Pam Beesley was in her element. She had spent the last few years honing her artistic skills, and had now taken to coming to the city every few months, visiting world renowned museums or tiny galleries, depending on her mood. She couldn't believe that she'd spent most of her life only hours from one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world, but had only recently begun making regular trips to it. During her engagement she couldn't have paid Roy to come to an art gallery with her or let her go on her own. It was these days, though fewer and farther between than she would have liked, that made her feel confident she had made the right decision eight years ago, even if the rest of her life hadn't fallen into place quite as she imagined.
As she turned to enter the Rite Aid blocks away from the Port Authority exit she had just left, a familiar voice reached her ears.
"Beesly?"
Pam's head shot up abruptly, her face contorted in shock. "Jim? Oh my god! Jim!" Without thinking she threw her arms around his neck, grabbing him in a tight hug. He returned the embrace kindly with one arm, the other preoccupied with the bag in his hand.
"Beesly, what are you doing in my neck of the woods?" A warm, friendly smile graced his face, and for a second she felt like the last eight years had disappeared.
"I'm just here for the day, came to visit a few galleries. I wasn't even sure you still lived in the city."
A look of mock hurt cast over his face. "And I thought you were here for me."
Pam giggled in response, wishing, not for the first time, that she had some nerve, some attitude. She wanted to be the kind of girl who could respond to his statement with a flirty response, 'I could be'. Still, she had changed some in the past few years. She was now at least the kind of girl who could respond with some honesty. Pam pulled Jim under the awning of an empty storefront, leading him away from the pedestrian traffic on the sidewalk. She took a deep breath and blurted out, "I almost called you a million times. I-I miss you. I have missed you."
Jim took a deep breath, a look of shock briefly crossing his face. "Well, uh. We should definitely catch up some time Beesly, really."
Gathering up her courage she responded, "We could...we could catch up now, maybe? Go grab some coffee if you want?" Please say yes, please, she thought desperately.
A look she had never seen on him before filled his expressive face. Pity, sadness...guilt, even? "Oh Pam, I'd really love to, I would, but I have to get this stuff back home." On his last statement he raised his hand slightly, indicating the bag he held. For the first time she noticed its contents. Diapers. The white gold band on his left ring finger became apparent to her as well.
"Jim?" she looked up at him, her eyes brimming with tears. She could no longer bother to care what he thought of her. "How-how long?"
"Five years", he responded softly.
"And you have a child?" she asked hoarsely, hating herself for the tremble in her voice.
"Two, a daughter and a son."
Pam nodded woodenly, both hers and Jim's eyes falling on her own bare left hand. "How did you meet her?"
"Pam", he began hesitantly before being cutoff by the phone in his pocket.
In the back of her mind she noted that the ringtone 'Lovefool' seemed like an odd choice for him.
"Hey", he spoke softly, a small smile adorning his lips. He wasn't doing it to hurt her- that was the worst part. "Yeah, yeah I'm on my way back now. I did in fact remember the milk, even though you forgot to remind me", she heard him tease. He had turned his back to her, but they were in a confined space and she couldn't help but listen to every domestic word he spoke. "Listen, I gotta go, I'll be home in a few minutes. I love you, too", she heard him murmur softly. The words hit her harder than she would have expected them to, and she realized that it wasn't just those words. No matter who he was with in the past, Jim would have placed Pam's feelings before hers. He didn't feel that way anymore, clearly, and she thought that might have been what stung the most.
"So either that was the wife, or you have an awfully clingy mistress", Pam deadpanned.
The quip clearly caught him off guard, but within seconds he was laughing heartily.
"Please Jim, tell me how you met her, when?" she had to know, had to know how long after she broke his heart he had moved on.
Jim took a deep breath. "She was, uh, the first person who really befriended me when I transfered to Stamford. We started dating casually a couple of months after I got there. It kind of got serious without either of us really noticing. About a year and a half after I transfered to Stamford, I got a better opportunity in the city, that much I guess you know. She decided to come with me, and a few months later we got engaged. A year after that we got married. Two years later our daughter Kayla Rose was born, she's three now, and two years after that Jackson Andrew was born, he's thirteen months old."
Pam rewarded him with a small smile. "Thanks Jim, for telling me." She hated to admit it, especially to herself, but he deserved to hear it from her. "You look really happy."
"I am", he replied, as sincerely as possible without bragging. "And I meant what I said Beesly, we should catch up sometime soon."
Pam nodded, knowing such a meeting would probably never occur. He leaned down to give her one final friendly hug goodbye, offered a quick nod and smile in her direction, and was on his way.
"Where you at, Fillippelli?" he called out softly, as he entered the apartment.
His wife quickly and quietly stalked towards him, grabbing him in a deep kiss.
"What was that for?" he asked happily after they broke apart.
She gave a noncommital shrug, though her eyes twinkled mischievously. "The kids are napping, I just didn't want you to wake them up."
"Ouch. No, that one hurt", he teased. He leaned down to give her another kiss before leading her to the couch where they settled together.
"So Halpert, what took you so long?"
"I, uh, ran into an old friend. Pam, actually." Jim held his wife close, preparing himself for whatever her reaction might be. She knew the Pam and Jim saga well, and though he knew she trusted him, he wouldn't have faulted her for being a little upset.
Karen just cuddled up to her husband, asking, "How's she doing?" Yes, she knew what Pam had, at one time, meant to Jim. She also knew just how much she herself meant to him now.
Jim gave his wife a tender squeeze, silently thanking her for her lack of reaction, for her confidence in him. "She's doing okay. Oh, and by the way, I saw these in the store and I thought of you." He handed her something from the drugstore bag, and as she took it from him she smiled brightly.
Some women would have needed jewelry or flowers to be reassured that their husbands were in love with them and only them. For Karen Halpert, all it took were Herr's Salt and Vinegar potato chips.