Ten minutes later Jim and I were in his car racing towards the park. I stared out the window at the dark grey clouds berating myself for forgetting that my parents were coming and hoping that we would be able to get back to the park before they arrived.

Jim, however, took my silence to mean something else. "Hey, Pam," he started, his voice quite and unsure. "I'm sorry."

I turned towards him. "Sorry for what?"

"Earlier," he blushed a little. "I didn't mean to push you."

I shook my head and gave him a smile. "You didn't push me to do anything I didn't want to do," I assured him.

His face relaxed. "So, then, what's on your mind?"

"My parents," I said glumly, staring out the window to watch the trees fly by. "I can't believe I forgot about them."

He smirked. "Well, to be fair, you were distracted."

I let out a laugh. "True, but it's not just that. They've been fighting. A lot. And my sister and I have been worried that maybe they may not make it."

"Oh," Jim frowned. "I'm sorry to hear that."

I shrugged. "It's so weird though. I mean, when we were younger they seemed fine. We always did family trips and stuff and they never fought. But now that I think about it, they never really talked either. And then my dad retired and ever since then, it's like he's been checked out or something. I don't know. Everything he does drives my mom nuts and she calls every other day to complain about something. My sister and I think we should have an intervention or something. But I'm a little afraid of doing that. You know?"

Jim nodded. "Yeah, Pam, I'm so sorry."

"What are your parents like?" I asked.

"My parents?" he leaned back to think about it. "They're okay. They're always joking and teasing each other and being absolutely disgusting. But they're good people."

"And they get along?" I added. "That's nice. I'm not sure if my parents ever got a long." I searched my memory, trying hard to remember any time my parents seemed to enjoy each other's company and I was hard pressed to come up with one.

"Yeah, they do," Jim continued. "Almost to a fault sometimes though. Christmas a couple of years ago, for example, my sister and I were home and on Christmas morning, she and I got up late. Our brothers and their families weren't due in until that evening anyway, so why not? Anyway, we head downstairs and go into the kitchen to find my parents in a compromising position against one of the counters."

I laughed. "Well, that's sweet that they still…do that."

Jim's eyes grew wide. "That wasn't sweet, that was horrifying. To this day, I still can't get that image out of my head."

"I can't imagine my parents like that," I said with a shudder. "I'm slightly amazed that I was born some days."

"Well," Jim started with a smile. "I'm glad they had you."

"Thank you," I returned blushing slightly. "So, you're alright meeting them today? I know it's incredibly quick and if you'd rather spend your day off doing something else, I wouldn't blame you."

"I'd love to meet them," Jim said seriously. He reached his hand out for mine and gave it a squeeze. "I wouldn't want to spend my day off doing anything else."

I smiled, grateful.

We arrived at the park a short time later, thankfully before my parents arrived. I gave them a call to let them know we'd meet them by the booths. While we waited, Jim and I browsed the merchandise the sellers had out that day. Jim stopped at Moroccan themed one.

"Hey, check this out," he said picking up an old, antique lamp that looked like it belonged on the set of Aladdin. He began to rub it though, I wasn't sure if he was trying to be suggestive or not.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Seeing if the genie will come out," he shrugged innocently.

"That's not what it looks like," I teased.

When Jim realized what I was getting at, he quickly placed the lamp down. "Alright, but if I ever do find a lamp with a genie, you aren't getting any wishes."

"Oh, please," a tiny voice scoffed. It was Angela, who was holding what looked like Barbie dolls with unicorn horns attached to them. "Why am I not surprised that you are into tacky things?" she looked directly at Jim when she said it.

Ignoring her comment, I asked about the dolls. "What is it that you're carrying?"

"It's Princess Unicorn," she said fondly, holding out one of the strange looking dolls for us to look at. "While I don't condone the magic of unicorns nor cross breading of any type, Princess Unicorn was one of the few things I was allowed to play with as a child and now I've made my own in hopes to sell them to young girls so they can have an appropriate role model."

Jim and I exchanged dumbfounded looks. "That's lovely," I said trying to sound supportive. Angela just sneered at me and began to set up her table. Thankfully, so we wouldn't be subjected to any more of Angela's odd ways, my parents called to let me know they had arrived.

My parents were arguing with each other when I saw them walk up the path to greet us. About what, I wasn't sure, as they dropped the argument when they saw me, both plastering on fake smiles. "Mom, dad, how are you?" I greeted them, giving them both hugs.

"We're good," Mom said, though it was a forced statement.

"Where's your sister?" Dad asked. "I thought she was meeting us too."

"Penny's not coming," I explained. "She had to work. She wishes she could be here though."

"She's always working," Mom scoffed. "She needs to take a day off every once in a while."

"She needs to make a living," Dad argued. "How do you expect her to live if she doesn't work?"

Mom shot dad an annoyed look but dropped it.

Not sure how well this would go, I turned the attention to Jim, who was nervously clenching and unclenching his hands. "Mom, dad, I want you to meet Jim Halpert…my boyfriend. Jim this is my mom Helene and my dad William."

"Pleasure to meet you," Jim said holding out his hand for them to shake.

"Please, call me Bill," Dad insisted taking Jim's hand.

"Pam," Mom said looking at me oddly. "I had no idea you were seeing anyone. I figured I'd be the first to know."

"Oh, well," I looked up at Jim fondly. "It just, sort of happened."

Jim grinned back. "Yeah, just like that."

"You're not a warehouse worker are you?" Dad asked bluntly.

"Dad!"

"Bill!" Mom swatted at Dad. "That's rude."

"What?" Dad said unapologetically. "I just want to make sure she's not making the same mistake she made with Roy."

"I'm not, dad," I assured him, blushing at the awkwardness of the situation.

"Actually, I am a sports reporter for the Scranton Times," Jim offered.

Dad lit up. "Sports reporter, huh?" He looked at Jim and then over to me impressed. "What about that, Helene? Pammy's dating a celebrity."

"Oh, I don't know about that," Jim responded.

Mom rolled her eyes. "Bill stop, you're embarrassing him."

"Helene, will you stop telling me what to do?" Dad shot back.

"Okay, then," I interrupted. "Why don't we get you guys some lunch?"

Before I could take a step, Andy Bernard, holding a sitar and strumming it as he lazily came towards us, blocked my path.

"Oh, no," I uttered, giving Jim a horrified look.

"Why, hello Big Tuna. Lady Tunette," Andy exclaimed when he saw us.

"Andy," Jim said slowly. "What could you possibly want?"

Andy missed the exasperation in Jim's voice. "Well, I was supposed to meet Dwight here. He's a friend of yours, correct?"

"No," Jim said but Andy continued.

"After we were forced to leave the restaurant yesterday, we agreed to meet here so that we could finish our duel for Angela." He waved to Angela who was standing at her booth some feet away. When Angela saw him, she looked ill.

"Yeah, I don't think that's going to happen," Jim said.

Andy looked confused. "Why is that? Is Dwight too scared? Did he realize that he would never be a match for the Nard Dog?"

"Uh, he's on a plane headed to Canada," Jim informed him.

"Ha!" Andy let out. "He's so scared he has to flee to another country."

Jim began to speak again but I shook my head to let him know it probably wasn't any use. "So, what was the sitar for?" I asked.

Andy looked at me in disbelief. "How else do you properly serenade a lady?" he began to strum and sing. Both my parents cringed.

"Alright, I get it," I said, holding up a hand to get him to stop.

"You know what this means," Andy said excitedly. "If Dwight isn't here, I automatically win." He gave himself a fist pump before heading to the booth where Angela was cowering behind the counter, trying not to be noticed. "Hear that, my lady?" He tried to grab onto Angela's hand but she kept moving it out of his way. "Looks like I win fair and square."

Angela scowled. "I find you repulsive," she shouted, then turned on her heels and headed off.

Andy gave us a dopey grin. "She's just trying to play hard to get," he said before chasing after her.

My parents stood there stunned. "That is a very strange young man," Mom commented.

We all made it to the food tent so that my parents could get some lunch. Because Jim and I had already eaten, Jim grabbed only a small bag of chips and I took one of the sodas.

"Pam, that can't be all you're eating," Mom noticed.

"Oh, don't worry about it," I replied.

She looked at me sternly. "I don't want you wasting away."

"I'm okay, mom, really," I assured her.

"So, Jimmy," Dad started. I noticed Jim wince at the name Jimmy. "How do you think the Eagles are going to do this year?"

"Oh, you never know," Jim said as he sat down next to me. My parents sat across the table. "Their defense looks good this year but they never seem to get a decent quarterback."

Dad let out a heartfelt laugh and I was happy to see that at least Dad was enjoying our company. Mom sat there, picking at her food, a scowl on her face.

Dad and Jim were in the middle of an in-depth football conversation when an older gentleman and his wife approached us. "Bill and Helene?" the older man asked.

My parents turned and both smiled brightly when they saw the company. "It's Roger and Linda Prince," Dad said, rising to shake their hands. Mom remained seated. Roger and Linda sat down next to Dad. "Roger, you remember my daughter, Pam. She put this whole festival together," he smiled proudly.

"Oh, well we've been having a great time," Roger complimented.

"It's been rather lovely," Linda added.

"Thank you," I replied.

"And so this," Roger said pointing to Jim. "Must be Pam's husband, Ray, right?"

"Uh, no," Jim said slowly. "Jim Halpert," he introduced himself.

"No, no," I added quickly. "I am no longer married."

"Well, that's unfortunate," Linda gave. I assumed she was attempting to be sympathetic but I didn't find the dissolution of my marriage unfortunate.

"So," Roger stepped in. "Bill, how's retirement?"

"It's alright," Dad said honestly. "I'm a little bored. The missus never lets me go out."

Mom looked offended. "I let you go out just fine. I just don't like when you don't return home until two in the morning. I can't figure out why you need to go out that late drinking with your friends. You aren't in college any more."

"Well, maybe you should join us one of these days," Dad said gruffly. "Nothing is stopping you from having a little fun every once in a while."

The Princes exchanged nervous glances. Jim jumped in. "So, Mr. Prince, what is it that you do?"

Roger grumbled. "I sell paper," he said reluctantly. "But it's a dying business. I'm not sure how much longer we can hold on against all of the big chains."

There was an awkward silence until Linda spoke. "So, wretched weather we're having isn't it?"

"Oh yeah," I added catching on to the fact that Mr. Prince didn't want to talk business. "This morning, the wind broke off a branch and it landed on one of the tents. It was a mess."

"Oh, how frightening," Linda replied.

"Yeah," I said slowly. The conversation went back into uncomfortable silence.

"Linda," Mom started. "How long are you guys in town for? Just the day?"

"Yes," Linda replied. "Thought we would come out and see the art festival and later tonight we're going to catch a movie."

"That new one," Roger said. "The romantic comedy with Jack Black and Cloris Leachman. Linda likes Jack Black."

"Fun fact," Jim said with a smile on his face. "Nicole Kidman was originally going to have Cloris Leachman's part. But at the last minute, she pulled out so they rewrote the part to fit Leeahman."

"Well, that's great for her to step in," Mom commented. "And for the writers to be so gutsy as to have Leechman opposite Jack Black. I've always thought she was a wonderful actress, I'm glad the filmmakers have some taste."

"Cloris Leachman is too old," Dad scoffed. "How could you ever think she could ever replace the beautiful Nicole Kidman?"

"Well, beauty is subjective," Jim interjected attempting to be diplomatic. "And both are great actresses, so-"

Neither of my parents paid him any attention. "You are so shallow," Mom argued. "Just like that, out with the old and in with the new."

"Stop trying to make this about something that it isn't," Dad argued back. "So I prefer one actress to another, it's nothing personal."

"It is personal," Mom said, her voice rising.

"Mom, calm down," I pleaded.

"Don't tell me what to do," she scolded me. "And maybe if your father acted as if he actually enjoyed having me around, I wouldn't be so defensive all the time?"

Dad began to get angry. "How can I stand it with you nagging me all the time."

"Oh, I do not nag you all the time."

"You do too!" Dad said. "Bill, do this. Bill, why aren't you doing this? Bill, don't forget to eat your vegetables. I'm not twelve, Helene, stop treating me like I am."

"I don't treat you like you're twelve," Mom shot back.

"You do too!"

"Well, you're acting like it!"

I gave Jim an apologetic look. He understood and underneath the table, he grabbed my hand for comfort. Mom and Dad continued to argue for some time and when they settled into an unresolved silence, no one had noticed that the Princes had left.

"What?"

"Uh," I bit my lip.

"You look like you want to ask me to do something that I'm not going to want to do."

"Possibly," I said slowly. Mom and Dad had finished their lunch and were a few feet away from Jim and I, staring at some of the artwork. They were still making it as awkward as possible to be around and I wasn't sure how much longer I could handle it. So, I had pulled Jim aside. "I was wondering if you could talk to my dad."

His eyebrows rose, not sure how to respond. "Uh, about what? You do know guys don't just sit around and talk about their feelings, right?"

"No, no," I said shuffling my feet. "You don't need to talk to him about my mom or anything, I just need to talk to my mom alone for a little bit. So, if you could take my dad, show him around, talk to him about sports, anything. I think they just need to be apart for a little bit."

Jim looked unsure. "Huh, didn't think I'd have to cozy up to your dad so quickly."

"You can take my mother if you'd prefer," I offered. "I'll talk to dad then."

Jim gave in. "Sure, I'll take your dad around the park or something."

I felt guilty. "If it's really that big of a deal, you don't have to, I really just want to talk with mom and see if I can understand what is going on."

"No, I get it," he assured me.

Jim and I approached my parents. "Hey, Mom," I began, "would you like to see a drawing I did for the show this year?"

"Sure, honey," Mom replied.

"I'd like to see it too," Dad added.

Jim jumped in. "Actually, Mr. Beesly, how would you like to see an excellent painting call Spontaneous Dental Hydroplosion?" Dad gave him an odd look. "Trust me, it's worth it." Jim guided Dad out of the tent.

"Don't think I don't know what you did," Mom said when we were alone. "Did you even do a drawing or was that made up, too?"

"Yes, Mom, there is a drawing." I sighed. "But I thought maybe you and I could talk as well, without Dad."

"I don't know what you're worried about, sweetheart," Mom said playing ignorant. "Your father and I are fine. This is just a rough patch."

"Is it?" I asked.

My mother gave me a stern look. "Are you going to show me this artwork of yours or not?"

I gave in and led my mother out of the tent and down the path to where my artwork was.

"So your new boyfriend seems nice enough," Mom said. I rolled my eyes at Mom's attempt to avoid the real issue. "Though, what's with the bruise around is eye? He doesn't get into fights does he? I'd be concerned if you got involved with anyone too violent."

I groaned. "Jim is not too violent, Mom," I assure her. "You can blame Roy for that."

"Roy!" Mom stopped in her tracks. "Oh, honey, he isn't still harassing you, is he?"

I shook my head. "He's not," I promised. "We worked it out and I think we've made our peace."

"Well that's good," Mom gave. "You know, I never did trust that guy. I'm so glad that you got out of that marriage. I couldn't bear to see you so unhappy. Jim, is he making you happy?"

I smiled. "Yeah, Mom, he makes me really happy."

"Just make sure he deserves you," Mom advised. "I don't want you to be making the same mistake twice."

"He's not a mistake. Jim is," I paused a moment to think about it but I wasn't sure there were words for how deeply I felt for Jim. "He's a very good guy."

Mom gave me the best smile she could muster. "Alright then."

We came up to the tent that held my artwork and I showed her a few other pieces, including the one that had won first place, before coming to mine. I hadn't shown her the piece before, despite showing Mom nearly everything I had done, because it was so personal and of me in the nude. But for some reason, I almost felt like it was important to see the drawing, to show her that I had come a long way from being the person I once was. And maybe to show her that every one can have another shot at being happy.

Mom studied the drawing when we got there, carefully looking it up and down, her lips pursed, no expression on her face. I thought at first that she didn't really know what to make of it. But then she turned to me giving me a proud smile.

"This is rather magnificent," she complimented. "I think this is the best thing I've ever seen you do."

"Thanks," I said proudly. "It won second prize at the art contest a few day ago."

"Really?" she said impressed. "Why didn't you call and tell me all about this?"

"I've been busy," I admitted. "But I'm showing you now."

"So, what inspired you to do this?"

"It was right after my divorce went though," I said. I never talked with Mom at length about my divorce. It was one of those things I had kept hidden in a box in my mind for a long time and only within the past week had I really been able to deal with it. "I was having a really hard time. I felt- lost all the time and, you know, separating from Roy. That was one of the best decisions I ever made. I shouldn't really regret things, but sometimes I wish I hadn't have ever married Roy. But afterwards, when it was over, I often wondered what do I do with my life now. Roy had been such a big part of who I was that I didn't know who I was without him. And this picture represents all of that."

She looked at me sadly. "Oh, sweetheart," she said, brushing some of my hair off my forehead. "No wonder you're getting premature wrinkles. You're completely stressed out. Are you sure this new relationship is good for you when you have so much else going on?"

"You completely missed the point," I said feeling a little frustrated. "I don't feel like this picture any more. I don't feel lost anymore. Maybe that's what I'm trying to tell you, Mom, is that even though I went through all of this bad stuff, for the first time, maybe ever, I feel like my life has direction again. And Jim has something to do with that. There is room for second chances. None of us really know what the future is going to bring."

She looked at me confused. "What are you trying to say, Pam?"

I let out a heavy breath. "You have to talk to Dad."

"No," she said firmly.

"Yes!" I exclaimed. "You can't avoid it forever. You can't keep on going like this. You and Dad never talk to each other about whatever it is that's the root of the problem. You've got to do something because right now, you're miserable and Dad's miserable and it's not fair to either of you to continue this."

She showed no signs of backing down. "I realize that you've had some rough times. As a mother, it tore my heart to see what you had to go through with Roy. But did I ever butt in and tell you it was a mistake? No, I didn't. Did I ever try to persuade you to make one decision or another? No, I let you live your life the way you wanted to. So, I would hope that you would respect me enough to let me live my own life."

"Mom, I'm not trying to tell you how to live your life," I argued. "Really, I'm not. But there is a serious issue that you need to deal with Dad. And honestly, even though I probably wouldn't have listened to it, I wish someone would have confronted me on the Roy issue earlier. It would have saved everyone else a lot of trouble. But that's not the point. What I'm trying to tell you is that no matter how hard it is, something good will eventually come out of it. I think you just need to talk with Dad and the two of you can work this out."

Mom looked extremely upset. "Well, thank you for explaining my relationship to me," she huffed. "I'm sorry that I am not as enlightened as you." I couldn't get a word in before she stormed out.

I called out to her as she left but Mom didn't look back. Dad and Jim happened to be close by and Mom went straight towards them, ignoring the fact that I hadn't wanted to end the conversation. When she reached them, she put on a fake smile, as if everything was going alright. I caught up to her a moment later.

"Well, Bill," Mom said trying to sound bright. "Pam's art is really lovely, and you should definitely see it at some point, but I'm feeling rather tired right now, so maybe we can come back some other time."

"Mom, come on-" I started.

"No, no," Mom insisted. "I think I've had enough for one day."

Dad was oddly quiet. "Helene, I think there's something we need to talk about."

"Yeah, sure," Mom said brushing him off. "We'll talk when we get home."

"I think we need to spend some time apart," Dad said abruptly.

"What?" Mom stared at him stunned.

I looked over to Jim. What the hell did you guys talk about? I wondered. He seemed to understand what I was thinking and looked back at me, shrugging and holding up his hands, as if he truly didn't understand where Dad's actions had come from.

"I think it's time that you and I sat down and talked," Dad continued. "And then maybe we should spend some time apart. I think it will do us both some good."

Mom looked speechless.

Just when I thought things couldn't possibly get worse, I heard shouts and screams coming from the distance. When I looked around, I noticed that everyone was running from the park in a crazed manner. I couldn't even fathom what was happening.

A few seconds passed and I saw Ryan running towards us, Kelly behind him, struggling to keep up. "Fire!" Ryan shouted at me. "There's a fire."

"This is the worst birthday ever," I heard Kelly scream as she ran past.

The four of us turned our heads. Sure enough, only a yard or so away, a large pillar of smoke emerged from what looked like the fortune telling machine that Michael had purchased at a ridiculously high rate. "Oh my god," I muttered, placing a hand to my mouth.

"I'm gonna call the fire department," Jim said, immediately retrieving his cell phone out of his pocket.

Angela was the next person to run past. "That stupid Michael Scott," she exclaimed. "I've got to save my cat!"

Instead of going away from the commotion, like everyone else was, I walked a few feet forward to get a better look. I thought I saw Michael near the fire, which thankfully contained only to the box at the moment.

"Michael!" I yelled, going closer. "What's going on? What happened?"

Michael had two large, metal pails and proceeded to dump the contents of which onto the fire. The water helped some, but the fire still raged. "Oh, Pam!" Michael shouted. "I'm glad you're here. You've got to help me."

"What did you do?" I said, standing there in disbelief.

"I didn't do anything," he wined. "I was just using the machine and poof, the wire caught on fire. I think something happened to the wire in the storm. I probably shouldn't have left it out."

"You think?" I screamed at Michael. All my frustration was coming out. "You shouldn't have bought the thing in the first place. It was a waste of money and now we're going to lose money by having to have everyone evacuate the park. What were you thinking? I have a half a mind to roast you in that fire myself."

I felt Jim's hand on my shoulder. "Pam, calm down," he said gently. "The fire trucks are already on their way. I wasn't the first one to make a call."

I tore away from him and placed my head in my hand. "This day just keeps getting worse and worse," I cried. "I just need-" but I wasn't sure what I needed. After a quick look at Jim, then at my parents, I took off running.

I kept running until I got to the bathrooms, opened the door in one swift motion and slammed the door shut. I held my hand up to the door for balance so that I could catch my breath, then I let out a very frustrated scream. The day had been such an emotional roller coaster that my head was spinning. I was feeling everything, sadness, anger, aggravation, insanity. I couldn't hold it in any longer and in an attempt to let some of it out, I kicked the nearby garbage can. It hurt. A lot more than I had expected it to, so I let out another cry, this one out of agony. I limped over to the metal bench against the far wall and sat down, took off my shoe, and began to rub my foot.

It hadn't occurred to me that there could have been people in the bathroom when I arrived, so when the far stall opened, I was surprised and a little embarrassed. But when I saw who it was, I felt a little more miserable than I had before. It was Karen. Calm, cool, and collected Karen, who probably hated me. And the last thing I really needed was to deal with someone who hated me. I groaned.

"Pam?" she asked. I was taken aback by the concern in her voice. She approached slowly. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I replied dismissively but Karen didn't leave. Instead, she took a step closer.

"You don't seem fine." She still was hesitant in her approach but seemed to genuinely care about my mental state.

"Look," I began as I rubbed my foot, trying to make the pain go away. "I have had just, an awful day. I realize that you probably hate me, which is completely justifiable even if it bugs me when people hate me but you don't need to pretend you care."

A smile came over Karen's lips. "You think I hate you?"

I nodded, giving her a wide-eyed stare. "I stole your boyfriend," I said slowly. "If I were you, I'd probably hate me too."

Karen let out an amused laugh. "You didn't steal my boyfriend."

I felt my cheeks grow warm, feeling even more embarrassed than I had before. "No?"

"No," she assured me, taking a seat next to me. "And I definitely don't hate you."

"Really?" I felt something in my chest loosen up.

"Really," she said. "Jim and I were long over when he met you. I was just holding onto-" she let the sentence die. "Actually, if anything, I probably owe you an apology. I was pretty rude to you a couple of days ago and I really shouldn't have been. You didn't do anything wrong."

"Huh," I leaned back thoughtfully.

"Yeah, you know, I get it now," Karen continued, looking off into an unknown space. "I didn't, originally. When Jim told me that he had just met someone and everything changed, that made no sense to me, at all. But, uh something happened." A grin came over her face. "I had to go to this stupid play last night. And I was feeling miserable, so I went to this bar. Alone. Which I never do. And I'm sitting there, nursing my drink when this guy comes over. And, you know how it is in bars when all the guys think you're fair game just because you're alone?"

I nodded, but I wasn't sure. I had never been to a bar without Roy.

"Yeah," Karen continued. "So, I just thought it was some guy being obnoxious. And when I looked up, I saw the sweetest looking guy I had ever seen. And you know what he says to me? 'You know, I never do this, talk to girls in bars.' Of course, I think he's giving me a line but there was such sincerity to it that I believed him. He then introduced himself as Dan and told me that he was a dermatologist. Yeah, I know. He was there supporting some friend who had gotten dumped but apparently his friend had found some drunk girl and was making out with her in the bathroom. He said he saw me across the room and told me I looked so pretty that he would regret it if he didn't come talk to me. And I was really inclined to think that he was bluffing but he was so dorky in his approach that I had to believe it."

"Wow," I said, intrigued by her story.

"Yeah, I know," Karen said, sounding a little in disbelief herself. "But you know what the crazy thing is? We ended up talking all night long. We didn't get drunk or screw around. Just talked and it- It was nice. I never believed you could click with someone the moment you meet them. I always thought good relationships required a lot of hard work. But with Dan, it was just so easy to talk to him, you know?"

I smiled, sincerely happy for her. "I do," I said. "I don't know if this is too weird for you to hear, but that's how I felt when I first met Jim. Like it was the easiest thing in the world."

"I understand," Karen said. "And that's why I don't hate you. I still think Jim is a bit of a jerk for how he handled things. I don't think those some things are erased so easily. But I can't fault you for how you feel."

"Thank you," I said, giving her a hug to show things were good between us.

"So, are you going to tell me why you came in here screaming and kicking garbage cans?" she asked.

"Oh, right," I said, my cheeks flushing again. "It's just a culmination of everything. I've been up and down so much today that I feel like I'm going a little crazy. This whole festival has been a nightmare. Everything that can go wrong has and Michael, one of my coworkers started a fire. So I'm pretty sure we've lost all revenue for today. And to top everything off," I felt the sadness well up in me again. "I think my parents are going to get a divorce."

"Oh," Karen said slowly. "Pam, I'm so sorry. My parents got a divorce when I was seven. It's not easy."

"Yeah, and this whole thing is crazy," I admitted. "I mean, I just thought they were having some issues. Issues all couples go through. But I've been through a divorce myself, I know when it's not working and I didn't think my parents were at that point. I thought they would be able to work it out."

"Ah," Karen gave me a half smile. "You know, when we're younger, we all believe are parents are like these magical soul mates destined to be together or something. It's not until we're older that we realize they're real people and are human just like us. But that realization is never easy."

"Huh," I let out. I had never thought of it that way, though I didn't feel much better about the situation. "Yeah, you're right. You know, there's this one weird thing though," I paused. "No, it's probably stupid and I'm just over thinking everything."

Karen tilted her head. "What is it?"

"I don't know," I began. "Jim was talking with my dad before dad announced that he was separating with my mom. And I can't help wonder what it was Jim said to bring my dad to that conclusion. I mean, things have been going great with Jim so far. Wonderful, but it's only been a few days. There's this nagging thought in the back of my mind that it's too good to be true. And maybe because of my own failed marriage or the crumbling of my parent's that I'm even thinking this, but I can't help wonder if there's going to be a time that Jim's going to say something to me to make me think that it's not going to work out between us."

Karen began to laugh. "Oh Pam," she said. "First of all, you can't have that attitude going into the relationship or I guarantee it will fail. You don't know how it's going to turn out so definitely don't bet against it, especially if it's something you want to work out. Secondly, whatever conclusions your dad had, he probably already had long before he met Jim. And Jim-" she leaned back to think for a second. "The thing that you need to know about Jim is that if he cares about it, he will do everything in his power to fix it, even if it's a lost cause. And I think, if he even did talk to your dad, that he was just trying to help."

"Oh," I said feeling silly. "I guess there's still a lot I haven't learned about him yet. Obviously, you know him better."

"Maybe," she replied. "I do have the advantage of knowing him longer, but maybe not better. I always saw Jim as what he could be. I think you might see him as he his and I think that's the better perspective."

"Yeah," I said believing that Karen was probably correct in her assessment. "You're right, he was probably trying help. Haven't really known him not to try and help."

"Of course," Karen said. "Because even after a few days, he probably knows how much your parents mean to you. Because you mean so much to him. And believe me, you mean a lot to him. I mean, I've known him for five, six years now and I've never heard him raise his voice, let alone get in a fight with someone. And I've never seen him exhibit an interest in art or anything that wasn't related to sports and video games."

I let out a laugh. "Thank you, Karen," I said feeling immensely better. "Really, thank you so much for everything. You really are a nice person."

"You're not so bad yourself," she said. "So are we good here, now?"

I nodded and smile. "Yeah," I replied standing up with her.

"Alright, then," Karen said. "Hopefully Michael hasn't completely shut down the festival, I'm meeting Dan here in a little bit." There was a glow about her as she spoke of him.

"Well, I hope you have fun," I said as we headed out of the bathroom.

"You too," she said. We said our goodbyes and headed off in different directions.

I found Dad waiting not too far away by a tree. Jim was standing behind him, pacing nervously.

"Pam," Dad said coming closer. Jim stopped pacing but was hesitant about coming closer. "Are you alright?"

"I think so," I told him. I noticed Mom wasn't around. "Where did Mom go?"

"She's in the car waiting," Dad answered. "She's rather upset right now, understandably."

"Understandably," I repeated.

Dad grabbed on to both of my hands. "Pam, I just want you to know that this thing with your mother, it has nothing to do with you. Or your sister. Or anyone but the two of us." He glanced over at Jim who was anxiously waiting but kept a respectful distance. "You know, he's really a good guy. Much better than Roy." He laughed a little. "Do you know what he said to me?"

I shook my head. "What'd he say?"

"He told me that every room lights up when you walk into it," he said. "That you inspire him to be so much better than he is. That you are the most amazing person he has ever met in his life. He said he never knew it was possible to care about someone so much. And he suggested that I try to regain that same feeling with your mom because he felt that along the way it probably was lost in the craziness of life. But you know what I realized just then? The way he spoke about you, what I saw in his eyes, heard in his voice? I'm not sure how to tell you this but I don't believe I've ever felt that strongly about your mother. Not even at our best. You lucky sweetheart, to find someone who cares that much."

I was speechless and a little in awe of what I was hearing. I wasn't sure if my heart was full from hearing what Jim really thought or if it was breaking for my father. I began to tear up. "Oh, daddy," I said giving him a hug.

"Just know that I love you," Dad said. "No matter what happens."

"I love you too," I said.

Dad let me go to wave Jim over. "Take care of her," Dad said as Jim approached.

"I will," Jim responded.

"I'll give you call soon," he told me and with one last hug, he headed towards the parking lot.

Jim and I turned towards each other. "You okay?" he finally asked.

I couldn't help that I was teary eyed or that I was feeling a million different things but I knew I would be okay. I nodded slightly before giving him a big embrace. Jim wrapped his arms around me and suddenly I felt warm and safe.

"I should have taken the day off like I wanted to," I said snuggling into his shirt.

Jim rested his head on top of mine. "Yeah…"

"I mean it wouldn't have stopped my parent's issues," I continued. "And this festival would still suck."

"It doesn't suck."

"Yeah, it does," I said. "But I think I'm just learning that it's not all my fault nor can I control it. And it doesn't matter anyway because the museum is probably going to get shut down due to lack of funds or from sheer insanity of its staff."

"Oh, the fire department came while you were in the bathroom," Jim informed me. "Everything's taken care of. Not much damage, except the fortune telling machine which is no a pile of rubbish."

"Thank you."

"No problem."

"What is it with my coworkers burning things down?" I asked. I was suddenly beginning to see the humor of the situation. "Or just being down right crazy?"

"Just the way it is sometimes."

"Hey, Jim?"

"Yeah?"

"If I lose my job, can I come stay with you?"

"Of course."

I pulled away from him slightly but not enough to break our embrace. "You're amazing, you know that?"

"I know," he said, leaning down to give me a gentle kiss.

"Do you believe in soul mates?" I asked.

He thought about it for a moment. "Not really," he answered. "I don't think I believe that things are destined to happen. I do believe, however, that if you find something worth living for, you don't let it go."

I felt a warm, tingling sensation flow through me and I snuggled back into Jim, wrapping myself tighter around him, not ever wanting to let go. Maybe I didn't believe in soul mates myself but I did like to think that someday my kids would feel their parents were destined to be together. I smiled, feeling optimistic about the future for the first time in a long time.