Whatever Happens

Chapter 2: The News

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Even though the walk from his car to the door of the diner had only taken thirty seconds, Jim was relieved to realize that the diner had functioning air conditioning. Being mid-July, temperatures tended to be in the eighties and nineties nearly every day, and today was certainly no exception.

Just inside the door, Jim stopped and looked around, searching for her familiar face amongst all those of strangers. After a moment, he saw Pam on the other side of the diner near the back. He tensed slightly as he saw that she was looking at him, before forcing a smile and moving past the booths until he reached hers.

"Hey," Pam said, in greeting, sliding back into her booth. "I was starting to think you weren't coming."

Jim also sat, trying to ignore his suddenly racing heartbeat. A quick glance at her left hand revealed that her engagement ring had been replaced by a different diamond ring: her wedding ring. It was strange, being so close to her again. It would have been weird anyway, but knowing she was married too…. Now Jim felt like it was wrong for them to be there, together. Jim wondered briefly if Roy knew Pam was eating with him.

Jim realized that she was staring at him, expecting an answer. "I got a little bit lost on my way here." Even to him, the words sounded false. False they were; the only place where Jim had gotten lost was in his thoughts. For the past half-hour, he had been sitting in his car in the parking lot, trying to decide whether or not he really wanted to go in. It would be awkward, he knew. There was no way around that. This was the first time he had seen Pam since Casino Night, and Jim had to admit, she was a sight for sore eyes. But thanks to his confession at Casino Night, all Jim's cards were on the table. She knew how he felt, but he was still in the dark about her feelings. How did she feel? On the phone, Pam had said that this wasn't a date. What was it then? Two friends out at lunch? Were they even friends any more? And what did she want to talk about?

All these questions were getting Jim nowhere, however. "Sorry to keep you waiting," he added, picking up the menu.

"Oh, it's not a big deal," she replied, tucking a stray piece of hair back behind her ear absently. Jim smiled slightly; he knew that was a nervous habit of hers. At least he knew she was anxious as well.

"Glad to see you finally showed," a waitress remarked as though Jim and she were old friends, sidling up to their table.

"Yeah, got a bit lost on my way here," Jim told her, feeling sheepish.

The waitress chuckled slightly, and Jim suspected that she was laughing at him. "What can I get you two?"

While Pam ordered one of the breakfast specials, Jim wasn't listening as he scanned the menu. Perhaps it was the drive, or maybe it was just being here, alone, with Pam, but for some reason the words on the menu made no sense to him. They may as well have been in a foreign language. "I'll have that also," he said, once Pam had finished. Jim trusted that Pam hadn't ordered something absolutely disgusting.

"Two breakfast special 4's," the waitress repeated. "More juice? Coffee?"

"I'll have coffee," Jim requested, folding his menu back up and setting it behind the condiments.

"More orange juice would be great," Pam said, doing the same.

"Be back in a jiffy," the waitress vowed, walking over to another table.

Across the table from him, Pam brought a hand to her mouth to cover a smile. "Who actually uses the word jiffy any more?"

In spite of his discomfort with the situation, Jim couldn't suppress a grin. "I thought it died out after the eighties," he said. "I'm pretty sure there was a funeral and everything."

She giggled. "And here I thought jiffy was buried at sea."

"There is some historical dispute."

"Your coffee, and your juice." Jim and Pam froze instantly; the waitress was back and they could only hope that she hadn't overheard. She set their drinks down in front of them. "Your food should be out in a few minutes."

As she walked away for a second time and it became apparent that she had not heard them, both Jim and Pam collapsed into fits of laughter. For a moment, it was like old times. The two of them, having fun together, laughing, grinning. Nothing was awkward. Nothing between them was weird. They could be friends. They could still have a relationship as friends. It could work.

And then Jim paused for breath, and looked over at her, and thought about how beautiful she looked, and the illusion shattered. He immediately dropped his gaze to his silverware set, but it was too late. The grin slid off his face; suddenly, nothing was funny anymore. For the past six weeks, Jim had worked so hard to repress his feelings for her, to block the pain, but in that instant, all of his feelings came flooding back.

Fortunately, Pam didn't seem to have noticed that anything was wrong. Her laughter was winding down on it's own and Jim took the opportunity to steer the conversation to whatever it was she wanted to talk about so badly. "So," he began, clearing his throat. "What did you want to talk about?"

Jim couldn't be sure, but he thought her smile shrank some. "Um," Pam began, uncertainly. "Well…."

"Two breakfast special number 4's," the waitress announced, setting two plates laden with food and a piece of paper down in front of them. "And your bill."

"Thank you," Jim said, genuinely surprised. Pam had ordered a lot of food; Jim wasn't even sure he could eat all of his share.

"Yes, thanks," Pam echoed, setting her napkin in her lap. "I'm starving," she added, taking a large bite of her scrambled eggs. Jim just smiled weakly, and poured syrup over his pancakes.

For several minutes, neither spoke as they sat in silence while they ate. When Jim had eaten half of his food, he could stand the silence no longer. "So what did you want to talk about?" He repeated his question, setting his fork down.

Pam remained quiet for another moment, slicing her pancakes, before she too set her silverware down. "Well… You know Roy and I got married about a month and a half ago," Pam started. "And we got back from the honeymoon a little more than a month ago."

"And now you're living happily ever after?" Jim guessed, trying to keep any bitterness from slipping into his voice. She knew how he felt; it hardly seemed fair for her to rub it in his face.

Pam smiled slightly. "Things are pretty good between us now," she revealed. "Roy's a lot less stressed now that it's over with."

Jim wanted to point out that a wedding should never be something that is "gotten over with", rather something that is celebrated and cherished, but he merely nodded. Somehow, he didn't think his sentiments would be appreciated.

"Well…" Pam tucked another strand of hair back behind her ear. "Roy and I… we're, well, we're going to be parents." She smiled nervously. "Roy and I are going to have a baby."

For a second, Jim thought she was joking, that this was some sick prank. But Pam wasn't laughing at the undoubtedly comical expression of shock on his face, and she wasn't exclaiming anything along the lines of, "gotcha!". Was she really serious? Her… and Roy? A baby?

"Wow. Just… wow," he heard himself say, although he couldn't claim responsibility for the words. They just seemed to come out of their own accord. It was a good thing Jim had already eaten half of his food, because his appetite had vanished quicker than Houdini ever could have. In fact, Jim seriously doubted whether his appetite would ever return at all. God, a baby? His heart was pounding, so loudly he was amazed she couldn't hear it. "Wow, that's…" Jim trailed off again, not really meaning to speak out loud.

"C'mon, what do you think?" Pam laced her fingers together on the table.

Jim looked at the expression on her face. She was still grinning anxiously, eyes shining, and he knew she was really excited about this. Jim could tell that Pam wanted him to be excited too. Excited for her, excited for Roy. Excited for the both of them. Jim swallowed hard. "I… I think that's great," he said finally, struggling to return her smile. "I think you'll be a great mother."

Her smile was one of relief now. "Really? You think so?"

Jim nodded. "This is really… really great. Congratulations to you two."

Pam leaned back in the booth, laughing now. "Thanks. Thank you."

"So you're really pregnant, huh?" Jim mused aloud. "Wow."

She nodded vigorously, hair bouncing. "I know, right? It's crazy! I just… I still can't believe it's really happening, you know? I've wanted to have kids for so long, and now it's happening…. Roy was so surprised when I told him, too."

Ah yes, Roy. "What does Roy think of all this?" Jim asked, fingers bending the corners of his napkin because he didn't know what else to do with his hands.

"Oh, he's thrilled. I told him the day before yesterday, and he seemed very excited," Pam explained. "My mom was, too. She's thrilled that she's going to be a grandma," she added, positively beaming.

Jim nodded slightly. "Is it a boy or a girl?" He asked without really thinking, in an attempt to just keep the conversation going. As long as they were talking, Jim didn't have to think about what this all meant. As long as they were talking, Jim didn't have to feel.

Pam giggled. "Jim, I'm only like four weeks. I won't find out the gender for a few months."

"Right, dumb question. Sorry, I've never given birth to a baby before," Jim remarked.

"That's probably a good thing," she told him. Pam tilted her head to one side. "You really think it's a good thing?"

"I'm sure it's a good thing," He answered.

"Good. I'm glad," Pam said. "Hey, you going to eat that bacon?"

Jim glanced at his own half-eaten meal, and then at Pam's empty plate. "Nah, help yourself."

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