Jim was woken by the alarm in his Sydney hotel room. It was June 10th on the east coast of Australia but still June 9th in Scranton. It didn't matter, it still hurt worse than he imagined. He pulled the duvet cover over his head like it could shield images of Pam from his mind. All he could see was flashes of Pam and the moments they'd shared since he started working at Dunder Mifflin. He smiled at the memory of the first time they pulled a prank on Dwight.
It was a couple of days after he'd started working and he was all too aware of the sparkling engagement ring on her left hand. It wouldn't hurt to be friends though. He cringed as if that was the exact moment and the exact thought that led him to this place. That thought led him to walk to her desk while Dwight detailed exactly how to butcher a bear for its meat to no one in particular.
"Hey Pam?" he took a yellow jellybean and tried not to pull a face at the hideous banana flavour assaulting his tastebuds.
"Yes?" he watched her put the phone on to voice mail so she could give him her full attention.
He leant casually on the desk and lowered his voice. "How have you put up with Dwight for so long?"
"Therapy mostly, apparently I have masochistic tendencies." She said completely dead pan but her eyes were smiling. "I sometimes hide his chair in the stairwell if I get here early but I was worried he'd steal yours. You have the same kind now. I have chair envy." She stood up slightly, bit her bottom lip and looked at his chair like she lusted after it, he laughed as she flicked her eyes up to see if her joke had landed. It did.
"You can look but you can't touch, Miss Beesly." Their jokes fell into an instant rhythm.
"What a tease, seeing you luxuriating all day with all that lumbar support and up and down lever thing, it's torture." She giggled. "Hold on, weren't we talking about Dwight?"
"Yeah," he continued on with his train of thought and tried to ignore how flirty this conversation was but for the ring on her finger. "I wanna play a practical joke on him. Are you, um, interested in helping?" he raised his eyebrows in hope and wondered briefly for a second whether he'd made a huge misjudgement.
"Of course!" she leant in and whispered conspiratorially. "What's the plan?"
"That-a-girl. Here's what I'm thinking, I'm going to distract Dwight in the conference room with some 'I'm new here and you're so clever' type questions, appeal to his ego, that kinda thing. What I need you to do is collect up his bobbleheads-"
"-and swap the heads around?" she looked so excited and happy.
"Oh my god, are you in my head?" Jim cocked an eyebrow in jest.
"I dread to think what evil goes on inside that mind of yours and I've only just met you."
"Oh, this is just the beginning, Pam." He smiled back at her and they executed the plan flawlessly. That was the first complaint in the 'file in New York'.
Jim stared at the ceiling of his hotel room. Just the beginning. How true that turned out to be. Shame it had to end.
He got out of bed and made his way to the shower in an attempt to beat jet lag, memories of Pam and enjoy his first full day in Sydney. He thought about the list of things he wanted to do, the Opera House, the Sydney Harbour Bridge, canoe in the bay and go to the beach. He slipped off his boxers and stepped into the steamy shower cubicle. He'd spent so much time thinking about Pam before work that it had become second nature to think about her as soon as the warm water touched his skin and impossible to fight back.
The images only served to torture him as she stood before him, gloriously smiling outside the church in a perfectly white wedding dress with her copper curls framing her porcelain features and powder pink lips. The lace up corset curved into her waist and rose up over her breasts enhancing her hour-glass figure normally hidden by her work blouses. The corset was adorned with pearls and crystals along the edge that met the soft skin of her chest that he ached to press his lips against. The full skirt draped gracefully to the ground and swayed in rhythm to her walk. Her veil floated behind her, caught in the summer breeze that his mind just created. It was the perfect dress, simple, elegant and magical. Stop it, Jim, you can't have her. He cursed under his breath and slammed the temperature from hot to cold and gritted his teeth as icy shards of water punished him for his thoughts. He braced himself against the tiles and forced the image out of his mind with the sheer discomfort of the cold and began his mental list of things to do.
He stepped out and dried his skin which had flushed with goose bumps. When he caught sight of himself in the mirror he hardly recognised himself. So sad, so hollow and so alone. No. I can't do this. It's time for a fresh start. Snap out of it Jim. A new Jim Halpert is flying home; you've got to turn this around. He brushed his teeth and slung on some comfortable clothes before heading out for his first Australian breakfast. Today he figured he'd just walk about, take in the sights and get the feel for the city. He'll buy a boomerang.
As he closed the door he allowed himself one more thought.
I wish you were here Pam.