“How about this one?”
Pam reached deep into the pile, and held up a fuzzy peach pillow.
“Perfect!” Exclaimed Karen, thrilled that Pam had volunteered to help her decorate her new apartment. She never would have thought of accenting her old brown couch with warm hues, but Pam seemed to have an eye for those things.
They threw the pillow on top of their crowded cart, and headed towards the checkout counter. It was a crowded Saturday, and they were soon stuck behind an unpleasant woman arguing with the cashier about her coupons. They were still waiting in line, discussing the newest People Magazine, when a young voice came over the intercom.
“Attention Target Shoppers. Today, we are having a special on . . . hemorrhoid cream . . .” Muffled giggles followed. “ . . . and . . . KY Jelly.”
More laughter was broadcast over the intercom, until it was finally interrupted by another voice. “Girls! Girls, please get off of the…” With a crackle, the announcement ended.
As Karen and Pam started to snicker, the unpleasant woman in front of them in line shot them a dirty look. Her disapproving gaze made Pam start to laugh in earnest, which set off another chain reaction. Karen’s giggles turned into a snort, and Pam went off the edge, doubled over in laughter. Their disruptive behavior must have motivated the Unpleasant Woman to move on, and they finally began loading their loot onto the conveyer belt.
“That woman looked like she was going to strangle you,” said Pam, still wiping the tears from her eyes. She unloaded an alarm clock from the cart. She suddenly looked at Karen with a serious expression on her face. “You don’t think that she had a coupon for Preparation H, do you?”
Karen paused, letting the possibility sink in for a moment. Then their eyes met, and they both burst out in laughter again.
“Can you believe those girls just jumped on the intercom? Oh my god, that was hilarious,” Karen said, handing Pam a desk lamp. “To be twelve years old again. I would be way too embarrassed to do something like that.”
Pam’s laughter died down as she struggled with a large shoetree. “Yeah. I actually . . .” Pam paused.
"What?"
“I'm just, I’m really horrible at thinking on my feet.”
“Yeah, me too. I would have no idea what to say if I got on one of those things!” Karen said, cheerfully, although she noticed that as Pam unloaded the cart, her smile seemed to deflate, and the laughter left her eyes. This happened sometimes. They would be having a good time, laughing and joking, and something would suddenly change with Pam. She would just shut down. She had no idea why, but she knew Pam well enough to know that there were a lot of subjects Pam didn’t want to address.
It had been a few weeks since Karen had come to her realization about Pam and Jim, and she still hadn’t decided how to broach the subject. It didn’t help that Pam seemed to change the subject anytime Jim came up. The middle of Target definitely wasn’t the right place to have a major talk, but it had to be soon. Karen could sense that things were getting more serious with Jim, and she knew it was just a matter of time before Pam figured things out.
But it was just a crush, right? Perhaps, if Pam found a suitable . . . distraction, she wouldn’t be as hurt once she found out. If she were over Jim, maybe she would feel less betrayed by her friend.
xxxxxxxxx
The two women surveyed Karen’s new living room, each with a glass of white wine in their hand.
“The curtains make such a difference—you are a genius. I never would have thought of layering those two colors.”
Pam gave a small shrug. “It does look pretty good! Maybe I’ve found my calling.” She gave Karen a triumphant clink on her wine glass. “Goodbye Dunder Mifflin, hello FIT.”
“Pam—that is actually a really good idea!” Karen said eagerly. “You should do it.”
Pam gave her a quizzical look, but said nothing. Instead, she downed the rest of her glass. “More?”
“More.”
Pam filled Karen’s glass with the remaining wine and promptly changed the subject. “So, what do you think of Angela’s plan to have all of the office supplies color coded so she can determine who is wasting all of the post-it notes?”
“God, she is such a tight-ass. She needs to unwind. I think she just needs to get laid.”
They both laughed at the idea of Angela ever having premarital sex, and then lapsed into an easy silence.
After a moment, Karen looked over at Pam. “You know, I think Angela has a crush on someone in the office.”
She was careful to gauge Pam’s reaction, trying to determine how far she could push the subject. Pam’s eyes widened suddenly at the idea of office gossip. She leaned excitedly towards Karen. “I think so too! I’ve been waiting for someone else to notice, but everyone is so clueless!”
“Really?” Karen was honestly surprised. “I thought it was so obvious that she has the hots for Roy.”
The mention of Roy’s name seemed to knock the wind out of Pam’s sails. “Roy?”
“Totally. Wait, who did you think she had a crush on? Andy?”
“No, no,” Pam stammered. “Um, never mind. Anyways, Roy? Really?”
Karen was dying to know whom Pam had been talking about, but she couldn’t waste this opportunity, now that they were on the subject.
“Definitely. But, you know, I don’t think he’s interested in her at all.”
Pam gave a small snort. “I’ve got it on good authority that he wouldn’t mind helping her unwind.”
“Well, I’m pretty sure he would prefer helping someone else unwind, instead.”
Pam reached towards the bottle again, refilling her glass, despite the fact that it was still half-full. “Mmnmn,” she said, not meeting Karen’s eyes.
“In fact, I think that person is in this room,” Karen said, mischievously.
“You?” Pam’s eyes told Karen that she knew exactly what Karen was talking about, but that she was not going to make it easy for her.
“C’mon! You must know he is totally into you. You should go out with him! He is completely adorable. Seriously, if dimples could kill, we’d all be dead. And he’s always hanging out by your desk and trying to impress you. And he is so attentive, and such a gentleman. I mean, he helps you with your coat and holds the door open for you when you leave for the night! You can’t say you haven’t noticed!”
Pam’s cheeks flushed, and Karen hoped she hadn’t pushed too far. It would just be so perfect if it worked out between the two of them. Roy really did seem to care for Pam. He seemed like the kind of guy that would treat her like a queen, and that was something that Pam deserved. It was the perfect plan. Karen practically held her breath, hoping for some sort of positive response from Pam.
“Karen, it is really sweet for you to try to do this for me,” Pam began, hands gripped tightly around her glass of wine. “But it just wouldn’t work for Roy and I.”
Karen’s heart dropped. “But, why?”
Could it be more than a crush? Did Pam really care so much about Jim that she would give up a chance with Roy?
“Karen . . .” Pam paused, staring out the window. “There is a lot lot you don’t know about Scranton." She sighed. "And I don’t even know how to tell you half of it.”
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© 2006-2023 More Than That | Skin created by Kali