As Pam sifted through a pile of her day's paperwork, she found one set of papers that stuck out like a sore thumb. The stapled forms, several pages in all, made her pause as she stared down at them. She was not ready for these.
It was a collection of forms from HR dealing with Jim's status change from employee to ex-employee. Standard Dunder Mifflin procedure. She stared at the legalese. She flipped to the back page, which had several lines for signatures, two of which were signed by Toby and Jim. A third signature slot, to be signed by Michael, still lay empty. She flipped back through the papers again. Every time Jim's name came up in the lines, her eyes traced it like moths circling a light in the dead of night. It was impossible to ignore. Before now, Pam could have imagined that he wasn't really that serious about quitting. That he would just change his mind. But this was set in stone. Well, set in paper, anyway.
Pam shouldn't have been surprised by the arrival of Jim's change of status forms. As a matter of fact, she should have gotten them already, since Jim would be quitting early next week. If he even came in at all for the last day or two. But they still took her by surprise. It was like a trap had sprung out of the otherwise mundane packet of paperwork that had been laying in her to-do basket, springing up and striking her in the face. She sensed a darkness beginning to stain her mood - which was not that good to begin with - but even with the distraction of her sudden moroseness setting in, she could tell the paperwork was incomplete. She would need an extra form from Toby. At least it was an excuse to get up from her desk for a minute.
“Hey Jim,” she said as she left the receptionist's desk and walked past her coworker and friend.
“How's it going, Pam?”
“Not bad. Just have to go visit HR for a minute. Looking forward to your last weekend?”
“I don't think it's my last weekend, Beesly. I'm not dying.”
Pam laughed, a little nervously. “Oh, right. Well, last Dunder Mifflin weekend, I mean.”
“Gotcha. Um, yeah, I'm thinking it'll be pretty uneventful.”
Pam nodded as she leaned against his desk. The two of them hadn't talked much over the last few days, and as the day of Jim's departure loomed in the distance, Pam felt like the sound of seconds ticking by was deafening. Earlier that week they had mentioned doing something together before Jim left. Pam half expected him to ask her to do something over the weekend – after all, she had no idea where he would go, even where he would be, after he left Dunder Mifflin – and she waited awkwardly as Jim stared up at her with a smile. Just as she was about to decide to ask him herself, she noticed Karen staring at her. Jim's ex didn't look particularly angry, but Pam immediately began to feel awkward.
“Alright,” she told Jim, “I'll let you get back to your work.”
Pam tried to avoid looking at Karen as she walked past her. She made her way into the annex, hearing a loud conversation between Ryan and Kelly as soon as she opened the door. Toby sat in his chair, which was turned from his desk as he leaned against the wall partition between the cubicles. Pam couldn't tell if he was asleep or just zoning out, but he jerked up a little as he noticed her entering.
“Hey Toby,” she said, giving him a little wave.
“Hi Pam! What brings you back here?”
“Um, I got Jim's change of status forms, but I think there's a paper missing. I thought you-”
“Hey, why don't you hang out back here and chat a little?”
Toby pointed to an empty desk chair sitting nearby. Pam found his request a little strange; he was a nice guy, actually kind of cute in a way, but it wasn't like the two of them talked all that much. It only took a moment of confusion for Pam to realize that he probably wanted a break from the verbal battle going on between Ryan and Kelly in the cubicle adjacent to his own. Pam had been in the annex for about ten seconds and it was already annoying her, so it must have been torture for Toby. She felt a surge of sympathy for him and grabbed the desk chair he had offered, pulling it in to sit closer to him. She did want a break, after all.
“How've you been, Toby?”
“Pretty good, pretty good.”
Toby's head tilted back in the direction of the cubicle behind him as he spoke, and Pam was unable to resist a laugh, which he joined immediately.
“Are they always like that?”
“Not always. But sometimes when they're quiet it's just because they're making out.”
“Ew,” said Pam. “Can't you slap a PDA charge on them?” Pam leaned in confidentially. “You're HR, Toby. You've got the power.”
“Ah, there's no point. They'd just keep going, believe me.”
Pam gave him a sympathetic smile as she clutched the forms in her hand. The conversation went into a lull, and was threatening to become awkward until Toby spoke up again.
“So, how are your art classes going?”
“Really good! Thanks for asking. I'm enjoying them a lot. Last week we we using oil paints, and we actually had a nude model come in. Kind of a cute guy actually, it was a little awkward. I guess I'm just not used to that.”
A strangely jealous expression crossed Toby's face at Pam's mention of a male model.
“Hey now,” Pam said teasingly, “don't get jealous. It's just for art!”
The jealous look immediately shifted into a grin. “Of course, art. Art is important. I always thought you seemed like you had a good appreciation for culture, you know.”
“Um, thanks.”
Toby leaned in a little, speaking more softly, although it was now almost impossible to hear him over the increasingly angry shouting going on between Ryan and Kelly in the other cubicle. “You know what,” he told Pam, “I was thinking it might be kind of fun to start a club here at work, just with a couple of people.”
“Oh yeah? What kind of club?”
“Just like a little club. Like, maybe a book club, something like that. We could eat nice food, too. Cultural things.”
“What, like the finer things in life?”
“Exactly!” said Toby, nodding enthusiastically. “Maybe we could invite Oscar, he seems to appreciate that kind of thing. And I know he likes to read.”
The idea was out of left field, but Pam found it intriguing. She was surprised to hear it coming from Toby, as he never struck her as the most social person, but he seemed particularly excited about the idea. Maybe he got lonely back here in the annex. It was pretty underpopulated compared to the rest of the office. Or maybe he just wanted to talk about books at work. Pam had to admit it was a neat idea.
“I'd definitely join your club if you set one up,” she said.
Toby looked pleased at her response, and Pam took the opportunity to slide Jim's change of status forms forward on his desk. As if noticing them for the first time, Toby picked them up and flipped through them. “Oh, I see,” he said. “I think I have the one you're looking for in a drawer down here.”
“So Jim's really quitting, huh?”
Toby looked up from the drawer he had opened.
“I guess so.”
The heated battle of words behind them had died down without either of them noticing, and when she turned to the side, Pam was startled to see Ryan and Kelly standing beside Toby's cubicle, watching the two of them. “Hey Pam, hey Toby,” said Kelly. “What are you guys talking about all secretively back here?”
Kelly gave Pam a playful smack on the arm, which Pam tried to ignore. “Um, just getting a form. You guys okay?”
“Me and Ryan? Why wouldn't we be?”
“You were practically screaming at each other a minute ago.”
“We made up,” said Ryan and Kelly in unison. Kelly grinned in agreement with her boyfriend and squeezed his shoulder encouragingly. “So I heard you guys talking about Jim quitting,” she said..
“Yeah, crazy, isn't it?”
“Oh my god, like totally! I can't believe Michael is such a heinous liar.”
Toby lifted a hand and tried to cover an amused smile, but Pam still noticed it.
“Are you okay with him quitting?” asked Ryan.
Pam felt herself go on the defensive in a flash. “Well, I mean, he's a good friend, so it'll be sad to see him go,” she said, “but I guess he wants to try working somewhere else.”
“Right. So you're just friends, huh?”
Kelly slapped her boyfriend on the arm.
“She's with Roy now, Ryan. Don't try to break them up, they're totally in love!”
Pam felt a flush of embarrassment spread over her cheeks. Sometimes Ryan could be rude, and it seemed deliberate; she would have worried she was judging him too harshly, but Jim had told her the same thing before, so it wasn't just her imagination. “Yes, Ryan,” she said, “we're just friends.”
“It's too bad to see him go,” said Toby. “He's a nice guy. I'll have to find somebody else to babysit Sasha from now on.”
“Hopefully Michael hires another hot guy to replace Jim,” said Kelly.
“What?”
“Oh, sorry Ryan. I'm just joking. But still, you know what I mean, right Pam?”
Kelly winked at Pam, who coughed noncommittally.
“When's Jim quitting?” asked Ryan. “Next week?”
Toby fished the missing piece of paperwork out of his desk and reorganized the change of status paperwork for Pam. “He told me today might actually be his last day,” said Toby. “Since it's Friday. By the way, when I got to work this morning, Darryl told me he was going to get Jim to come out to Poor Richard's tonight for a few drinks to send him off. He said everybody in the office should come along, so pass that on.”
“Do they have margaritas?” asked Kelly.
Pam and Toby nodded.
“Me and Ryan will be there.”
“I dunno Kelly, I was thinking maybe we could just-”
“We'll be there, Ryan Howard.”
Ryan's shoulders slumped in submission as Kelly gave him a pleased smile.
.....
“Hey dude, where you off to?”
Jim paused on his way through the warehouse as Darryl appeared from his open office door, apparently having seen Jim pass by his window. “Hey, what's up?” he said. “I was just going out to lunch.”
Darryl nodded as he approached Jim with what looked like the remnants of a sandwich in his hand. “This is my lunch here,” he said. “Leftovers from last night.”
“What's in it, ham?”
“Nah, turkey. I made the leftovers into a sandwich for lunch.”
Jim was a little disappointed at the non-ham choice, but he'd let it slide. “Looks good,” he said. “Got any for me?”
“I don't think so.”
Jim glared at Darryl in mock indignation at his refusal to share. The two of them moved out of the way and stood next to one of the shelving units as another warehouse worker passed by on a forklift. Darryl nodded to the passing employee, one arm propped casually against the shelf, as he took another bite of his sandwich.
“So you're quittin' pretty soon, huh?”
“Yeah, today's probably going to be my last day.”
“Damn. That's too bad, man. You got any plans tonight?”
Jim shook his head. “Just hanging out with my roommate, probably.”
“Nothing with Karen?”
“We broke up.”
“Oh, hey, sorry about that. I didn't know. That's too bad, she was pretty cute.”
“Yup.”
“Why don't you come out to Poor Richard's tonight and have a drink? I was thinkin' you and your buddies up at the office could come out and celebrate you gettin' away from Michael. I'd be there, maybe a couple people from the warehouse too. Not havin' Michael as a boss anymore has to be a reason to celebrate, am I right?”
Jim laughed. “He's actually not horrible once you get used to him. But yeah, I guess I could come out. Why not?”
“That's what I'm talkin' about,” said Darryl as he gave Jim a slap on the arm.
Jim was about to excuse himself to go to lunch when Roy came from around a corner, apparently drawn by the conversation. “Hey guys,” he said, “what's going on?”
“Just makin' sure Jim comes out to Poor Richard's tonight before he leaves us all.”
“Oh, yeah man, you should definitely come out. Me and Pam'll be there.”
“Cool,” said Jim. He was glad to hear Pam would be there, at least.
“It's too bad you're quitting. You're a cool guy, and I know you and Pam always got along well. I dunno who she's gonna talk to up there in that office if you're not around, considering some of the stuff she says about some of her coworkers. I guess she'll be jabbering to me more.”
“Yeah,” said Jim, unenthusiastically.
“Man, you wouldn't believe some of the things she's said about Michael. That's why you're quitting, right? Michael being a douche about something?”
“Well, it was. But it's other things, too. He actually tried to clear things up, anyway.”
“Still, it must be a pain in the ass to work up there with him all the time. Guy's a retard. I don't blame you for quitting.”
“At least he didn't destroy your warehouse,” said Darryl.
Jim laughed at the comment, and since he had been joking around, Darryl appeared to take it in stride. Jim definitely sympathized with Darryl whenever he was unlucky enough to have Michael as a visitor to his warehouse for more than a few minutes. Especially if Michael managed to get into a forklift without anyone noticing.
At the same time, Jim was surprised to feel uncomfortable about Darryl and Roy's attacks on Michael. Part of it was just Roy's crudeness, but it was more than that. Michael had done more than enough to deserve the warehouse worker's ire, no doubt about it – not to mention his employees upstairs – but somehow Jim almost felt sorry for his boss now that he was quitting. He should have had a lower opinion of Michael than Darryl or Roy did, considering that he worked closer to the epicenter of Michael's shenanigans. Especially after what Michael had done in the last couple of weeks. Jim was surprised he wasn't angrier. His boss had apologized, had told him that it wouldn't happen again, but there was no way to know that when it came down to it. Michael wasn't really the type to learn important lessons very often. The last couple of weeks had been rough, to say the least.
And yet Jim knew his boss saw him as a friend, even if he didn't really feel the same way. In the end, Michael was like a particularly needy child who acted out when he didn't get what he wanted, always too afraid to take responsibility. It was incredibly annoying, especially coming from a man in his forties, but didn't really make Michael a bad person at heart. At least not in Jim's opinion. Maybe he was just too forgiving.
Darryl pointed at Jim as he finished his sandwich. “I tell you that,” he said, “I dunno what you're plannin' on doin' once you leave Dunder Mifflin, but if you have any trouble finding something else, you can always come back and work for me in the warehouse. You might like it alright down here. Michael only comes down here once every couple of days.”
“Maybe,” said Jim. “Nothing's set in stone right now, but thanks for the offer.”
His lunch finished, Darryl stared at Roy as if noticing him for the first time. “Hey,” he said, “didn't you already go out and eat lunch?”
“Yeah,” said Roy.
“Aren't you supposed to be loadin' stuff for the next shipment?”
“I guess.”
“Well go do it already!”
Roy grumbled and returned to work. Darryl needed to get back to his office and take care of a few things, but he gave Jim a fist bump before letting him go. “Have a good lunch, man. I'll see you tonight!”
.....
Her work was wrapped up, and the weekend was almost at hand. Karen leaned back in her chair and watched the hands of the wall clock move inexorably forward. The last week had been hard for her; seeing Jim every day, sitting so close to him with an elephant in the room that both of them had been trying to ignore. When it came right down to it, she really liked Jim. He was kind, affectionate, funny, and intelligent. He was certainly better than most of the other boyfriends she had put up with in the past. He wasn't very motivated, and sometimes his sense of humor could be grating if he went overboard with it, but she enjoyed the time they had together. Karen wondered if she was just getting nostalgic now that they weren't together anymore.
She wasn't going to change her mind, however. Breaking up had been her choice. It was one of the hardest choices she had made in a while, but she knew it was the right one. When she thought about it, maybe it wasn't really a choice anyway; the alternative would have been waiting around for Jim to see what was already in front of his face, by which time Karen would have gotten herself in deeper. By the time she scrabbled out of that emotional hole, she would have been a lot more bloodied than she felt now.
At least the week was over. If she got lucky, she'd have a brand new job coming up. If not, she'd still be in New York on a break from work, to get some distance from everything. Then she'd have to figure out what to do next.
“Yeah, I know how ya feel.”
Karen looked over at Stanley. At first she thought he had noticed her staring at Jim, which raised a whole host of interesting questions about Stanley's personal preferences, but then she realized he had noticed her looking at the wall clock.
“Yep,” she said. “Almost there.”
Karen noticed Pam passing by again. As usual, Pam seemed to avoid her gaze. Karen didn't blame her. She had probably picked up on the awkwardness between her and Jim, or Jim had just told her what happened. She watched as Pam went into the kitchen hallway that had the doors to the bathrooms, disappearing behind the women's room door. Although she couldn't help but feel a certain irritation with Pam - she was the woman who was standing in the way of Jim – she also regretted that she had never really gotten to know her. That Christmas party had been fun, and Pam seemed like the kind of girl that Karen would like under normal circumstances. But guys always had a way of making things complicated.
Jim had made things very complicated, after all. Telling her to come to the Scranton branch with him, getting into a relationship with her when he knew he was in love with someone else. Or, at the least, he had been in denial about it. Going with Jim had ended up getting her thrown into a bad situation in Scranton. Surrounded by strangers, with only her boyfriend as company. Jim had been her anchor at first. But instead of feeling grounded in a new place, Karen ended up sinking deeper and deeper as he pulled away. She had responded with insecurity, trying to stave off the inevitable. It didn't work.
Her gaze still wandered in the direction of the kitchen, and as Karen thought about it, she decided there was no point in holding grudge. She got up from her desk, making her way towards the kitchen. Once inside, she sat down at the table and waited for Pam to get out of the bathroom. Circumstance might have prevented her and Pam from connecting with each other, but she still couldn't blame her for what had happened. And now that a little time had passed since her breakup, the sting was beginning to wear off a little. Karen decided she was feeling magnanimous.
“Oh!”
The bathroom door opened and Pam almost stumbled back inside at the sight of Karen waiting for her outside in the kitchen. Karen raised an eyebrow as Pam edged nervously out. “Um, hi Karen,” she said.
“Hi, Pam.”
“What brings you to the, uh... to the kitchen table?”
“I was hoping I could talk to you, actually. Wanna sit down?”
From the look of it, Karen guessed that Pam probably didn't want to sit down, but after a moment the receptionist acquiesced, looking a little jittery as she pulled a seat back.
“What's up?”
“I don't know if you heard, but Jim and I broke up.”
A white pallor crept over Pam's face. She pursed her lips and nodded faintly, cupping a hand to her chin. Karen could tell that she was trying to look sympathetic, but the effect was almost enough to make her burst out laughing. It was like she had just accused the receptionist of murder.
“I'm so sorry,” said Pam. “What happened?”
“Well, you happened.”
Karen had to restrain yet another urge to laugh as Pam's shock increased. She had to admit that she was enjoying putting Pam on the spot just a little too much. But it was only for a moment. Work was almost over, and someone could come into the kitchen at any moment – particularly Jim – so Karen needed to say what she wanted to say and get it over with quickly.
“Wha-what?” stammered Pam. “Me happened?”
“Yeah, you. I'm not sure if you realize it, but Jim still has feelings for you. It's been kind of obvious to me for a while, and I was trying to pretend I didn't notice it, but I guess I just finally gave up.”
“Look, Karen, I don't know how Jim feels, but I definitely didn't mean to do anything to get in between you guys. You guys are good together, and I don't want to-”
“Pam, look, no. That's not it. Okay, I have to admit I was playing around with you a bit, sorry. I'm not angry at you. It's just that Jim is leaving in a few days - I've been watching you two avoid each other, and it's kind of ridiculous. I thought I'd point out the obvious, you know?”
“What's obvious?”
“He likes you, and you like him. If you want to do something about it, you need to do it pretty soon. Like, maybe tonight. You need to break out of your shell, Pam.”
“I don't know what you mean. I'm with Roy.”
“Oh, come on.”
“Come on what? I'm serious!”
“I don't buy that, Pam. Roy's cute and all, but I've heard things about him and I think you're just lying to yourself.”
Pam's nervous expression had worn off, and was now changing into something angrier.
“Look, I don't need you telling me that my relationship is a lie, okay? I can make my own decisions.”
“I'm just trying to help you, Pam. I'm doing you a favor, alright?”
Karen felt her exasperation begin to rise a little bit. Here she was, helping the woman who had taken her boyfriend away from her, even if she didn't even realize she had done that, and Pam was getting snippy with her. Karen had to remind herself that she was being a little blunt. Pam probably wasn't used to it. From what she had seen, Pam was not the type to put herself out there. Exactly the kind of person who could keep convincing herself that someone like Roy was a good match for her. Karen was about to give up and leave work for the day, accepting the receptionist as a lost cause, when she seemed to settle down a little. Karen watched as Pam paused for a moment before getting up from the table.
“I guess it's about time to leave,” said Pam. “I'm sorry about you and Jim.”
“Just think about what I said.”
Pam nodded as she approached the door. She opened it, but paused for a moment as she looked back at Karen. She didn't seem quite as spooked as she had been when Karen confronted her on coming out of the bathroom, but she was still a little white around the cheeks.
“Thanks,” she said.
The kitchen door closed. Karen waited a little while before getting up from the table herself. Through the blinds on the door, she could see several other people in the office already getting ready to leave. Stanley, as usual, was one of the first to go. Karen knew that many of them would be meeting that night at Poor Richards to see Jim off. She hoped Pam would make the right decision and go along with them. After a moment, she got up and left the kitchen; she still needed to talk to her boyfriend one last time.
“Hey Jim,” she said as Jim gathered his coat from the back of his chair.
“What's up?”
Jim looked a little nervous at his ex-girlfriend's greeting. Karen wondered if they had said more than two sentences to each other since they had broken up last weekend. She sat down on the side of his desk as their coworkers passed by on their way out, filing out of the door on their way to the night of drinking. Michael's office door was closed, and the lights inside were off. Karen assumed he must have left already; she wondered if anyone had invited him to go to the pub with them. Pam had also left a moment earlier, and Karen noticed her ex-boyfriend shooting a surreptitious glance at her desk. She couldn't help smiling. They were so oblivious to themselves.
“You're going to that thing at Poor Richard's tonight?”
“Yeah,” said Jim. “Do you, uh – do you want to come along?”
Karen laughed. “Um, no, I don't think so. That would be weird.”
“Ah.”
“This might be the last time I see you, actually. David suggested I interview for a new job opening in corporate, and I'm going to stay with a friend in New York while I take a little vacation from work here and interview for that. I think if I don't get the job, I'm going to try to transfer to another branch, or just quit completely.”
“Really? Why is that?”
“Well, for one thing, I'm not as forgiving of somebody like Michael as you are. Whatever I do in terms of my career, I'm not interested in having him as my boss in the long run. That, and the whole reason I went to this branch in the first place was because I was following you.”
Jim looked down sheepishly.
“David offered me that corporate job too, actually. I don't know if I'm going to go for it, though.”
“I'd tell you you should, but I'm guessing you wouldn't listen.”
Although Karen wondered if she was being a little harsh, Jim's lack of a response suggested that she might be right. He didn't seem to interested in moving up in the ranks. Which was just as well. Less competition for her.
“Anyway,” she said, “about tonight, do you know if Pam's going to the pub too?”
“Uh, maybe. Roy might have mentioned they were both coming when I was downstairs earlier.”
“That's good. Maybe you should say something to her.”
“About what?”
Karen rolled her eyes. “Good God, both of you?”
Jim looked around nervously as he put on his coat. He said goodbye to Kevin, who passed by on his way out of the office, giving Jim an opportunity to avoid Karen's needling. “You gonna be there tonight?” he asked before Kevin turned the corner.
“Dude, you know it.”
“Great.”
Karen waited until Kevin left. There was no one left in the office to distract her ex-boyfriend anymore. Jim was obviously trying to avoid the conversation, but he wasn't getting away from it until she was satisfied. His eyes roamed aimlessly about for a moment until they settled on her again.
“Look,” he said, “I know things with Pam might have caused problems between me and you-”
“You think?”
“-but she's with Roy now. There's nothing there between us.”
Jim began to edge away from his desk.
“I'm just saying, if you're gone in a few days, what do you have to lose?”
The question hung in the silent air of the office. Jim stopped edging, and actually seemed to ponder the question for a moment before responding.
“I already told her how I felt, you know. That's why I transferred to Stamford. I've already tried it once. And I could barely deal with it the one time.”
Karen nodded. As far as she was concerned, it was the closest Jim had come to admitting that he still liked Pam.
Although, she had to remind herself, there had been that one time he came right out and admitted it to her, about when Andy left for anger management. Karen probably should have just taken that at face value instead of trying to talk him out of his feelings. But then, hindsight was always 20/20. As she thought about it, maybe Jim had a point anyway. She could understand his reluctance to go through all that drama a second time. Maybe the ball was in Pam's court. As she could tell Jim was itching to escape from an awkward conversation, Karen rolled her eyes and shooed him away.
“Go, have fun at your little get-together.”
“Thanks. Bye, Karen.”
Alone in the office, Karen continued to sit on Jim's desk as she looked around the empty room. In a moment she would leave for the weekend, and then, after that, she would leave for parts unknown. Maybe New York. Maybe something else, depending on how the interview with David Wallace went. Even though it had been brief, she felt a little tired after her exchange with Pam and Jim. The two of them were ridiculous. She knew things were complicated between the two of them, but did it have to be that complicated?
Somebody really needed to smack their heads together and wake them up.
