Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Jim stared at his computer screen.  He was focusing intently at something.  But, as he peeked around his shoulder, he noticed the camera pointing at him and quickly minimized the screen.  He glanced over at Pam and smirked.  She blushed and lowered her head.  Something was going on between Jim Halpert and Pam Beesly.

It had been 3 months since Jim and Pam’s official first date.  Their first night out as a couple had been awkward and thrilling and overwhelming all at once.  Dinner was punctuated with shy looks and blushful pauses.  It took a while for the once best friends to reconnect, but by the time dessert was served Pam’s laughter could be heard across the restaurant.  Their evening was sealed with a kiss on Pam’s doorstep.

The 2nd date was a lot more relaxed.  It was pizza and Fargo at Jim’s place.  They got to know each other a little better on Jim’s couch and the walls that had been erected between the two of them to hide pain and hurt and guilt slowly crumbled.

Jim and Pam spent their 3rd date at Pam’s apartment.  Pam cooked Jim dinner and they laughed over wine and lasagna.  As the light began to fade in Pam’s living room, they slowly swayed to songs playing on Pam’s ipod.  Jim didn’t go home that night.

The 5th date began on a Friday night and ended on a Monday morning.  They had gone out for dinner at Coopers and returned to Pam’s apartment.  The night was spent talking for hours about all kinds of subjects: basketball, art, dreams, pranks, family, childhood, movies, beer, music, food and favourite smells.  Around 2 am the discussion turned to memories of parking lots and there were confessions and tears and apologies.  They spent the rest of the weekend making up for lost time.

Their 20th date began with Jim blindfolding Pam.  He assured her that all would be magically revealed and drove her to their secret date location.  He got out of the car, opened her door, led her to the outside of the building and dramatically removed her blindfold.

“The Houdini Museum?” Pam hesitantly asked.

“Yes!  The web site says that it is a ‘non-stop wonderful major event in the world’s only building devoted to the most famous magician of all time’ and that it is ‘great for all ages, from 3 to 93’.  Plus, it will give you something to talk to Michael about.”

“You are so lame.”

 “Lame, huh?  Or am I so lame that I’m cool?”  She gave him a puzzled look.  Jim grabbed her by the hand and said excitedly, “C’mon!  Let’s explore the wonderful world of magic.”

On their 48th date, things started to shift between Jim and Pam.  Many of their dates were now spent just hanging out together watching movies or chatting over a meal.  But on their 48th date, the conversation drifted to marriage as they were sitting together on a loveseat patio seat on Jim’s balcony.

“So there I was, surrounded by the flowers, the dress, the hall and even the band.  It was like I was trapped in a bizzaro world,” Pam explained with her hands spread wide.

“Wow. That must have been…wow. That’s just weird,” said Jim as he cast his eyes downward.

“Yah, not really the best day of my life, but I’m glad it worked out for Phyllis.”  Pam began to think of the mistake she made on that night and stared at the candle that was flickering on Jim’s patio table.

Jim looked at her and said in a low voice, “Can I ask you something?”

Pam lifted her gaze. “Sure.”

“Why did you leave with him?”

Pam’s stomach flipped. She wished he hadn’t asked that question, but she knew she would have to answer.  She sat quietly for a minute, thinking about the right words to say.

“Well, I was lonely and I started to doubt my choices.  I mean, Roy and I had been together for 10 years.  I worried that I made a mistake.  I watched you and Karen and you looked so happy and it seemed like you had moved on.  I felt like...I felt like I was drowning.  Roy offered me a way out of the pain and fear and in a moment of weakness, I held on to him.”

Jim looked uncomfortable.  He looked down towards his lap and started to play with a thread on his jeans.

“Jim, look at me,” Pam said as she lifted his chin so he could meet her eyes.  “I know it must have hurt to see me with Roy, but I’m glad it happened.”

Jim cleared his throat and tried hard to keep eye contact with Pam.

“I’m glad it happened because it helped me see that Roy and I were never meant to be together.  He didn’t let me be me.  He liked the idea of me, but he didn’t know the real me.  There’s only one person in this world that knows the real me.  One person that supports me, loves me and helps me be all I can be.”

“The Army?” Jim said with a smirk.

“Very funny.  Seriously, from the day I met you, you always made me feel comfortable in my own skin.  I could always be myself around you. I denied letting you in for a long time because I couldn’t handle that someone other than Roy made me feel whole.  Now...I feel like I can do anything and you are a big part of that.”

“Wow…well, I’m glad that I could help out,” he said as he smiled and leaned in to place a gentle kiss on Pam’s lips.

As they separated, Pam smiled and asked, “So, what would your dream wedding look like?”

Jim made like he was about to stand as he said, “Oh, let me go get my dream wedding book and I can show you all of the drawings and clippings I’ve kept since I was a boy--,”

“Stop it!” she said as she smacked his arm and pushed him back down.  “Seriously, haven’t you ever thought about our, uh… whoo…I mean… your wedding day?”  Pam stopped as Jim’s eyes grew wide.

Her face became flushed and she stared at the candle, again.  “I’m sorry, was that too much?  It’s too much, I…never mind”

Jim stared at Pam as a slight smile crept across his face.  “No…no.  Not too much.”

Pam looked up as he continued, “I actually have thought about getting married and it’s funny that the same person always seems to be there.”

It was now Pam’s turn to look at Jim with wide eyes.  She smiled and said, “Dwight? Is it Dwight? I always knew you two had something special.”

“Beesly. C’mon!  I’m pouring my heart out here and you have to go and ruin it with him. That’s going to be burned in my brain, now. Thanks.”

“I’m sorry!  Please!  Please…continue”

“Nope, the moment is gone. I can’t even remember what I was talking about.”

“I think you were about to tell me who you want to marry.”

“Oh, was I now?  Hmmm…I don’t know if that was what I was saying, but…” he reached for her hand and rubbed his thumb back and forth across her palm.  “Well, Beesly, to tell you the truth, there has only ever been one person that I’ve ever wanted to marry, and, um...that’s you.”

“Oh,” Pam responded as a sigh.

“Yah…oh.” Jim looked down at their fingers laced together and continued in a whisper, “I can’t tell you how many times I wished it was our wedding you were planning when you were with him.”  Jim sighed, “Look, it’s not like I had our flowers and colours all picked out or anything, but I’ve had many thoughts about standing in front of you and promising myself to you until the day I die.”

“Oh…my. I, uh…I’m not sure what to say.”

Jim looked like he had just had the wind knocked out of him and Pam recognized that look of fear.  She had to choose her words carefully here because this was it.  This was a very important moment and she wanted to make things very clear, with no misunderstandings.

“Jim, don’t look at me like that.  This is not Casino Night in the parking lot.  We are so far from who we were then.  I couldn’t handle what you had to say to me then, but now…well now, I…” Tears started to form in the corners of her eyes and she fought hard to keep it together.  “Now, I…I…can’t imagine my life without you.  I know it’s only been a few months since we started dating and sometimes it feels like everything is moving really fast but…”  Pam glanced downwards, wiped the tears from her eyes and sat up straight, holding Jim’s gaze. “We’ve wasted so much time denying ourselves to each other.  I don’t want to do that anymore.  Why should we?  I know we’re still getting to know each other, but I want to spend the rest of my life getting to know you.  I can guarantee we’ll be 80, sitting on our front porch and you will still be able to surprise me with something I’ve never known about you.”  She grabbed his other hand and looked at him with a determination he had never seen before. “Jim, I love you.  I fell in love with you the first day that I met you.  I have a connection with you that I’ve never felt with another person and I don’t want to wait until we move in together or wait until we’ve been together for an ‘acceptable’ amount of time.  We need to be together now and enjoy each other now and begin the rest of our lives starting now.”

They stared at each other and soaked up the enormity of what had just been said.  Various bugs could be heard making their night time noises and a car drove by, but none of it was heard by Jim and Pam.

Jim broke the trance and asked, “Pam, what exactly are you saying?  I mean, are you saying what I think your saying?  Because, if that’s what your saying, I--,”

“Jim, I think we should get married.”

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

“Jim, I think we should get married.”

Jim felt his stomach flip.  His heart started to race.  His mind started to bounce around a million different thoughts. 

Is she serious?  Of course she is.  She wouldn’t joke about that.  I’ve never heard her talk like that before.  God, she’s beautiful.   But, we’ve only been together for a few months.  But I’ve known her for years and years and…holy god…I love her…she’s always been it for me.  But marriage…so soon…what if we rush it and it all goes wrong?  I can’t handle that.  Crap, she’s looking at me funny.  I’d better say something, quick. 

“Married!”  He blurted loudly.  Pam jumped in her seat and their hands broke apart because Jim had yelled the word at her.

“Yes, married.  Sooo…what do you think?”

“Uhhhh…well…I…”

She stared and him and shook her head, “I’ve freaked you out, haven’t I?  I have completely freaked you out.” 

“Well, I’m a little freaked out, but I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing.”

“Okay…can you elaborate a bit on that?”

“Ahhhh…okay.  Umm, well, honestly?  I think I’m just still adjusting to this new you.”

“What do you mean?”

“Alright…I know we’ve gotten to know each other really well these past few months, uh, very well in some areas.”  Pam smiled, blushed and looked down at her hands as Jim continued, “You just say whatever’s on your mind now and that’s…that’s so great.”  He paused and looked out into the night sky and then returned his gaze to Pam.  “I guess I’m still getting used to you telling me what you think.”  He lowered his eyes.  “I mean, we hid so much from each other for so long and this is just all so…new.”

She looked at him hesitantly and whispered, “Is that a good thing?”

Jim smiled warmly and said, “Uh, yah…yah, it is.  Definitely.”

“Look, Jim, I know that I’ve basically just proposed to you and I know that I have changed a lot since we met, but really, I’m still me.  You know that, right?”

“Yes…yes I do”

“Well…”

“Well…Pam, it’s just, I’m a little scared.”

“Okay, what are you scared of?”

He breathed deeply and reached for her hand.  “I just think that this is happening really fast and I am loving so much about what is going on between us and, well, I guess I’m scared that if we rush into something that we aren’t ready for it could ruin us.”

“Okay.”  Pam paused for a moment.  “I can see how you might feel that way.  I’m scared too, Jim.  I have just lived the worst year of my life and a big part of that year being the worst was being away from you.  I don’t want it to ever be like that again.  I want us to start something that is just us.  Right now I feel like there is nothing that could ever break us apart.  I know everyone probably says that when they get married, but we’ve already been broken up Jim.  When I pushed you away and you moved to Stamford, we broke up.  There has been a wall between us for the past year and that wall is finally gone.”  She lifted her hand to the side of Jim’s face.  “I just feel like I want to hold on to you and never let you go.”  She tilted her head to the side and added, “But hey, I’m not a stalker, ok?”

Jim snickered and continued to stare at her.  Pam dropped her hand back into her lap.  He blew out the breath he’d been holding for the past minute and thought carefully about what he was about to say.

“Pam, I…I can’t even believe you’re saying these things to me.  This year has been hell, for sure, and I don’t ever want to relive it.  You…” He dropped his head to try and pull himself together.  He did not want to cry in front of her.  He took another deep breath, looked at her with a furrowed brow and continued.  “You…are all I ever wanted.  When I was in New York for that interview, David Wallace asked me where I saw myself in 10 years and all I could see was you.  In 10 years I want to be with you.  In 50 years I want to be with you.”  He took her face in his hands and kissed her slowly and deeply.  They pulled each other into a hug and he whispered in her ear, “You make me feel alive.  These past three months have been amazing and no one…no one has ever made me feel so loved.  I never ever want to know what life is without you.  Ever.”

He rested his chin on her shoulder, held onto her tightly and tried to sort out what was going on in his head. 

She wants to marry me.  Pam.  My wife.  What would my parents say?  What would her parents say?  God, it feels so good to hold her like this and she smells so...good.  Ok, I can’t marry her just because she smells good. But she’s so much more than that.   

Jim then started to flash through a series of thoughts and images, like a slide show put on fast forward. 

Cugino’s, jellybeans, pranks, stolen moments in the break room, a drunken kiss, a desperate kiss, silent moments, a welcome back hug, hidden feelings, a bouncy castle, beach confessions, first date, bodies entwined, whispers in the dark, gold bands, promises, a house with a terrace, Pam’s eyes, a twinkling Christmas tree, the ocean washing over our feet, a round tummy, tiny hands and curly hair, Pam…Pam’s arms wrapping around me.

Yes.  This is right.  This feels right.  Ok, Halpert, it’s now or never.   

Jim pulled away from Pam and he lowered himself to his knees in front of her.  He took both of her hands locked eyes with her.

“Jim, you’re trembling.  What are you doing?  Are you ok?”

“Yes.  I’m…ok…Pam, I love you.  You’re my best friend and I…I….”  Jim’s nerves were getting the better of him and he couldn’t get the words to come out right.  “Crap, I’m sorry.  I just can’t think straight right now.”  He shook his head and brought his eyes back to hers.  “What you were saying before, about getting married, well, I think, what I mean is maybe we should…ok, look, I’m just going to say it, ok?  Pam, will you marry m--”

“Yes!  Yes, yes, yes!”  Pam interrupted as she fell onto him and knocked him flat on the balcony floor. 

“So…that’s…a…definite…yes?”  Jim said with a laugh in between Pam’s flurry of kisses.

Pam smiled on his lips, pulled away and raised her eyebrows.  “Absolutely it is.”

Pam got home on Sunday night after spending the weekend at Jim’s.  She walked into her dark apartment, threw her keys and bags on the dining room table and flopped on her sofa.  She and Jim had an amazing weekend together and she could hardly believe all that had happened.

Engaged.  I’m engaged.  Jim and I are getting married.

It didn’t seem that long ago that she was staring at the back of Jim’s head wondering what he was thinking.  But, after this weekend, she knew everything he was thinking and more.  They were going to spend the rest of their lives together.  They had already talked about her moving in to Jim’s apartment at the end of the month.  Jim’s apartment was bigger than Pam’s and he had a spare room that he had already dubbed “Artist’s Corner”, so it was perfect.

Pam was smiling at the memories of the weekend, but her smile stretched into a yawn.  She was exhausted and tomorrow was another exciting day at Dunder Mifflin, so she figured it was time to turn in.  

After preparing for bed, Pam padded into her room and sat in front of her vanity dresser.  She took out her hair clip and small hoop earrings and held them in her hands.  Her hair fell all around her face and she stared at her reflection in the mirror.  The vanity was a very old piece of furniture and it used to belong to her grandmother.  Pam often sat in front of the mirror and thought of her grandmother and all of the other ladies who had stared at their own reflections.  She sometimes wondered who owned the vanity before her grandmother.  It was at least 100 years old, so generations of women probably sat in the very same spot fixing their hair, applying makeup, or thinking about their lives.  She thought of her grandmother, all alone and raising her aunt while her grandfather was off at war.  Pam was not a vain person who loved to stare at her own reflection, she just felt a connection to the vanity and liked to use it as a spot to think. 

She opened her jewelry box and placed her earrings inside.  A flash of diamond and gold caught her eye.  Laying underneath her earrings was her engagement ring from Roy.  She picked it up, held it in the flat of her palm and a flood of memories washed over her.  She recalled another time and another proposal.

~*~*~*~ 

It was about 5 years ago.  She and Roy were up at the lake and they were having a really good time.  This was probably due to the fact that it was the only time that summer that Kenny wasn’t with them.  They spent the afternoon swimming and later, Pam did some sketches while Roy slept on the beach.  As darkness fell, Roy built a fire on the beach and they cooked hotdogs, roasted marshmallows and sat in silence.  Roy wasn’t a big talker, but he was unusually quiet that night. 

“Pammie?”

“Mmmm?” Pam said staring into the fire.

“Can I talk to you about something?”

Pam lifted her gaze from the fire and looked at Roy.  He seemed really nervous and was sweating, even though it was a cool night.

“Roy, are you okay?”

“Yah, babe, I’m fine.  Look, we’ve been together for a long time now and I was thinking, well…”  He stopped to mop his brow with the sleeve of his shirt.

“Yah?”

“Well, I just think…” he let out a big breath.  “Let’s get married.”

“Are you…are you asking me to marry you?”

“Yah, uh...yah...so...what do you think?”  He reached into his pocket, pulled out a black box and opened it.  The small diamond in the engagement ring reflected the campfire and sparkled.

Pam remembered staring at those tiny spots of light on the ring and feeling thrilled to be proposed to but paralyzed to respond.  There was a little voice in the back of her mind screaming, “Is he what you want for the rest of your life?  Does he even know you?  This is forever.  Forever!”

But Pam ignored that voice and did what many 23 year olds did when they were proposed to by their boyfriends.  She said yes.

 ~*~*~*~ 

Pam shook her head and stared again at her reflection.  She spent years and years after that proposal waiting to get married, constantly trying to quiet that screaming voice in her head.  When Jim came into her life, the voice became more challenging, but she was very skilled at muffling the screams.  Planning her wedding kept her busy.  It distracted her from the fact that she was making the biggest mistake of her life.  She spent years looking at dresses and flowers and cakes, planning everything down to the napkin ring holders all to have it end.

This time was different. 

She knew Jim wouldn’t use their wedding money to buy Wave Runners.  He would not go out and get drunk with his friends every Saturday night and leave her alone.  Jim would not change the wedding date because it fell during hunting season. 

Jim was going to give her love and attention and encourage her art.  He would help make dinner and share doing the laundry.  He was going to give her children and laughter and tears and everything that life had to offer.

The hairs on the back of Pam’s neck stood on end and everything became clear to her.

We are not going to wait 4 years to get married and we are not having the reception at the V.A. and Kevin and his drums will be nowhere near our day.

Pam sprang from her seat and rushed to her phone.  It was 10:20.  She dialed Jim’s number and hoped he wasn’t asleep.

“Heeello?” Jim answered sleepily.

“Hey, Jim?  It’s me.” Pam said excitedly.

“Heeeey you, what’s up?”

“Well, I was just thinking about the wedding.”

“Wedding?  Hmmm…is someone getting married?”

“Ha ha.  No, seriously.  Our wedding.  Look, can I come over?”

“Now?”

“Yah, I… I’ve just got to talk to you about some things.”

“Okay, sure.  Just remember, if it has anything to do with the tablecloth colours, I have complete control over that.  I won’t back down on that one.”

“Obviously. Okay.  I’ll be there in 10 minutes.”

Jim was lying on the couch, clad in blue boxers and a faded Scranton t-shirt, aimlessly flicking though channels.  He heard a knock at the door.

Pam.

He turned off the tv, got up quickly and let her in.  She stopped just inside the door, pulled him into her arms and gave him a hungry kiss.  She slowly backed him into the living room, while still kissing him.  He pulled away, breathless, and said, “Whoa!  What was that for?”

Pam smiled a nervous grin.  “What?  I can’t give my fiancé a kiss?”

“Oh, is that what we’re going to do?  Call each other fiancé all the time now?  Can I call you that at work?  Can I get you a nameplate that says ‘Jim Halpert’s fiancé’?”

With a deadpan face she said, “You’re hilarious.”

“Thank you.  So, what wedding details are so important that you had to come over here at—,” he checked his watch, “10:35?”

“Um…” Her eyes darted around the room.  “Do you have any beer left?  I would love a beer right now,” she said as she walked quickly into the kitchen and whipped open the fridge door.

“Beer?  Uh…yah, I think I have some in there somewhere."  He followed her towards the kitchen and leaned against the door frame.  "Are you okay, Beesly?  You’re acting a little…weird.”

She rifled through a drawer for a bottle opener, popped off the top of the beer bottle, took a swig and breathlessly answered, “Yah…I’m great.  You know what?  Let’s go sit down.”

“Oookay,” Jim said with a puzzled look on his face.  He followed her into the living room and they sat beside each other on the couch.

Pam took another big gulp of her beer and set it down on the coffee table.  She took a deep breath and looked at him with a furrowed brow.  “Well…I was just doing some thinking,”

“Okay, thinking is good.  I like thinking.  What were you thinking about?”

Pam sat silently, grabbed her beer and started to pick at the paper label on the bottle.

“Pam?”

“Yeah.”

“Earth to Pam.”  She looked up at him, still fiddling with the label.

“Beesly, you’re starting to scare me here.  You rushed over here to tell me something and now you're drinking and peeling labels and…you’re not having…second thoughts, are you?”

“No!  No.”

Jim sighed.  “Good!”

“Yah…no, I mean definitely not second thoughts.”

“Okay, so you want to talk about the wedding.  Are you worried about all the planning?  ‘Cause if you are, don’t worry about it.  I want us to do this together.  I mean, we have months to do this and--,”

“No.”

Jim looked confused, “ 'No’ you don’t want me to help or ‘no’…I…I don’t know what ‘no’ you mean.  Pam, seriously, I feel like we’re playing charades here.”

“I’m sorry.”  She set down the bottle and the bits of label and looked at Jim hesitantly. “It’s just…okay.  I have this idea and it’s a really crazy idea and sitting in front of my mirror at home it seemed like an amazing idea, but now, I…I…don’t…I don’t want to freak you out.”

Jim took her face in his hands, “Beesly, we both know you are a freak, but you won’t freak me out.  Whatever you have to say, just say it.”

“Okay.”  She breathed in deeply and took his hands from her face so that she could hold them.  “Alright, so I was thinking about my other engagement tonight.”

Jim’s face fell and he stared at her.

“I was thinking about how I waited and waited to get married and then it never happened, but then everything I planned ended up happening at Phyllis’ Wedding and I just…I just don’t want to plan a big elaborate wedding and I don’t want to wait.”  She bit her bottom lip waiting for Jim’s response.

“Okay, so you don’t want a big wedding.  That’s fine with me.  It can be small, simple.  Whatever we want it to be.”

“There’s more.”

“Okay…lay it on me.”

“I was thinking that maybe we could…I mean I want to…I think we should elope.”

“Oh." 

“Yah.”

 "Elope?  Really?"

"Mmm hmm?" 

 “Huh.”

“Is that a good ‘huh’ or a bad ‘huh’?”

“It’s an ‘I’ve never really thought about it’ huh.”

“Well, what do you think?”

“Well, my first reaction is that it sounds exciting, but…”

“But?”

“Uh, well, what about our parents?  I mean, I know my mom would want to be at my wedding and what about your mom?  Do you really want to get married without your mom being there?”

“I know…that’s the one thing I’m stuck on.  But, I think she would understand.  She knows what I went through planning my other wedding and I know she wouldn’t want me to go through that again.  Maybe we could have a party with our families when we get back?  People elope all the time, you know and it’s just…I don’t know.”  Pam sighed and buried her face in her hands.

He pulled her hands away from her face.  “Pam.  Look at me.”  She raised her head and they locked eyes.  "Just tell me what you're thinking."

“I’m sorry.”  She paused for a minute and chewed on her thumb nail.  “Alright.  Well, the idea just hit me.  It was like a vision that just flashed in my head.  But, now that I think about it, maybe it’s just too crazy.  We only got engaged two days ago and now I want to run away and elope.  I just…I just want us to be married and…maybe I’m just afraid if we wait too long?…I don’t know.”

“C’mere.”  Jim pulled her into his arms and rubbed her back.  “Listen to me.  I'm not Roy.  This is not going to be a repeat of what happened to you before. So, just take a few deep breaths and tell me about your vision.  Then I’ll tell you about my weird dreams about Dwight and beet babies and we’ll be even.”

Pam giggled.  She loved how he could always do that.  He could make her laugh in any situation.  She took some breaths and moved away from his embrace.

“Okay, so, like I said, everything about planning my wedding to Roy was really crappy.  He never helped to do anything and, well, planning weddings just brings back bad memories for me.  So I tried to not think about that and I thought of our wedding and it just came to me.”

“What?”

The corners of Pam’s mouth turned up as she tried to hide a smile. 

“Okay, so this is what I’m thinking.  An island, somewhere tropical.  Just you and me and a minister.  Oh!  And there’s the ocean and a breeze and we are just standing together and looking at each other and we’ll say our vows and it will just be...”

“Wow,” he said as almost a whisper.

“Okay, can you see it too?  Am I crazy for wanting this?”

Jim smiled a wide grin.  “No, actually, I think it sounds...amazing.”

“You know, also, when I think about it, I’m just not too crazy about getting up in front of hundreds of people and sharing something so…personal.  You know?  I just feel like this is our life and our marriage and it should be just between us.”

“Yeah,” Jim said thoughtfully.  He bowed his head and stared at her hands wrapped in his.  After a moment he brought his eyes back to hers and said wistfully, “Yeah, you know what?  That makes total sense to me. When I say my vows I want to say them just to you.  Our lives for the past three years have been on display with those cameras around and I do not want our wedding to be the property of Dunder Mifflin.”

“Exactly!”  Pam squeezed his hands excitedly and asked, “So…?”

Jim looked at her seriously.  “So…”  A huge grin crept across his face, “Let’s do it.”

Jim stared at his computer screen.  He was focusing intently at something but, as he peeked around his shoulder, he noticed the camera pointing at him and quickly minimized the screen.  He glanced over at Pam and smirked.  Pam blushed and lowered her head.  Something was going on between Jim Halpert and Pam Beesly.

It was a normal Tuesday at Dunder Mifflin Scranton.  Michael was in his office avoiding work and updating his Facebook profile with pictures of Jan.  Dwight was researching instructions for digging an outhouse and everyone else seemed to be busily working.  What the office and the cameras didn’t know was that Pam and Jim were engaged.  They had told no one about their engagement and over the past few days they had been researching destination weddings.

Jim cleared his throat, pushed away from his desk and sauntered over to reception.

“Hey, Miss Beesly, ready for a break?”

“Why, yes please, Mr. Halpert.”

“Meet you up top in ten?”

Pam nodded.  Jim turned quickly on his heels and returned to his desk.  He sat down with a smirk on his face.  The next two weeks were going to be the most exciting time of his life.  First of all, he was planning a trip with Pam and, as if that wasn’t enough to distract him, they were also planning their wedding.  A wedding that would consist of the two of them on a beach feeling warm breezes and hearing the ocean waves as they became man and wife.  But, right now he didn’t have time to think about sand between his toes and Pam in a wedding dress.  Jim had to find the perfect wedding location.  He had noticed that the film crew had just gone on their break, so he grabbed his mouse, clicked on the bar at the bottom of the screen and—

“Question: Why are you smiling so much lately?  It is my experience that when you are smiling you are usually up to something.”

Jim sighed, rolled his eyes and looked at Dwight.  “You wouldn’t believe me even if I told you, Dwight, so don’t even ask.”

Dwight squinted his eyes and continued to stare at Jim.  “You may as well tell me now because with my relentless investigational skills, I will formulate a plan to find out what you are planning before you even have a chance to implement your…plan.”

Jim folded his arms and a lop-sided frown formed on his face.  He slightly glanced over each shoulder and leaned forward on his desk.  Dwight mimicked Jim’s actions and they huddled close together.

“Okay,” Jim said in a whisper, “If I tell you this, you have to promise not to tell anyone.  Not Pam, not Andy, no one.”

Dwight shot a quick look at Andy, who was sitting across from him and whispered, “I promise.  Go on.”

“Ok, someone has been putting duct tape in Michael’s office.”

“Duct tape.  What do you mean?”

Jim motioned Dwight to come closer and lowered his voice.  “Everyday Michael comes in to his office and there is a little piece of duct tape in his office.  Sometimes it’s stuck on his desk, on his computer, sometimes it’s on the door.  Everyday it moves to a different spot and it’s driving him crazy.  He swore me to secrecy and he wants me to look into it, but this is too big for me.  I just don’t have the skills to mount this kind of investigation.  So…”

“So, you’ve come to me.  Jim, for once, you’ve made a smart decision.”

Dwight pulled a small notebook out of his desk drawer and started scribbling notes down.  “Question:  What colour is the duct tape?”

“What colour?  What do you mean?”

“Jim, any idiot knows that duct tape comes in many different colours: red, green, black, silver.”

“It’s silver.”

“Uhh, that’s a problem.”

“Why?”

“Because that is the most popular colour, Jim.  It will make it harder to trace.  Eff…I can see why you can’t handle this.  You have no aptitude for this whatsoever.”

“Exactly.  So, what’s your first move going to be?”

“Well, first I’ll need to examine the piece of duct tape and then I’ll have to visit all stores in the Scranton area that sell duct tape to see if I can determine a match.”

“That sounds like a great idea.  You should definitely get on that.”

As soon as Dwight had pulled out his notebook, Jim had turned his attention back to his computer.  He had carried on his whole conversation with Dwight while printing off pages of possible wedding destinations.  He knew this little investigation would distract Dwight all day, if not all week, so he could now get some serious planning done.

He looked up at Pam and she was not at reception.  Time for a break.  He placed his papers in a folder and headed towards the roof.

Pam sat on a well worn green lawn chair on the roof.  She had a folder of her own on her lap.  She heard the door open and watched him stride toward her excitedly.

“Hey, you.”

Jim sat down with a sigh on the lawn chair beside Pam. 

“What were you and Dwight whispering about?”

“Oh, I just sent him on a little goose chase to get him out of my hair.  He was starting to get suspicious of my constant smiling.”

“Well, he should be.  That’s usually a dead give away that you are plotting against him.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.  But this time he’s way off base.  I’m smiling like an idiot for an entirely different reason.”  He leaned forward, grabbed her hand and kissed her tenderly.

Pam pulled away and slowly opened her eyes.  “Mmmm…if that’s what I get every time you play a prank on Dwight, you should continue to do that daily.”

Jim smiled. “Done.”  His eyes lingered a moment longer on her face before he turned his attention to his folder.  “So, I printed off a few pages of possibilities.”

“Me too!”  She clapped her hands excitedly.  “You go first.”

He smiled as his eyes went wide and his shoulders lifted up.  He opened up his folder.  “Okay!  So the first one I looked at was The Bahamas.  There’s this place called Grand Bahama Beach on Grand Bahama Island.  It’s only 50 miles off the shore of Florida.”

“Ooooo!  That sounds nice.  Okay, give me another one.”

“All right.  I also looked at this one.”  He handed her the page.  “It’s Ocho Rios, Jamaica.  There are all different hotels there and there’s this amazing waterfall that you can climb.  Marriage and adventure all rolled into one.  And then there’s—“

“My turn!”

“Okay, Beesly, settle down.”

“I know!  I’m sorry.  I’m just so…ahhh!”

“Excited?”

“Yes!  I mean the only place I’ve ever been on a plane is Florida and looking at all of these places is just, I don’t know, I just feel like my whole world is opening up.”

Jim looked at her lovingly.  “Yeah…God...I love seeing you like this.”

“Hyper?”

“No.  Happy.”

“Well, get used to it, because you’re going to see this goofy grin for the whole trip.”

“I can handle that.  So, what have you got to show me?”

“Okay.  So, I love all of your places so far, but…”

“But?”

“I printed off a bunch of different options, but they are all for one place.”

“Okay.  What’s the place?”

“Hawaii.”

“Ahh, very nice.  But hey, what if I secretly want to go to Vegas and have Elvis marry us?  You’d better plead your case and try and convince me.”  He folded his arms and sat back in the lawn chair.

“All right!  All right.  So it all goes back to when I was 6.  My sister gave me a few of her Barbie Dolls.  She was tired of playing with them and I loved playing with them so, it was awesome.”

“Okay, Barbie dolls.  This is interesting.  I have no idea what this has to do with our wedding, but I can’t wait to see where this goes.”

“Oh, it gets better.  So my favourite Barbie was Hawaiian Dreams Barbie.  I created this whole world for her.  I made little palm trees out of twigs and construction paper, she lived by a lagoon and I even made her a real grass skirt out of grass.  She had a boyfriend named Troy, who was a surfer, and they used to go on dates and hold hands and watch the sunset together.  Seriously, I had a whole back story made for her.”

“Beesly, I don’t know whether I should be impressed or scared.”

“I know, it was a little much, but some of the best artists in the world have been insane.  I’m in good company.  Anyways, because of Hawaiian Dreams Barbie I’ve always wanted to go to Hawaii.  I know it may sound crazy to want to go somewhere because of a doll, but…It’s just…I’ve spent my whole life day dreaming and fantasizing about what I wished would happen in my life.  Now that I’m with you, I feel like some of those things that I’ve always wanted could come true.  So…Hawaii…Can’t you just picture it?  It would just be…God, Jim, it would just be amazing.”

Pam looked at Jim with a beaming smile.  He had never seen her look so beautiful.  Her cheeks were flushed and a piece of her hair had fallen in her eyes.  Her eyes sparkled and danced.  How could he not take her to Hawaii and marry her?  If there was a flight leaving that afternoon, he would have raced with her to catch it.

“So…you want Elvis, but more “Aloha from Hawaii” Elvis than “Viva Las Vegas” Elvis.”

“You got it!”

“Ok, if it’s good enough for Elvis, it’s good enough for us.  Let me see what you’ve got in your folder.  I’m sure we could find somewhere suitable in there.”

Pam clapped her hands with glee.  She started pulling out her papers but then she glanced at her watch.  “Oh crap.  We’ve been up here for twenty minutes.  Someone’s going to come up here and drag us back.”

“Yeah, I guess we should get down there.  We can do some more planning tonight.  How about you come by my place?  We could get some take out and pour over your printouts of beautiful Hawaii.”

Pam lurched forward, squealed and squeezed Jim tightly.  “I can hardly wait!”

So many choices.  They were all so shiny and glittering and beautiful. 

She wouldn’t want anything too flashy, but it should be unique.  Just like her.   

Jim was standing in Kay Jewelers in the Steamtown Mall feeling a bit overwhelmed.

Earlier that afternoon, in the middle of a call with customer, he realized that he had forgotten something.  He was finishing up an order with a Penny McMillan from the Lakawanna County School Board and she had simply said, “I’ll just give you a ring back with those figures when I find them.”

Give you a ring.  A ring.  I haven’t given Pam a ring.

Just a few days ago he had proposed to Pam, but it was all so spontaneous that he had never even given a thought to an engagement ring.  Do couples who elope get engagement rings? He had no idea.  After he hung up the phone he looked over at Pam.  She was looking at her computer screen with a confused look on her face.  Even with her brow furrowed and lips pouting she looked adorable.  He thought about all of the “presents” that he had given her in the past.  Weird Dwight cards and loaded tea pots weren’t really traditional gifts of love.  One thing was for sure, he had never given her jewelry.  They were planning to take their trip within the next month, so they were only going to be engaged for a few weeks.  But, Jim felt like if they were going to do this, they should do it right.  Also, he had the feeling that Pam hadn’t thought about a ring either, so this was going to be a great surprise.

“Good afternoon, sir.  Can I help you with something?”

Jim smiled nervously.  “Uh…yeah, I’m…looking for an engagement ring.”

~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x

They had spent the evening sharing Chinese food and pouring over Hawaii web sites on Jim’s lap top.  Every place they looked at seemed beautiful and tropical, but no where seemed quite right.  He loved being right beside her.  He could smell her hair and feel her body slowly rising and falling with every breath.  He had the ring in the left hand pocket of his cargo shorts and as cliché as it was to think, he felt like it was literally going to burn a hole in his pocket.

“Oooo, look at this one.  Is that black sand?  I’ve never seen that before.”

“Pam?”

“Yeah?”  She continued to click on links.

“Pam.”

“Yeah.”

“Can we take a break for a minute?”

“Oh, yeah, sure.”  She turned her body to face him and crossed her legs.  She was still smiling and he could tell she that was loving every minute of planning this wedding.

“So…I have something for you.”

Her smile widened and she raised an eyebrow.  “Oh really?  Do tell.”

He laughed and lowered his head.  “No, not that.  But…maybe later.”  He raised his head to meet her eyes.  “Okay, so I proposed to you the other night, but I kind of dropped the ball on something.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I did the ‘down on one knee’ thing, but there’s something I forgot.”

Pam looked perplexed.

“Okay.  Close your eyes and hold out your hands.”

“What?!?!”

“Just do it, Beesly.”

“Okay.”  She closed her eyes and held her hands out in front of her, slightly cupped.  He gingerly placed the box in her hands.

“Okay, open your eyes.”

“What’s…?”

“Open it.”

She looked at Jim with wide eyes and then looked at the box.  She placed the box in her left hand, wrapped the fingers of her right hand around the top of the box and then slowly opened the lid.

“Oh my god, Jim, it’s…,” tears welled in her eyes and a huge smile spread across her face.

“On the way home from buying it tonight, I had all of these ideas on how to give it to you.  I thought about encasing it in Jello, but then I wouldn’t be able to give it to you tonight.  You know, setting time and all.  I also thought about planning some kind of elaborate scavenger hunt, but, it just seemed too convoluted.”

“You really shouldn’t have…”

“Oh, I definitely should have.  Are you kidding me, Beesly?  This is it.  This is the only time you are ever going to be engaged again.  I know we could win the Dundie this year for the shortest engagement, but I wanted to do this right.”

He took the box from her hand, removed the ring and held it up in front of her. 

“Our wedding ring will be a symbol of our marriage.  But I want this ring to remind you of our past.”  He slipped the ring on her finger and held her hand.  “When you look at this ring I want you to think of all of the pranks that we’ve shared, all of the laughing and conspiring and games and just, well, the connection we’ve had for all of these years.  I want you to think of two best friends who became more than that.”  He lifted her hand to his lips and placed a tender kiss on her ring finger.

“Jeez, Jim,” she said as she wiped away tears, “You sure know how to make a girl cry.”

“Hey, what can I say.  It’s a gift.”

“C’mere.”  She pulled him into a tight embrace and whispered in his ear.  “Thank you.  It’s beautiful and it will always make me think of our beginning.”

He felt her breath whisper in his ear and then her lips slowly made their way down the side of his neck.  She placed small, soft kisses around his jaw and traveled across to his lips.  Her mouth hovered over his.

“I was always told to say thank you when a gift is given to me,” she said in a low sigh.

“Should I expect a well written thank you card in the mail?”

She wrapped her arms around his neck and spoke against his mouth.  “I like to give my thanks face to face.”

The wedding plans would have to wait.  For now.

Pam laced her fingers with Jim’s and squeezed his hand.  They were sitting on American Airlines Flight 479 bound for Kona, Hawaii.  As the plane engines fired up and began to blare, Pam looked out her window at the bright lights of the Philadelphia International Airport and a wistful smile crept across her lips.

“Hey, everything okay, Beesly?”

Pam nodded and continued to stare out the window.

“You know, the next time I look out this window and see Philly, I’m going to be Mrs. Pam Halpert.”  She turned to look at Jim and her eyes conveyed both excitement and fear.

“It’s all going to be great.  You’ll see,” Jim reassured her.  “Look, we have 14 hours together on a plane.  If by the end of this plane ride you can’t stand me anymore and want to call it all off, I’ll totally understand.  We’ll just have to change our reservations to separate huts and make sure our snorkeling times don’t clash.”

Pam smiled half-heartedly.  “We’re doing the right thing, right?  I mean, not telling our families?”

“Well, I think we are both going to get an earful from both of our mothers, but yeah, I think this is perfect for us.  There will be no camera crew, no annoying Uncle Dave getting too drunk and knocking over the wedding cake and, the fact that Michael will be in another time zone is very comforting.”  He placed his right hand over top of their joined hands.  “It’s just me and you.  The way it should be.”

Pam nodded and smiled as tears formed in the corners of her eyes.  Their hands continued to cling tightly together as the plane taxied up the runway and burst up into the sky.  They were off.

The past three weeks had been a whirlwind of planning and packing and secrecy.  Everyone knew they were going on the trip, but no one knew they were going to be married.  Toby had given them a bit of a hassle when they asked for two weeks off at such short notice, but Pam had promised to watch Sasha the next time he needed a babysitter, which seemed to sway him to agree.  Jim had no problem telling his family about the trip and he actually seemed to enjoy the “cloak and dagger” aspect of secretly eloping.   He even came up with code words for various aspects of the wedding and dubbed the whole event “Operation Pineapple”.  The most difficult call Pam had to make was to her parents.  She told them all about the trip and made the activities that were offered at the resort sound exciting, but a little piece of her heart broke at not telling her mother that she was getting married.  Pam probably could have told her mom about eloping, but her mom would have definitely told her dad.  She knew her dad would not take it well and would probably talk her out of it.  Pam’s dad had a way of talking to her that would make her do whatever he wanted.  So, it had to be a secret, for now.  Jim could see that Pam was struggling with her parents not being there and suggested that they could forget about eloping and simply get married in Scranton.  But Pam knew deep down that it was the perfect plan.  It was her dream trip and she was marrying her soul mate.  Her parents would understand.  They would just have to.

The plane ride was very long, but uneventful.  There were two connecting flights, one in Dallas and another in Los Angeles.  After sleeping, watching in-flight movies, eating rubbery airplane food and playing endless games of hang man and “Would You Rather?”, the plane finally landed in Kona.

The sticky, warm air wrapped itself around them as they stepped off the plane and onto the tarmac of the tiny Kona airport.  The sun was blazing in the sky and palm trees were everywhere.  They walked into the open-air building of the airport, collected their bags and stopped out front to take it all in.

“Wow,” Jim exclaimed with wide eyes.

“Yah, wow,” Pam echoed breathlessly.

“If the airport is this beautiful, imagine what the resort looks like.”

Pam beamed.  “C’mon, let’s get a car.  I’m dying to see the ocean!”

The drive to the airport was an adventure in and of itself.  The scenery was not at all tropical and looked like it was the setting for a science fiction movie.  Jim and Pam stared out the window with amazement as the car wound its way through miles and miles of black lava fields.

“Why do I think that Dwight would love this place?  It looks like something out of Star Trek.”

“Pam, what did I say about saying that name on our honeymoon?  I thought we agreed on a complete ban.  Any more talk like that and I may have to rethink this whole marriage thing.”

“Okay!  All right.  No more talk of Dw-“

“Ah ah!  Zip it.”

Pam giggled and continued to stare out the car window with awe. 

As they entered the Kona Village Resort the scenery began to change from black barren fields to lush green trees and shrubs.  The resort rests on the shores of Kahuwai Bay and it is surrounded by stunning beaches and black lava cliffs.  When they arrived to check in they could barely focus on what the concierge was saying.  They were so distracted by their surroundings and so tired from their trip that even signing for their room took effort.  Luckily for their weary bodies, the bellhop took them to their bungalow on a golf cart.  It was all part of the service and they already felt like VIPs.

Their bungalow, or hale as it’s known in Hawaii, was a rounded, thatched-roofed hut and was right beside the beach.  The waves of the ocean lapped against the sand and the sound was soothing and rhythmic.  Pam stood outside the doorway of their hale and stared out towards the ocean.

“I have always wanted to see the Pacific Ocean.”

“Well, there it is…aaaand you’ve now seen it, so, are you ready to go now?  C’mon, let’s go home.  This place is just so below my standards anyways.”  Jim’s mouth broke into a wide smile.

“Ha ha.  Sooo funny.  C’mon.  Let’s go inside.”

The inside of the hale was small, but cozy, and the view from the balcony was incredible.  The large bed was covered in a bold red and white bedspread that had what looked like oversized red ferns on it.   Pam ran her fingers over the pattern, sat down on the edge of the bed and then flopped down on top of the bedspread.  Jim followed suit and they lay there together staring at the ceiling.

Jim sighed.  “You know, this is the most amazing place I’ve ever seen in my life and my head is trying to convince my body to just take you and make love to you right here and right now…but…my body…so…tired.”

“Mmmm...yah, I don’t think I would turn in a stellar performance right now, either.”

“What do you say we unpack later and just have a little nap?”

“That sounds…”

“Pam?”

Jim turned onto his side and saw that Pam was already fast asleep.  He turned on his side and moved right beside her.  He got even closer by nuzzling his nose against her cheek and wrapping his arm around her middle.

Their wedding was in two days, but right now, it was time to sleep.

She was floating. Her arms and legs were stretched out from her body and the ocean was cradling her and rocking her. The water was warm and although she was floating in the middle of nowhere, she was not afraid. She felt happy, almost giddy and her body tingled with a warmth that started in her stomach and spread out to the tips of her fingers.

A warm, wet raindrop rolled on her forehead. Then another on her cheek. Suddenly her lips were tingling and moving and...

Pam's eyes shot open.

“Hey, sleepyhead, you're finally awake,” Jim whispered.

Pam smiled and wrapped her arms around Jim's neck and returned his kisses.

“Mmmm...” she groaned. “What time is it?”

“Well, it's actually 10 at night.” Jim rolled onto his side and propped himself up on his elbow. “We missed dinner and the sunset. That plane ride really knocked us out.”

“Wow. I feel like I've been asleep for months. God, I was having the most amazing dream.”

“Oh yeah? Do tell.”

“Hmmm...I was floating on the ocean and I just felt so calm and...peaceful.”

“Well, you know, Beesly, the ocean is right outside our front door. What do you say we take a little night time dip?”

Pam stretched out her whole body with a groan and sat up. “All right, Halpert. But last one in the ocean is a rotten egg.”

“Oh, it is so on,” Jim said, looking serious.

They both jumped off the bed and frantically unzipped their cases. Jim was madly routing through his clothes, trying to find his bathing suit. He quickly glanced over at Pam, who was wearing nothing but her bikini bottoms.

“Okay, first of all, how did you get naked so fast and second of all, put that bikini top down, because putting it on would ruin your entire look.”

“Very funny,” Pam huffed as she pulled her bikini halter over her head.

“Man, you are so slow! C'mon, Halpert, put some hustle into it!”

Pam walked over to his suitcase and found his bathing suit instantly.

“Do you need some help?” She said sweetly as she threw Jim's suit on the bed and pulled his shirt over his head.

“If you must,” Jim said with a grin.

“Okay, I'll help you get you swimmies on, but we are making a starting line outside of the hut and the last place rotten egg challenge is still on.”

Pam began to slowly place a trail of kisses down Jim's chest and there was a slight delay of the race due to unforseen circumstances. But, before long, Jim and Pam were side by side, standing in front of a line drawn in the sand.

“On your marks!” Pam bellowed.

“Get set!” Jim barked. Then they both yelled, “GO!”

Pam was determined to be the first one in the ocean, but she could not compete with Jim's long legs. He was diving into the water just as her toes touched the shore.

He came up from the water and yelled, “Victory! You are, offically, a rotten egg.”

Pam stood knee-deep in the water, pouting, with her hands on her hips. “Well, I could have won if I had freakishly long legs like you, but, whatever.”

“My lankiness does come in handy, sometimes.” They both laughed.

Jim waded up to her and wrapped himself around her. “Well, Beesly, here it is.”

“What do you mean?”

“The ocean. You are standing in the ocean right now. Didn't you say once that you've always wanted to see the Pacific Ocean?”

She looked at him with a puzzled look on her face. “How do you know that?”

“A little bird told me.” Then, with one swift movement, Jim lifted Pam up and threw her into the water.

The moonlight sparkled on the water as they splashed and played together. Pam had never felt more alive.

Jim slowly opened his eyes. Everything was golden. The sun warmed the room with heat and colour. He reached over to pull Pam towards him, but the bed was empty. He rolled over, looked towards the deck, and saw her. Pam was sitting on a wicker chair with her sketch book on her lap. She was focusing intensely on her drawing. Her brow was furrowed, her lips were pursed and her long curls were piled on top of her head. He could feel a warm breeze coming through the open doorway and watched that same wind make an errant curl dance around her face. A smile creeped across his face and he felt like he was in paradise. He felt like he could literally lie there forever and study her, drink her in. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever known and seeing her draw made her even more breathtaking.

She continued run her charcoal slowly and purposefully across the page and would occasionally look up at her subject: the ocean. It lapped against the sand and formed curls and lines Pam had never seen before. She wanted to remember the spray and the movement and the beauty and she hoped that her hands could capture the feelings she was experiencing. She turned to check on Jim and saw him watching her. He had a dreamy grin on his face and she couldn't help but smile back.

“Take a picture, it lasts longer,” she said playfully.

“Nope. Don't need a camera. It's all up here,” he said pointing to his temple.

Pam rose from the chair and padded over to the bed. She placed her sketch book and charcoal on the bedside table and lay down beside Jim, cupping his face in her hands.

“Uh, watch it, Beesly, you've got dirty charcoal hands. My face is my fortune and I don't want it looking all grubby.”

She leaned in, kissed him, and smeared her thumbs along the sides of his nose and across his cheeks.

“There. That's better,” she said with a giggle.

“Hmmmm...do I have something on my face? You'd tell me if I did, right?”

“Yeah, nope. Everything looks good.”

They couldn't lounge around too much because there was a lot to do to prepare for the wedding. The big day was tomorrow and there were meetings and a rehearsal and a few last minute details to cover.

Pam helped Jim wash away the charcoal in the shower and Jim's curiousity got the better of them as they were getting dressed.

“Just let me have a peek, just a peek! I just want to know what colour it is,” Jim pleaded.

“No! You'll see it tomorrow, and I would hope you would know what colour it is,” she said with her arms folded.

“Red? Purple. It's purple, isn't it,” he joked.

“Jim!”

“Well, it's not as if you are a virgin, I just don't know the official rules about these kind of things.”

“This is my first and only wedding. You will be my first and only husband. I am more than justified in wearing a white wedding dress, so just shut it. You know I want it to be a surprise.”

“Yeah, yeah, ok. I guess some things are worth the wait,” he said with a smirk as he pulled her close.

They pressed their foreheads together and held each other tight.

“Tomorrow's it. Can you believe it?” Pam whispered softly

“Nope. It's...”

“I know.”

“This time last year I was staring out the window at Stamford, missing you like crazy.”

“And now we can stare out the window at the ocean, together.”

“Okay, Beesly, things are getting a little too sappy here,” he said as he pulled his head away from her. “We'll have a bucket full of sap to get through tomorrow.”

Pam smiled widely and they headed out the door to start the day.

They looked at flowers and leis, met with the photographer and the Wedding Officiate, and discussed everything included in their wedding package. They had chosen the simplest package, the “Ku'u Ipo Heneheno” wedding, which translated means “My Cherished Sweetheart”. Jim thought the name translation was a little cheesy, but couldn't scoff at the amenities in the package, especially the “Lomi Lomi” massage for two at the spa, which was scheduled that afternoon before dinner.

After meeting in the offices of the resort, the wedding coordinator, Keala, took them out to the wedding site. They had chosen the South Point Tiki site, which was at the southern end of the bay. It was going to be a sunset wedding on the beach and this site was supposedly the best for that. It did not disappoint.

Keala led Jim and Pam down to the beach and encouraged them to take their shoes off. As they walked hand in hand, with the sand squishing between their toes, Pam started to get a lump in her throat and Jim became very quiet. It was like they were stepping on Holy ground. Their Holy ground.

“Well,” Keala said, “What do you think?”

Jim began, “It's...”

“Perfect,” Pam finished.

They both beamed at each other as Keala led them through the details of the ceremony. They tried to pay attention to everything she was saying, but the enormity of the moment was distracting them both. Pam just couldn't believe how right everything felt. Every preparation she made for her wedding with Roy was tainted with doubt. But as she was standing there with Keala and Jim, discussing their places and the events of the wedding, Pam felt like everything had clicked into place.

This is what love feels like, she thought. This is forever.

Jim's palms were sweating, and it wasn't because of the hot Hawaiian sun beating down on him. He started to think of himself as a husband. Pam's husband. This was a big deal.

Can I give her everything she deserves? Do I deserve her?

His last thought was broken with Pam taking his hand and smiling at him with a smile he had never seen before. Her smile answered his questions and sent him a multitude of messages:

Hope. Faith. Desire. Passion. Playfullness. Mystery. Belief. Promise. Love. Love like he had never known. Love that he will always have.

He smiled back at her and they focused their attentions back on Keala. This was a big deal. The biggest deal of his life.

This is the best thing I will ever do, he thought.

“So, you two, any questions about tomorrow?” Keala said with smile.

“Nope,” Jim answered quickly, looking at Pam.

“Yeah, everything seems clear,” Pam added.

Keala nodded. “Excellent. So you will be picked up separately, as you requested, tomorrow at 6:30 pm. Jim, you will be picked up at the main building of the resort and Pam, we will send someone to get you at your hale. Jim will be waiting for you on the beach, with the Officiate, and Pam, you will walk the same path we walked today to meet Jim on the beach. Sunset is usually around 7:15, so you will become man and wife just as the sun sinks down over there.”

“That's fantastic. Thank you so much, Keala, for everything,” Pam said, still smiling.

“Yeah, seriously, you have been amazing. Thank you,” Jim added as he shook Keala's hand.

“It's all my pleasure. Now, you two have a massage to get to, am I right? Let's get you back to the resort.”

Jim and Pam followed Keala back to the Jeep, hand in hand.

“You know, I've never had a massage before,” Pam said excitedly.

“Hey, I've given you a few massages,” he complained.

“Well, I've never had a professional massage before. And, I don't think this massage will end like your massages do,” she said with a wink.

Jim smirked, “Ahhhh...true enough.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Uhhhhh,” Jim groaned as the masseuse pressed deep into the muscles between his shoulder blades.

“This...is...so...amazing,” Pam whispered sleepily.

They had been in the spa for 45 minutes and the expert hands of the masseuse and masseur were kneeding and squeezing out every bit of stress and jet lag from their bodies. They held hands and their heavy eye lids opened occasionally to steal fleeting glances at each other.

“Do you think...they have...this...kind of service back...in Scranton?” Pam said with a groan.

“Ummmmmm...I...uh...probably not,” Jim huffed.

“That's...just...soooo...wrong.”

“Uhhhh...yep.”

After their massage, Jim and Pam enjoyed a beachside dinner outside of their hale. The massage had made them both feel relaxed and almost drunk. They sat there in silence, listening to the waves and an orchestra of insects.

Pam was the first to speak. “So, about tonight.”

“Hmmm?” Jim looked away from the ocean to focus on her.

“Well, I was thinking, um, that we shouldn't, you know...”

“Uhhh...what do you mean?”

“Well, I was thinking, since this is the night before our wedding, that we should not...have...relations?”

“Oh...oh! Really?”

“Yeah, I mean I know we're are going the non-tradtional route with eloping and everything, but I kind of want tomorrow night to be...special.”

“Wow...okay, so...I'm supposed to lie beside you, in this tropical paradise...all night and not...”

“Yeah. It will build anticipation for...our honeymoon.”

“Beesly, you continue to surprise me. Okay, I won't if you won't. It's going to be hard, though.”

“That's what she said.”

Jim laughed and nodded. “Niiice.”

“Thank you,” Pam said with a flourish of her hand. “Oh, and after tomorrow you can't call me that anymore.”

“Call you what?”

“Beesly. It will have to be Halpert.”

“Now that will take some getting used to.”

“I'm already used to it. I've been practicing writing Mrs. Pamela Halpert in my diary for years now.”

“Ooooo...did you also draw hearts and flowers around it too?”

“Of course.”

“Perfect.”

They sat on the beach for a while longer: staring at the ocean, thinking about the wedding, contemplating the past and thinking about the future.

Tomorrow was just a few hours away.

It was a Thursday. Thursdays are usually nothing special. They are past midweek, but not quite the weekend. Thursday was usually just another day to get through for Jim and Pam.

But this Thursday was different, because Thursday, September 13th was the day Jim Halpert and Pam Beesly were married.

They both slept in until 10, after staying up until midnight the night before, and had brunch together on the beach in front of their hale. It was about 1 o'clock before they got ready to say goodbye to each other.

Pam was rushing around the room, speaking quickly and packing a small bag full of makeup and various accessories.

“So I've got my body wrap at 1:30, nails and toes at 3 and my hair is getting done at 4.”

“Wow, Beesly, am I going to even recognize you when you walk down that beach?”

She stopped and gave him a look. “I just want to look my best. It's not every day a girl gets married on a beach in Hawaii.”

“Oh, man, didn't I tell you about my other two weddings? Yeah, both beach weddings. It didn't really work out, though. Both took place at Lake Scranton. Miserable affairs.”

Pam humoured him with a smile and took one last scan of the room.

“Okay, I think I've got everything. Do you have everything you need? Because I'm not going to be here to help you find your...what is it you're wearing again?”

“Ha ha! Nice try! You're not telling me about your ensemble, so I'm not telling you about mine.”

Pam pursed her lips and squinted her eyes at him. “Can't you just give me a clue? Like, is it formal? Informal?”

Jim cleared his throat, “Okay, I will say this. It is a family heirloom...and...it used to belong to someone's grandfather.”

Pam rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Dork.”

Jim leaned against the door frame and watched her. The next time he would see her would be at the beach. Their wedding. There was no doubt that he was excited about the ceremony, but nerves were starting to make his stomach flutter and his hands tingle.

He felt like he was about to leave on a long trip and he was sitting in a plane on the tarmac, just waiting to take off. It was a dream that had been rolling around in his head for years only to become a reality. At this moment he could hardly remember his life without Pam, even though the echo of many lonely days and nights still occasionally whispered to him. But they were only whispers.

“Hey. Are you okay?” Pam said while reaching for his right hand.

“Yep? Yeah...just thinking.”

She pulled him into a hug and whispered, “I'm nervous too. This is a big deal.”

“The biggest...this is...,” he paused and took in a deep breath. “This is what you want, right? I...I am what you want?”

She pulled away and looked at him. “Are you kidding me? What kind of a question is that?”

“I just...,” he looked down at his shoes. “I just want to make sure you're happy.”

She smiled. “Jim, look at me.”

He raised his eyes to meet hers.

“I know this is a big step, HUGE step. But this isn't really going to change anything, right?”

“Yeah...”

“We're just making things...official.”

“I know. I just wanted to check in with you, make sure everything was good.”

“More than good. Is everything good with you?”

He smiled a wide grin. “Absolutely,” he sighed. “Now, go on. You've got to go get buffed and polished.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck and twirled a piece of his hair around her finger. “I can cancel and stay here, if you want. I've heard that you can give a pretty good buff and polish job yourself.”

Jim gave her a look of mock disgust. “Pam! Where is that blushing bride that banned 'relations' last night? Really, I'm shocked.”

She kissed him full on the mouth and they both started to laugh into each other's kisses.

Pam pulled away and held his hands. “Okay, okay. I get it. You want to save yourself for tonight. I can respect that in a man.”

“Thank you.”

“Sooo...I guess I'll see you on the beach?”

“I'll be there.”

“I'll be the one in the dress.”

He smiled, “Got it.”

She gathered up all of her bags and headed for the door.

“Beesly?”

Pam turned around. “Yeah?”

“Nothing. I just wanted to call you Beesly one last time.”

Pam broke into a smile, winked and headed out the door.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The sun was low in the sky and washed the beach in orange and pink. Jim stood tall, in his bare feet, rocking back on his heels with his hands in his pockets. He was wearing a simple white collared shirt and creme linen pants.

He stood beside the ring of purple and white flowers that were laid out on the beach and stared out towards the horizon. The sounds of the waves rolling against the shore were helping to calm his nerves.

She would be here any minute. They would be married any minute. It was all just too amazing to believe. His mind slipped back into a moment between them long ago:

He was leaning over her desk at reception, just as he had a million times before. She was holding his hand delicately in hers. He felt drunk, dizzy, but he hid it all from her.

Your major and minor lines cross at a ridge-that sucks.

You're making this up as you go along, aren't you?

I am just following the website.

Well, at least I don't have cavities.

Yes, you have very nice teeth.

Thank you.

It was in that moment, years ago, that Jim began to think of a future with Pam. Her fingers tracing across his palm lit something inside of him and he began to dream. He had flashes of falling asleep together watching movies late into the night, shopping side by side at the market, traveling with her around the world, all as her fingertips burned across his love line and danced over his life line. His hopes had been crushed and raised many times since then, and now his body knew all about her touch beyond his hands. Wishful thinking had become reality and here he was, standing on the edge of his dream, ready to jump.

“Jim?” Nui, the Wedding Officiant, shook him from his daydream. “She's here.”

He tore his eyes away from the ocean and searched the tree line. There she was.

Pam stood there on the edge of the beach. Her long curls moved with the breeze and her simple white dress hugged every curve of her body. Her hands were wrapped around a bouquet of pink orchids and Jim could see her smile from where he was standing.

A small band of ukulele players began to play the first chords of “Can't Help Falling in Love” and Pam made her way towards Jim. They were not completely alone on the beach, but they may as well have been. Jim held her gaze as she stepped each bare foot closer to where he was.

Pam handed Keala her bouquet and joined hands with Jim.

Nui cleared his throat and began to speak.

“Aloha to you both. We stand here together, surrounded by the beauty of nature, ready to welcome Jim and Pam into the world of marriage. Marriage is a deep and serious commitment that can never be entered into lightly. From this day forward, the two of you will be forever connected in love, friendship and, God willing, parenthood.”

Jim squeezed Pam's hands a little tighter at the mention of becoming parents. She responded with a smile and raised eyebrows.

“We will begin our ceremony with the Hawaiian tradition of exchanging of leis. The lei is a continuous circle, with no beginning and no end. Each flower, on its own, is beautiful. But when it is connected with a circle of flowers, its beauty is enhanced. Just as you, Jim, and you, Pam are strong as individuals, you will be amazed to see how your strength and love is magnified through marriage.

“Keala? The leis?”

Keala handed Pam a green leafy lei and Jim a pale pink orchid lei.

“Jim, please place the lei around Pam's neck, and do so with a kiss. This kiss is a promise to never break the circle of love that you have created with Pam.”

Jim blushed with a curling smile as he placed the delicate lei around Pam's neck. He cupped her face with his hands and kissed her tenderly.

“Pam, please place the lei around Jim's neck, and do so with a kiss. Your kiss is also a promise to never break the circle of love that you have created with Jim.”

Pam stood on her toes and reached up to place the lei around Jim's neck as he bent his head down to help her. Her hands lingered at the back of his neck as her lips brushed against his.

Nui continued. “The circle is a very important symbol in a marriage. We see this in the leis, in your wedding rings and in the circle of flowers I stand before today. Jim and Pam, please step into your wedding circle.”

Jim and Pam rejoined hands as they moved into the circle of flowers.

“Within this circle there is just the two of you. There are many other forces outside of this circle that will support you and challenge you. But you must remember that in a marriage there are two. You must stand together in good times and in bad. This circle is your past, your present and your future. Use the lessons of your past wisely, cherish the present and look forward to the future.

“Are you prepared to stand together in love, friendship and marriage for the rest of your life?”

“We are,” they answered in unison.

“Very well. Keala? The rings?”

Keala handed Jim a gold band and he stood with it poised over Pam's ring finger.

“Jim, please repeat after me...”

Jim repeated the vows with a gentle smile and a shaky hand:

“Pam

I take you to be my wife;

To laugh with you in joy,

To grieve with you in sorrow,

To grow with you in love,

To be faithful to you alone,

As long as we both shall live.”

He slipped the ring on her finger and let out a lingering breath.

Pam beamed as she took Jim's ring from Keala and expressed her vows with tears in her eyes and a slight tremble in her voice:

“Jim

I take you to be my husband

To laugh with you in joy,

To grieve with you in sorrow,

To grow with you in love,

To be faithful to you alone,

As long as we both shall live.”

Pam slid Jim's ring across his finger and it rested in place.

Nui raised both hands wide and smiled. “Jim and Pam. It has been an immense pleasure to witness the beginning of your life as a family today. Through the State of Hawaii, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Please, seal your vows with a kiss.”

Jim grabbed Pam and pulled her towards him. They had kissed a thousand times before this moment, but this was a kiss neither of them had experienced. On their lips were the silent words of the past:

Her go-to guy

My best friend

I'm in love with you

I can't

I miss you

Yes

the present:

We are

Joy

Sorrow

Love

As long as we both shall live

and the future:

We're pregnant

It's a girl

My dad died

I'm at the hospital

Thank you

The band strummed on their ukuleles and there were thank yous, handshakes and papers were signed. It had taken years for Jim and Pam to get to a occasion that lasted all of fifteen minutes.

After the flurry of activity, they suddenly found themselves alone on the beach. The sun slowly sank beneath the ocean as Jim took his wife's hand for their first dance. There was no music and the only onlookers were tiki torches, the Pacific and the nature around them. But they swayed together to a rhythm that was all their own and reveled in a moment that they would remember for the rest of their lives.