Yeep! Welcome back, kells. This was delicious. The excruciating pauses, the missed opportunities...I love the angst! He doesn’t even know if he can survive the next few weeks leading to her wedding, and after that – then what? Sigh...

Looking forward to more :)

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Talkative, how marvelous. This is a really interesting and fresh take, and oh, boy... poor uncertain, insecure Pam. I can see it happening this way just as easily as any of the more confident, aggressive versions of Pam that have been envisioned.

As always, your style and phrasing is matchless. A few that popped out for me:


Pam manages to put a spin on her recollection of the previous evening that propels her, in disgust and embarrassment, from her living room, to her shower, her car, and, finally, the stairwell of Jim's apartment building.
--"disgust and embarrassment"-- those are palpable emotions.

It was either utterly unlike him, this man, again wearing Thursday's dark suit with a different tie, who half-stood when she got up to use the restroom and held doors for her, or it was just something that she hadn't considered before, that he would know how to do all of this.
--yes, it probably would be weird for her to see him in this context. (Good weird, exciting weird. :)


And of course this one, just because it's so...them:
There was a teasing, familiar note in his reply. "I'm really, really okay with you touching me there. Anywhere, actually."

I anticipate a fun ride when she gets the nerve to knock on his door. :)

Author's Response: Ah, dear callisto... I\'m glad you agree with my take on things. I love first date/first time fics, so I wanted to try my hand turning the conventions we\'ve collectively established on their heads while still maintaining the romance and the tension. She\'s already knocked on his door in my documents folder and, I can assure you, it\'s pretty fun in there. :) Looking forward to hearing what you think of the next installments.

I love this line:

She wondered if he would press a kiss into her shoulder, maybe fall asleep there; maybe she'd wake up with his lips still lingering there, and she could be so happy.

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Well, you already know how I feel about this. The booth conversation breaks my heart a little more every time I read it. You are a master of characterization and detail, my friend. This in particular still appears in my mind as a perfect visual:

Her eyes register shock, locate Roy and his brother over by the pool table, and go cautiously neutral, all within an instant.

It kills me that she still has some delusion that they can "fix this" in the wake of everything he's said. She has a lot of realizations to make, and I can absolutely see this conversation coming back to haunt her over and over after he's gone.


Anyway, thanks so much for letting me be part of this. It's such a pleasure and, dare I say, an honor. :)

And I hope everybody goes to look at the lyrics to "Authority Song." :)

Author's Response: I love that you love that line! I rewrote it three or four times to get the rhythm right - I like to think that your writerly ear can hear that. :) As this all takes place three days after his confession, I\'m sure that Pam was still putting her back into staying in denial, but Jim\'s honesty gives her a new challenge: now, not only does she have to deny her own feelings, she also has to pretend that they can go back to how they were on Wednesday. It\'s so sad, so impossible. Your participation in the process of writing this story made it all the more fun. Talk to you soon, I\'m sure.

What a sexy little bit of exactly what I needed this evening! I love everything about your writing, Colette. The palpable atmosphere, the banter, the visuals, all the neat little turns of phrase. I love the notion that it’s all so normal for them, that they fell into it so effortlessly, but they’re continually still surprised at the little things that indicate coupledom like the toothbrush on the counter, sneakers lined up by the door. Your characterization makes it possible to see all of that so vividly it’s like watching an R-rated episode of the show.

I’m feeling meticulous tonight so here’s a bunch of lines/phrases that exemplify why I like your writing so much:

It was like discovering some hidden superpower she wasn’t yet sure how to wield and She wasn’t sure if he’d always been this easy to get going, but she liked to think it was her. -- the mingled confidence and uncertainty is so Pam.

She hardly even noticed that the back of her head was knocking against the upper cabinet with each accelerating thrust, until he cradled his hand protectively behind it. – because of course he would notice even if she was too carried away.

warm whiskey wave and in those few suspended seconds while the world ruptured and dissolved

‘Christ, Beesly…. what kind of obscene toys did you play with?’ --so funny, so Jim.

(Afterwards, he’d teased that if she hadn’t kept the TV volume so distractingly loud, they might have scored a triple instead of a double play.) –again, so Jim.

‘Jim?’ she said into his skin.
‘Hm?’
‘I’m just really glad you’re here.’
‘I live here,’ he chuckled softly.
‘Still.’
He tightened his arms around her.
--the visual conjured here is so sweet and beautiful.

Oh, and how about the little quotes from ‘P. Beesly’ to start each chapter? Niiiice. /Kevin.

Anyway, I really enjoyed it. :)

Author's Response: An R-rated episode...if only ;-) I'm really pleased you found the small details right - I know how an 'off' one can throw a story. And hooray for singling out many of the phrases/moments that I'm partial to as well - I love when you talk meticulous! (Oh, and btw - thought I'd give a little backstory to Jim's 'complaining' in CM, about how 'loud' she listens to the tv volume, lol.)  Anyway, hearing this worked for you re: phrasing, visuals, etc. means a lot, as usual. I love playing with words, and I love even more when a reader notices! Thanks, so much, callisto!

There's something so sad, yet not sad, about your take on this. I feel so badly for Pam and her stalled dreams from Pratt that have made her temporarily give up on her art, but I love that she's got the sketchbook out again. Jim's reaction is exactly right; a little confused, a little hesitant and uncertain about what just happened, but always supportive. His utter certainty that their relationship will be fine, despite what's happening with her parents, is also very Jim. Anyway, kudos to you for nailing it all so succinctly, as always. :)

Ah, this is lovely. :)

This is terrific, xoxoxo. Love it! We called this girl I work with's baby 'the bean' when she was pregnant. :)

This part is particularly fabulous and encapsulates both Pam and Dwight in a way that made me grin:

I mean, I noticed today that Dwight was furiously writing down notes while staring intently at me.

It could totally be related to work - or he absolutely could be trying to figure out when I had my last period.

If he figures it out before your father and I do I'm going to be really annoyed.

Not to mention totally creeped out.



Well done, lady!

Author's Response:

Thank you!!!  I didn't think calling the baby 'the bean' would exactly be original but it seemed to fit perfectly.  It sounds in my head exactly like something they would do.

These two are in my head A LOT.  It's a bit of a problem. :)

Oh Dwight.  You know he's going to bust out some farm yard metaphor when he finds out about Pam being pregnant.

So glad you liked it!

You are killing me with the awesomeness. I'd be more specific but I'm on my way out and if I don't leave this now I won't get around to it, but this is just getting better and better with each chapter. Her hearing him come to the stairs and then decide it's not time yet... perfect, I can so see it.

Your Pam feels very real and all of these thoughts and fears she's having do, as well. Keep it up! :)

Author's Response:

I've whined enough to you lately so I will just say thank you.

I wrote a story a long time ago where Pam was pregnant and they had a fight and Jim would periodically come and check on her (thinking she didn't know).  I didn't really remember that until I started to write this chapter.  Weird.

Anyway...I am very glad you liked it. 

Steph, I absolutely love how you write Kelly. It's more Kelly than Mindy! Here are some parts I especially liked.


Jim said he would try to make it and he smiled at her - like really smiled at her so she moved on to Dwight.



Whatever. Oscar was like the least fun gay person she knew.

-- so funny. :)




This whole exchange:

“Who else isn’t here?” she shrieked, the tiniest bit of desperation in her voice. “Who else?”

“It appears,” Andy said, “that your party is Tuna-free.”

Kelly made a face. “Ew. Why would I be serving tuna? This is a classy party.”

Phyllis patted her arm. “That’s Andy’s little nickname for Jim.”



Love that Ryan was the mastermind of the whole thing. He would be the one who thought of 'smug.'

Anyway, this is awesome. Great work. Thanks for being part of it!

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Always so glad to see something new from you, Colette, and this slice-of-life is the kind of thing you do so well. Of course Jim is the guy who holds your hair back. :)

What a long summer that must have been for them last year. Love everything about the crappy motel. I've stayed in a few of those, myself. (Never had that much fun, though!)

Standout phrases:

hey boobs, where you going with that girl?

(hee.)

'your tragic expression' -- I can see it. :)

You thought about icy cold seawater and tried to stop being fourteen.

You imagine it floating in there, in her ocean, how blissful it must be; inside her is by far the most blissful place you’ve ever been too -- That's just... really lovely.


Thanks for a nice read. :)

Author's Response: Yeah, Jim's presence would definitely make that motel a whole lot more fun ;-) Thanks so much, callisto - always happy when you like something I wrote!

I love this. I've often imagined what it must have been like for Pam to pack up and leave everything she's known as an adult and start over, how hard that must have been, how confused and lost she must have felt even while showing the steel to make this decision and stick with it. This feels very authentic.

This ending, in particular, broke my heart a little:

She spent the rest of the night putting away all her things, which suddenly didn’t feel like her things, and she cried a little as she thought about sweet Roy, and kind Jim, and how she broke both their hearts and still ended up alone, in the tiny shoe-box apartment with boxes of things that she didn’t even want. And she wondered, not for the first or last time, whether she had made the right choice.

Poor Pam. But it really was the right choice.

Aww. So sweet. I love how he just can't stop smiling. And their banter is so cute. You always nail that so well. Love it. :)