From a distance as she was walking up the beach, Karen almost didn't recognize Jim. Or rather, she didn't think it was actually Jim, but he didn't look like Gideon, either. It wasn't until she got closer that she realized it was Jim, and she stopped a few feet away.
"Okay," she said after a moment, "you are Jim Halpert, right? Married to Pam, have a daughter named Sam? Couldn't hold his liquor if his life depended on it?"
Jim might've been purposely trying to stay away from Karen over the last few days. He didn't get that drunk often, but he hadn't been drunk enough not to know he had made an idiot of himself. And, like usual, he was dealing with it by not dealing with it.
Her voice startled him out of his concentration, and he missed the note he had been about to play. He hadn't realized anyone was nearby, and he felt his face redden a little when he realized she might have been there for a while. Turning to look up at her, he offered a half-hearted smirk.
"Jim who?" he joked, then, realizing it probably wasn't nice to say something like that with clones running around, he revised what he had said. "Yeah, it's me. Wow, how long have you been there?"
"A while," Karen lied with a grin, and invited herself to sit down next to Jim. "So, I didn't know you secretly wanted to be a rockstar." Actually, she hadn't even known Jim could play the guitar.
Jim snorted, rolling his eyes a little. Really, he wasn't surprised his...other self had never told Karen about it. There were a few things he barely shared with anyone, mostly because he always thought they were sort of stupid - unattainable dreams. He didn't like thinking about them himself, nevermind mentioning it to other people.
"It's just a hobby," he said with an easy shrug, resting his arm on top of the guitar. "I'm not really all that great with it, but since this thing did appear, it seems stupid not to use it.
"I didn't even know you could play," Karen admitted, not even bothering to hide her curiosity. "And you're not exactly horrible at it," she added. Even if Karen hadn't actually known this one thing about Jim, she knew what he was like when he tried to pretend something was no big deal. It usually meant it was.
Jim was actually pretty pleased at the compliment, mostly because he knew Karen didn't have to say it, and it probably showed on his face. Pam had said the same thing, too, but he could never be entirely sure she hadn't just said it because to cheer him on.
"Well, I'm obviously a man of many mysteries," he said with a dry, teasing tone, hoping it'd get him out of talking about it much. "Hey, um. Sorry about - you know. Guess I was a little more drunk than I thought."
"A little?" Karen said with a laugh. "You were ridiculously drunk, Jim. It was actually one of the funniest things I've seen in a while. I still wish I'd had a camera to immortalize you falling face first into the snow."
"For the record, I really didn't drink that much," he insisted. "It's just been way too long since I've drank more than just a glass of bad alcohol from the island. Not used to it anymore."
Or, at least, that was what he was telling himself. He had sort of lost track of what he had had.
"Thanks for walking me back to the hut, though," he added, looking embarrassed. "That probably wasn't easy. Probably would have been left in a hallway somewhere if it had just been Pam."
And for good reason, too. He should have really kept an eye on what he was drinking.
Karen just shrugged and shook her head. If Jim wanted to keep deluding himself, then she'd just be there with a camera the next time he decided he wasn't used to having only a couple of glasses. As proof. And a little bit for her own amusement.
"I wouldn't have blamed her," she said with a small snort. "I think she really was going to leave you there if I hadn't offered. That bike story was completely true, too."
"I wouldn't have blamed her either," he admitted with an embarrassed grin.
He was almost about to point out that it wasn't technically him that she remembered with the bike, but he figured that'd probably not be the wisest way of responding.
"I don't doubt it," he smirked, shaking his head. "Looks like you Stamford guys were a bad influence on me. I almost never drank at the parties in Scranton."
Though, that probably had a whole lot to do with the fact he knew himself and he hadn't wanted to slip and say something he'd regret to Pam.
Karen just shook her head slowly and grinned. "Nuh uh. We just had to stay late one night, you were the one who actually did every single shot Andy made us." She paused, then decided it really couldn't hurt to admit, "I just poured all mine in the trash."
Mentioning drinking in Scranton also brought back at least a few memories of both Jim and Pam that weren't bad at all. "Pam and I set up a margarita party in Scranton, once. It was kinda fun to cross Angela like that."
"It was close," Karen said, grinning as she remembered exactly what a death glare from Angela (different from just her regular glares) felt like. "I think she might have had God smite us where we stood if she could do that."
"I'm pretty sure she's been trying to get God to do that to me since I started working there," he snorted, looking amused. "So was the party a success, at least? Or did she force the party planning committee rules on you guys?"
"Oh, we just formed the Committee to Plan Parties," Karen answered matter-of-factly. "Angela did not take that well, but we had a way cooler party. Then I guess Pam felt bad for her or something, and suggested we merge the parties. Karaoke, margaritas and double-fudge brownies. It was a good night."
"I'm sorry I missed it," he replied. A war between Angela and anyone was always pretty hilarious to watch, except when Angela's wraith was directed at him. Seeing how Dwight and her were now pretty much explained the growing disdain she had had for him the last few years, though. "I remember a couple of times Pam and Angela got into little spats. Let me tell you, Pam can be pretty evil when she wants to be. It's hilarious."
And, like Karen had said, she also knew when to stop the joking. It was a trait that helped him, too, because she'd know how to nudge him when he was starting to go too far.
"Okay," she said after a moment, "you are Jim Halpert, right? Married to Pam, have a daughter named Sam? Couldn't hold his liquor if his life depended on it?"
Reply
Her voice startled him out of his concentration, and he missed the note he had been about to play. He hadn't realized anyone was nearby, and he felt his face redden a little when he realized she might have been there for a while. Turning to look up at her, he offered a half-hearted smirk.
"Jim who?" he joked, then, realizing it probably wasn't nice to say something like that with clones running around, he revised what he had said. "Yeah, it's me. Wow, how long have you been there?"
Reply
Reply
"It's just a hobby," he said with an easy shrug, resting his arm on top of the guitar. "I'm not really all that great with it, but since this thing did appear, it seems stupid not to use it.
Reply
Reply
"Well, I'm obviously a man of many mysteries," he said with a dry, teasing tone, hoping it'd get him out of talking about it much. "Hey, um. Sorry about - you know. Guess I was a little more drunk than I thought."
Reply
Reply
Or, at least, that was what he was telling himself. He had sort of lost track of what he had had.
"Thanks for walking me back to the hut, though," he added, looking embarrassed. "That probably wasn't easy. Probably would have been left in a hallway somewhere if it had just been Pam."
And for good reason, too. He should have really kept an eye on what he was drinking.
Reply
"I wouldn't have blamed her," she said with a small snort. "I think she really was going to leave you there if I hadn't offered. That bike story was completely true, too."
Reply
He was almost about to point out that it wasn't technically him that she remembered with the bike, but he figured that'd probably not be the wisest way of responding.
"I don't doubt it," he smirked, shaking his head. "Looks like you Stamford guys were a bad influence on me. I almost never drank at the parties in Scranton."
Though, that probably had a whole lot to do with the fact he knew himself and he hadn't wanted to slip and say something he'd regret to Pam.
Reply
Mentioning drinking in Scranton also brought back at least a few memories of both Jim and Pam that weren't bad at all. "Pam and I set up a margarita party in Scranton, once. It was kinda fun to cross Angela like that."
Reply
He probably would have had to sleep in the office if she hadn't been safe to drive, or he would have fell into a ditch somewhere on his bike.
"A margarita party?" he repeated, raising a brow. "And Angela didn't strangle you guys?"
He remembered how she had been when Michael brought the vodka to the Christmas party.
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
And, like Karen had said, she also knew when to stop the joking. It was a trait that helped him, too, because she'd know how to nudge him when he was starting to go too far.
Reply
Leave a comment