Pam headed out into the damp, clean air of the parking lot at the end of a normal, boring, day at work. She had done nothing too exciting at work. It had rained all day. Jim had to leave early for a dentist appointment so she was heading back to his place to surprise him when he got home.
Things with Jim were going well. Really well she'd have to say. They had been dating for a while now and she was comfortable where they were in their relationship.
She made her way through the parking lot to her small blue car. She did a double take when she saw a piece of paper taped to her windshield. It better not be a ticket, she hoped. She had gotten one once before for parking the day in a '30 minute only' spot and she made sure that every day she didn't park in one again. She thought she had checked today. Maybe not.
When she made it to her car she squeezed herself in between her car and the car next to it to get around to the front window. She carefully pulled the the folded piece of paper from her car's window and watched the tape roll up as it unstuck.
It was heavy for just a piece of paper and it seemed to be weighted down by something. It was definitely not a parking ticket.
Pam carefully unfolded the paper and something cold and hard slid into the palm of her hand.
A key.
Scrawled in Jim's handwriting on the paper was an address.
To follow or not to follow? That is the question. Pam thought things out for a few moments.
Follow. Why not be daring for once?
Pam hopped into her car and slid her key in ignition. The engine roared to life and she pulling out of the parking lot, never ceasing her firm hold on the mysterious key that belonged to the mysterious address on the mysterious piece of paper.
As Pam wondered and drove and wondered and drove she kept one hand on the steering wheel and with the other held the key in the palm of her hand and fiddled with the piece of tape stuck to the wet sheet of paper, rolling it back and forth between two fingers. In the distance she could see the beginning of sunset.
--
By now she had deduced it was a house key. She was driving through a neighborhood with widely spaced houses that were not all the same- this pleased her because she didn't like how some neighborhoods had copies of the same exact house on every street and when there was so little space in between the houses you could probably stick a broom out you house's window and touch you neighbor's house wall. When she ever got a house she wanted hers to be original, special, and all her own, with maybe just one other person in mind.
Driving down a long street she gazed at the cottage-like houses and marveled at there quiet elegance. She looked at the address on each. She was getting closer to her destination.
413, 413...409, 411, 413.
Pam drove up the cobblestone driveway at the end of the long street, pulled the key out of ignition, and slid out of the car, unconsciously gripping the house key so hard her knuckles were white. She walked up the narrow stone path. It shimmered a little the way the ground does right after a rain when the clouds are just beginning to part and let the almost-setting sun shine through. Slowly, she she slipped the key into the lock, heard the click, and stepped warily into the house.
It was a quaint cottage and it was beautiful. She admired the hard wood floors the high ceiling. It was strangely empty and only contained a few wooden chairs stacked up in the room off the entry way and a stool against the stairs. She didn't know what she was doing here. All the address led her to was a desolate old cottage. She trudged over to the little wooden stool next to the stairs and sat. There must have been a window open somewhere because it was quite chilly in the house. Pam stared down at her feet and huddled against her knees as a sharp breeze swept through the house. She felt a tickle on the back of her neck and reached back to scratch her hair. Instead of feeling her hair, Pam opened her hand to see a rose petal. Another breeze swept through and more petals rained down on her. Sunflower and rose petals.
Pam sprung up and walked around to the bottom of the stairs. She swung around the edge and followed the path of petals up the stars and into what she supposed to be the master bedroom. What she saw amazed her. She stood in front of the open french doors for minutes, shell shock, eyes aglow, marveling at sight in front of her.
When she finally stepped through the doors, she nearly fainted with excitement. It was a large wooden deck with stairs leading down to the backyard. Surrounding her were every type of flower she could imagine. Tears welled in her eyes.
She could see the perfect sunset in all it's glory reflecting its light off of all the clouds the moved quickly and ever changing in the sky. She heard a sound to her right and she turned to face where it came from.
Jim strode from around the corner of the house where the deck wrapped around and smiled at Pam.
For that moment time stood still.
He walked toward her and when came came to be directly in front of her he reached for something in his pocket. Unable to hold on any longer, her tears fell. Happiness overwhelmed her and she gazed down at the kneeling man before her.
"Pam Beesely, I love you with all my heart. I never want to spend my life with anyone else but you." He sighed and stared down at the ground as Pam stared down at him. Jim turned his head back up and looked her straight in in the eyes. "Pam, will you marry me?"
"Yes." Pam's cry was muffled by her tears. "I love you too." Jim stood and pulled Pam in to him for a passionate kiss. They held each other for minutes listening to each others unspoken words.
--
The two sat hand in hand swaying gently back and forth on the swinging bench watching the remains of the sunset.
"So you really want to marry me Beesley?" Jim whispered in a soft raspy voice.
Pam gazed up into the loving pair of eyes she was committed to spending the rest of her life with and, with all the seriousness she could muster, answered back, "Absolutely I do." She sighed and waited a few moments, then smiled thoughtfully. "I do, Halpert. I do." She said again, more seriously.
Grinning to herself Pam leaned her head against his shoulder. "You know I've always dreamed of a house with a terrace upstairs."
Jim turned his head and stared back down at the reason for his existence and nodded with a smile equal to hers. He leaned down, placed a kiss on her head and lay his head on top of hers, all the while never releasing her hand from his gentle grasp. There are some things that are just meant to be.
To clear things up: You might have missed it but, Jim wrote the note. So Pam was not just following some strage not left on her car. She knew it was Jim. Thank you!