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Karen got up from her chair and headed to the kitchen. Phyllis watched her go and sighed. Although she planned to work at Dunder-Mifflin until she retired, she knew that she might be very bored until that day arrived. Especially since neither Stanley, nor Karen ever really talked to her. In fact, very few of her co-workers talked to her unless she started the conversation. She knew that, even then, sometimes they would only respond because they wanted to amuse her. Like Pam. Yes, Pam seemed genuine in most of her talks with Phyllis, but there were times when the look in her eyes screamed that she wanted to be someplace else.

Have I overstayed my welcome? Phyllis had pondered this many times. It wasn’t like she actually needed to work. She and Bob were reasonably well to do, and she knew that they could live comfortably on his salary. It was surprising how well refrigerators sold in the area. Sure, Phyllis could quit, if she wanted to. But then what would she do? She and Bob had discussed having kids, or even just adopting. But the thought of being a mother overwhelmed her. Could I be a mother? Would I be a good mother? She glanced across her desk at Stanley.

A ten-letter word beginning with a "b" with a clue of "canine tracker." Stanley pondered for a moment. In the corner of his eye, he saw Phyllis looking at him. He glanced up at her. "Is there something you want?" He didn't mean to sound annoyed on purpose. Sometimes it just came out that way.

She shook her head. "You can go back to your puzzle."

Stanley noticed that she looked a bit sad. He sighed. "Do you want to help me with this word?" After he’d said it, he wished he could have taken it back, but the smile on Phyllis' face made him rethink that. "I take that as a ‘yes,’” he mumbled. He gave her the puzzle. "17, across."

She looked at it carefully. She mouthed a few letters, trying to spell out words. After a couple of minutes, she handed him back the puzzle. "The word is ‘bloodhound.’”

At first, Stanley didn't believe her. But after writing the word in, he realized she was correct. He nodded his head. "You're good, Phyllis." He knew that would make her day, especially after the funeral from the day before. It wasn't very often that Stanley enjoyed Phyllis' company, or anyone else's, for that matter, but he decided he wouldn't mind continuing this charade. He said, "Nine-letters, has a ‘l' as the fourth letter, and the clue is ‘Dublin-based carrier.’” He handed her the puzzle, which she accepted happily.

She did enjoy it when they did crossword puzzles together. It was a way for her to enter his world, one that few were privileged to enter. A world of begrudging discontentment. A world of crossword puzzles and matchbox cars. While thinking about the answer, she looked around the room. Most of her co-workers had their own little worlds outside of work. They could all be completely different than the bland or crazy selves that they were at the office from nine to five. She looked at the empty desk Pam and Jim were cleaning out. Yes, there were times when she'd thought that their late co-worker was strange and annoying; however, she found that did miss him. She remembered days when he would randomly start playing his guitar. One time, Phyllis had been so upset that she lost a long-time customer that she had retreated in the break room, crying. Apparently, he'd heard about it and came to her side to play, "Ain't No Sunshine." It was one of Phyllis' favorite songs, and it had instantly cheered her up.

"Phyllis, do you know the word?" Stanley's voice startled her back to the puzzle she was holding in her hand. She turned back to him and glanced at the paper. "I believe it's ‘Aerlingus'." She gave it back to him. "It's Ireland's national airline."

A sudden, monotone voice interrupted their conversation. "Excuse me, Phyllis."

Without looking to see who it was, she scooted her chair forward.

"Thanks." Dwight sat down. He had just come back from two sales calls. Pretty successful ones, too. He'd hoped to receive ‘Salesman of the Year' again, but after that being forced to quit and take on a short stint with Staples, Dwight felt that he needed time to bring himself up to speed again, and repair the damage he’d done to Dunder-Mifflin. He was surprised to not see Jim or Pam in front of him. He swiveled around to catch Karen coming back to her seat. "Where are Jim and Pam?"

Karen was slightly confused by his question but she answered him, nonetheless. "Over there." She pointed to the empty desk behind Meredith’s, near the window. Jim and Pam were sorting through the top drawers. He nodded and returned back to his computer. Karen rolled her eyes. She looked at her desk-mates, who were still doing the crossword puzzle together. I can't wait to get out of this hellhole. She closed her eyes for a moment and breathed in.

Dwight checked his e-mail to see if any of his new customers had sent him anything. They hadn’t, but he did find an e-mail from Angela. He was puzzled. She should know better, especially with Michael's ability to look at their e-mails. He didn't know whether or not to open it. He even thought about deleting it without reading it. But the subject got to him: Important, Dwight. He double-clicked on it. He read the short paragraph. His eyes grew larger.

He re-read it again. And again. And again. Each time, he hoped that it would have changed. But it didn't. He got up from his desk and went to the accounting.

Exasperated, he asked, "Where's Angela?" Oscar and Kevin just looked at him.

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