"Thanks." She had to duck her head; ever since he'd been back, she'd found that looking him in the eye was something that she had to do sparingly...because to do so cost her dearly, made her feel like she'd slid back ten feet for every one she took when she was forcing herself to look past him.

But there was something lingering beneath the shadows of his expression now that made it all okay; that intangible something didn't negate what she'd done that afternoon.  

No, that very indescribable thing made her feel - for the briefest of moments - that there was hope.  

Karen may as well have been invisible.  As soon as the realization hit her, she felt that old familiar guilt - displaced, of course, because she wasn't the one who was not really there in a relationship.

Not anymore.

Still she tried, glancing at Karen. "So...yeah, the mall was pretty interesting, huh?"

She struggled to look her in the eyes , but in the claustrophobic, stifling atmosphere of the elevator, she found it damned near impossible to do so.

Because the image of that lacy, lime green lingerie Karen had held up wouldn't leave her alone; all that it represented seemed to be hollowing out her insides.

"Totally." Karen nodded, but Pam could've sworn she sensed a hesitation there.

So she filled the silence the only way she knew how: "Michael and Jan...wow."

"I know." Again Karen nodded, with more enthusiasm this time. "Talk about kinky sex."

Oh dear god, please...let's don't.

Pam couldn't even muster a smile, reaching out to tuck her bangs beneath her ear, her eyes falling to rest on the emergency panel as she wondered dully why there wasn't a Fast Forward/ Too Awkward button.  After all, elevators were notorious for breeding discomfort...right?