The decision was made. He felt like he'd jumped onto a runaway train. Suddenly he had to pack, find a new place to live, and deal with the fact that he had to face up to everything he had just run away from six months ago.

How the hell would he handle this? Six months ago he'd told her he was in love with her. It wasn't any less true today but he hadn't let himself think about that since the summer. He'd had his mourning period for all that could be with Pam. He had just started taking baby steps toward moving on.

He didn’t really believe in Fate, but he was sure it was having a good long laugh at his expense.

He hadn't told Karen anything about the circumstances surrounding the transfer. Maybe he didn't want to let her get that close. Maybe he wasn't ready to open that particular Pandora's box. Lord knows, he hadn't allowed himself to work through it - he just shut that inner door and soldiered on through.

A few days after he made the decision to complicate his life again, he found himself inviting Karen to drive to Scranton with him that weekend just to get the lay of the land. They drove around to all the high points - downtown, the Steamtown Mall, the Lackawanna coal mine.

He even drove past the office park where Dunder Mifflin was located so she could see where it was. His chest tightened and he found himself speeding past. He could see her looking curiously at him out of the corner of his eye but she didn't say anything.

When they got back to Stamford that night, she insisted in buying him dinner. He let her. She was easy to talk to and he liked that she got his jokes. He liked a lot of things about her and when she confessed that she'd like to see him more like this, outside of the office, he said he thought he'd like that too. 

It was their last day at the Stamford office and they were packing up their desks. Later on, he went by her place to help her pack the last of her boxes. As he was walking out the door to leave, she caught his hand and he turned into her, she, already leaning into his kiss. He thought she wanted more but that was all he felt he had to give her.

As he drove home, he wavered between feeling a bit giddy and feeling sick to his stomach. He packed all weekend and didn't return her calls. Finally on Sunday, he couldn't ignore her anymore and he lied and said his cell phone died and he had packed his charger by accident.

He was staying at a cousin's house until he found a new place. She was staying at a hotel until she decided where she wanted to live. She had joked that maybe they could be roommates. He laughed and changed the subject. He asked her to dinner the night before their first day. He was in a good mood but they drove past Chili's and suddenly he wasn't very hungry anymore.

He picked at his food and barely held up his end of the conversation. And when he dropped her off at her room, he kissed her a little too long, a little too insistently. She didn’t ask, but he knew that she wanted him to stay. But he thought about white sneakers and green teapots and made some excuse to leave that he didn't even remember when he thought about it later.

Was he leading Karen on? Where did he even want that to go? He knew he was holding out until he saw Pam again. He knew he couldn't take that last step until he'd looked into her eyes again. Until he'd seen her without the diamond on her finger distracting him as it caught the light.

He was restless all night, drifting in and out of sleep. He finally gave up at 5:30. Fully dressed, he intended to get there early to help his Stamford office mates acclimate. But he found himself on his knees, dry heaving into the toilet. He ended up being the last to arrive.

Michael was there and he navigated around him. Then suddenly she was there, jumping into his arms. She looked so different - pretty as he remembered but with a new glow. Fancy new Beesly.

Everything about the day was a little off. Everything was moving in slow motion. Surreal, this, to be back in such a familiar place but now so different.

When Michael gathered them all in the conference room, Pam took her usual seat next to him, Karen behind. When she tapped his back, he instinctively reached for what she knew he was handing him. Later, as they walked inside again, she absently stroked his back.

He hadn't seen the stricken look on Pam's face.

When they day was finally over, he realized that he hadn't really talked to Pam all day. She came walking out and he had his chance.

What came out of his mouth surprised him as much as the last thing he had said to her in this parking lot. Twice now he said one thing meaning to say another. He wondered if this building was cursed. Maybe built on some old Indian burial ground or something else from a horror movie. Maybe he was cursed.

As usual, there were more misinterpretations.

He watched her taillights leave the parking lot as his chin dropped slowly to his chest. This wasn’t going to be easy. Not by a long shot.