“Why don’t you call in sick?” Karen asked Pam.

They were eating breakfast at Karen’s kitchen table. Or at least, Karen was eating breakfast. Pam was looking sorrowfully into her coffee cup. She had shown up at Karen’s door the night before with a duffel bag and eyes red from crying.

“No, it’s fine.”

“Pam. I have been at Scranton long enough to know that Valentine’s Day is bound to be ridiculous. It is not the place you want to be the day after breaking your engagement.”

Just hearing that brought fresh tears to Pam’s eyes.

“Seriously, take the day for yourself. Cry, watch reality TV or go through my liquor cabinet if you need to, but for fuck’s sake, do not subject yourself to Angela’s judgy attitude or Michael’s particular brand of caring today of all day.”

Pam was nodding through her tears.

“Maybe you’re right.”

“I often am.”

“Thank you, Karen.”

By the time Karen arrived at work, word about the breakup had clearly made its way to the upper office of Dunder Mifflin. Ryan was sitting at the reception desk like he was preparing himself for war. She saw Kelly, Meredith and Phyllis talking in ushed tones by the water cooler, wearing various shades of pink and purple. Karen stood by her decision to wear grey on this day. A few heads turned to look at her when she made her way to her desk, but she didn’t hold anybody’s interest, except from one person. Jim looked at her in askance, and she mouthed ‘later’ at him. He nodded before going back to staring blankly at his monitor. She would bet good money that he didn’t see a single thing that was on it.

By the time the giant teddy bear was delivered, she was done. She had avoided participating to any and all conversations about Pam and Roy with various degrees of grace. Inevitably, she still managed to overhear that the wedding was on hold, that the wedding was cancelled, that Roy had cheated on Pam, that Pam was throwing a tantrum over wedding flowers, that Michael had apparently called in from New York to say he was going to get a counseling certificate online to help Pam and Roy through this difficult time once he got back.

Karen was beyond pissed. She knew that Pam tortured herself with the idea of what people would think of her, that it had led her in the past to bad decisions often through passive inaction. So, to hear all those fears come true was maddening. And it wasn’t going to stop any time soon so Pam would have to deal with it eventually. Karen understood the comfort of gossip, the enjoyment of it, especially when you were not the one being discussed. But the callousness of certain of their colleagues was still staggering. Between Angela saying that Roy could do better and Andy asking how long he should wait before making his move, Karen had never fantasized that much about punching coworkers in the face. Though the better answer would have been pushing Angela and Andy together. But Karen couldn’t picture it long enough mentally to suggest it out loud. She couldn’t picture Angela with anyone. Nor Andy really.

Before she started to seriously entertain notions of bodily harm, Karen opened an IM window and asked Jim if there was any quiet place they could escape to. She immediately got a response with directions to the roof.

When she got there, Jim was already standing by the edge.

“Hey,” she said and handed him a can of soda as he turned to face her.

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

He looked at the can for a moment before asking in a rush.

“Have you heard from her?”

She took a drink from her own can.

“She stayed over at my place last night.”

“Oh.”

She could see him trying to reign in the hope he must have been starting to feel.

“Are they…? Is it…?”

She considered how much she wanted to divulge. “From what she said last night, it’s over. And I can tell you it wasn’t a hasty decision. As for the rest of it, you will have to ask her.”

He nodded, then ran a hand through his hair. He was clearly getting agitated.

“Karen, what do I do here? Do I go see her? Do I wait, again?” His voice broke on that last word.

“Look, I don’t know what’s the best solution here. But my best guess? Be her friend right now. Don’t push but don’t go away. She is mourning a ten year long relationship, so that takes time. But I don’t think she has been happy in that relationship in a long time. So yeah, be there.”

He now stood still, listening to her like his life depended on it.

“And also, run interference between her and Michael as much as you can.”

Jim burst out laughing, and just like that the moment was broken and she smiled in satisfaction.

“Be there, huh?” Jim repeated. She acquiesced as she took a sip from her drink, and he nodded back. “I can do that.”

“What about you?” He continued, probably trying to keep the levity going. “Any plans for Valentine’s Day?”

She shrugged. “Well, my plans are currently going home and drinking whatever wine is left at my apartment,” she let the ‘with Pam’ unspoken. “But to answer the spirit of your question, no I am not seeing anyone.” Between the move and the new job, she hadn’t had the mental energy to go looking.

Jim nodded. Karen could see he was not in the right mindset to make small talk.

“Come on, let’s go back,” she said. “I want to see which comes first, Phyllis receiving a live pony or Meredith passing out from the booze she’s been drinking all day.”

Jim chuckled. “Yeah. I should probably figure out why Dwight was being cagey all afternoon.”

Karen went home not knowing what to expect. She had picked up Chinese takeout on the way, figuring out they wouldn’t want to cook. She opened the door to see Pam sitting on the sofa watching TV. She looked surprisingly okay.    

“Hey,” she said carefully.

“Hey,” Pam responded with a small smile.

“So, what did you ending choosing: TV, booze, crying? All of the above?” Karen asked, keeping her tone light, although her interest was genuine.

“I confirmed my registration for the design program,” Pam responded unexpectedly and looking proud of herself. “I start next week.”