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Jim

It's what's become a typical Saturday night.  Drinks, dinner and what comes next.

Afterwards, he watches her sleep.  It's quiet and he likes that her questioning eyes aren't watching him back.  He just really…likes…her.

Her hair is a stark contrast to the linens covering the pillow as it fans out behind her.  It's just like her, a series of straight lines, no twists or turns.  He wonders why he can't be satisfied with simple.

Instead, he continues to crave complications.

His life becomes a puzzle.  He struggles to find the last piece.

Though he tries, he can't make her fit.

xoxoxoxoxoxo

Pam

She'd once been the one beside him.  It used to be the two of them against the insanity.

It's not that way anymore.

It's clear he has found a new team mate - one who's happy to join him in combat.  Stunned, she rides out the shock of it.  It's a strange and uncomfortable place to find herself - now on the outside - looking in.  

She wants to be back on the inside.   She simply...wants.

Determined, she spends her nights creating a singular strategy.  It surprises her - empowers her - the strength she finds now that she's alone. 

xoxoxoxoxoxo

Karen

She's a smart girl but now it's as if she's shown up for class without the proper textbooks.  It's like she's in a foreign country and can't speak the language.

She's a smart girl so she gathers clues, uncovers facts, forms a theory and then draws a conclusion.

She's a smart girl, who won't be fooled.   He's not there for the jellybeans.

There's an invisible line, an electric current that runs from his desk to well - not hers.

She's surprised she's kept from tripping over it - or from feeling the shock - for as long as she has.