That night, after dinner was done and dishes were washed, Jim went to the internet and went searching for apartments. He noticed the one-bedroom ones were all located in bad areas. As Pam's friend, he couldn't let her pick one of those. He made a decent amount more than Pam, not that he deserved it. She definitely put up with a lot more with Michael, he was just a good salesman. He opened his instant messenger and saw that Pam was online.
JHalpert34: Beesly, fancy seeing you here.
PBeesly12: Lol! Dork!
JHalpert34: So, did you find any cars that you like?
PBeesly12: Ugh, idk. Should I get new or used? New cars are so expensive...
JHalpert34: Personal opinion but used. New cars depreciate and lose value extremely quickly. Better to get a used car. Some cars have more durability than others.
PBeesly12: Right. You have a Toyota.
JHalpert34: Yes, I do. My sister has a Chevy Malibu, if that helps. I helped her pick out that car. It has high crash rating and as long as it was taken care of, it'll last a long time. Soon, I'll get a new one. Soonish.
Depending if he got this apartment with Pam, he might use up his savings for the first month's rent versus a newer car, like he planned on.
PBeesly12: Okay, thanks! I'll check into those two brands of cars.
JHalpert34: Again, in my opinion, the Impala's remind me of drug lords and the Aveo line into Cobalt's don't last that long so Malibu's the best bet for Chevy. For Toyota, anything is good. Honda is okay too.
PBeesly12: Gotcha. No more news on the apartment hunt. I'd like to stay in Scranton...
JHalpert34: Well, we have some interviews lined up, right? So, we can tour them and see what you like.
PBeesly12: Right! Thanks for coming with me, Jim. I don't know what I'd do without you. *Hug*
Jim smiled at his screen.
JHalpert34: The things I do for you, Beesly. *hug*
PBeesly12: Shoot. My niece is bugging me to play Pretty, Pretty Princess with her. Gotta go. I'll see you tomorrow?
JHalpert34: Mad jealous of your Princessing. I got the address; I'll see you at 10?
PBeesly12: Dork! 😛 See you then!
PBeesly12 has signed off.
Jim spent the next couple hours scrounging around looking at two-bedroom or three-bedroom apartments when he found an open house for a house to rent. Intrigued, he clicked on the link and clicked through some pictures. Lots of natural light, perfect for Pam's art. Two car garage, perfect. Nice kitchen, not furnished, not a deal breaker. He clicked on the description.
Scranton native seeks responsible tenants to rent house as he retires to Florida. References needed. Motivated to rent quickly. Rent negotiable, tenants responsible for utilities and any damage incurred. Pets allowed under city guidelines. Two-bedroom, one bath, spacious recently remodeled kitchen, two car garage, wiring and plumbing up to code and plenty of natural light. Outdoors is a hot jet tub and small yard, perfect for small gatherings. Neighbors are quiet but nice. Perfect home in the small city.
Jim smiled broadly as he printed it out as well as other two-bedroom apartments that were way over-priced.
Now to only convince Pam...
"Pam, I'm only saying..." Penny swooped a spoon full of peas into her toddler's mouth as she giggled around the spoon. "Very good, dear!" She cooed. "Pam, I'm just saying maybe you can convince Jim to move with you!" Pam smiled at the sight of her niece.
"Penny...I'm telling you that he has a roommate, Mark!" Penny shook her head.
"Okay, okay! Maybe someone else from work has a room you can rent!" Pam shook her head at her sister.
"I'm going to concentrate on the apartment hunting, then car and if neither of those pan out then I'll see who's looking for a roommate." Penny sighed but reluctantly admitted it was a good plan.
"Oh here. Mom and Dad pooled some money with Michael and I to help towards your new place and or the car situation." Penny handed her a bulging envelope.
"Penny! Oh my god." She gasped as she saw all the bills. "I can't accept this!" Penny shook her head in refusal.
"I won't take it back. You helped so much with my little ones when we were starting out and we love you. We don't mind helping you get back on your feet." Tears sprung to Pam's eyes.
"Thank you guys so much." She cried as she hugged her sister.
Jim soon stopped by to pick her up for their first interview. She opened the passenger door and sat down. She looked over at Jim and blushes slightly. He was looking very attractive in his jeans and casual hooded sweatshirt and baseball cap. He smirked at her reaction and motioned to her coffee he bought her with the recognizable green markings.
"Oh my god, thank you!" She said happily as she sipped the beverage. He smiled as she happily drank the coffee. He was pleased at her reaction to his outfit and thought she looked beautiful. She wore fitted jeans and a worn hooded sweatshirt with her hair flowing around her face and light makeup.
"You look very pretty, Pam." He murmured as he changed gears as he started towards the first house. Her cheeks darkened as she looked down.
"Thank you, Jim. I put effort in today. It's nice to be around girls again." She laughed. Jim smiled as he reached for his coffee at the same time she was putting hers in the cupholder and their fingers touched. "Oh gosh, sorry! Go ahead!" She held her coffee cup so he could grab hers. He smiled around a sip of coffee.
"So, Pam, any apartments we have a good feeling about today?" Pam went into her bag and pulled out a few sheets of paper, where she jotted some notes on.
"Not really. I'm just looking for a good deal, so I don't have to pay a fortune." Jim nodded as he pulled into their first appointment in a not so nice area. He scowled at the teenage boys hooting and hollering at Pam. Soon, the apartment leaser came by and gave them a quick tour and although she was nice, it wasn't the place for her. She shook her head.
They went on to four more apartments and Jim understood Pam's mounting frustration at the basic things she wanted. Jim hesitated to ask her but decided to go for it as they were waiting for food in the drive through.
"Pam..." She looked up and made a questioning noise at him. "Mark got engaged."
"Oh my god! To Alyssa?" Jim nodded. "Oh my gosh, how cute!" She squeed happily. "How big was the ring?" Jim laughed.
"Pretty big, I think he was saving for a while." She giggled.
"Was she absolutely thrilled?" She leaned her face in her hand that was balanced on her knee.
"She was overjoyed." She sighed. "But Mark's moving out..." He trailed off. "So, I was thinking we could look at some bigger places and maybe we could share... Sometimes it's nice not being home alone. I like sharing a house with someone...whether it's my parents or Mark but I think it would be cool to live with my best friend..." Pam looked conflicted. On one hand, she did really like Jim and being so close to him might make her feel even more into him but on the other hand, she didn't want to jump into a new relationship so soon. Jim saw on her face she was conflicted. Excited but reserved. "How about this? Let's go to the bigger apartments I scheduled and see if you like any. Besides, if anyone can handle me, Beesly, it's you." She smiled at him, looked introspective for a minute.
"Okay. I'll look. But no promises yet. In the effort of full disclosure, my parents and Penny gave me a couple grand to help with the apartment and car situation." Jim blinked.
"Whoa." She nodded as if still in shock.
"I know! I've never had this much cash in my hands before." She paused as she got the drive through food passed to her. "I'm afraid to touch it in case it disappears." Jim smirked at her.
"Maybe you should have paid for lunch then, Beesly." She giggled around a sip of soda.
"Thanks for paying for my lunch, Jim." She demurred, looking through her lashes. Jim internally cheered at getting her to at least look at the places he selected. They finished up their lunch as they talked quietly.
"Come on, Jim. Can I at least see the places you picked?" Jim shook his head in defiance as they headed to a better part of town than the ones that she selected. "Why not?" She pouted.
"Because I want your genuine reaction. I can read you like a book, Beesly. I want to know what you really think." Jim replied as he turned down a couple streets and came to an apartment building. She looked at it and looked at Jim.
"I don't think I can afford this, Jim." She whispered. Jim opened his door but looked at Pam.
"Come on, let's just look." They met with the apartment owner and they showed them around but they both quietly agreed that it was much too modern, all clean lines and no hominess. They wanted a place to feel like home not like a sterile living space.
They went to a couple more and both Jim and Pam were not really feeling the bigger apartments either. Jim drove them to the last place, a house. Pam looked at Jim as they pulled in.
"Jim, you didn't buy a house, did you?" She demanded, hands going to her hips.
"Of course not! I do not have that much saved up!" She squinted at him. She had to stop looking so cute. He opened the door as the owner stepped out.
"Hi, I'm Jim and this is Pam. We're interested in renting this house. I saw your ad." The older man smiled.
"Great! I'm John. This house I remodelled when my wife requested me to. We're retiring to Florida but this was our first house so we wanted to rent it versus selling it to make sure it's still in good hands. We have a lot of memories in this house." He enthused, hands gesturing. "Are you employed?" Jim nodded.
"We both actually work in Scranton. We work at Dunder Mifflin, the paper distributor." Pam piped up, looking at the charming house. It was a really cute house on the outside.
"I've heard of them! I actually know one of the corporate people, David Wallace. I'm a lawyer so I did some work for David and Dunder Mifflin on some contracts." He smiled broadly at them. "Well, look at me chattering away, come on in!" He opened the white gate that framed the front lawn and beckoned them in. He opened the front door and ushered them in. "Lizzie! We have a couple that want to look at the house. They work for that paper company I did that contract work for back in 01!" An elderly person came out of the kitchen quickly. She smiled sweetly at them.
"Lovely to meet you! I'm Elizabeth Henley but call me Lizzie. I was worried we weren't going to get anyone. Aren't you the cutest couple I've ever seen?" She cooed. "Well, let us show you around the place." They walked through the kitchen which was pretty spacious and updated, a decent sized living room but the biggest appeal in the living room was the floor to ceiling windows overlooking the backyard and in the background the forest behind it. It gave so much light to the space. The windows had a little door that led to their small backyard. The bedrooms were nice and equally roomy and the bathroom had an updated spa like shower head and separate soaking tub.
"So, like I said in the ad, unfortunately we have to take the furniture to our new place in Tallahassee but we're leaving the jet tub outside. Can't really take that with us!" John chuckled.
Jim watched Pam move throughout the house and saw how she kept looking at that wall of window and looking outside at the serene landscape and knew they had to take it.
"I think it would be good for Jim and I to go thrifting anyways. It's so fun." Pam smiled. Lizzie smiled back.
"I agree. I have a friend that owns a nice consignment shop full of furniture and knick knacks and I'll muscle her into giving you a discount. Its over near the Steamtown Mall. I'll write down the address." Lizzie wandered off to find a sheet of paper.
"So do you have any references, I'll speak to David to see if he knows the two of you." Jim pulled out a folded sheet of paper and handed a couple references to him that he always had saved up, just in case. He just barely remembered to brign them this morning.
"I'd like to talk about the rent." Jim spoke.
"Sure. We want at least $1,400 a month." John replied.
"$1,200 and I'll replace anything that breaks in the house while we live here." Jim haggled.
"Done." John stated happily.
"Jim!" Pam cried out. "We haven't even talked about it yet." Jim smiled serenely, not budging.
"We'd like a first month rent and then we can sign a contract." Jim opened his mouth and Pam interjected.
"Done. I have the cash right now." John blinked. He turned to Lizzie and she nodded happily. He turned to Jim.
"Your girlfriend doesn't mess around, does she?" Jim stared at her and she stared back, raising a eyebrow at him, challenging him. He caved.
"That she doesn't." Jim smirked at her as she glared slightly. Neither one bothered to correct John. John shuffled off and grabbed a contract off the kitchen counter.
"This is a general rental agreement. Nothing really out of the ordinary, take as much time as you want to look over it. We were going to have the moving company pack everything up by Wednesday and you can stop by and get keys that night and then you can move in after that." Pam stepped forward and handed Jim the $1200 from her envelope, smiling sunnily at Jim's open-mouthed expression. She was feisty... Jim liked that. He didn't often see this side of her. Pam grabbed the contract and read it thoroughly before nodding and handing it off to Jim, thanking Lizzie for the cup of tea she handed her.
Jim watched Pam for longer than he probably should have. So, this was happening. He was moving in with Pam. He shook himself out of his thoughts and looked over the contract, not really seeing the words that were on the page but then reading it again. He did have a couple questions but John answered them quickly and succinctly.
"So, here's what we will do. I will call these people and if everything works out, I will call you on Tuesday and we can meet up on Wednesday and exchange the money for keys and sign the contract." John stated as they handed the contract to him unsigned.
"Sounds good." Jim agreed as they chatted idly before Jim and Pam went to go back to their car.
After they departed, Pam walked away from the dealership with a relatively new baby blue Toyota Yaris that Pam fell in love with. He watched as Pam drove away in her new car.
Penny couldn't stop laughing as Pam regaled her with her horrible apartment tours.
"Please tell me you're joking!" Penny slammed her fist on the table in laughter.
"I'm telling you; I saw mouse droppings!" Pam cried incredulously.
"Oh my god! What did Jim say?" Penny demanded.
"He took one look around and went 'Nope.' and we went back to the car." Penny laughed uproariously.
"Oh my god, Pam. Your luck, I swear." Penny laughed, shaking her head.
"Um... so we didn't totally strike out though..." Penny looked up and saw Pam's pensive look and waited. "Jim found a house for sale... and if all goes well, we'll be moving into there." Penny waited. "Together..." Penny threw back her head and laughed loudly. "Penny, I swear to god..."
"I knew it! I told you! You were all nuh-uh..." Penny continued laughing at Pam's not impressed face.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Pam grumbled. "But the place is so nice and I'm excited. He's going to call our references on Monday and let us know Tuesday."
"Okay, okay, I'll stop."
"I'd appreciate it." She muttered with a glare at her sister.
"So, I assume from your grin that you asked Pam to live with you." Mark remarked as Jim couldn't wipe the look from his face.
"I found this amazing place. You should have seen her face when she saw the place, I had to get it. I had haggled a rent price before she even said yes."
"Was she mad?" Jim smirked.
"A little. But she's so cute when she's mad though. I once got her to put her hands on her hips." He snickered.
"Oh, I know. Alyssa's so cute when she's gets mad but don't tell them that. They get really mad when you tell them that." Mark told him seriously, imparting sage advice.
"So, the soonest I could move in is like this coming weekend." Jim remarked to Mark.
"Really? That soon?" Mark gaped.
"Yeah, this guy is moving to Florida, he was just waiting to pack until he got a renter to take it. So, Pam's fronting the first month, if we get it, I'll find out Tuesday. So, we can put in our notice of moving and I'll give my half of the rent to you." Mark nodded.
"Sounds good to me, dude." He opened the fridge and got two beers. "ESPN?" Jim nodded and grabbed a beer from him.
Monday dragged on for both Jim and Pam. It blended into Tuesday eventually.
"Hello?" Jim answered his phone. Pam's eyes widened as she saw Jim take a personal call. "Oh, hi John." Pam mouthed 'Oh my god!' to him and Jim mouthed back 'I know!' and gesturing to the door which Pam immediately nodded and jetted out. "I'm just going to run to a private spot to talk to you, hold on."
It was a really good thing that Jim and Pam were on the same wavelength as they met on the roof.
"So, hi John." Jim continued as he entered the top of the roof, Pam crowding in on him, wanting to hear the conversation.
"So, I talked to David and he said both glowing things about you and Pam and told me to tell you that you needed to fill out a form with HR or something but Lizzie and I discussed it and we'd love to meet up and finalize things maybe tonight? I'm going to call the movers after we verbally finalize things so maybe by Friday, we will have everything out, if that sounds good?" Pam nodded quickly.
"That sounds perfect. See you tonight, around 7?" John answered an approval and they hung up shortly after that. Jim looked at Pam and saw her beaming smile. "So, we have a house!" Pam squealed happily and jumped up wrapping arms around his neck happily. He swung her around excitedly as he enjoyed her happy giggling.
"This is insane how perfectly this is coming together." Pam said as she was placed on the ground. She tried not to think about how nice and defined his shoulders were that she felt as he swung her around.
"Sometimes thinks work out, Beesly." He remarked as he tried to get the smell of her shampoo out of his head.
"So, I want to go to that consignment shop Lizzie was telling me about... Maybe we can get some furniture and stuff?" Pam asked as she leaned back and tilted her head up at him.
Jim looked down on Pam and tried not to think about how pretty she was.
"I'm game."