The Call
The first call came two weeks after her return to Nashua. She walked into work on Monday and saw the red blinking light, signifying a new message.
Her return to the Dunder Mifflin Nashua branch had gone well. Everyone was just as she remembered--friendly, happy, normal….
She knew the adjustment to life back in New Hampshire wouldn't be easy. She still had the same concerns about her job that she had before she left. It was impossible to move up, they hired people from the outside, there was no future there, none of those things had changed.
But now there was the M-factor. Which was what she had taken to calling her relationship with Michael Scott.
Her co-workers were intrigued, but had so far kept any questions about her brief excursion to Scranton to themselves. But she caught the looks. She knew that they knew that she had been involved with the most infamous manager in Dunder Mifflin history, and that it had cost her her job.
And yet here she was, back in New Hampshire. Back to her old life. And it all felt, well, normal. Too normal.
She walked to her desk and picked up the phone. Dialed the number to check her messages.
And started when she heard the oh-so familiar voice.
"Hi, Holly. It's me, um, Michael...Michael Scott. Just thought I'd let you know, everyone here is doing well, aside from having to see Toby's stupid face everyday. Pam is doing great in art school! She'll be back soon. And hey, I'm going to Winnipeg next week. That's in Canada, can you believe it? Got my passport and everything. I wikipedia'd it, so I'd know what to expect. Different country and all. Annnnyway I just wanted to give you a Dunder Mifflin Scranton update. So, yeah, there you have it. Bye"
Holly sat down in her chair. She listened to the message again. She reached forward to dial the familiar number to Michael's office, but hesitated.
7 hours was still 7 hours, and the separation wouldn't be any easier on either of them if she called him back.
She slowly dropped the phone back in the cradle. The rational part of her knew she couldn't call. She had to move on, to let Michael move on. It wouldn't do either of them any good to prolong the pain of separation when she knew any relationship between them couldn't work.
With that final thought, she turned away from the phone and turned on her computer.
But on Friday, she still couldn't stop thinking about the message. She had listened to it at least twice every day. Which is why at 5:20, after the other employees had left to start their weekend, she picked up the phone, and dialed Michael's work number.
The answering machine picked up after the fourth ring.
"This is Michael, I'm not in the office right now, but leave your name and number, and I will get back to you ASAP."
She chuckled at Michael. Using ASAP as a word was something they had jokingly argued about, the only thing they had ever argued about. Even those arguments had been fun. She wondered idly if he'd assumed she would call, would hear his use of the phrase that had been the source of a late-night conversation between them.
The beep interrupted her thoughts, and she began to speak.
"Hi Michael... it's me. I thought, well, I wanted to tell you that things here are going fine. Same stuff, different day, right? But Canada, wow, that's exciting! I bet it was... cold. I'm glad you're doing well, and tell everyone 'hi' for me! I miss you...guys...you guys."
She slammed the phone down. That wasn't how it was supposed to come out! She banged her head down against the desk.
7 hours, Holly, 7 hours! Long distance relationships were one thing, but 7 hours, it would never work. It was too far, too much traveling, too little time to see one another. It was impractical, it would just cause more pain in the long run when the distance became too much.
But her relationship with Michael had been too good to be true. She couldn't think of anyone else she had ever known who had understood her quirkiness the way Michael had. Correction, the way he did.
And she was giving it up for what was admittedly a dead end job?
They had jobs in Scranton. They needed Human Resource representatives in Scranton too.
But she had no idea if she and Michael had any sort of future. They hadn't had enough time together to figure that out.
And now she was in New Hampshire. 7 hours away from the person she felt closest too in the world.
She left the office feeling as lost as she had ever felt in her life.
When she returned Monday, her answering machine light was blinking yet again.
She ignored it for as long as possible, which was all of 10 minutes, before she grabbed the phone and dialed for her messages.
She couldn't help the smile that spread across her face at the sound of his familiar voice.
And so the pattern began. When she came to work on Monday's, her message light would be blinking. And when she left on Fridays, always late, after everyone else, it was after leaving a message for Michael to get on Monday.
Michael couldn't wait to get to work on any given day, but now, Mondays were his favorite. He knew that as soon as he got to work, he would have a message waiting for him from her.
He almost skipped into the office in this morning, eager to hear her voice, to see how she was doing. And although he never actually spoke to her, he thought the messages were just as good… kind of. Well, not really, but he'd take what he could get. At least she didn't go back to Nashua and forget about him. And she missed him! She missed him. Or maybe she just missed everyone in the office, but he was one of the people in the office, so she must miss him too.
He sat at his desk and pressed play on his answering machine. Her voice filled the room, and his head.
So many Monday mornings, he had thought about calling her. He had even gone so far as to dial half of her number, before he put the phone down.
He had told himself, and her, that this wasn't how he would be. So far, he hadn't been weak, hadn't gone back to Jan and the way thing's used to be. After Holly, he couldn't see how anyone else would ever satisfy him again.
That's what she said.
But it wasn't just the sex. Although that was fan-freakin-tastic. It was all of her. She thought he was funny. Which he was, but she actually understood his jokes.
He picked up the phone and dialed her number before he even knew what he was doing.
"Holly Flax"
She answered. What now?
"Um, hi, Holly."
"Michael!"
"Yep. I—hi."
She was silent, but he could hear her breathing on the other end. Michael knew he had to say something, something more than hi, but he hadn't even realized he was calling her. He should have written a script. Michael Scarn would have known what to say. Michael Scarn gets all the ladies.
A long moment of silence passed, with neither Michael nor Holly speaking. Finally, Michael said what first came to his mind.
"I miss you too."
He could hear what sounded like either a small laugh, or a small sob. He couldn't tell over the stupid phone.
"Are you crying? Laughing? I can't tell. I'm sorry. I said I wouldn't do this. This sucks, Holly."
"This really sucks, Michael" was her only reply.
"It's been over a month. And I don't know about you, but this is just getting harder. Being away from you is weird—weird and stupid, and just plain …idiotic," Michael stated emphatically, beginning to get worked up.
"I don't get it. We worked. We were happy. I was happy. I didn't know it was possible to feel the way that I was feeling. And right when I was feeling it, with you, it was gone. You had to leave. And I, well, I hate it."
"Me too. I miss you too, Michael."
So many things sped through Michael's brain. Beg her to come back, was the first thought, but he knew it wasn't his decision to make.
At that moment, Dwight burst into the office, demanding that Jim be immediately reprimanded for his unprofessional behavior. Holly overheard.
"We'll talk later" were her last words, and then he heard a click.
"Dammit Dwight!"
Holly had been on the road for exactly 6 hours and 47 minutes as she passed the sign that read "Welcome to Scranton". She still wasn't sure what she was doing. She had quit her job. She had decided that she wasn't going to give Michael up. There were other jobs. Better jobs. Plenty of companies needed human resource representatives, and she didn't think it would be that difficult to find one of those places in Scranton. Besides, who wanted to work for a company that would separate her from Michael? The man she thought she might maybe be in love with.
It was 3:30 in the afternoon when Holly got into the city limits. She thought about going to Michael's condo to wait for him there, but after her momentous decision and the almost 7-hour drive, she didn't want to wait any longer. She drove immediately to the building she remembered so well.
As she walked inside, she felt butterflies explode in her stomach. This was the craziest thing she had ever done, and she was terrified. Each step felt huge, and her legs felt like lead. She reached the door to the office and pulled it open.
All the desks were empty, but she could hear Michaels voice coming from the conference room. And with that, a calm came over her, and she knew that whatever happened next, she made the right decision in coming back here. In the short time she had been in Scranton, it had become home. She knew that it was because of Michael. Michael had become home.
She headed toward the conference room and knocked on the door.
Dwight pulled it open.
"Holly's back" he stated with little emotion.
At that statement, Michael's head whipped around, and he met her gaze with startled eyes.
"Um… hi, everyone" she said.
She looked around. Everyone here looked the same too. But in this case, there was nothing normal about it. And she was thrilled.
She saw Jim smile at Pam, happy for Michael. Pam smiled back, knowing that Holly was the reason that Michael was so down since she had been back from art school.
Michael walked towards her.
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
"I quit my job. I decided that I might eventually be happy living in Nashua, but a job's a job. I can work anywhere. You're here."
Michael grinned at Holly. And she was lost. She grinned back.
Kelly clapped her hands and "awwwwed" them.
"You came back?" he asked. He seemed dumb-founded by the concept.
"I came back to be with you" Holly repeated resoundingly.
Jim looked at Michael and Holly, who were still staring at one another, both with giant grins plastered on their faces. And he stood.
"Alright everybody, back to work."
"You're not in charge, Jim. I only take orders from Michael, unless he specifically tells me to take orders from you" said Dwight.
"Dwight, get out," said Michael, not breaking eye contact with Holly.
Dwight looked somewhat hurt, but finally followed everyone else out of the conference room.
"I hoped… but I never thought…" Michael started to speak. Holly put her fingers to his lips, silencing him.
"Michael wait. I came back because I know we have something special. We didn't have much time to be a couple, but it wouldn't be fair, to either of us, not to give it a try—to give us a try. I think we could have something great, you and me. I'm pretty sure I love you Michael, and I don't want to live the rest of my life wondering if you were it for me. I was just hoping we could pick up where we left off?"
Michael took Holly's hands, gripping them tightly.
"Ms. Flax, are you free for dinner tonight?" he asked.
Holly's already large smile seemed to grow even bigger.
"Why yes Mr. Scott, I believe I am".
With that, Michael leaned in and kissed her.
He pulled away and leaned his forehead against hers.
"I know I love you", he said.
She smiled and pulled him down for another kiss.