“Did you really expect anything less? I get why you wanted to come in a couple hours later to ease back into work, but seriously Jim, this is Dwight we’re talking about.”

Jim laughed easily at Pam’s teasing voice coming through his phone. “Yeah, you’re right, but to have my desk and your desk around like that? I gotta hand it to the guy, that’s dedication.”

“Did anyone mention this mega desk of his after you got it all cleaned up?”

“Phyllis mentioned that she told Dwight it might not be a good idea, but you know how Dwight can be. The doc guys said he’s already hooked on it.”

“Really?” Pam’s voice sounded confused. “That’s quick, even for him.”

“My guess is that he’s between beet harvests and so there wasn’t much to do out on the farm. He came in early and wanted to use the upgraded internet for gaming and it spiraled from there.”

“Yeah, that makes sense.” In the background Cece started to fuss. “Hey I gotta go. Cece needs a diaper change. I’m glad your first sales call went good.”

“Me too,” said Jim as he pulled back into the parking lot of the office. “I just got back so I would have had to let you go anyway. See you tonight. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Jim ended the call and put his phone back in pocket. Tucking the new printer contracts into his messenger bag, Jim noticed the HR form to extend Pam’s maternity leave sitting on his seat. He took the back stairwell outside the annex to drop it off for Toby. Glancing through the kitchen, he saw Dwight had moved the desks back to the Megadesk formation while he’d been out on the sales call.

“Hey Toby, can I leave this here with you for a sec?” He held up his messenger bag.

Toby spun in his chair and saw where Jim was looking. “Just don’t break any company property.”

“No problem.”

Walking through the kitchen he paused for an instant before heading towards his desk.

“Nope, no. No. No. No. No. No.”

Dwight heard him walking over and moved to protect his precious desk. “Come on, come on. Five more minutes. Five more minutes of Megadesk. Please.” Dwight’s voice hushed to a whisper with the last word.

In response Jim unceremoniously tipped the framed photos off his desk before pointing to a stack of papers. “Is this your or mine?”

At first Dwight just sat in stunned shock as Jim shoved Dwight’s personal items off his and Pam’s desks. Dwight raising his arms above his head and bellowing his grief for Megadesk, was the final straw that had Michael finally appear at the door to his office.

“Guys! Guys! What’s going on?”

Jim looked over his shoulder with a calm expression on his face. “Nothing, just getting the office cleaned up for when Jo gets here. You know how she hates things being out of order.”

Michael nodded in what Jim knew was attempt to be sage-like. “Good call. Look at you back in the swing of things already. Dwight, help Jim get everything cleaned up.”

Muttering to himself Dwight stood up and helped to disassemble Megadesk. Jim was putting his last framed pictures of Cece on his desk when Jo walked in with her Great Danes.

_____________________________________________________________________________

“Thanks again by the way,” Jim said to Jo and clapped Dwight on the shoulder before turning to leave.

Nice try Dwight, he thought to himself. I do kinda feel bad taking off before everyone else, but I do not want to miss any more ironic Cece lip curls.

In no time he was out the door and heading to the car. It didn’t take long for him to arrive back home.

“Hey!” Pam gave him a bright smile as he walked into the living room. She was feeding Cece on the couch. “Welcome back!”

With a sign, Jim flopped down next to her and tilted his head back to lean on the couch cushions.

“Uh oh,” Pam caught his mood right away. “Rough day back?”

“Yeah, you could say that.” Jim went on to explain how Dwight’s attempts at getting back at him for breaking up Megadesk, the duo of Dwight and Andy singing “Cat’s in the Cradle,” and Jo’s seemingly tireless work ethic. By now Cece had finished feeding. Jim took off his dress shirt and tie and tossed a burp clothe over his shoulder. Taking Cece he started to burp her while Pam hooked up her breast pump.

“Hey you’re home now.” Pam put a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. “But of course, you can’t let Dwight have the last word with the whole desk thing.”

Jim looked over and caught her mischievous smirk. He couldn’t help but grin. “I love you so much. What did you have in mind?”

“Well, you’ve already put his desk in the bathroom, did the whole gift-wrapped invisible desk thing, and moved his desk inch by inch closer to the copier. What else could we do?”

Jim let out a small chuckle at the memory of one of his earliest desk related pranks. “I almost forgot about that one.”

Pam smiled at him. “Yeah, except that made him closer to me all day.”

“That inch by inch prank was your idea if I recall,” Jim defended himself with a cocked eyebrow.

“Meh, details,” Pam shrugged.

Cece let out a burp just then before nestling her head on Jim’s shoulder. Warmth flooded through Jim’s heart. “Good one Kiddo.”

His eyes scanned the living room. Clearly Pam had been playing with Cece throughout the day. Next to her play pad several plastic blocks were scattered about. Three of them were stacked to form a triangle. Jim’s lips curled up in a smile. He dug his phone out of his pocket and dialed a familiar number.

“Hey Mark, how’s it going? Good. Yeah, she’s being a sweetheart. No, not heading out this year. I’ve got some Killian’s Irish Red in the fridge so that should be good. Question for you, do you still have those furniture jacks? Great! I’ll make a deal with you. If you don’t mind helping me out tonight, you and Emily can come over, drink my booze, and cuddle Cece all you want. Let me tell you about something I’m going to call Quad-desk.”

An hour later Jim and Mark surveyed their handiwork. They’d had to wait for the office staff to leave before using Mark’s furniture jacks to stack Jim’s desk on top of Dwight and Pam’s desks. The baby-doll furniture they’d liberated from Cece’s room now held a miniature version of Dwight’s desk in the space under Jim’s desk. A sheet of plywood and a stool would allow Jim to perch at the apex of the three stacked desks.

“Thanks buddy,” Jim said to Mark.

“Anytime man,” Mark replied. “Now come on, let’s head back. Can’t let the girls have all the fun with the baby.”

When they arrived back, Mark made a beeline for the fridge. He grabbed two bottles and handed one off to Jim. Together they made their way back into the living room. Cece was asleep in Emily’s arms on the couch. Pam was sitting on the opposite end with her sketchbook open. Jim paused for a moment in the entrance of the living room and a warm smile bloomed on his face.

It was good to get back to work, he mused. But even better to be back home.