It had been about 5 months since he left Scranton, his heart being dragged along the interstate the whole way. But slowly, he realized he didn’t have to remind himself to force a smile as much anymore. He started to sleep better. Of course he thought about Pam all the time, but it wasn’t every waking moment like it once was (excluding the week he found out from Phyllis that she had called off the wedding). In fact, they had had a couple conversations since he left. Once over the phone, purely by accident, and then a couple casual texting conversations. And look at him! Still standing. He just might make it out of all of this alive. Not unscathed, but alive.
And then he got the news that Stamford was closing and merging with Scranton. And he was going back. Tomorrow. To the building where he fell in love with a receptionist who later ground his heart into a fine powder. This is going to hurt.
He was out with his coworkers who were coming to Scranton with him, celebrating their last night in Stamford. Andy was wasted and was very loudly trying to seduce “the ladies” with tales of Here Comes Treble and his days at Cornell. Hannah was frequently checking her watch, eager to get home to her new baby, most likely. And then there was Karen.
Karen was Jim’s first and only real friend here in Stamford. She was easy to talk to. Made him laugh but also laughed at his dumb jokes. She was hella good at Madden and despite not being from Pennsylvania, she was miraculously an Eagles fan. If he was being honest with himself, she was the main reason he had kept his head above water here.
She was sitting next to him at the bar and they were having a heated debate about whether or not Andy would go home with anyone that night. After they had finally agreed that odds were Andy would probably pass out before he even made it home himself, she laughed and placed her hand on his thigh. Not too high, but high up enough for him to lose his train of thought. He threw back the rest of his beer and leaned in.
“Next bet: I kick your butt in Madden tonight.”
“You’re on, Halpert,” she smirked.
Hearing another girl call him by his last name so playfully again was slightly jarring.
But...he didn’t hate it.
They walked out of the bar and he threw his arm around her shoulder. Tomorrow would come. He knew that. But it didn’t have to come quite yet.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Jumping ahead here. I know there is a lot to cover from the time Jim leaves to The Merger, but I wanted to start moving along to get closer to happier times.
Chapter End Notes:
Halfway there! I haven’t actually started writing the next chapter yet, just a basic outline. But hopefully I can crank them out because I want to write a little fluff eventually. ;)
