying the whole time he was driving out of the friend zone and straight back into her heart.

~~~

News spread fast in Scranton, Kelly’s announcement superseded Jan’s call to Michael by only a few minutes and it was on that call that Michael learned about Jim’s small role in saving the branch.  And if there was anyone who leaked news faster than Kelly, it was Michael who came out to proclaim Jim as a hero and put Dwight on the task of having a plaque made up for him which had Dwight sneering and claiming how if it were him in the situation, he would had been able to save both branches.

Of course, the documentary crew was right there to catch all of this and began capturing the excitement, the hugs and smiles and cheers of ‘hip hip hooray’ for Jim that seemed to aggravate Dwight further. Pam walked in from her lunch to another chorus of praise for Jim and quickly learned not only that her job was safe and the branch was staying open, but what Jim had done and how he and a few other Stamford people would be joining them in a few weeks, permanently.

One by one, they were all called into the conference room for interviews to share their personal reactions and feelings now that their jobs were safe.

Dwight, in his reiterated how he could have been a bigger hero but slipped in a comment about how it would be good to have some competition again.

“Phyllis and Stanley, ha, they’re not even on the same playing field. And Ryan, well he isn’t even playing in the league. If he had just completed my initiation tasks, I could have made a man out of him. But let’s see Jim do that.”

Stanley, though having remarked earlier how retirement might be nice, seemed relieved.

“It was nice to have those few hours when I thought it was over. I guess my daughter will be able to go to college after all. And I can go back to dreaming about Florida until the next time we get shut down.”

Kelly was delirious with joy and Ryan who followed her seemed nearly as delighted though he tried not to show it.

Even Angela smiled as she delivered her statement that yes, it was very good news and yes, she was happy but she’s not looking forward to new people to get used to. She’s barely able to tolerate the ones she worked with now.

Everyone else who came into the conference room for their thoughts was overjoyed, everyone except Pam.

Sure, she was happy she still had a job. She’d never realized how expensive living on her own would be.

And the news that Jim was coming back, that was of course good news too. But Pam was still under the impression that Jim had moved on and was quite serious with Karen, who she could only assume would be one of the other salespeople coming over too.

And if there was anything she’d learned since she’d begun dating and quickly swore it off was that she wasn’t going to be over Jim anytime soon and having him back when he was clearly over her would be slow torture, especially in knowing she was the fool who passed up her one chance at a future with the man she still loved.

Sitting in her interview, she tried to put on a brace face.

“Of course, I’m happy to have my job. I didn’t want to have to move in with my parents. And I’m really pleased to hear what Jim did for us. Everyone just loves him, now more than ever. He’s a good guy. I always knew that about him but to think he put his own position on the line to save us. And we’re all so happy he’s coming back. And I hear he’s got a new girlfriend that could be coming over too. And I’m happy for him and excited to meet her. I’m not surprised he found someone there. He’s the kind of guy any girl would want. He’s going to be a great husband to her and I think he’ll be a fantastic dad when they have kids.”

It wasn’t hard for the cameraman to see through her lackluster smile and glossy eyes that revealed a sadness despite the happy news. Sadness, that Jim was returning, but wasn’t returning to her.

It was then that the door swung open, a surprise to everyone in the room, even the doc crew who usually knew all. Standing there was Jim leaning into the doorway, rapping his fingers on the glass as he apologized for the interruption before turning back to Pam to ask,

“Are you free for dinner tonight?”