AN: Okay, have to mention a major edit. I've changed the roles of David Wallace and Holly Flax due to plot purposes. The chapters it effects, LoveFool and Daydream Believer have been changed to reflect these changes.
Thanks so much to cariness and star jelly for your wonderful reviews! I very much appreciate the feed back and hope to hear from more of you. Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoy this one! :)
Jim parked as close as he could to the park entrance so that I wouldn't have as far to walk. The storm raged on and I knew this was going to be a nasty day to get through. The wind blew violently through the trees, large branches whipping around, one of them dangerously close to a tent. I let out a sigh.
"Are you sure you can't just kidnap me?" I asked giving him a hopeful look.
His eyebrows rose. "Alright, let's go," he replied seriously enough for me to consider skipping out on the festival all together.
"No, I can't," I groaned hating the fact that I had become a responsible adult.
Jim shrugged. "It was worth a shot. So, I shouldn't be at this interview too long, maybe an hour. I'll come by after that?"
"Yeah," I nodded. "We probably won't be open if it's still raining like this but you're welcome to steal me from my boring meetings."
He rubbed my back affectionately. "Will do."
I opened the car door. As I was about to exit, a spray of rain hit my leg and it dawned on me. I didn't have an umbrella. I turned back to Jim wide-eyed at the thought that I'd have to become drenched on my walk into the park. Jim was already two steps ahead of me and handed me his black umbrella with a grin.
"Thank you," I said grateful of his thoughtfulness.
He pulled me in for a quick kiss. "I'll see you in a little while, Beesly."
Just then, I got a quick flash of what the future may be like, stealing short, sweet kisses from Jim before going off to work everyday. It was a warm thought, comforting, a sense of affection and companionship that I never had with Roy the entire time we were married. And it was weird, too, that in such a short time, all of this felt like the most natural thing to do.
I grinned at him, keeping my eyes fixated on his as I made my way out, not minding getting wet so that I could drink enough of him in before we were apart again. I knew it would be only a few hours or so but it felt like there was a small part of me missing when he wasn't around. I opened the umbrella and headed into the park, taking a quick look behind me, noticing Jim was still waiting in the car. A sense of giddiness swarmed over me knowing that he'd be watching until I was safely in the tent.
We were all convening in the food tent, the only one big enough to hold all the employees. When I arrived, nearly everyone that was involved with the museum staff, not just the festival staff, was pushed into the tent, making it seem a lot smaller than it actually was. I was late getting in and the board director, David Wallace, was already at the podium speaking. All of the seats were taken, so I snuck behind the back row towards one of the corners.
"Well, Ms. Beesly," Wallace said, stopping his speech. "How nice it is that you can finally join us."
"Oh, I was, uh, just," I began, becoming flustered when all the heads in the room turned towards me. Somehow, I didn't think wanting to spend more time with my boyfriend was a sufficient answer, so I stuttered an apology, hoping it wasn't a big deal.
"As I was saying," Wallace continued. "We shouldn't focus on the fact that we are now without a director. We need to continue to do the best we can with what we have got as the board members and I search for a person to take over Ms. Levinson's job."
"Why was she fired?" someone in the middle shouted.
Wallace looked uncomfortable. "The reasons of termination will remain confidential for now."
As Wallace went on to explain the process of how they would go about selecting their next director, I felt an elbow nudge my arm.
"Sure do know how to make an entrance, don't ya?" Came an unfamiliar voice. Standing beside me was a man, probably college-aged, dark hair, thicker frame, and casual clothing. I hadn't ever seen him before.
"I'm sorry what?" I asked confused.
"You should have seen yourself try to sneak in," the young man teased, doing an impression of me trying to hide behind the chairs. "You really aren't that conspicuous. It's rather entertaining."
I let out an amused laugh. "I'm sorry, who are you?"
"Oh, Alex," he said, holding out his hand for me to shake. "David Wallace's assistant."
"Pam Beesly," I said shaking it. "Public Relations. I'm so glad I could entertain you."
"Believe me, I could use some good entertainment," Alex joked.
I laughed. "So, Wallace's assistant? What happened to Grace?"
"Won the lotto," he replied with a straight face. "Yup, took the first flight out to some island in the south pacific. She sends a post card every once in a while."
"Really, that's crazy," I said not sure if I believed him or not.
"Yeah," Alex continued. "But I'm only temporary, I-" His voice rose above the whisper we were trying to maintain and an older woman sitting in the row next to us turned her head and put a finger to her lips to remind us to keep quiet. As soon the woman's back was turned, Alex mimicked her gesture, which made me giggle.
"So, did I miss anything?" I asked, keeping my voice low so the woman wouldn't be able to hear it.
Alex shook his head. "The board members were late and it took nearly twenty minutes to get everyone to quiet down. Wallace only started talking a few minutes ago."
"Good," I responded, turning my attention back to the front of the tent. According to Wallace, it seemed as though they already had a few people in mind to take Jan's place. I wondered how quickly they would be able to get someone new in and how it would effect the last few days of the festival. But Wallace concluded that the rest of the activities, with the exception of anything this morning canceled out due to the rain, would go on as planned. Wallace said the board would be around to help supervise the festival but let us know that we would mostly be on our own. I squirmed a little at that thought. While I didn't have any doubts about my own abilities, seeing how shaky the festival had seemed with Jan there, I wondered how crazy it could get without anyone watching over it.
Wallace turned the podium over to Holly Flax to discuss funding. "Good morning everyone," she said giving a timid smile. Michael, who had been sitting in the front row, stood up and began clapping very loudly. Holly looked embarrassed as every one else in the tent glared at Michael. "Michael, could you please sit down," she asked him. I was slightly shocked when he did what he told and I noticed he continued to beam at her.
Something happened between them last night, I thought to myself. It was great that Michael was finding someone else to latch on to besides Jan. I wanted to express my thoughts to someone and momentarily considered telling Alex because he stood right there but I didn't because I didn't think he'd understand. I wished Jim were there so that I could talk to him. It wouldn't be the only time that morning I wished that.
"Before I get into finances," Holly continued, "due to an incident last night, I need to make a short announcement. It is not ethical or even legal to sell any materials that have not been authorized by our committee while at the festival. That is why we have the booths set up. We especially discourage selling artwork, even if it is your own, or by the artist's permission and partially for the museum's benefit until the festival is over so that all of our exhibits stay in tact. It is also not allowed, under any circumstances, to sell artwork that is not your own and has not been approved by the artist."
I chuckled to myself and wondered if more had went on last night than I was aware. I noticed that Ryan wasn't around and speculated that may be illegal selling of artwork had been listed on his charges. There was a murmur around the room after her statement but Holly let it go at that.
"Now moving on to finances," she continued. "I'm happy to say that we've raised-"
Before she could continue, there was a large boom of thunder, followed by a loud cracking sound, which resulted in an ear-splitting crash. Everyone in the room froze.
"Oh my god," I muttered.
Five minutes later we had all made our way outside to find that a large branch from one of the trees had snapped and fallen on one of the tents, causing it to collapse.
"We have to get that branch off the tent," I exclaimed, grateful that it was one of the supply tents and not one with art in it. I went to pull at the branch but when I did the last remaining pole came crashing down.
"Hey, careful," it was Alex who pulled me away. "Don't want to hurt yourself."
"Thanks," I replied.
David Wallace stepped forward. "I think we can move it if we all work together," he said motioning for some of the men to come over.
They positioned themselves so that a few would pull on the end of the branch while the others helped it slide off the tent. After the guys had gotten the branch off and away from the tent, the rest of us moved in so that we could attempt to put the tent back together
"I knew we shouldn't have gone with such tacky tents," I heard Angela comment.
"Hey, I picked out those tents," Phyllis responded.
"I know, which is why they're tacky," Angela retorted. Phyllis gave her a glare.
"Hey, why don't the two of you stop arguing and help," I shot at the both of them. Angela shot me a nasty look and Phyllis frowned but both of them began to help me untangle one of the poles.
A little while later, my phone rang. If it had been anyone else but Jim, I would have not answered it, knowing that I had work to get to, but excited by the fact that he might be done with his interview, I answered.
"Hey," I said happily.
"Hey," his voice was static-y and when he began to speak, I wasn't able to understand what he was saying.
"Can you talk louder?" I asked. "I'm having a hard time hearing your."
I heard the words "interview" and "done" but they were followed by "called in" and "story".
The rain had died down into a drizzle but the wind was still howling and every once in a while there was still a rumble of thunder. Everyone was shouting at everyone else while they tried to put the tent back up. And on top of that, my cell phone reception was bad. All of this made it near impossible to hear Jim.
"Jim hold on," I said trying to move away from the commotion.
"Get it up, get it up," I heard a voice yell, drowning out Jim's voice.
"That's what she said!" I heard Michael scream.
"What is going on?" For a moment, Jim's voice came in clearly.
"It has been insane this morning," I told him.
"Is this a bad time?" he asked, his voice breaking up.
"Yeah, can I call you back in a little bit?" I asked.
"Yeah, I'll talk to you later, then," he said sounding disappointed.
"Later," I said regretfully, closing my phone. I had a nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach that somehow Jim's work would interfere with his day off. The selfish part of me wished that all news would stop for the day so I could have Jim to myself but the unselfish part knew he had to be on his best behavior due to his probation. With a sigh, I went back to helping Angela and Phyllis get one of the poles standing again.
"David!" I didn't think the morning could get worse, but it was about to as Jan came storming up the path. "David Wallace!" she screamed.
Wallace came to the forefront of the crowd, all eyes on the half-crazed woman and the chairman of the board. I can't imagine what Jan had gone through last night but none of it must have been good considering she was still wearing the same clothes she had on the day before.
"Jan," Wallace confronted her calmly. "What are you doing here?"
"I want my job back," she declared.
Wallace was put in an awkward position and we all stood their nervously waiting to see what happened. "I'm sorry, Jan," Wallace continued. "But your place at the museum-"
"I am the best damn director this museum has ever seen," she yelled. "And so I had a little…episode yesterday. People are allowed to make mistakes."
Wallace, who clearly didn't like being yelled at, began to get angry. I've met David Wallace a few times but he didn't strike me at the type to get angry that often. "We should have let you go years ago," he shot back. "But I've been kind enough to let you have second and third chances. Your behavior has been less then unprofessional for years. You caused the museum to be sued. And to top it off, from what I can tell you have inappropriate relations with two of your assistants."
Upon hearing that Michael pushed through the crowd. I had never seen him so upset. "I knew you fooled around with Hunter!" he accused. "I knew it." Jan stood there, looking annoyed at the entire situation but didn't defend herself and even if we didn't know about the first one, we all knew about Jan's relationship with Michael. "And to think, I loved you," he cried, being very melodramatic. "To think, I almost killed myself for you. I know you were just using me for my sperm so I could have your babies. No babies for you now."
"Oh god, Michael stop," Jan finally snapped, much like she did the previous night. "Do you really think I needed you for anything ever? You are the reason I'm crazy. You are the reason I lost my job. You are the reason that I am so depressed that I can't figure out what I'm doing. You-"
"Stop!" Holly came up to an almost in tears Michael. "Stop," she said again, softer, putting an arm around Michael. Michael may have had his issues but it was nice to see someone finally stick up for him, especially since Jan had completely lost it. "He does not deserve this," she told Jan firmly. "Are you alright Michael?" Michael wailed but nodded and buried her head in Holly's shoulder.
Jan began to speak again but Wallace stopped her before she got out a full word. "Jan, I'm going to ask you to leave now and if you don't I will get security to escort you out."
She glared at Wallace. "Fine. Screw you all," she screamed, flipping us off as she left the park. We all stood there stunned for a moment.
"Come on, everyone," Wallace advised. "Let's get this tent up and then get back to our meeting so that we can, hopefully, get this festival going again."
Everyone began to slowly resume putting the fallen tent back up with the exception of Holly who was consoling a still upset Michael. I took the moment to sneak away to call Jim.
"Hey, do you have a moment?" I asked when he finally answered the phone.
"Uh, I have about a minute," he answered.
"Well, you won't believe what happened this morning," I explained. "First, you know how it's been storming, well the wind broke this branch off this tree and it came crashing down on one of the tents."
"No way."
"Yeah, I know," I continued. "And it was a big mess, so instead of having our meeting we've been having to put this tent back up. We're lucky that it wasn't one of the art tents, just the tent that had all of our stuff in it but still. And then, when I went to move the branch, by myself, it nearly slid into me and Alex had to pull me away."
"Who's Alex?" Jim cut in.
"David Wallace's assistant," I answered.
"The author?"
"No, David Wallace is the chairman of the museum board," I corrected. "Never mind that, so then Jan comes back and-"
"Hey, Pam," Jim cut in again. "I'm sorry, I've got to go."
"You've got to go?" I asked. "I thought your interview was done?"
"It is," he replied. "I'm with my boss right now. Can I call you back in a little bit?"
"Yeah, yeah," I said, trying not to let my frustration show. "Bye."
"Bye."
Feeling as though I shouldn't dwell on the fact that Jim may or may not be showing up today due to his job, I rejoined everyone at the tent. The last pole was being erected and there was a general sense of satisfaction that we had accomplished at least one thing that day. Alex saw me from across the crowd and made his way through to talk with me.
"Hey, where did you run off to?" he asked.
"Oh," I said. "I just had to make a phone call."
He didn't seem to be too interested in why. "So, yeah, Jan, seems like she finally lost it," he commented.
I gave him a small smile. "You think today was bad, you should have seen her last night when she tried to burn down La Fromage."
Alex's eyes grew wide. "That fancy French restaurant? She was responsible for that? I live out in Carbondale and I heard about that."
"I know!" I cried. "I can't believe this festival," I said finally feeling the aggravation that had been building all morning. "This whole thing has been a complete disaster. And I tried, I really did try to make it the best I could but everything just seems to be getting worse no matter what I do."
"I don't think it's been so bad," Alex said, rubbing my arm a little to comfort me. "I mean, I've been here a few times over the past couple of days and everything seems to be going well to me."
"Really?" I asked.
"Really," he responded. "I've been having fun and haven't noticed too much. Haven't had to mention anything to David either."
I relaxed a little. "Well that's good," I admitted. "Maybe I'm just too close to it. I have been dealing with Jan's insanity close hand for days now. And it doesn't help that this morning has been a disaster and I haven't been able to talk with Jim about it and-"
"Who's Jim?" Alex asked.
"Oh, Jim's my-" I stopped mid-sentence when I saw something unbelievable.
"Oh! My! God!" Apparently, I wasn't the only one seeing Ryan approach the rest of us sporting a very smug look and blond hair. Kelly jolted straight towards him. "Aren't you supposed to be in prison?"
I groaned as I watched the confrontation.
"Yes, they arrested me," Ryan explained. "No, I didn't go to jail because they had no charges. They couldn't prove anything so they let me go."
"So, what did you do last night? I tried to call you," Kelly argued.
"You tried to call me while you thought I was in jail," Ryan asked annoyed. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard."
"You should listen to your messages," Kelly informed him. "I just called to taunt you and tell you how much of a loser your are."
"Why do you even care?" Ryan asked. "I thought you were dating someone else."
"I am dating someone else," Kelly replied with a bit of an attitude. "And don't think that you'll ever get a date with me again. I don't date losers who go to jail."
Ryan looked at her smugly. "Oh if I wanted you, I could have you."
Kelly was about to blow up when I interjected. "Alright, you two, stop. Ryan, so you're actually back then?" I asked wanting to make sure that was clear.
He nodded. "Yup, can't get rid of me so easily."
"Dude," Alex, who had been silent this whole time, said. "What's with the hair?"
"Oh, you like it?" Ryan said trying to sound cool. "I did it this morning, thought I could start the new day fresh and what better way to reinvent yourself then to start with your hair."
Thankfully, my phone rang and I mumbled that I had to take it so that I wouldn't have to endure the bizarre conversation any longer. But truthfully, when I saw it was Jim calling, the entire festival could have been crashing down and I still would have run off to take the call.
"Hey, that was quick," I answered the phone cheerfully.
"Yeah," he replied. His voice was distant and that worried me.
"What's going on?" I asked.
"Uh," he started slowly. "Toronto's playing Philly," explained.
A knot began to grow in my stomach. "And your boss wants you to cover the game."
"Yeah," he said.
"Alright, so you have to go to Philadelphia for the evening," I said, trying hard not to show my disappointment. "That's not too bad, you can always stop by before you head out."
There was a pause before he spoke again. "Toronto's playing Philly, in Toronto."
"What?"
"There's some kind of awards thing where they're honoring old players from all around the league," he said.
"So, your boss wants you to go to Canada," I said making sure I was hearing him correctly.
"Yes."
I felt miserable. And selfish. I really wanted Jim with me. "How long will you be gone?"
"The weekend," he gave.
A couple of days felt like a long time. "So, when do you have to leave?"
"In an about an hour," he answered. He didn't sound any happier about the situation then I did. "But look at it this way, it's only a few nights and when I get back we'll spend the evening together. Just you and me, we'll have a nice night in and we'll take it easy. Watch a movie or something."
"Yeah, that sounds great," I said choking up a little. I was growing so accustom to having Jim around that the idea of him not being around for a while, not being able to see him, physically hurt.
"Hey, it's just one weekend," he said trying to sound positive.
"Just one weekend," I repeated.
Alex came then. "Hey, Pam, just want to let you know that the meeting is starting up again."
I sighed. "I guess I have to go," I told him.
Jim was quiet again for a moment. "Yeah," he breathed. "I'll call you before I take off, alright?"
"Alright," I said.
"Bye, Pam," he said hesitantly.
"Bye, Jim."
"Are you alright?" Alex asked looking concerned as I hung up the phone.
"Yeah, I'm fine," I said somewhat dismissive of him as I started back towards the meeting. I realized he was just trying to be nice but the prospect of not seeing Jim for a while affected my attitude.
We walked to the tent in silence. The meeting hadn't started yet, everyone still stood around chatting away with everyone else. Alex gave me a half smile, a gesture letting me know things would be fine before he went up to the front to talk with David Wallace. I stayed in the back, a little too close to where Kelly and Ryan were having another one of their infamous arguments.
"Can you guys please stop for two seconds?" I pleaded.
They both stared blankly at me for a moment. "Oh my god, Pam, are you alright?" Kelly asked. "You look horrible this morning."
"Thanks Kelly," I responded, not in the mood to put up a fight.
"What's wrong?" Kelly prodded. "Are you upset because we shut down the festival even though you've spent, like, your whole life planning it? Are you mad about Jan? Jan's totally crazy and you should, like, not even worry about that. Whoever they get will be way better and-"
"No, Kelly," I interjected.
Kelly kept going before I had a chance to explain anything. "Oh, my god, it's your boyfriend isn't it? He totally dumped you. I knew that wasn't going to last long."
"What?" I stopped her. "We've been together for a day and you think we're over now?" I wasn't sure I followed her line of reasoning. "I assure you, we're fine. I'm just not going to see him this weekend, that's all."
"Oh my god, Pam," Kelly cooed. "And you're, like, totally going to miss him. That's so, totally romantic."
For some reason, Ryan's interest was perked. "Well, that's weird."
"What's weird?" I asked having no idea what he was getting at.
"It's just weird that you're spending time apart," he explained. "I mean you guys have been attached at the hip since the festival started. Maybe the guy just needs his space. Maybe you shouldn't be so clingy."
"Maybe you should know what you're talking about," I shot back feeling that Ryan was just projecting at this point. "Jim's going to be gone for work related things not because we're already tired of each other."
"How do you know?" Ryan goaded. "Maybe work is code for 'leave me alone for a while' or maybe he just found someone else he wanted to be with. You know, he probably could do better."
I was tempted to smack him. "I know because Jim is not that guy," I said through gritted teeth. "And because Jim and I are not you and Kelly."
With that, I left the bewildered Ryan with Kelly and plopped myself down in a chair next to Oscar. "Having that great of a day, huh?" Oscar inquired with a smile.
I gave him a glare. "Why is everyone we work with insane?"
Oscar laughed but knew better than to push the subject any farther.
David Wallace then called the meeting back to order. "Alright guys, I want to start again by introducing the head of park security, Hank. He's been a great help with the festival this year and why don't we all give him a round of thanks."
The room applauded as the older gentleman came to the front. "Thank you guys. I just want to let you know that we've increased security for the last few days of the festival. I have men surrounding the outside of the park and a few to watch the gates now. But I do want to remind everyone that most theft jobs are actually inside jobs, so please everyone, be honest."
All eyes shifted to Ryan, who happened to be sitting behind me. He only shrugged his shoulders as if he didn't care. We all clapped for Hank and he was then replaced with Holly.
"Hello again," she said with a friendly smile. "Hopefully there will be no more branches falling on tents today or I may never get through this," she let out a chuckled but only Michael let out a loud laugh. "Well, as I was saying before, we may not be in as tight a situation as we thought. First of all, most of you know that there has recently been a lawsuit against the museum. Without needing to go into too much detail the lawsuit has been dropped."
"Mrs. Allen dropped the charges?" I whispered to Oscar.
"Jan got fired," he informed me. "Mrs. Allen had personal issue with her, not so much the museum. It's going to be settled outside of court."
"Well, that's good," I said.
"Secondly," Holly continued. "I believe we've made enough revenue from the festival so far to keep it going for the rest of the week. Great job, guys!" There was a loud round of applause throughout the tent. "And I would really like to thank Pam Beesly for coordinating such a great festival this year."
I blushed and sunk lower in my chair as the applause continued. Oscar poked at me to stand but I only waved my hand in the air to acknowledge the compliment.
"However," Holly went on growing serious. "I don't believe we have enough money to fund for the new wing. We'll have to find another way to raise money."
Phyllis raised her hand. "How about a special kind of fundraiser," she suggested. "Like an auction of some sort. Maybe we could get some of the local artists to sell their art an auction supporting the museum."
There was a positive buzz around the room over the idea. I liked it a lot and thought the idea could be expanded. "Maybe it could be a community thing as well," I suggested. "Maybe we could get some of the local business to donate various things to auction, then they could get advertising and we could raise some more money for the new wing. Sounds like something we could do to generate interest in next year's festival so we could be even more successful next year."
"That's a great idea, Pam," David Wallace commented from behind Holly. The rest of the room began shouting out various ideas to add to Phyllis's and mine. Holly grabbed some paper and began writing all of it down.
"Yeah, great idea," Ryan said smugly, as he leaned forward in his chair to whisper to me. "How many reporters do you think you'll have to sleep with to get good press on this auction? You know Jim's not a good enough journalist to spin anything positively. Oh, wait, you can't even get him tonight, so no worries there. Keep up the good job, Pam." He sat back in his chair laughing.
My anger broke and I almost jumped over the chair to start beating the crap out of Ryan. Oscar grabbed a hold of me to settle me down. "Don't let him get to you," he advised. "It's a good idea, I assure you. He's just being a punk."
"Thanks, Oscar," I muttered. It didn't stop me from throwing Ryan a death glare. "It's a shame they didn't lock you up, Ryan."
The rest of the meeting went by quickly and productively. I was excited at all the input for raising money for the new museum wing and it seemed as though everyone else was as well. And, with the board being there, it looked as though we had a solid plan for next year's festival as well as a positive outlook on the future of the museum. With the exception of the small amount of time I spent with Jim, it's the best I felt all morning.
The rain had finally subsided, therefore; the festival would finally be able to open to the public. Everyone was on their way out to help open the park to the public when David Wallace called me over. I would have been nervous about the prospect if Alex hadn't been standing beside him grinning.
"Pam," David Wallace began with a grin. "I just wanted to take a second and thank you for all your hard work this week. I know the festival has a few more days to go, but you've really done a commendable job."
"Wow," I said surprised and a little relieved to hear him say that. "Thank you so much."
"I also wanted to say," his voice lowered. "On a more confidential level, I'm not sure how close we are to finding a replacement for Jan. So, for now, I'm appointing you to keep this festival running. Okay?"
"Yeah, sure," I said, excited at the opportunity.
"Okay, great," he said with a pat on the back. Just as we were wrapping up our conversation, two gentlemen I had never met before approached us. "Pam, not sure if you've met them, but this is Tom and Pete. They came on the board at the last election," Wallace introduced.
"Oh, hi," I said shaking their hands.
They both said hello, looking me over fondly in almost an uncomfortable way. "So, we've heard great things about you," Tom said.
"And it sounds like you've been doing well based on this meeting," Pete commented.
"Thank you," I said a little hesitantly. They were giving me an odd vibe.
"So, David's told us you've been our PR person for, what, six months now?" Tom asked.
"Yeah, a little over six months," I answered.
"Wow, well then," Pete continued. "Maybe we have another candidate for director."
"Uh, yeah, maybe," I hadn't given any thought about myself in Jan's position. I wasn't sure I even wanted the job. "I don't know. I've been thinking about working more on my art," I said honestly. "I've even been excepted into Pratt."
"Really, Pratt?" Alex, who had been standing close to us the whole time jumped in. "That's awesome, Pam."
"Pratt, huh," Tom said looking unimpressed. "That's rather competitive. Do you really think you have what it takes to be an artist?"
"Yeah, that's a huge risk," Pete added. "I've known many people who drop out of art school after only a few months. Why risk the job you have, a sure thing?"
I was shocked to hear them be so unsupportive. "Well, I'll never know if I don't try," I informed them.
After a moment, the two men started laughing. "Pam, we're totally kidding," Tom said.
"Yeah, good luck with Pratt," Pete said. "We totally had her for a second, Tom."
"Totally had her," Tom echoed.
I didn't find it that funny. "Yeah, thanks," I said not wanting to be in their company any longer then I had to. I again thanked David for his support and headed out of the tent. Alex followed.
"Yeah, I probably should have warned you," Alex started when we were outside. "That with the exception of David and Holly the board is made up of a bunch of asses."
"Yeah, I didn't really need that this morning," I replied. "Even if they were just fooling around, that was just…lame."
Alex let out a laugh, which put me at ease some. "But that's awesome about Pratt, Pam. Seriously. You know, I go to Pratt."
"Really?" I asked interested. "Then what are you doing here in Scranton?"
"Summer job," he said placing his hands in his pockets. "My dad knows David Wallace and got me some work over the summer. And it's been pretty cool, Wallace is a nice guy and gave me the job when his old assistant left. Not sure who he'll get to replace me when I leave in a few weeks."
"Well that's cool," I said. "So, do you like Pratt?"
Alex looked astounded that I would even ask such a question. "Pratt is amazing. New York City is amazing. You'll have the time of your life if you decide to come. Have you been accepted for the fall semester? What are you majoring in?"
"I'm on the waiting list," I told him. "But I definitely have an in for the spring semester. And I was thinking graphic design, though I'm not sure exactly yet what I would study."
"No way," Alex said. "I'm doing graphic design."
"Really? Wow," I said thinking that it was a small world. "Yeah, you'll have to totally help me out if I decide to go."
"Wait, if?" he asked concerned. "What do you mean if?"
I shrugged my shoulders. "I haven't decided if I'll be going or not. There's just so much to think about. And, I don't know, I did art in community college but Pratt is big time. I mean, what if I'm not good enough. And then there's the job thing and the money thing and the boyfriend thing-"
"The boyfriend thing?" he asked curiously.
I blushed a little. "Yeah, Jim, my boyfriend, we, um, just started dating and I don't know if…" I paused a second thinking that it probably sounded kind of stupid to Alex. "My last relationship was, well, horrible and with Jim I feel like it's-" I was having a hard time coming up with the words. "It's incredibly special. I've never had this before and I don't know if I want to take a chance of a long distance relationship screwing that up, you know?"
"Yeah," Alex said, his head low. I couldn't tell if he was disappointed or something else. "But, Pam-"
He didn't get far because Michael chose that moment to come running up. "Pam! Pam! I need your help!" he cried.
"What is it Michael?" I asked.
Michael put his hands on his knees to catch his breath. "I have to talk to you about something very important. It's about Holly. Something important about Holly."
Alex took it as his cue to leave. "I think I should go find David Wallace," he said backing away. I wanted to tell him that he didn't have to but I didn't stop him.
"What is it about Holly?" I asked putting my full attention on Michael.
"I want to ask her out," he explained in his usual over dramatic manner. "I think I love her."
I sighed. "Michael, how can you say that, you've only known her for a day."
"The same way you know you're in love with Jim," Michael responded with an unusual amount of insight. He had a point; Jim and I had only known each other for a short amount of time. Before meeting Jim, I would have thought it was never possible to find love in such a short time but now that I had, I figured I should at least give Michael the benefit of the doubt.
"Well, Michael," I said trying to be as sympathetic as possible. "Why don't you just ask her out on a date then?"
"I don't want to screw it up," he cried.
I patted him on the back, knowing that he probably would find a way to screw it up. "Well, you can either ask her or forever question yourself for not trying."
"Will you come with me?" he asked.
"Do you really need me to?" I responded, wondering if it was possible for some woman to actually want to take care of this over-grown man child.
He nodded. "I want you to."
"Do you want me to hold your hand as well?" I offered sarcastically.
"Yes," Michael replied automatically. "Wait, no, she might get the wrong idea."
I laughed as I followed Michael to where Holly was standing, chatting with a few other people. Michael took a big breath and I nodded to him that he could do it. He went up to Michael and pulled Holly aside. I noticed her face lit up when she saw him and I thought in that second that Michael actually had a chance.
I was standing too far away to tell what they were saying, but Michael was making large gestures with his arms, demonstrating how great a time she'd have with him. Then I saw her face drop and I knew something bad was about to happen. Holly looked around to see if anyone was watching and I averted my eyes for a moment. When I looked up, I saw that she was hugging a very upset Michael.
"Oh, no," I whispered to myself.
They eventually broke apart and Michael came storming towards me. "This just-" he began angrily. "This just sucks."
"What happened, Michael?" I asked. It hit me that I actually cared about Michael's well being.
"She told me that she likes spending time with me," Michael explained. "But we can't go out on a date because of her stupid boyfriend."
"Oh, Michael," I sighed. Understanding how much he probably hurt, I gave him a hug.
Michael cried into my shoulder for nearly a half hour and because I was feeling some sympathy for him, it was hard to tear myself away. "She was the one," Michael was moaning. "I know she was the one."
I let out a sigh. "You also said that about Jan, remember?" I reminded him. "So, maybe it's okay that she has a boyfriend."
"It's not okay," he wailed, burring his head in my shirt. I didn't like the fact that he was getting tears all over it but I gave him another small hug. "Last night was perfect," he stated firmly. "Absolutely perfect. Jan never felt perfect. Jan was a nightmare and I'm glad she's gone. But Holly was…perfect."
"I know," I said soothingly as possible. "But there's nothing you can do about it now."
"I can wait," Michael said with a strange sense of maturity. "I can wait for her."
I nodded, though unsure how long Michael could wait for something like that. "You can," I agreed. "In the meantime, why don't you clean yourself up, okay? And maybe you can help set up the pavilion for tonight's disco party. Remember we're having a disco themed party tonight?"
"I do," Michael said, still choked up. "I bought my disco ball with me today."
"Right," I said. "Why don't you go get it and we'll put it up in the pavilion."
"Okay," Michael said through his tears. "Maybe I'll invite Holly as well."
"No," I said immediately. "I don't think that'll be a good idea. Maybe you'll meet someone just as perfect at the party."
"I don't think I'll ever meet anyone perfect again," Michael sobbed.
"You know, I didn't think I'd ever meet anyone perfect either," I commented. I pulled Michael away from me so I could look him in the eye. "And then I met Jim and it's been amazing. Michael, it can happen for you too, you just have to find the right girl."
"I did find the right girl," Michael protested. "Holly."
"Oh boy," I said knowing I wasn't going to win this argument. "Why don't you go get that disco ball, okay?"
Michael nodded, finally having calmed down. "Alright, Pam," he said.
As Michael headed away to get his disco ball, Kelly came storming past me, her nose in the air. Usually, whenever she sees me, she stops to talk about everything for an hour. For her to completely ignore me seemed out of character.
"Kelly?" I asked.
She whirled around and gave me an unexpected dark glance. "You know, Pam, you should really pay more attention to what's going around."
"What?" I asked completely confused.
"You know," Kelly started with an attitude. "I probably shouldn't be the one having to tell you this but there are people who are complaining about how you are running this festival."
"What people?" I wasn't sure whether to believe her or not.
"They, um, people who are coming to see the festival," she stuttered over her words. Kelly didn't lie that well so I knew something was up.
"Really? What are they saying?" I challenged.
It took Kelly a minute to think it over. "They're saying you're being mean and nasty behind their backs and that you show morons like Michael sympathy when you have no sympathy real problems. And that if you didn't spend so much time flirting with reporters that maybe this festival would run a little smoother."
I almost laughed aloud. "Yeah, the people coming into the festival said this?" Kelly nodded. "And not any of the staff?" She shook her head. "And Ryan didn't put you up to this?"
She stared at me blankly for am moment. "He almost went to jail," she argued. "And he told me it was a traumatic experience and that we should try to be nicer to him."
"Oh god," I said rolling my eyes. "Kelly, an hour ago you were completely pissed off at him. What happened?"
"He told me what happened and that he was framed," Kelly informed me. "And then he said he changed. He told me he wanted to be a better person and I totally believe him. I mean he even changed his hair."
"Hadn't noticed that," I said under my breath.
"What?" Kelly asked tilting her head.
"Nothing," I replied. "What about Darryl? Aren't you still dating him?"
"Yeah, but I don't know," Kelly responded. "I mean if Ryan wants to get back together, we have such a history there. I should probably give him a second chance."
I decided it wasn't worth it explaining that this was more like a tenth chance than a second. "Well, whatever works for you," I said. "And so I don't have to worry about any serious complaints?"
Kelly shook her head. "Nope. But, I am going to remind you that I'm having my birthday party next week, so you better be there. Or I'm going to go straight to David Wallace and tell him you aren't being fair to the employees."
I nodded at the empty threat. "I promise I'll come," I said knowing that was all Kelly needed to hear.
Kelly gave me an excited hug. "Oh, it'll be so great. I have to go find Ryan but when we have a chance, we'll totally have to talk about party planning."
"Sounds like fun," I gave her a false grin before she took off to find Ryan.
For the first time that morning, I was alone. It was nice to have a moment of peace so that I could make my way around the park. Despite the rain and the one tent that fell over, the park looked good. While I walked, occasionally I would come by a turned over lantern or tangled lights that I would fix but for the most part the festival had survived the storm. And in no time, people were populating the park, making it just as busy as it had been the previous days. I smiled as I watched people float around, anxiously going from one tent to another.
As I walked, I thought of Jim. I couldn't get my mind off him. I looked at my phone every five minutes or so, which was silly since I had my ring-tone up all the way and would be aware if anyone called. I was tempted to just call him myself but Ryan's words, unfortunately, came back to haunt me. Was I being too clingy if I called him? Did Jim really want his space? My gut told me no. I thought back to our last conversation on the phone. He seemed just as upset as I was about having to be gone for the whole weekend.
I came up to the footbridge in the middle of the park and stood on it, resting my arms on it and leaned forward to watch the little stream trickle through. My memory floated back to a few days ago when Jim and I stood on that bridge. I was fairly certain that he had wanted to kiss me then and if he had, I probably would have let him. I let out a laugh, thinking about how complicated we had both made the situation. I wished he was there to share the memory with me.
I laughed again, thinking I was crazy. It had only been a few hours since I had seen him and yet, I missed him terribly. I wondered if something was wrong with me. Or maybe that was what happened when you fell in love. It was a startling thought but I realized I never felt like this with Roy, nothing this intense, nothing this passionate. And it was a little scary still but I embraced it wholeheartedly. I wouldn't give up the crazy feelings I had for Jim for anything.
While I was deep in my thoughts, I hadn't realized that Alex had approached me. "Pam," he said breaking my trance. He looked like a man on a mission. "I need to talk to you."
I was a little startled at his intensity. "What is it Alex, did something happen?"
"No, no," he said shaking his head. "I just have to get this out before-"
My phone rang. It was Jim and even though Alex seemed to be in a hurry, I couldn't ignore the phone. "Just a second," I told him while flipping open my phone. "Hey, Jim," I said.
"Hey," he replied. Just the sound of his voice made me feel warm again and if it was possible, he sounded happier than the last I talked to him.
"Do you mind waiting a minute?" I asked regretfully. "I'm kinda in the middle of something."
"Yeah, sure," he replied. "Do you want me to call back?"
"No, just hold on, I'll be with you in a second," I said. When he replied okay, I hit the mute button and returned my attention to Alex. "Alright, so what's up?"
He was pacing nervously. "Look, I've been thinking about this since we talked earlier and while I know it's not really my place to comment, I think I just need to say this."
I eyed him curiously, not sure where he was going with his speech. "Okay…"
"I don't think your boyfriend should hold your career back," he said rather bluntly. I became incredibly tense at the mention of 'boyfriend' and 'career' and stayed silent as Alex continued. "Yeah, sure, having a new relationship is great but don't hide behind that because you are too scared to take a chance on yourself. I mean, why did you apply to Pratt in the first place, to see if you could get in and continue with your art, right? Pam, I'm going to tell you right now, going to Pratt is one of the best opportunities you will ever have, so don't let anyone, including yourself, prevent you from even trying. You'll regret it. And no matter how happy this guy makes you, you'll always wonder what you could have been."
He had struck a nerve and I was so shaken that I could only nod when he had finished talking. Jim wasn't holding me back and it made me mad that he would even begin to suggest that. But was I holding myself back? I couldn't give a clear answer on that one.
Alex could tell I wasn't able to give a coherent reply. "And I've said what I wanted to. I'll let you just think that over. If you have any questions, about anything, you can come and talked to me." He rubbed my shoulder a little for comfort but when I still didn't respond he began to walk away.
As I watched him go, I remembered that Jim was still waiting on the line. Before I unmuted the phone, I noticed that I could hear a dial tone and a dreadful realization came over me. I had put the phone on speaker instead of mute. "Jim?" I spoke timidly into the phone but it was too late. I wondered what exactly Jim had heard before he hung up.