As Jim and Pam gathered their carry-ons and got in line to get on the airplane, she panicked a little. Karen was two people in front of them in line. Yes, it did seem absurd that she was being so unnerved by her boyfriend’s ex, but she couldn’t help herself.

They finally boarded the plane and waited as people put their bags into the storage compartments so they could board their seat. They saw Dwight sitting next to Michael (of course), Kelly blabbing away about Brangelina, and many more of their co-workers. She hardly noticed them for her mind was focused on Karen who was standing only a mere foot and a half ahead of theme. So far, Jim luckily hadn’t noticed her presence. It was probably because the person standing in between them was rather large and probably ate too many Big Macs. Pam’s hopes of him not noticing her plummeted as the man in front of her sat down. Karen was now exposed to them. Crossing her fingers, she hoped that maybe, just maybe, he wouldn’t see her. But she sat down and was now facing the two of them.

As Jim said: “Karen?” Pam felt sick to her stomach. “Why am I making such a big deal out of this?” she thought. She’s probably going on the cruise anyway. It’s not like they would never see each other again. They work within the same company.

Karen looked up and a small smile pulled on her lips.

“Long time no see!”

“Yeah,” he replied.

Pam was actually a little shocked. They broke up unexpectedly at a fountain in New York then they reunited when Jim went to her branch dressed up as a warehouse worker and both of them were acting like nothing big happened. She then tightened her grip on Jim’s hand as if it could somehow signal Karen that he didn’t belong to her anymore and that she should stop talking to him.

“So, are you going on this Dunder Mifflin cruise extravaganza?” Karen asked. He nodded his head in reply and said, “Hopefully Michael won’t be…Michael.” Karen laughed at his response which caused Pam to grit her teeth. She was so close to calling her a whore and to back off of her man.

“What are you doing in Scranton?” he asked.

“My cousin actually got a job here and I was helping her move in.”

“She’ll be lucky if she gets promoted to another city soon. Otherwise, I think she’ll consider killing herself.”

Karen laughed again and Pam gritted her teeth so hard that it felt as if she would push her teeth all the way up into her gums.

“Well, I’ll let you get your seat. The people behind you look impatient.”

As soon as they took their first few steps away from Karen’s seat, Pam felt better. She still wanted to scream and slap her, but at least she didn’t feel as queasy. She kept telling herself that it was no big deal and that Jim was just a nice guy. It wasn’t really improving anything. Once she thought about it, she noticed that he never really brought her up. Finally, they sat down and he said:

“I call aisle seat.”

“What? Why the aisle? Most people fight to get away from the aisle.”

“Because then I can get to the snacks and drinks first and I have an easier escape to the bathroom.”

“Oh, now I’m dying to switch you seats.”

“You know it. American Airlines should now pay more for reserved aisle seats.”

She giggled and replied, “They’ll do anything for money.”

They sat down and their banter reassured her that Karen meant nothing to him.

“Well, that was awkward,” he said.

“What?”

“Running into Karen like that.”

She let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding. Good, she thought, he thought it was awkward. I really need to stop worrying about this.

“You were really nice to her considering everything you guys went through.”

“I was surprised that she didn’t grab a club and knock me unconscious.”

Pam giggled again. She felt much more reassured that he was only talking to her because he was a genuinely compassionate person and he knew that being rude to her would only cause drama. But somewhere, deep in her gut, she felt a pang of jealousy.

“I was surprised she didn’t knock me unconscious,” she said and he laughed at her remark.

“So you were in charge of bringing all of the things to occupy us. What did you bring?”

Reaching for her bag, she started to list everything she packed. As the plane took off and they began their first crossword puzzle, their encounter with Karen started to fade from her mind.

*****

“Okay, next one. We need a 4-letter word for Winnie the blank,” Jim announced.

“Oh, that’s such an easy one. Pooh.” As soon as she told him the obvious answer he started to giggle like a little boy.

“Please tell me that’s not what you’re laughing at.” He nodded his head and couldn’t control his giggles. “How immature.”

It took him a moment to calm down but his laughter soon eased and his cheeks were flushed. “Moving on,” she continued. “I need a twelve-letter word for ‘a device that produces a visual trace of a voltage or current wave shape.”

“Wow.” He made a face that indicated he was obviously thought this question was a joke. “Where do the crossword creators come up with this stuff?”

Pam’s eyebrows were scrunched together like they always are when she’s thinking.

“Wait! I know this! It’s a really fun word to say—Oh, come on, it’s on the tip of my tongue—” She was snapping her fingers like the people on the game shows do when they are trying to answer a question.

“Hold on, you’ve heard of this before?”

“Oscilloscope!”

“What?!”

“That’s the answer!”

“Would you mind sharing how you know that?”

“Dictionary.com’s word of the day.”

“You actually look at that? I don’t think I can be seen with you anymore.”

“I look at it every day, thank you. And please, you know you couldn’t live without me.” She smiled at him and he replied, “You are absolutely correct.” They both blushed and stared at each other as the conversation shifted from easygoing to tender until he spoke up.

“Now how do you spell that? Once we have this written in it will give us another letter to help us figure out what a 5-letter word for ‘gurus’ is.”

They continued on for another few minutes and were stumped on the last 3 blanks. The flight attendant came by and asked if they would like a refill but instead Jim asked,

“Excuse me, but do you know what a 5-letter word for gurus is? My partner here is absolutely no help whatsoever.” Pam elbowed him in the ribs. “Ow!”

The flight attendant stopped and thought for a moment until she replied, “Try ‘sages’.”

He wrote it in and exclaimed “It fits!” a little too loudly. When she elbowed him again he elbowed her back. “Ow!” she interjected. “Now you know what it feels like,” he said with a twinkle in his eye that let her know that he was only joking. They thanked the flight attendant as she moved on.

“Look! Now we know what 32 down is! It’s peon!” she said.

“And you were embarrassed when I asked the flight attendant.”

“Was not!”

“Then why did you turn the color of your shirt?” She rolled her eyes and replied, “It wasn’t my first instinct to ask the beverage lady for assistance.”

They continued on with their puzzle until it was finally complete and then they pulled out their tacky tabloid magazines. Pam found the first picture of Britney Spears exposing a thong but Jim tied them up when he beat her and found a picture of Matthew Mcconaughey without a shirt first. They kept playing and were tied up for quite some time until Pam ended up winning by spotting a picture of Suri Cruise in designer clothing first.

“That’s not fair!”

“Why is that?”

“Because I can’t even find a picture of Suri in this magazine!”

“You can’t be serious. Suri Cruise is everywhere! And it wasn’t a rule that each magazine had to have that picture. Therefore, I win fair and square. So suck it Halpert.”

They talked and laughed for the next few minutes until it was announced to put up their tray tables and place their seat in the upright position because they were about to land in Atlanta where they would catch their connecting flight to Miami. The plane landed on the runway and they were said that they could un-fasten their seatbelts and get off the plane. They walked into the building and found a quiet area amongst all the commotion.

“What gate do we need to go to?” she asked.

“73.”

“That’s good! We’re really close then!” First, they stopped by the bathroom. Both of them refused to use the one on the plane although he raved about how the aisle seat paved an easy route to it. Jim put his arm around her shoulders and she rested her head on his shoulder as they walked to the gate. Pam was beginning to feel a little weary as she always did when she got off of airplanes. They arrived and had about an hour to kill until they had to board. Then, her stomach rumbled.

“Are you hungry?” he asked. She forgot she didn’t eat dinner and didn’t realize how hungry she was until now. The Starbucks they had earlier wasn’t much help. “Actually, I’m starved.”

“There’s a Quizno’s around here somewhere.”

“That sounds delicious! I love their Honey Bacon Club.”

“Honey Bacon Club’s it is then.” He stood up, smiled, and kissed her forehead before heading down the terminal to the restaurant. She reached down into her bag and grabbed her icon when she saw a figure sit in the chair next to her.

“Hey, Pam.”

She knew that voice. She had heard it for many months and each time she heard it she cringed. Looking over, she saw Karen Fillipeli. She forgot about her until now and hated how she had to be reminded.

“Karen! Hey! How was your flight?”

“Horrible! I sat next to a guy in a turban that talked to me the whole time. I couldn’t understand a thing he said so I just nodded my head and hoped he went along.”

She smiled and forced a fake laugh until Karen’s smile faded.

“So—How’s everything going with Jim?”

Pam pulled her gaze away from her. She was not expecting this question.

“Things are going really well, thanks.”

“That’s—good to hear, I guess.”

“Yeah,” she replied with a far away tone. They remained silent and she stared at the floor for a few minutes until Karen spoke again. “I’m think I’m going to go get some food.” She walked away and Pam sunk down in her chair with relief that she didn’t see Jim. After a few more minutes of staring at the floor, a shadow cast over her. She looked up and saw Jim holding two Quiznos sacks.

“Thank God it’s here. I’m dying of starvation!”

“Really, Pam? Dying of starvation? A bit dramatic, are we now?”

“Just give me the sandwich.” She lunged for the bag but he pulled away. “Don’t taunt me! I’m grumpy when I’m hungry.” She stood up and reached for the bag again but he only raised his arm up higher. He was so tall that she couldn’t reach.

“I’m not giving you the bag until you say the magic words.”

“You’re acting like my mother.”

“Beesly. Use your manners.”

“Okay, fine. May I please have my sandwich?”

“Yes, you may.” They sat back down and she unwrapped her Honey Bacon Club and immediately took an enormous bite. In a matter of minutes she had devoured the whole sandwich.

“Jesus, Pam, you really were dying of starvation.”

“Told you so.”

*****

They were finally in the air again and nearing their Miami destination. Jim was once again sitting on the aisle seat. He offered it to Pam but she refused and said that he was only offering because he was getting annoyed with everybody walking down the aisle. He rejected her hypothesis but she could tell by his face that it was true. They were now listening to her I-Pod, each with an earbud in their ear, because neither of them wanted to struggle with another crossword puzzle. The music was causing her eyelids to droop and soon her head slowly dropped on his shoulder. He looked down at her and saw that her eyes were closed and her breathing was slow and steady. He wrapped his arm around her and turned off the light that was shining above them. She slept peacefully until the intercom came on and the mechanical voice informed them that they were now beginning their descend into Miami.

“Wake up, sleepy head. We’re here.”