Over the next few weeks, Pam and Karen got into the habit of having lunch together a few times each week. The first week, Pam hesitantly approached Karen the day before her assignment was due to ask if she wanted to take a look at the first chapter. Pam had fleshed out the first part of the story, in which the canary, recently purchased by the farmer’s son, arrives on the farm and meets the fox, who helps her to escape from her cage and introduces her to the rest of the animals on the farm, but was worried that the story was too flat. Karen had some ideas for the escape that made the chapter more exciting and even suggested a good reason for the farmer’s son not to simply recapture the canary and put her back in the cage – something Pam had wondered about herself while she was writing. They met for lunch again the next day, because Karen couldn’t wait to read the revised story.

By the third week, Karen was stopping by reception to see if Pam wanted to have lunch every day that Jim was out of the office and many when he wasn’t. Some days, Jim joined them; sometimes, he didn’t. On the days before her class, however, he always found time for a shared lunch. They called these lunches their “project meetings” and Pam started to look forward to them more than anything else in the office. She was sure that Jim enjoyed seeing their previous life in the office captured on the page as much she did. And on project meeting days, they were almost the old friends they’d been before everything changed.

“Oh, my god,” Karen exclaimed, practically doubled over with laughter. “You did not convince Dwight to seal himself into a box to spy on people.”

This week’s installment featured Pam the Canary and Jim the Fox convincing Dwight the Mule that the farmer was planning to sell off some of the farm animals. The last panels showed Dwight the Mule rolled inside a hay bale, trying to sneak closer to the farmer without being noticed and narrowly avoiding being eaten by Stanley, whom Pam had drawn as a slow-moving, slightly cantankerous bull. 

“That was the beauty of it. I didn’t have to convince him,” Jim grinned at the sweet memory. “He thought of it all by himself. Pam was inspirational, though. She had him convinced that she held all the secrets of the downsizing. That was why he was so sure he had to get in on that secret meeting in the warehouse.”

“Oh, but the meeting was all Jim’s idea. Such a sly fox.” Pam returned the compliment warmly.

“Well, if you could convince Dwight to hide in a box, I wonder if we could convince Andy to mail himself somewhere. Somewhere far. Like the Staples headquarters. Isn’t that in Massachusetts somewhere?”

“Nah. Andy went to Cornell. He probably learned that it isn’t a very good idea to mail yourself anywhere. Either that or his fraternity brothers already tried it.” Jim turned in his seat and tossed his lunch bag into the trash can. “Two points.”

“Hey, I wonder if I can put the basketball game with the warehouse guys in this story somewhere.” Pam chewed on her pencil thoughtfully.

“A basketball game in the warehouse, huh? I bet you ruled the court.” Karen dropped her hand onto Jim’s leg and gave a gentle squeeze.

“I did okay.” Jim said quickly, glancing at Pam and moving his leg gently from under Karen’s hand. “I don’t think you could convince anyone that a fox was a basketball star. Besides, you haven’t made up characters for any of the warehouse people. That would be a lot of new people to add.”

“I guess you’re right,” Pam said. “I’m going to have to start thinking about how to wrap this thing up anyway. There are only a couple more weeks in the class.”

The break room door opened and Kelly and Ryan entered. Kelly had discovered the graphic novel a few weeks ago. She had been a little confused at first at seeing herself drawn as a bird, but had been happy that she was included. Pam had been worried that she’d be insulted by her chattering magpie alter ego, but Karen had leaped in to fix things.

“A magpie?” Kelly had asked when Pam pointed out her character in the novel. “What’s that? Why am I a magpie?”

“It’s a song bird,” Karen answered quickly. “You know, bringing cheer and news to the other animals on the farm.”

“Oh, that’s cool. I like that. What’s Ryan? He has to be a bird, too. Because our characters wouldn’t work if he was a cat or something. We have to be compatible, because we are so compatible in real life. Don’t you think so? Maybe he can be a magpie, too? That would make sense, right? Because then we’d drawn together, just like we were in real life.”

Remembering how Ryan managed to keep Jim’s desk after the merger, Pam’s first instinct was to make Ryan a snake in the grass, but she dismissed that uncharitable impulse quickly. Besides, Pam suspected that making Ryan’s character “compatible” with Kelly the Magpie would be sufficient revenge all by itself.

After several bad suggestions from Kelly, a few good ones from Jim and Karen and a little internet research, she settled on a Scarlet Tanager. When Kelly saw the first drawing of the tiny Ryan Tanager, with his bright red body and black wings, she ran to Ryan’s desk and dragged him into the break room. Ryan looked down at the little bird with disbelief.

“That’s supposed to be me?”

“Sure,” Pam answered, trying to look serious. “You know. Hottest in the office. I had to find a really pretty bird.”

Ryan shook his head in disgust and left the break room, a chattering Kelly following behind. By the end of the day, though, Ryan had done some research of his own and told Pam with grim satisfaction that Scarlet Tanagers were migratory, so he’d take it.

Michael, of course, loved his character. When he saw the project for the first time, he started referring to himself as the “office stallion.” He lobbied for Ryan the Tanager to be one of those grooming birds that rides around on hippos or elephants – or horses, when in its northern range. The idea made Pam giggle. Ryan wasn’t so amused when he saw his alter ego riding around on Michael the Gelding’s rump and picking burrs out of his mane at Michael’s direction. Kelly exclaimed that Pam had captured Ryan’s facial expressions perfectly, although she didn’t seem to register that Ryan the Tanager generally looked as if he were weighing the options for escape. Jim pointed out that the bird was earning oats from Michael’s feeding trough, which was probably a good business decision, but Ryan just shook his head. He stopped reading the new chapters after that.

Once Kelly heard about the assignment, so did the rest of the office. Then everyone started approaching Pam to find out about their character and anyone that she hadn’t thought to include had to be added. Toby became a sad-eyed border collie, trying to herd everyone in the same direction but constantly thwarted by Michael the Gelding (or Stallion, if he was within earshot). Meredith was a goose with a special affection for the slightly fermented dregs at the bottom of the grain bin. Oscar was the most difficult, since he seemed so far removed from anything related to farm animals. Pam eventually decided, despite his personal aversion to them, to make him into a sleek, well-groomed house cat. At least, since he was still on his extended vacation, he couldn’t object.

When Dwight heard about the project, he immediately sought out Pam. He found her eating lunch with Karen and Jim.

“Question. In this project of yours, am I a mule or a hinny?”

“A what?” Pam asked, nearly choking on her yogurt.

“He said a ninny, Pam,” Jim informed her. “Dwight, man, don’t be so hard on yourself. You can make a mess of things sometimes, but we wouldn’t call you a ninny. Not in a public document, at least.”

“Not a ninny, Jim. A hinny. I want to know if my character is a mule or a hinny.”

“Okay, you’re going to have to fill us in. We’re not up to date on our beet farm terms. What exactly is a hinny?”

“It is not a beet farm term, Jim. Everyone knows that the mule is the offspring of a female horse and a male donkey, while the hinny is the offspring of a male horse and female donkey.” Dwight glared at Jim; Jim stared back, a puzzled expression glued to his face.

Pam interrupted the stare-down. “Ummm. . . I hadn’t really thought about it. I think you’re a mule.”

“Good. That’s good. The mule is the stronger and more productive of the two. And is sometimes fertile. So I will be a fertile, strong and productive mule.”

“Umm, yeah. Dwight, I don’t think Pam is going to talk about whether Dwight the Mule is fertile in this story. It’s for kids.” Jim quirked an eyebrow and nodded once for emphasis.

“All children have to learn the facts of life sometime, Jim. It’s best if they do so naturally – by observing farm animals, for example. That is how my father explained the process to me.”

Karen and Pam exchanged a look, while Jim continued to stare at Dwight in disbelief. None of them wanted to imagine exactly what that meant. Pam shuddered. “No. Dwight, there will be no facts of life in this story. Kids will just have to learn about that somewhere else.”

“Very well. At least I will know who I am. It is very important to have a complete back story for your characters. Any actor – or writer – knows that. And since there is only one of every other animal on the farm, I presume that Andy is the hinny. Correct?”

“Sure, Dwight. Andy can be a hinny. But let’s just keep it in the back story, okay? I don’t know how I’d get an explanation of breeding into the dialogue.”

“Again, Pam, reading materials for children should be educational. Or at least teach a good moral lesson. It wouldn’t hurt them to learn about how a farm really works in your book. And I would be happy to show you, if you care to visit our beet farm. Research, Pam. Research is key to writing a realistic and meaningful story. But if you want to write fluff, I can’t stop you.” Dwight turned and left the break room, leaving Pam, Karen and Jim to collapse into laughter behind him.

On a Thursday two weeks later, the project and Pam’s class were nearing completion. Karen and Pam were eating lunch together again, since Michael and Jim were in New York for the day for a series of emergency meetings with corporate.

“So, how many more chapters do you have?” Karen asked.

“Just one. I need to find a good ending, but I’m having a hard time figuring it out.”

“Maybe if you step back and look at the thing as a whole? We’ve been so focused on each chapter, it may be hard to see the overall picture. I mean, at least, that’s what I’ve been doing at least. I know you’ve spent a lot more time with it.”

“No, you’re right. I know what you mean. I tried to do that last night, but I’m still stuck. I’m just not sure how to draw it all together.”

“When do you have to hand in the final chapter?”

“Next Tuesday. So I’ve pretty much got to decide what I’m going to do over the weekend.” Pam swirled her spoon through her yogurt. “I’m open to suggestions, if you have any.”

“What if I take a copy of what you have so far home with me? I could read straight through it then and maybe that would give me a better sense of where it’s headed.”

“You’d do that? Really? That would be so great.” Pam looked relieved. “I mean, I don’t want you to write it for me, but it would good to get another perspective on where this should go.”

“Sure, no problem. It would be fun. And I have some time tonight since . . . well, since some other plans fell through.” Karen looked down at her feet. She and Jim had planned to see a movie together, but he’d canceled when the meetings were scheduled in New York. He promised to come by her place if he got home early enough, but he hadn’t been sure when he would be back. Karen looked up cautiously, worried that Pam had caught the veiled reference to Jim. The three of them had never acknowledged that she and Jim were together and Karen was still pretending that no one in the office knew.

“Oh. Yeah. Right. Well, if you want to take a copy home with you, that would be good.” Pam stood up abruptly to end the awkwardness. She knew exactly what Karen meant, of course. She’d known since the merger practically. She should be used to it by now. But no matter how much she liked Karen or how well she understood what Jim saw in her, it hurt to remember that they were together. She’d learned from experience that moving was the best cure for that. Her heart might be breaking, but she didn’t have to sit still to listen to it.

“Okay. So I’ll have good notes for you tomorrow. Or I could call you tonight, if you want to know sooner.”

“No, tomorrow is good. And thanks again for doing this. I know it’ll be a big help.”

“No problem. It’ll be fun. Way better than whatever’s on television.” Karen gathered her things as well and followed Pam out of the break room.