Could this be? Cleo has updated The Card? Why yes it is true! I wanna thank everyone who's reviewed this story and encouraged me to keep writing. I identified what I was struggling with and started writing again. Thanks again everyone, I hope you enjoy, we're back with Pam but plenty of flashback Jim to keep us going.
"Twenty four hours?"
"More like twenty four and a half, you have a three hour lay-over in San Francisco." Explained the perky girl at the check-in desk. "Will you be paying by cash or card?"
"Card." Pam's heart sunk. It was going to be at least another day before she'd see Jim. She'd never spent that much time on an aeroplane either.
"That'll be $3,945.54."
"What? Are you kidding? I-I don't have enough credit." Pam's eyes stung with tears as she racked her brain for ways to spontaneously create more money in the next few moments. Her bank account was in debt due to the wedding and there was already $1,200 worth of charges on her $3,000 limit Visa.
Marcia ran up to Pam at the desk with her bag with Pedro not trailing far behind. "All set?"
"Um, no, the ticket is nearly $4,000." She couldn't look in Marcia's eyes knowing that would send the prickling behind her eyes into full blown tears.
"Don't worry hun, that's what expense accounts are for!" She grabbed her handbag and pulled out the credit card the production agency gave her.
"Are you sure you're allowed to do that?" Pam wasn't sure whether to question it; she just wanted to get the ticket.
"The 'Jim/Pam Moment' is worth more than four G's to them. You might have to agree to an interview with an Aussie crew out there, Jim's doing a piece in a week in exchange for a little spending money and so we'd leave him alone out there, during, you know, today. Will you do the piece?"
"Of course! I just need to get out there! Thank you!" She hugged her friend and cried tears of joy into her green silk dress. "I'll do anything!"
"Careful." She passed the card over to the still unbelievably perky check-in girl. "Or we might come with you!" She leant in and whispered, "I'm gonna tell my boss there were no more seats, he would want us to go with you but you need to do this without a shadow."
"Thank you, Marcia. I don't know what to say." Pam was truly grateful.
The perky girl at the desk handed Pam her ticket, "Here you go ma'am, your flight leaves in two hours so you better head straight for security because it's always busy."
"Thanks." She grabbed the open return ticket and found a place to talk to Marcia and Pedro.
"Oh you need to get going!" Marcia gave Pam another warm embrace.
"All set?" asked Pedro, he looked just as anxious.
"Yep, but the flight is over twenty-four hours long, it's going to be torture." She wrung her fingers through her hands nervously.
"Wow," said Pedro, "He really does love you if he needed to get that far away from you!" Marcia shot Pedro a filthy look as Pam turned her head to the side to compose herself from breaking down over the sudden rise of guilt.
"I really need to go, security can take ages and this is the last flight today."
"Ok sweetie." Marcia hugged her tightly. "Go get your boy." Her eyes were full of happy tears.
"Oh god you're going to set me off again!" said Pam with her eyes rapidly filling.
"Tell Jim we said hi, he owes us one hell of a piece to camera and about fifteen rounds of drinks." He gave Pam a goodbye hug. "Travel safe."
"I will. Oh god I can't believe I'm doing this. I better go!" Pam turned and started to walk to security. Her heart was pounding with excitement and nerves.
"Send us a postcard!" Marcia shouted as she disappeared into the crowd.
Pam followed the signs for security and began to prepare by taking off her shoes. She was on her own now and about to travel across the globe to tell the man she loved how she felt.
You can do this Pam.
As she stood in the queue for security her mind wandered to another queue she found herself in once...
"Dunder Mifflin, this is Pam." It was just another Wednesday morning three years ago.
"It's Jonas from security, I'm filling in for Hank, um, there's a guy here trying to give away pretzels, he says you'll vouch for him." Pam's eyes were wide at the information she'd just received, an early warning that pretzel day had arrived. What should she do with this information? Be the legendary First? Tell Stanley and have him owe her a thousand favours? Or...
"Sure, I'll be right down." She hung up and quickly dialled Jim.
"Don't let on it's me that's talking." She whispered.
"Uh, hi Humbers Manufacturing, what can I do for you?" He stuttered awkwardly.
"You're a terrible, terrible actor."
"I'm sorry we don't stock that here." He replied with a little teasing attitude but not enough to alert Dwight who was busy on a call.
"You mean you don't stock talent?" She teased, taking a quick sneaky look at his wry smile. They'd been as thick as thieves for little over six months now.
"Exactly. Is there anything else I can interest you in?"
"Yeah, this is the most important day of the year and I'm giving you privileged access, there is nothing more special than today in the Dunder Mifflin calendar."
"I think I can agree to that but I need a little more information."
"I need you to come downstairs now. I'll wait by the elevator for you."
"Of course, I just need to check with the warehouse and I'll call you back."
"I think you're getting better at the acting thing."
"Thanks, speak soon."
Days had never been this fun without Jim. She'd started looking forward to work, taking an interest in more things so she could talk to Jim about them. She felt happier than she'd been in a while, she'd just never knew she'd felt so grey before.
When they got downstairs Pam vouched for the pretzel guy and they helped him set up.
"Free pretzels are the most important thing on the Dunder Mifflin calendar?" Jim asked sardonically.
"You have no idea Jim, I'll let you announce it to the office, just don't stand between them and the door." Pam thought back to last year and how one of the old accountants sprained his
wrists after Stanley barged past him.
The pretzel oven was set up and Jim and Pam stood in a queue of their own before a couple of the lower floor people joined behind them.
"I can't believe I'm going to be The First." Pam hopped from one foot to another with sheer excitment with a huge smile on her face. Of course Jim let her be in front of him as her chocolate cinnamon pretzel baked next to Jim's classic salted.
"The first to get a pretzel?" Jim was still incredulous.
"The First with a capital T and a capital F. This is the Scranton Business Park dream."
"Yeah, ok, little miss cinnamon." He teased.
"She's right." Piped up the guy behind Jim, "Everyone wants to be The First, people have waited in line for four hours for a free pretzel. This is the nearest I've ever been to being first. I'm third!" He grinned manically.
"Wow." Was the only response Jim could muster, still confused at the excitement.
"You know Michael slept in the building over night once trying to be The First. He slept right over there by the ficas tree. He slept while people queued for an hour and then woke up screaming. Phyllis dropped her pretzel and almost hit him!" she giggled.
"Why'd he wake up screaming?"
"Chased by a giant pretzel?" She guessed and gave a shrug.
"A pretzel that had the voice of Jan."
"Or his mother!"
"I've got a feeling that if we ever meet her she'll explain a lot."
"I can't even begin to imagine." She shuddered. "So you're a 'nurture over nature' person?"
"People like Michael are created, not born, definitely." They both laughed, lost in their little world away from the prying eyes of the office. As more people filtered in the entrance way became more cramped pushing Jim closer to Pam.
"Sorry." She said as she bumped up against his hip with her arm. He didn't reply, just gave her a shy half smile, a little lost for words. As good friends as they'd become, they didn't touch a lot. Maybe that's why she noticed the touch, because it was rare. She was eventually proven otherwise. Before she could think anymore her huge pretzel arrived. "You're about to experience pretzel perfection Jim." It was still hot through the grease paper. "And it's for free."
Jim took his. "Wanna eat outside?"
"It'll be much more fun if we go upstairs."
When they were spotted walking in with pretzels there was a near stampede to the door. Jim grabbed Pam's arm to pull her out the way of a fast marching Stanley with a wild look in his eye. She knew then he didn't have to hold on to her arm as long as he did but she brushed it aside in her mind, she was good at doing that. Too good.
"Jesus, you weren't kidding!" Jim said in shock and snapping Pam back into reality now he was no longer holding her. The office was empty. "I didn't think Stanley could move that fast. Ever."
"I think you just saved my life."
"Worth it, you know, for a pretzel hook up this good. Oh man, this is awesome." The sat in the break room and ate together, still laughing as Pam detailed more pretzel days past and theorised about future pretzel days where they ran out just as they got to Stanley or Michael accidently knocks the oven a sets the whole building on fire. It was one of her favourite days at Dunder Mifflin.
It only just occurred to her that she could have rung Roy that day.