After Karen left, Jim stayed in the break room for nearly ten minutes. Everyone left him alone and returned to work. They didn’t know what to say, and Jim didn’t know how to act. It was the most public break-up he had ever had, and he wasn’t exactly happy about having to face it.

            After about ten minutes, Jim heard the door creak open.

            “Hey,” Pam said quietly.

            “So, I guess everyone heard that?” Jim asked, already knowing the answer.

            “Um.” Pam decided against lying. “Yeah, most of it at least.”

            “Great,” Jim sighed. “Any chance I can go out there and pretend it didn’t happen?”

            “Well, Michael overheard it, so I think he is planning on taking you to Hooters soon.”

            “God, Michael. Could this day get any worse?”

            “Well, Dwight could lecture you about relationships. Because, you know, he is such an expert on them.”

            “Thanks, now I am really looking forward to going out there.”

            Jim survived lunch at Hooters and managed to ignore Dwight’s lectures on how you treat a woman. Then he left early for the second day in a row, although this time, in a much more somber mood.

            Jim didn’t really feel like taking photographs this afternoon. He didn’t feel like doing anything. He knew it had to end with Karen. He knew that, but it didn’t make it any easier. And it had been so public – people were staring and whispering all day. Worse yet, the whispers often involved Pam. They started putting two and two together – Jim’s crush, Pam’s ended engagement, Jim breaking up with Karen. It was bad enough to hear it, but Jim wanted to protect Pam from the whispers. It was just like high school.

            Pam had heard her name being thrown around when Jim and Karen were arguing. She couldn’t help being glad that they were fighting and breaking up. Even if she and Jim were never going to happen, Karen still took away her best friend.

            When Karen left, looking broken and angry, Pam had looked into the break room. Jim was standing there, in shock at everything that had happened. Pam hadn’t been able to hear the last few minutes of conversation. Karen’s voice had died from a scream to a mere whisper at the end. She didn’t know if she should go into the room with Jim or wait. After ten minutes (the longest ten minutes of her life), she decided to take a chance. After all, that’s what friends do – they comfort each other.

            The rest of the day, people were quiet. Somehow, the spectacle of the fight that morning made everyone be on their best behavior. Even Michael and Dwight were normal. Every once in a while though, Pam overheard whispers. About Jim, about Karen, and about her. To listen to those conversations, one would think Jim and Pam had been having an affair for years now, and Roy and Karen had found out about it, and that is why the subsequent break ups had occurred. I wish we had had an affair. I wish I could spend every day of my life with him. It would make all this childish whispering alright.