My god, what happened to me? Karen wondered as she left the building. That had not happened like she had planned. She had thought it would be a rational discussion. Why did I say I could have loved him? That was just stupid.
For the rest of the day Karen made plans. She didn’t really know what to do next. Should she stay in Scranton – she still had nearly 10 months left on her lease. But then again, it was so close to Jim. She couldn’t stand to be that close after what he had done. All her family and friends were still back in Stamford. But moving again… “Gah, why isn’t life simple!” Karen exclaimed in frustration.
Karen made list after list, weighing pros and cons and everything in between, just trying to get a handle on her life right now. At the end, she was out of paper and more confused than ever. This had never happened before. She knew where she wanted to go and how to get there, but Jim had turned her life upside down. What she knew was no longer known and it scared her.
At about four, Karen sent a quick email to Toby. She asked if he would be willing to stay past five so she could fill out the paper work without Michael there. She couldn’t deal with Michael today. On a good day, Michael was bearable, but today, he would be in rare form.
After she got a response from Toby, saying that he would wait, Karen puttered around the house. By the time she left for the office, her house was as organized as it had ever been – expect for the stacks of paper scattered around her table.
The office was nearly empty when Karen arrived. Angela was finishing up some work, and gave Karen a disapproving look when she entered. Karen crossed her fingers, hoping Kelly had left for the day, and then went back to the annex.
Thankfully, Toby was there alone, and had the paperwork all ready for Karen.
“Rough day?”
Karen could only nod in response. The process was relatively silent; Karen was not in the mood to talk. Toby only explained the forms when needed.
After Karen signed the final form, Toby asked, “What’re you planning on doing now?”
“I have no idea.”
Karen had thought that maybe once she signed the papers, it would feel releasing, that suddenly, it would all be clear and she knew what she needed to do. Instead, she felt even more lost. She hadn’t made friends in Scranton really, she didn’t have a job and she just broke up with her boyfriend. Life was spiraling out of control, and she had no way to stop it.
Stamford. That was the only option. She would move back to Stamford and pretend the past year hadn’t existed. Maybe even forget Dunder-Mifflin entirely. Sure, she would be starting over back in Stamford, but her friends and family where there. It was the right decision.
Karen’s last action of the day was to gather up Jim’s stuff from her house. It wasn’t a lot – Jim had never really seemed to want to leave anything there and had never encouraged her to leave stuff at his house (Now it all makes sense). It was just a toothbrush, some deodorant, and other things like that. Karen even stuck the beer from last night into the box, sighing as she did so. Last night seemed so long ago.
Karen drove the box to Jim’s, dropped it on the stoop, rang the doorbell, and left. She heard the door open; looking back, she gave a quick wave to Jim, and drove back to her house.
Jim looked down at his feet, noticing the box there. There was a scribbled note on top.
Jim – I realize now that we could have never become what I wanted us to be. Not saying I forgive you, but I understand. I’m moving back to Stamford, which is probably the best for both of us. Maybe if we run into each other on the street, years from now, we can say hello, maybe catch up. But for now, it is what it is. If you ever get together with Pam, don’t screw her over like you did me.
