She slammed her phone shut, muttering "asshole" under her breath as she headed back to the table where her friends were still chatting.

"Hey, guys," she said as she slid back into the booth, "Um, change of plans... Amy, do you think I could crash with you for the weekend?" Amy was her best friend since high school, and she knew she wouldn't mind, even though they hadn't spent much time together since Karen had moved to Pennsylvania and started dating Jim.

Amy nodded quickly and asked, "What happened?" Their three other friends had stopped talking and were all looking at her.

"Well, I think I just broke up with Jim. I mean, I did just break up with Jim."

Everyone gasped. Not ten minutes before Karen had been going on about how wonderful he was. "What happened?" Amy asked, shocked.

"Well, I'm pretty sure he left me for another girl. And I think I need a drink."

"Another girl? What are you talking about?" her friend Rebecca asked. "He met someone else in the last hour?"

"Oh no, he's been in love with this one for a while," she sighed, and then realized they were all staring at her, alarmed at her seeming nonchalance. So she felt the need to explain further. "Okay, there's this receptionist, Pam, at our office. I didn't know about her before but it turns out that Jim used to have a big thing for her before he moved to Stamford. So when I found out, I asked him, he said it was no big deal. Then a few weeks later he was kind of flirting with her over... nevermind, not important. Anyway, I asked him if he still had feelings for her, and he said yes."

"Wait," Amy interrupted, "When was this?"

"In January," she replied.

"Karen, it's May! Why didn't you dump his sorry ass then?"

She sighed again, and suddenly the emotions that she should have been feeling a few minutes ago when she had first hung up on him came flooding to the surface. "I don't know. I mean, we talked about it, and he said she would never feel the same way, and he was trying to get over her."

Amy's roommate Laura interjected with, "So you let yourself be his rebound? What were you thinking?"

Karen paused. The thought had occurred to her before but she had pushed it out of her head, rationalizing her decision to stay with Jim in other ways. "I don't know," she said, putting her hands to her face and letting the tears come. Then she started babbling while sobbing. "I mean, I asked her if she had feelings for him and she said no and I knew that she was lying but I thought he would get over it and be happy with me and we were so happy for a while but then she had to go and walk through fire and tell him how she felt in front of all our coworkers and I thought he was over it but I guess he wasn't because he just called right now to tell me he couldn't move here with me and I'm just so stupid!"

"Karen!" Amy practically shouted, putting her hand on Karen's shoulder, "Slow down. What are you talking about? 'Walk through fire'? What does that mean?"

She caught her breath and tried to explain. "We were on this outing for work, and there was a coal walk. Pam did the coal walk and then it must have given her a burst of... something, because she ran over and told Jim that she called off her wedding because of him."

"What?" everyone yelped at once.

"She was supposed to get married?" Laura asked.

"Yes, and then Jim told her how he felt and kissed her, but she told him she was still getting married, so he moved to Stamford."

"And how long after that did she call off her wedding?" Rebecca asked.

"Oh, I don't know. A couple weeks, maybe?" She looked up and noticed everyone glancing at each other. "What?"

Amy paused before saying gently, "So he was in love with a girl who was engaged, he kissed her, she rejected him, and she canceled her wedding anyway after he moved to a different state to get away from her? And you knew this?"

Karen stared at her. "Well, I didn't know it all, at first. It sort of came out in pieces... and by that time I was so crazy about him that... Oh my God, I am so stupid!" She started sobbing again.

"Hey, it's okay," said Kate, who had been fairly quiet up until now. "You are so much better off without him. He sounds like a giant asshole." Everyone else nodded in agreement.

"But he's not!" she protested. "He's really not. He's funny and sweet and I really thought he was it. I thought I was going to marry him."

"No offense, Karen," said Rebecca, reaching out to touch her hand, "But he was never going to marry you. You realize that, don't you?"

The truth hit her then, and hurt worse than anything she had experienced in recent memory. She nodded mutely. The group was silent for a minute, and then Amy said gently, "So how about I skip off work for the rest of the day, and I'll tell them I'm sick, and we'll have a girls' night out tonight and drown your sorrows. Then tomorrow I'll stay home and we can make waffles and paint our toenails."

Karen nodded again, sniffling as someone handed her a tissue. Yes, a girls' night out was an excellent idea.

Luckily Laura was about the same size as she was, so she was able to borrow a cute little black dress, since the only clothes she had with her were her suit and the jeans she had worn the night before.  She had told Jim to leave her overnight bag at Dunder Mifflin with the receptionist since it was in his car and she didn't want to have to see him to get it.  She could tell he felt bad about leaving her there but she really didn't care.  In fact, the worse he felt the better, as far as she was concerned.

Now, standing in front of the mirror in Amy and Laura's apartment, she checked out her reflection and thought she looked pretty damned good in the little black dress.  Amy agreed, giving her a quick hug from behind and saying, "Jim doesn't know what he's missing."

She started to chuckle but her smile faded quickly.  "Unfortunately, he does," she sighed.

Amy gave her a sympathetic smile and said, "Okay, enough about Jim.  Let's get out of here.  Laura's going to meet us later; she had some errands to do after work."

They grabbed a bite to eat at a nearby deli and then headed out to a bar that Amy frequented.  She even knew the bartender by name (which was Joe), and some of the guys playing pool there said hi to her. 

"What will it be?" asked Joe as they sat down at the bar.

"I think I will have a Long Island Ice Tea," replied Karen immediately.

"Whoa, don't you think you should start a little lighter?" Amy questioned.

"Nah, I need it.  Bring it on, Joe!"

One Long Island Ice Tea and two shots later, she was officially intoxicated.  She was always a loud, chatty drunk, which is one reason why she faked drinking that night so many months ago when she stayed late with Andy, Jim, and Andy's bottle of Jaegermeister.  Her unrequited crush on Jim had been at full force then, and she hadn't wanted to end up saying something that would later embarrass her. 

Tonight though she had no such worries.  She was having a blast talking to this one guy who looked vaguely like Zach Braff. 

"And so he just left me here, can you believe it?" She leaned into him and giggled, "Of course I told him to.  But still, can you believe it?"  And inopportune hiccup interrupted her train of thought, and she giggled some more.  The guy politely smiled and then excused himself.  She turned back to Amy.  "I don't think he wanted to talk to me.  Who else is there?"

Amy laughed.  "You're not here to pick up guys, you lush.  You just got dumped less than twelve hours ago."

"Not fair!" Karen retorted.  "I dumped him.  I think.  Or maybe he was using reverse psychology."  She shook her head.  "Whatever.  He's probably boinking Pam by now anyway, why shouldn't I have some fun?"

"Boinking?  What are you, twelve?"  They both started giggling hysterically although neither was sure why exactly.  Amy didn't even feel that drunk.  "Come on," she said, grabbing Karen's hand, "We still have another stop.  Laura's waiting for us."

They ended up at a club where they met Laura, who was sitting with two guys that she apparently worked with.  She introduced them as Derek and Frank.

"Frank?" Karen repeated.  "You're like 30.  Why are you Frank?  Franks are old people."  She snorted and laughed, lightly touching his arm.  "Sorry."

Frank laughed, and replied, "Yeah, I get that all the time.  You wanna dance?"

"Of course I do, Frank!" she replied, giddily, as he led her to the dance floor.  She danced with him for a while, but he started to get a little too close and actually almost grabbed her ass at one point, so she excused herself and told him she had to go to the bathroom.  She met Amy and Laura back at the bar.

"Where's Frank?" Laura asked.

"Had to ditch him.  He had wandering hands."  They laughed, and Karen added, "Actually, I am so wasted and I kind of want to lay down.  Do you mind if we go?"  She was starting to get cranky and didn't want to have to deal with being hit on anymore.  She was having a good time, but the wound left by Jim was just too raw to let herself have too good a time.

Fortunately her friends had also had enough and they headed back to their apartment.  She was anxious to sleep it off, but dreading the hangover she was doomed to have in the morning.

Sure enough, she woke up with a violent headache.  She stumbled into her friends' kitchen where Amy sat at the table reading the paper.

"Do you have any aspirin?" she asked.

"Cabinet to the right of the fridge, top shelf," Amy replied, getting up and pouring Karen a cup of coffee.  "I take it you're not feeling so hot this morning?"

"You could say that," Karen mumbled in reply.  "What time is it?"

"Nine forty-five," answered Amy.

"Oh shit!  Tell me you're lying!" Karen ran to her purse and pulled out her cell phone.  "I totally forgot to call in sick today!"

She quickly dialed the number for Dunder Mifflin Scranton, and as the phone started to ring she remembered that she should have called Michael directly instead of -

"Dunder Mifflin, this is Pam."

Shit, she thought, and sighed.  "Um, hi Pam, it's Karen.  Could you tell Michael I won't be in today because I'm sick?"  She kept her voice as impersonal and emotionless as she could muster.

"Oh, um, sure Karen... I hope you feel better."

"Yeah, I'm sure you do," she replied, a little less emotionless, and without even stopping to think she hung up on Pam.  "Bitch," she muttered under her breath.  She inhaled deeply and closed her eyes, remembering the horrible day she had had yesterday.  She tried to remember how Pam's voice sounded.  Was she extra giddy this morning?  Maybe Jim went back and declared his love for her in the middle of the office.  Or maybe he waited until everyone left and then jumped her on the conference room table.  She felt sick to her stomach thinking about it, but then she told herself that despite his recent actions, Jim was inherently a nice guy, and he probably wouldn't make a move for Pam until some time had passed.  No, she thought, there was no way he would dump her and run off with Pam all in the same day.  Just no way.

As promised, Amy just hung out with her all day.  They made cookies and watched daytime TV and complained about men.  Amy was also currently single and her last relationship had ended badly not too long ago, so Karen appreciated being able to commiserate with her.

Around noon her phone rang, and she saw it was Jim.  She didn't answer it, and she didn't even want to listen to the voicemail he had left.  Then at 1:00 it rang again.  She was going to throw it across the room until she read the caller ID - it was the Dunder Mifflin corporate office.  In all the drama with Jim, she had almost forgotten about her job interview yesterday.  She answered it this time. 

It was David Wallace.   They exchanged greetings and then he said, "Listen, I'm calling with some good news and some bad news.  The bad news is that we've decided to go with someone else for the job you interviewed for."

"Oh.  Okay," she replied.  Great, her one ticket out of Crapwoods, Pennsylvania and she blew it.  She felt the sting of disappointment in her chest.

"But wait... I was really impressed with you and I would like you to come in and interview for another position we have open in a different department.  It would be in marketing and something completely different than what you do now..."

"That sounds great!" she interjected.  "When do you want me to come in?"

Wallace chuckled and said something about how enthusiastic she sounded.  Whatever, she thought.  She just wanted a job that wasn't in Scranton.  He asked when she was available next and she quickly told him Monday.  He put her on hold to check with the person she would be interviewing with, but when he came back he said, "Unfortunately she'll be away at a conference until Thursday.  Would that work for you?"

Figures, Karen thought, but she told him it was fine and set the interview for Thursday morning.  Almost a whole week away.  That would mean that she would have to go back to the Scranton office at some point between now and then, much as it sickened her.  But again, she reminded herself that Jim was a decent person and he would never start anything with Pam right away out of respect for her.  Or would he? 

She was going to need more aspirin.

It was Monday morning.  Karen sat in her car in the Dunder Mifflin parking lot, staring at the door.  She was already late but she just couldn't get out of the car.  She noticed both Jim's and Pam's cars were already here.  She dreaded walking in and having everyone stare at her.  Did they all know she and Jim broke up?  She was sure there would be gossip about it.  There was always gossip.

Eventually she forced herself out of the car, through the door, and into the elevator.  Her heart was beating rapidly and she thought she may lose her breath.  But when the elevator opened she inhaled deeply and told herself that this was fine, she could do this. 

However, her resolve crumpled as soon as she walked in the door.  Jim was at the reception desk, leaning over, talking to Pam in a low and whispered tone - in between giggles.  They were both obviously in a good mood and having fun with each other.  But then Pam looked up and saw her, and her expression changed from happy to somewhat panicked.  Jim looked around to see what caused such a change.

"Hey," he said, softly, "I didn't think you would be in today."

Doing her best not to betray her current emotions, she answered flatly, "Why wouldn't I be?" and without waiting for an answer, headed toward her desk.

The first thing she noticed was that Jim had switched desks.  He was now sitting where Ryan used to sit.  So now he can look at her all day, she thought, that's just great.

Then she noticed that everyone seemed a little awkward around her.  Not that she was ever best friends with anyone in the office, but she could tell that they were hiding something.  Phyllis smiled weakly and wouldn't make eye contact, and when she ran into Oscar in the break room he kind of hurried off mumbling something.

But it was Kelly that really gave it away.  She was sitting in the break room crying, and when she spotted Karen she ran over and threw her arms around her, babbling about how "Oh my God, Karen, I totally know how you feel.  Men are such assholes.  I can't believe Ryan and Jim did this to us."

Us?  Well, that answers that, she mused.  They all know we broke up and are trying to avoid me.  She didn't even bother to ask or care about what had happened between Kelly and Ryan.  Instead she headed back to her desk.

She was intercepted by Jim in the kitchen.  He looked very tired, and somewhat nervous.  "Hey, can I talk to you?"

She didn't reply, but she did stop walking and looked up at him.

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry, that I never meant to hurt you.  And I know that sounds really lame, but it's true.  I'm sorry I put you in the middle of everything..."  He trailed off and looked at her.  "I guess there's nothing I can really say to make this right."

"No, not really," she answered, and tried to walk around him to exit the kitchen.  But that was when Michael appeared in the doorway.  "Oh hi Karen, you're feeling 'better'" he said, complete with air quotes.  Jim just rolled his eyes, and Karen again attempted to leave the room.  But Michael wasn't done.

"So I guess you're already okay with Jim boning Pam?  Man, I gotta give you credit, I would be..."

"Michael!" Jim yelled, then turned to Karen as if to say, "What an idiot!"  But he didn't quite sell the expression.  There was something... there.  Guilt perhaps?  Or was she being paranoid?  It was ridiculous to think that someone like Michael would even know what was going on in Jim's personal life, but...

She turned back to Michael, about to ask him to elaborate, but Jim grabbed her arm, and said, "Okay then, that's enough of that, Michael."

She quickly pulled away from him.  "Don't touch me," she hissed, and stormed back to her desk.

Jim avoided her for the rest of the day, and mercifully, he also seemed to avoid Pam.  Maybe there was nothing going on between them after all - yet.  Karen was just praying for Thursday to arrive so she could go on that interview, impress the hell out of them, and leave this hellhole once and for all.  And if she didn't get that job, she would quit anyway.  Maybe move in with Amy and Lauren and look for a job in the city.  She had some savings; it wouldn't be too bad.  Yeah, that sounded like a good plan.  She just had to make it a few more weeks.

At the end of the day she couldn't wait to get out of the office, so at 4:59 she hurriedly packed up her stuff and left the office without a word to anyone.  She breathed a sigh of relief when she reached her car.  Just a few more days, she thought.  Days now, not weeks.  If she got the job in New York she would take her vacation time until it started, so she wouldn't have to come back to Scranton.  Yes, that's exactly what she would do.  She felt better about everything already.

Her relief was short-lived, however.  On Tuesday morning she left her house to go to work, and as she passed Jim's place on the way, her heart dropped into her gut.  Pam's car was parked out front.  She slowed down for a moment, and saw that Jim was walking Pam to her car.  They were laughing about something, and then they embraced.  Karen had to look away, so she sped up and drove away as fast as she could.

At first she tried to convince herself it didn't necessarily mean what she thought it meant.  But in her heart she knew the truth.  She was in tears by the time she got to work.

Just a few more days, she told herself as she walked into the building.  She was one of the first people there, and she really needed some coffee.  When she returned to her desk from the break room Pam had already arrived.  She was smiling as she got settled, not even noticing Karen was there.  Karen couldn't help but glare at her for a few seconds, before she had to force herself to focus on her work.  Jim strode in a few minutes later, with a grin on his face and laughter in his eyes that Karen had rarely seen.  He started to talk to Pam but glanced over and saw Karen, so instead he nodded stiffly and sat down at his desk.

The morning dragged by slowly and the longer Karen sat there, the more angry she became.  Even though she tried to avoid looking directly at him, whenever she heard his voice on the phone or talking to Dwight she felt a rage building up.  At one point she heard him chuckle and saw him cover his mouth to stifle a laugh, and all she could think was that maybe Pam sent him a funny email mocking her or something.  And as much as she knew that wasn't true, a part of her felt so exposed and humiliated that she really believed it may be possible. 

Her pent up anger finally bubbled over when she accidentally stumbled upon Jim and Pam in the break room at lunch.  They weren't doing anything but sitting at a table eating lunch, but she couldn't hold it in any longer. 

"So," she said to Jim, with just the right amount of bitterness in her voice, "you sure move fast."

"Karen," Jim started to say, but she walked out of the room.  He followed her.

"Karen, please," he pleaded.  "Talk to me."

She spun around and faced him.  "Talk to you?  Okay, I'll talk to you.  What do you want to hear?  That everything is fine?  That I enjoy sitting here knowing that you and her are together?  That it's not killing me?"  She was shouting now, and Toby turned around from his desk to see what the commotion was about.

"Tell me, Jim, how long did it take you to fuck her after you dumped me?  You couldn't even wait a few hours, could you?"

Jim was red faced and shaking now.  "It wasn't like that," he said quietly.

"Then what was it like, Jim?  You couldn't even let me get the hell out of this piss-hole town before you started screwing that bitch."

He was getting angry.  "Don't... talk about her that way," he growled.

"I'll talk about her however the hell I want!" she yelled back, aware that Pam was still inside the break room and could hear everything she was saying.  At this point Toby approached her and Jim and put a hand out in between them.

"Guys, this isn't really the place to discuss this," he said in the same voice he used whenever he tried to gently correct Michael.

Jim ignored him.  "No, Karen, I am willing to take total responsibility for hurting you, but I will not let you blame Pam for this.  It's all my fault.  Not hers."

She snickered.  "I'm sorry, did I at some point imply that I didn't blame you?  Because that's pretty much the furthest thing from the truth."

"Karen.  Jim.  Seriously, this is not appropriate," Toby interrupted again.

"Oh, shut up, Toby," Karen shot back, but she immediately regretted it and apologized.  "I'm sorry.  I didn't mean it."  She paused and added, "I'm done," as she turned and headed through the kitchen and back out to her desk, where she grabbed her purse and headed for the door. 

She stopped by Michael's office and said simply, "Michael, I'm going to be taking my vacation time for the rest of the week.  Personal reasons."  She left without waiting for a reply.

It was a chilly Saturday morning in November. Karen woke up early to walk her dog, Bob. She had adopted him soon after she had moved to New York and he was like a baby to her. He was a little black pomeranian who was all personality, and she loved every bit of him. Unfortunately though, dogs are not generally welcome as wedding guests, so she was leaving him with Amy for the weekend while she went away for this wedding, which was something that she was dreading.

It would be the first time she would see Jim in six months, and although she felt she was mostly over him, she knew it was a reality that she would always have feelings for him. So it helped that she had a date.

Amy stopped by to get Bob at 8:30, and Karen kissed him goodbye and told him she would see him tomorrow night. Then she went into her bedroom to get ready for the wedding and pack her overnight bag. At 9:15 she heard her intercom buzz. "Hey, it's me," she heard her date say when she answered it. She pressed the button to let him up.

A minute later she opened the door to let him into the apartment. "Hi there," she said. "Let me just grab my bag and my coat."

"No problem," Ryan replied. She smiled at him as they headed out the door. She had really been the only person he knew when they both started working at Dunder Mifflin's corporate headquarters, so they started eating lunch together a few times a week. Eventually they became pretty good friends, and she found he wasn't really the jackass she always thought he was when they were in Scranton. They had slept together a few times, but it was really casual and neither of them were ready for another committed relationship. This wedding would be the first formal function they would attend together. And while the bride and groom knew that Ryan was bringing a guest, she had asked him not to tell them who the guest was. She shamelessly wanted to see the look of surprise on Jim's face when he saw her walk in with Ryan.

They started the long drive to Kevin's wedding, but halfway to Scranton they were delayed in a big traffic jam, so they missed the ceremony and instead headed to the reception hall, which was in the hotel where they were staying. They decided to check in first, since it looked like most of the wedding guests had not yet arrived anyway. While she was in the room she double checked herself in the mirror. Ryan caught her and was somewhat amused.

"Trying to impress someone?" he asked.

"Yes. You, of course," she retorted.

He chuckled and said, "So this is going to be weird. Kelly is going to freak."

"I think you're right," she said as she straightened his tie. "Let's go. Show time."

They walked down to the reception arm in arm. Most of the guests had arrived by that point, so the place card table was mostly bare. She quickly found Ryan's and checked the table number, which was 8. And of course, table 8 was entirely full of Dunder Mifflin, Scranton, employees. She felt her heart race as she saw Jim and Pam, sitting together, talking quietly to each other. She walked behind Ryan as he approached the table and greeted everyone. He turned to her and said, "I think you all know my date, Karen." Jim just stared blankly, mouth open.

"Hi everyone," she said with as much warmth as she could muster. "It's been a while."

Ryan stood there smirking as Kelly shouted, "You bastard!" and ran from the table, leaving her own date, who apparently didn't know anyone, sitting there awkwardly. Jim just continued to stare, and Pam poked him on the arm and whispered something in his ear. He stood up and stepped toward Karen.

"Hey," he said. "What a surprise."

"Hey yourself," she smiled back at him. "Well, you know, Ryan didn't want to come alone and I thought it might be fun to see everyone. How've you been, Jim?"

"Good," he said. "Great, actually. How about yourself?"

"Couldn't be better," she replied, and sat down next to Ryan. Jim sat back in his seat and uncomfortably took a drink of water. Luckily for him that was when the band leader decided to announce the wedding party. Karen was really surprised to see that Michael was one of the groomsmen, considering the disaster that was Phyllis' wedding. But she figured he probably bribed Kevin into it just as he had done with Phyllis.

As the food was served and the alcohol started flowing, Jim seemed to relax more. Karen had even had a polite conversation with him and Pam about her dog, but she didn't press for details about their relationship. She could tell, however, that they were happy. There was a spark in Jim's eyes that she had rarely seen when she was with him.

A little while later she watched him from a distance as he slow danced with Pam. He was holding her close and whispering in her ear, laughing, and they seemed like they were in their own little world. He didn't even notice Karen staring at them from the table. She thought back to Phyllis' wedding, which seemed like a lifetime ago now, and how that had marked a turning point in their relationship, and how that was the first day she really thought they may have a wedding of their own someday. It was only much later she figured out that it was also the day Pam got back together with Roy, and that was the reason for Jim's sudden interest in their own relationship. She sighed out loud at the recollection, but her thoughts were interrupted by a tap on her shoulder.

"Wanna dance?" Ryan asked, and she happily accepted.

A few hours later the reception was over, but the party continued on in the bridal suite, where Kevin's band Scrantonicity was replaced with an ipod and some speakers, and everyone was pretty drunk. Michael and Andy were both singing loudly. Dwight and Angela were off in a corner looking like they were arguing sternly about something. Ryan, her supposed date, was being yelled at by Kelly over near the balcony. And Jim and Pam were, well, being Jim and Pam, on the couch, joking about what was going on around them. Karen figured this was probably a good time to make an exit and go back to her room to lie down for a while.

She had just slipped out the door when she heard a voice behind her.

"Karen, wait!" Jim caught up to her in the hall.

"Oh, hi," she said. "I was just going back to my room to rest."

"I won't keep you," he replied, and then said, "It was really good to see you. I just wanted you to know that I'm sorry about the way things ended between us." He looked at her expectantly. She could tell he really wanted her to accept his apology this time.

"It's okay," she said. "I am totally fine now. I was really mad at you for a long time, but I'm over it now." She smiled at the relief in his eyes, and hesitated before asking, "So... was it worth it?"

He looked at her for a moment before he answered, "Well, that sounds like a trick question, but if you're asking me if I'm happy, the answer is yes."

She didn't need any more details, so she simply said, "Good. Then I'm happy for you."

He grinned, and then asked the question she knew he had been dying to ask all day, "So you and Ryan..."

She chuckled. "Oh, we're just friends," she said, and then added under her breath, "With benefits."

Jim was mock-aghast. "Filippelli! Wow."

She grinned back at him and pulled him into a hug. He hugged her back, and said, "Take care of yourself, Karen."

She nodded as she pulled away, turning to continue to her room, but she stopped herself. "Hey Jim," she said, as he stopped in the doorway to the suite.

"Yeah?"

"If she ever hurts you again, I'll kick her ass."

He laughed, and replied, "Somehow, I don't think that will ever be necessary."

She smiled and gave him a wave, and walked away. And at that moment she knew that everything had worked out for the best.