Kelly had been uncharacteristically quiet on the ride over to Poor Richards. Her loud shrieks had lulled to quiet sniffles as they pulled out of the Dunder Mifflin parking lot. Jim tried to convince himself that this was a good thing and was happy that his eardrums would be spared, but it also worried him.
When they entered the bar it was nearly empty. It was only 4 PM, and most people were still at work. The only other customers were a few shady looking guys playing pool and a drunk man asleep in a booth.
Jim led Kelly to the bar where they each sat on stools and motioned for the bar-tender to come over.
"We'll take two beers."
Kelly quickly shook her head and rolled her eyes at him, "Actually I'll take a Cosmopolitan. Thanks."
The bartender nodded and chuckled a bit as he went to fill their orders. Jim rolled his eyes. At least she didn't seem too distraught.
"Sorry, I'm just so used to ordering for me and Pam I just…"
"I know how to order a drink, Jim." She chided him, "I watch a lot of Sex and the City, okay? A lot."
The bartender set the drinks in front of them, and Jim resolved not to let the issue of Kelly's tantrum drop like his coworkers had tried to.
"So," he began, tentatively, "what was all that back at the office?"
Kelly sighed and took a long sip of her cosmo, contemplating his question for a moment. She appeared to be about to say something when she calmly shook her head and drained the remainder of her scarlet beverage.
"My cat Minnie died." She sniffled, "Actually, he was technically Ryan's cat and his name was technically Tom, but that's an unfortunate name for a cat and Ryan never took any care of him so he was pretty much my cat… but I guess I didn't do a very good job either." She broke out into sobs again and put her head down on the counter as she concluded this last statement. The bartender looked over with raised eyebrows and a few of the men playing pool were distracted by Kelly's outburst but Jim waved them off with a knowing smile. A smile that said, "Women. Am I right?"
"Hey," he patted her back and spoke in a tone he hoped was comforting, "I'm sure it wasn't your fault."
"It was," she mumbled, her face buried in her hands, "she choked on one of my press-on nails."
"Well… maybe you can talk to Angela? She has lots of cats. Maybe she could help you find a new one."
"Please," Kelly sat up, her mascara running and her eyes pink, "Angela would try to send me to prison for murder if she found out."
Jim couldn't deny the validity in this argument, "Have you told Ryan?"
"I would if he'd answer my calls…" Kelly stared down at her perfectly manicured nails, "Ryan and I actually broke up a few days ago."
Needless to say, Jim was surprised by all of this. He wasn't expecting Kelly to have a legitimate reason for her outburst. She seldom did. Although Kelly and Ryan broke up often, he sensed this time was different.
"I'm really sorry to hear that." He took a sip of his beer, "what happened?" He immediately regretted asking this question, knowing firsthand that it was opening a door to endless rants about Ryan he would have to stealthily find a way out of.
But Kelly surprised him, "I don't want to talk about it, okay? Especially not with you, Mr. Perfect Marriage."
"Actually," Jim stared hard at his beer, passing it back and forth in his hands and examining it as if it were the most interesting thing he'd seen all day, "Pam and I... things aren't going great with us right now." His cheeks burned bright red, which he hoped was imperceptible in the bar's dim lighting. He didn't know why he was telling her this. Jim had kept his failing marriage mostly concealed from his coworkers for the past three months and if he wanted it to stay that way, he knew the last person he should tell was Kelly Kapoor.
Kelly whipped her head around and gaped at Jim, her attention zeroing in on him like a hawk spying it's prey.
"What? I thought she quit to go back to art school!" Kelly exclaimed, visibly excited at the prospect of gossip.
"No, that's just something we agreed to tell people. Actually she's... she's back home with her mom for the time being."
"Why? What happened? Did you cheat? Did she? Are you two divorcing?" Kelly gasped, "Are you already divorced? Where's Cece? How could you not tell me this, Jim?"
Jim sighed, his mistake was clear. At least she'd stopped crying. "That's why." He took a long drink, "We really don't want everyone in the office making a big deal about it. It's just some... some personal issues we're working through." Even Jim could hear the lie in his voice, "We're just really private people. That's all."
Kelly squinted at him, "What did you do?"
Jim paused, drained his drink, and looked right in Kelly's wide chocolate brown eyes, "I wish I knew."
"And Cece?"
He shook his head.
"Jim." Kelly reached her hand over to his where it rested on the bottom of his empty beer bottle. Her fingers were smooth and warm. "I'm really sorry. I won't tell."
"C'mon, Kelly." He gazed at her knowingly. "You always tell everyone stuff like this."
"I mostly do." She laughed and shook her head at him, "but not with things that matter. Now come on." She shoved his arm, "let's get you drunk."