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Happy Hour

Karen had sighed heavily at herself in the ladies' room mirror. "I need a drink," she'd muttered softly, the garishly made-up reflection mouthing the words along with her. The words were just escaping her lips as the door swung open, and Meredith had entered.

"A drink? Do you want to go grab one? There are a couple of OK places close by." Meredith had smiled eagerly- too eagerly, Karen knew. Jim had warned her. But she was tired, and she was confused, and she was hurt, and she had awful, awful hair. Scranton was lonely without any of her posse of college friends and she needed someone to talk to- someone who wasn't Jim. She agreed to go for a quick drink. She left soon after, Jim staring mystified at her as she marched out with Meredith by her side.

The drinks had been flowing freely (Meredith handily outpacing Karen) and the talk soon turned to men. "Never settle, sweetie," Meredith said. "Nothing worse than that. How are things going with Jim, anyway? I've always liked him."

Karen was drunk enough to start opening up. "I like him, too, but he's so reserved. I never know what he's really thinking."

Meredith snorted a small laugh. "Jim? Huh, maybe he's changed. Every thought in his head used to be all over his face. An open book, that kid. Had it bad for..." Meredith stopped, an aw, crap look clearly on her face. They both sipped their drinks: Meredith to cover her lapse, and Karen to distract herself from the fresh pang that had seized up inside her.

"For Pam?" Karen said it quietly, not looking up. "Yeah, I've heard."

Meredith took another long drink, obviously trying to think clearly. "I felt so bad for Pam for a while there. Her best friend moving to Stamford and then her wedding falling through just after that. And Roy hounding her for weeks to get back together...it was rough for her. But if she and Jim didn't get together after all that, and now he's with you...I wouldn't worry about it. They must be just friends after all, like they both always said."

Karen placed her empty glass on the table, her hand shaking slightly. Her best friend? Pam's wedding? Roy!?

"I- Pam and Roy? I didn't know that. She was going to marry Roy?"

Meredith nodded. "Yeah, you know who I mean? The cute one from the warehouse. Not Darryl- Roy's the white guy with the beard and the dimples," she said.

Karen was barely listening to Meredith. She was drunkenly, frantically, trying to make this work in her head. Pam was about to get married when Jim left for Stamford...he had implied that he'd told Pam about his crush just before he came. He'd told an engaged woman he had a crush on her? An engaged woman whose husband-to-be worked in the same office? And it was serious enough that Phyllis and Meredith had known?

Karen thought back over Jim's exact words from the coffee shop. They fit- they were probably truthful. He had probably, understandably, downplayed the whole situation to reassure her. That was understandable. Perfectly comprehensible. Nothing to worry about. Not a lie.

Her best friend, Meredith had said. Meredith who was now staring at her, waiting for a reply.

"I, um...yeah. I'm sure Jim mentioned it and I just forgot since I didn't know everyone yet. He told me about everyone. You, Kelly, Michael, Dwight..." But not Pam. He had barely mentioned Pam. Her best friend?

Meredith giggled. "Jim and Pam used to be so mean to Dwight. Between the two of them, they'd come up with some way to mess with him at least once a week. I guess Jim's trying to be all "second in command" professional guy now, though." Meredith took a long sip of her fresh drink. "You definitely have him dressing better now, anyway."

Karen smiled her brittle smile, lips pressed together. Meredith went on, "You can tell a lot about a man by the way he dresses. My ex was a terrible dresser." She giggled again, but it was a sad sound. She lifted her glass as though to propose a toast to her sartorially challenged former spouse. She downed half the glass and then glanced around the bar. "I haven't been here for a while. I brought Pam here after she called off the wedding. Told her I was glad she did it. She and Roy weren't a good match. Woulda ended in divorce, absolutely."

This was none of Karen's business, and she was quite sure she didn't want to hear any more about Pam, anyway. "It must be lonely, being divorced," she said, trying to distract Meredith.

"Oh, honey. I'll tell you what I told Pam. Being divorced isn't half as lonely as being with the wrong guy. I started drinking long before I got divorced."

Karen ordered another drink while Meredith prattled on about...something. She pondered friendship and loneliness and alcoholism and truthfulness as she stirred the melting ice in her near-empty glass.