(no subject)
Another short Jim/Pam missing moment (kind of). Not as happy, either. It's a Monday story. :-/
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The message she sent to Jim was simple:
You didn't misinterpret anything.
He saw it the morning after, hungover, sitting in Karen's kitchen. Judging by the time stamp on the message, he must have been passed out on his desk when she'd sent it. He snapped his phone shut and raked his fingers through his messy hair.
Karen walked in with a cup of coffee, and he couldn't help but return her beaming smile. Even with her hair wrapped up in a towel-turban and her face scrubbed clean of makeup, she was beautiful. And he'd be lying if he said he hadn't gone to sleep satisfied. He'd be lying if he said he didn't wake up and smile when he saw her beside him. But he'd also be lying if he said there was no one else he'd rather see there.
"Sober now, Halpert?" Karen asked, offering him the mug.
"Unfortunately, yeah. Do you have aspirin?" A time machine, maybe?
The aspirin didn't help; neither did the sales calls or the multiple rounds of Call of Duty. Several times he opened a new email message and started typing pbeesl- before changing his mind. He almost called her at lunch after he finished his "big tuna" sandwich.
Karen poked her head into the break room, saw that they were alone, and sat beside him. "Hey... not to be all weird or anything, but last night... um... all I want to say is no pressure, okay? I know you were really drunk, and I don't expect anything more. Unless you want to. Or something." She laughed self-consciously.
"Thanks," he said. He reached for her hand and ran his thumb over her fingers. "It was great. Not that I remember everything, but it was great. I'm just not... This makes me the biggest jerk in the world, doesn't it?"
"No, really, it doesn't. Like I said, I understand totally if you don't want anything more to come of it."
"So am I going to get my head blown off during the game today?"
She grinned. "Okay, first, it's not a game. It's a training exercise. And second, what would make me stop now?"
"Good. Exactly what I wanted to hear."
He liked Karen, he honestly did. But there was a vulnerability -- a sweetness -- in Pam that he missed. Pam was the person he wanted to find beside him in the morning, and Pam was the person he wanted to hold when he fell asleep. None of that had changed.
After lunch he watched the clock in the lower corner of his computer, willing it to move faster. When he got home, he would call Pam. He wondered if it would be possible to go back to his old position in Scranton. He pictured her in that blue dress she'd worn on casino night, and he pictured her smiling when he came back.
At 4:50, his email notifier popped up, and he clicked it to read the new message.
Hey Jim, sorry about that message from before. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I just had a lot to drink at Kelly's party last night. You don't need to reply to this if you don't want to. -Pam
He didn't reply to it; he didn't know what his reply could have said. 5:00 arrived at last, and he draped his coat over his arm and left with Karen.
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The message she sent to Jim was simple:
You didn't misinterpret anything.
He saw it the morning after, hungover, sitting in Karen's kitchen. Judging by the time stamp on the message, he must have been passed out on his desk when she'd sent it. He snapped his phone shut and raked his fingers through his messy hair.
Karen walked in with a cup of coffee, and he couldn't help but return her beaming smile. Even with her hair wrapped up in a towel-turban and her face scrubbed clean of makeup, she was beautiful. And he'd be lying if he said he hadn't gone to sleep satisfied. He'd be lying if he said he didn't wake up and smile when he saw her beside him. But he'd also be lying if he said there was no one else he'd rather see there.
"Sober now, Halpert?" Karen asked, offering him the mug.
"Unfortunately, yeah. Do you have aspirin?" A time machine, maybe?
The aspirin didn't help; neither did the sales calls or the multiple rounds of Call of Duty. Several times he opened a new email message and started typing pbeesl- before changing his mind. He almost called her at lunch after he finished his "big tuna" sandwich.
Karen poked her head into the break room, saw that they were alone, and sat beside him. "Hey... not to be all weird or anything, but last night... um... all I want to say is no pressure, okay? I know you were really drunk, and I don't expect anything more. Unless you want to. Or something." She laughed self-consciously.
"Thanks," he said. He reached for her hand and ran his thumb over her fingers. "It was great. Not that I remember everything, but it was great. I'm just not... This makes me the biggest jerk in the world, doesn't it?"
"No, really, it doesn't. Like I said, I understand totally if you don't want anything more to come of it."
"So am I going to get my head blown off during the game today?"
She grinned. "Okay, first, it's not a game. It's a training exercise. And second, what would make me stop now?"
"Good. Exactly what I wanted to hear."
He liked Karen, he honestly did. But there was a vulnerability -- a sweetness -- in Pam that he missed. Pam was the person he wanted to find beside him in the morning, and Pam was the person he wanted to hold when he fell asleep. None of that had changed.
After lunch he watched the clock in the lower corner of his computer, willing it to move faster. When he got home, he would call Pam. He wondered if it would be possible to go back to his old position in Scranton. He pictured her in that blue dress she'd worn on casino night, and he pictured her smiling when he came back.
At 4:50, his email notifier popped up, and he clicked it to read the new message.
Hey Jim, sorry about that message from before. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I just had a lot to drink at Kelly's party last night. You don't need to reply to this if you don't want to. -Pam
He didn't reply to it; he didn't know what his reply could have said. 5:00 arrived at last, and he draped his coat over his arm and left with Karen.