Pam's first thought as her alarm clock went off was, "I am so not going to work today." She had not slept well and she felt like death warmed over. She'd woken up about 3 am and cried herself to back to sleep, so she was sure she had bags under her eyes. She could call in sick. She rarely did, so she had to have some sick days coming to her. She really needed a Mental Health Day. The longer she laid there, the more she realized that it wouldn't help. If she took the day off, she'd lay on the couch all day eating ice cream and wallowing in self pity. If she went to work, she'd at least be distracted by work. It would keep her mind busy. Resolved, she pulled herself out of bed and into the shower.
As she drove into the parking lot at Dunder Mifflin, she saw that Jim's car wasn't there. She wasn't really sure if that was good or bad. Maybe he'd taken the day off. That would be good. Inside, only a few people were there before her. Phyllis gave her a wary look, but didn't come over to talk. That was good. Besides saying "Dunder Mifflin, this is Pam," she really didn't want to talk to anyone today. Maybe Michael would have some crazy errand for her to do that would keep her out of the office most of the day. That would be good. Why did she come into work? She couldn't remember exactly why this morning she had thought that eating ice cream and watching daytime tv all day was a bad idea.
Every time the door opened, she willed herself not to look up. She didn't want to face anyone. When Michael came in, he stopped to ask for new faxes. As she handed them to him, he looked like he wanted to talk to her, but she guessed the look on her face made him stop. She knew the moment Jim walked in the door. The office went quiet for a moment before the buzz returned. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see him settling down. For the first time since he'd returned from Stamford, she was really glad his back was to her.
The morning passed quickly. She kept herself busy sending faxes and transferring calls. Shredding old invoices was strangely cathartic. She was starting to get hungry and glanced at her clock. And her gaze kept going up to find Karen standing at her desk.
"Pam? Do you have any plans for lunch?"
Pam wasn't really sure what to say. A million excuses flooded into her head, but as so often happened when she was overwhelmed, the first thing out of her mouth was the truth. "No, I don't."
"Would you like to go to Chili's with me?"
No. I would not like to do that. That sounds like a very bad plan. "Sure. I'm hungry now, so are you ready to leave?"
"Yeah, great. I'll drive."
As she grabbed her purse and followed Karen out the door, she knew that everyone was staring at her again. Even Michael was standing up against the window in his office so he could see better. Jim still faced away from her, but his shoulders looked incredibly stiff.
They drove over to Chili's in silence. A local radio station played quietly in the background. When an Indigo Girls song came on, Karen snapped the radio off with a huff. Pam wasn't sure what that was about, but she didn't want to ask. She still had no idea why Karen had invited her out to lunch or why she had accepted. Even if they never started talking, this was going to be the most awkward lunch ever.
Neither of them said a thing as they were seated. The waitress came to take their drink orders. Karen looked up at the waitress and ordered a glass of water. Then she paused and caught Pam's eye. "And a Presidente Margarita." Pam stopped, then gave Karen a small smile and said, "Yeah, I'll have the same." Alcohol would be good.
"I'm sure you're pretty confused about why I asked you to lunch."
"Yeah, I am. I'm really sorry you saw that last night."
"Why?"
"What?"
"Why are you sorry? It happened before I knew Jim. It didn't have anything to do with me."
"I guess. So did you tell Jim that? Are you guys okay?"
Karen snorted. "Did I tell Jim that? Yes. Are we okay? No."
"What? Why not? It happened so long ago. Don't hold it against him."
"I wouldn't if I thought that he didn't feel that way about you anymore. He says he doesn't, but actions speak louder than words. I know Jim pretty well and I know that he's lying."
"He's not lying, Karen. It's over."
They were interrupted by the waitress bringing their margaritas and taking their drink order. Afterwards, Pam wasn't really sure what to say.
"Karen, I broke up with Roy because of Roy, not because of Jim. Jim's confession helped me realize that my relationship with Roy wasn't what it should be. But I knew when I cancelled the wedding that I didn't have a chance with Jim. He moved on. He called in sick for a week to avoid me, then he transferred to Stamford. We didn't talk until I accidentally answered the phone after hours one night when he was trying to leave a message for Kevin. And when he came back from Stamford, things were totally awkward for a little while, then we settled down and went back to being friends."
"You say that, and he says that, but I'm having a hard time believing either of you. I've seen the little glances at each other and the shared smiles. That's why I wanted to tell you that I'm transferring to Corporate."
"What? Karen!"
"Well, it's not just about you. I haven't ever really been happy in Scranton. I only came here because I wanted to see what happened with Jim. Things have been good, but I've always had a nagging feeling that he had a thing for you and he was using me as a buffer. I decided that I needed to take my fate into my own hands and not wait for Jim. So I called Jan. They have a position in New York that she thinks would be great for me. So I'm going to go. I hadn't decided if I was really going to do it until last night. I wasn't planning on telling anyone yet, but last night I was upset and I just blurted it out to Jim. He was shocked and I think he's pretty mad that I didn't tell him I was thinking about it. But I needed to do it on my own. I called Jan this morning. She saw the finale last night, so she wasn't too surprised to hear from me. She shuffled some stuff around and I start there on Monday."
"Oh my god. I'm speechless. I'm not really sure what to say."
"It's okay. I just wanted you to hear the whole story from me. So are you ready to tell me what happened when you cancelled your wedding?"
Pam hesitated. "Sure..."
The food came and they ate companionly. Pam told Karen the whole story of cancelling the wedding and moving out. Their conversation shifted to less weighty topics and by the time they'd finished eating, Pam felt so much better. Her heart still hurt a little at the thought of being around Jim for the rest of the afternoon, especially because the rumor mill was going to start flying when people found out that Karen was leaving, which they would because Michael can't keep a secret.
Sitemap | Terms of Service | Submission Rules | FAQs | Disclaimer | Donate | Contact Us |
© 2006-2023 More Than That | Skin created by Kali
© 2006-2023 More Than That | Skin created by Kali