Casually she had mentioned it was her favorite book.
"Gone With the Wind, Jim! It's a classic!," she had said, her face bright.
He'd never seen the movie. Never read the book. But he knew the ending. She was still shocked. "It's my favorite book, you know. Well, except for the ending. I didn't like the ending."
"A 'happy ever after' kind of girl, huh," he had joked. Her face had taken on that wistful smile as she whispered, "Yeah."
That evening, after he had walked her to the lobby, he drove to the bookstore and purchased a copy of Gone with the Wind. "Thick," he murmured to himself. He sat it on his bookshelf, admiring it. It looked proud, somehow. Maybe he would read it one day.
Months later, when he had found himself back in Scranton, he had placed it on his new shelf. "Gone with the Wind, Jim? How…manly," Karen had mocked. She took it off the shelf, and he felt a quiet alarm go off in his brain. "You know," she grinned, flipping through the unread pages, "I couldn't stand Scarlet." She gently tossed it on the bed. As she left the room to help him unpack some more boxes, he went to put the book back on the shelf. He decided to leave it on the bed instead.
That night, after Karen had left, he had started to read the book. He read it everywhere but work and around Karen. When he finished it, he walked back to his shelf, and quietly slid it into place, his hand lingering on the spine. He was not quite ready to let it go.
Every page had been another moment with her.
He understood why Pam liked it so much. He sees why Karen hates Scarlet. He sees a lot of things now.
When he had come back to Scranton, Pam was different. He knew she would be. The infrequent phone calls and Karen coming with him forced him to acknowledge that. Somehow, his departure was an intermission, and when he came back the mood had changed. It was going drain him, trying to pretend that he was okay with Pam and himself looking so tired. It was the push he needed to finally read it. In the days back in Scranton she had been lost to him, but in the book he had found her.
The day after he finished it, they were in the break room together. A rare moment these days. She was stirring her yogurt and he was cracking open his bottled water. "I read Gone with the Wind," he said simply.
She smiled, and faced him.
He looked down at the water in his hands.
Hesitantly she asked, "Did you like it?"
He looked her in the eyes and told her it was the best book he has ever read. A beat of silence.
"I thought you'd never read it," she shyly admitted.
He scratched the back of his head. "You convinced me," he softly chuckled.
Pam smiled, as did he. "Look at me," Pam said, slightly holding her arms out, "pulling an Oprah."
He snorted and she giggled, as they both walked back to their desks.
When he arrived at work the next day, he greeted her. "Hey, Jim," she replied.
They looked a little less tired, he could tell.