“Are you sitting down?”

“Yeah,” Jim replied into the phone as he stretched his legs out with a yawn . He leaned over and tenderly brushed a lock of hair from Karen’s forehead. She twitched her face in displeasure while she slept. “What’s up Beesly?”

“Ok, are you ready for this,” Jim could hear her barely contained excitement coursing over the phone line.  

“Beesly are you going to tell me or just squeel?” He teased goodnaturedly.

“Oh once you hear this you’ll be the one squeeling,” she said with a giggle. “I mean it’s just so amazing that I just don’t think you really deserve it,” she said with another excited giggle.

“Pam, I’m coming over there to noogie it out of you in like 30 seconds,” he hated how well she knew him, especially how much it aggravated him when someone dangled a secret.

“Not until you say I’m your best friend,”

“Fine. Done. You’re my best friend.”

“And I’m the most fabulous, wonderful person in the universe.”

“You’re the most fabulous, most wonderfullestest woman on God’s green earth, now tell me,” he said unable to contain his laughter at his own frustration.

“Are you free in two weekends?”

“Yeah,” he said drawing out the word

“Free to go up to New York?”

“You DIDN’T,” he almost screamed. Karen stirred next to him so he extricated himself from her beneath her draped arm and covered the phone until he got to the bathroom.

“I DID!” she squealed in response.

“How,” he asked in disbelief.

“Well, my dad used to be a consultant right?” she said breathlessly, “and he has three daughters, well the youngest one just happens to be engaged to a charming young actor named ROB COURDRY.”

“GET OUT!”

“Yeah, I was watching the daily show with my mom and she goes, ‘well he certainly looks more handsome than the picture’ I casually asked which picture and she goes, the one at Ted and Elaine’s house. And then the whole back story came out and I basically accused my mother of holding out on me and somehow she managed to get us 4 tickets to the Daily Show from Rob Courdry!” Pam’s voice had slowly been growing louder with each word until she was nearly shrieking with excitement.

“We’ve been on the waiting list since like,” he mused in wonder

“October I know!” Pam exclaimed in delight, “and I haven’t even gotten to the best part!”

“You're going to kill me with this much good news Beesly,” Jim said with a gleeful laugh

“Guess, just guess who the guest is going to be that day,”

“I can’t even begin to guess?” Jim replied quickly, “Please Bees just tell me,” he said in a tone strangely reminiscent of a whine.

“Two words for you Jim, Will FARRELL,” Pam’s exclamation was met with dead silence on the other end.

“If this is a joke, Pamela Louise Beesly I am so telling your mom,” he said his voice almost trembling.

“I would NOT joke about this,” Pam said completely deadpan.

“OHMIGOD! Will Farrell!”

“I know, I can’t believe it either,” Pam said with an exhausted laugh. 

“Can you come over?” he asked excitedly.

“It’s like ten at night Jim and we have to go to work tomorrow?”

“Soduku really requires your full concentration, huh?” he asked with a laugh.

“You don’t think I get to looking like this without a full eight hours do you?”

“Come on, come over! I can’t celebrate on the phone, this calls for breaking out the best of dvd!”

“Ugh Ok,” she said with a smile, she really never could say no to him, especially when he was giddy with excitement.

“Ok, the only thing is that I’m at Karen’s, the dvd is actually here because I tried to convince her how fabulous it was like last week.”

“She didn’t bite?”

“Not even close,” he said sadly, “She hates SNL.”

“Well it’s no Chapelle Show,” she said with a shake of her head, “I mean even Roy likes the Chapelle Show.”

“She thinks Dave Chapelle is over-rated.”

“And you’re still with her why?” Pam asked laughing

Suddenly Jim didn’t find the conversation so funny anymore, Why am I with her again? He asked himself.  Because she’s gorgeous, brilliant, ambitious, she likes beer and video games, she likes hanging out with the guys, she always looks like a million bucks, she’s sophisticated. But she still doesn’t make you laugh the way that… That dangerous line of thought was cut off by Pam speaking once more.

“I actually don’t think I’m going to come over Jim,” Pam said with a lot less enthusiasm than she had at the inception of the phone call.

“Ok are you sure?” he asked.He was suddenly torn between desperately  wanting her to come over and being almost afraid of seeing her again.

“Yeah, I mean we would probably disturb Karen anyway,”

“Yeah maybe you’re right.” He replied, a surge of relief coursing through his body.

“Ok Goodnight.”

“Oh Pam,”

“Yeah.”

“You really are my best friend. I wasn’t just saying that- you know that right?” he asked almost cautiously.

“Yeah,” she said in a whisper, “I know. Good Night Jimmy”

“G’night Bees”

When Jim crawled back into Karen’s bed he draped an arm around her thin shoulders and watched her chest rise and fall in a peaceful slumber. She really was gorgeous with her thick straight hair, her delicate freckles smattering her cheeks, those lush pink lips. He kissed her shoulder tenderly. So what if she wasn’t perfect, she was all he had. He loved her. He did. He had to.