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She throws a paperclip at the back of his head to get his attention. She knows, even though he hasn’t been here that long, that Jim Halpert appreciates a little effort, and a simple “hey” will not suffice. So she throws the paperclip and it skims the back of his neck and for a second she thinks it’s going to plunge down the collar of his shirt before it ricochets down to the tile floor with a gentle clink. He turns around, with that amused expression that Karen thinks he has patented, and if he doesn’t, he should so that no one can ever try to duplicate it. His expression is a little different today, the slightest twinge of sadness behind his smirk, and she knows exactly why. Well, not exactly, he’s never been much for details on his life before Stamford. But she has a few guesses as to why he would even consider not taking the promotion that was so blatantly handed to him.
“So what are you going to do?” she asks gently.
Jim shakes his head. “I’m not going to take it.”
She can’t say she’s surprised by his answer. She’s just now more curious than ever as to how bad Scranton can be that he would choose unemployment before going back there.
“Really?”
He just shrugs. “How about you? How are you dealing with all of this?” He’s either genuinely concerned or desperately wants to change the subject. She’s not sure which; she’s not sure it matters.
“I’m okay, I’ll feel better when I know if I have a job or not.” And it’s true; Karen can’t decide if the branch closing is a blessing or just an added burden. It means she has to go on interviews, which she hates, and pretend to be interested in a dead-end job, which she hates more. And she just got a cat because she thought her apartment could use a little more life in it, and it’s been nice coming home to more than the teenager upstairs playing bass and Sex and the City reruns. Plus she’s not sure how Name-To-Be-Determined will handle travel, provided she can even wrangle the little hellion into a kitty carrier. She’s never been one for small towns; she needs entertainment, and culture, and the survival-of-the-fittest attitude that comes along with big cities. But at least Scranton would be secure, and it’s not that far from Philadelphia right? She could learn to love the Phillies, though she’s pretty sure her father would never forgive her if she did.
“You’d really go to Scranton?” he asks.
“Yeah, I mean, why not?”
“But New York—“
“Is way too close to my parents. The last thing I need is my mother dropping in every day to tell me how awful my apartment is.”
This gets the first genuine laugh out of him for that day, and she smiles, waiting for some kind of approval. Not that she necessarily needs it, but…still.
“Good point. Well Scranton—it’s not that bad. If they offer you a job,” he pauses for a moment, making sure that he’s really ready to make that suggestion that can never be taken back. “I think you should take it.”
Of course this means that any possibility of him being into her is out the window since he’s now encouraging her to move away, away from him. But that’s okay, really; he’s too tall and she’s too short and he’s probably not Catholic. One more thing for her mother to nag her about.
Maybe she could do this. Maybe she could try something new; not as fancy as the metropolitan life, to be sure, but still…
“Yeah—maybe I will.”
xxx
Turns out packing up her desk isn’t as hard as she thought it would be. Some client files, old issues of People magazine, and a stolen copy of Call of Duty requires only one cardboard box and that’s fine with her.
It’s the last day in Stamford and feelings are mixed. Some are happy to be going, some are tearfully figuring out what the hell to do now. As for Karen, the biggest worry is her Jeep not breaking down in the three hours it takes to get to get to Scranton. She’s making a mental note to find car repair shops near her new place when Jim’s desk phone beings to ring and grab her attention. He’s talking to Josh, or more like politely nodding along to whatever bullshit he’s being fed. He looks over when the phone starts to ring and gives Karen the okay to pick it up. She fumbles for it awkwardly and clears her throat.
“Jim Halpert’s phone, Karen speaking.” Maybe a career as a secretary would work out if this job doesn’t.
“Oh, umm, sorry, this—is Jim there?” It’s a small voice, timid and clearly expecting someone else to have answered.
“You know, he’s actually in a meeting right now, can I take a message?” She starts to worry about just how good she is at this as she hastily grabs a discarded Post-it notepad and pen.
“Uhh, no—well, just tell him Pam called and that…that Scranton branch is disappointed he’s not coming back.”
She stands up a little straighter.
“Scranton? Oh, uhh…” now it’s her turn to be awkward. “I’m actually going to Scranton. I mean, I know I’m not Jim and that’s definitely not the same thing…” the words come tumbling out and she has no idea why this is so uncomfortable.
“Oh Karen! Filipelli right? Yeah, I helped put together your welcome basket.” Her voice is much warmer now, like she’s trying desperately to latch on to something in the way of friendship.
“I get a basket? Well that settles it, I made the right decision.” They share a laugh and Karen tries to remember the last time she had a good friend that didn’t possess a Y chromosome.
“So yeah, umm, if you could just tell Jim that, that’d be…great. And I guess we’ll see you soon!”
“Yeah, I’m looking forward to it.” They exchange slightly awkward goodbyes and she hangs feeling more assured this new direction in her life. She steals another glance at Jim, still stuck in Josh’s office looking more pained than usual, and thinks that maybe she understands a little bit more why he’s not going back. She grabs her box and sticks the yellow note onto his computer screen as she walks out of the office. The receptionist is the last person she says goodbye to on her way out.
