Mist soaked the paving stones. Tourists jockeyed for position to get the perfect shot on Luna Island. The roar of water plunging over the edge seemed to drown out any other noise. Jim could feel the thunder of the falls in his chest as he leaned over the railing. In front of him the Niagara River rushed on to plunge over the crest of Bridal Veil Falls. The name made Jim scoff as another shard of ice stabbed his heart.

I wonder what her veil looks like? Would it be long and cover her face or one of those small ones that looks like a bird cage? I know she wanted a veil, but she never told me which one she went with. Would her eyes be sparkling because it’s finally her big day or would they be scared because of what happened that night? She’s been looking forward to this for years, of course her eyes would be shining. Why wouldn’t they? She’s marrying the man she loves in a few days.

Reaching into his back pocket he pulled out a white envelope. Turning his back on the falls to protect the paper from the mist in the air, he ran his thumb over her name. His mind drifted back in time. Not to when he wrote the note, but when he’d been inspired to write the note.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Jim tapped his roommate on the shoulder. “Hey Mark, did you see where Pam got herself off to?”

Mark looked up from where he was watching Dwight head bang to ‘Girls, Girls, Girls,’ by Motley Crue on the karaoke machine. “I think I saw her head upstairs.”

“Thanks man.”

Walking swiftly down the hall, Jim turned to climb the stairs. He paused for a second when he saw that his framed college diploma was hanging on the wall where the French bicycle and motorcycle poster usually hung. He shook his head and let out a deep sigh with a bemused grin on his face. Taking the diploma off the wall he climbed the rest of the stairs and rounded the corner to his room.

Pam was on his bed again. Just like before she was laying on her stomach on the bed with her feet gently swaying in the air. His yearbook was back between her arms. She was clearly enjoying herself. Jim had long cataloged all of the many smiles of Pam Beesly. By far his favorite smile was the one where she would unconsciously poke the tip of her tongue between her front teeth. This was mainly due to the fact that, to his knowledge, only he had ever caused her to smile like that.

Looking past her, he saw that indeed the French poster was now in place where his college diploma usually hung on the wall of his room. He knocked gently on the door as he came in.

“Doing a little redecorating Beesly?”

Her head shot up in surprise. When she saw what he was holding her face morphed into an impish grin.

“Shoot, I was hoping it would take you longer than that to notice the switch.”

Jim grinned back at her for a moment before adopting a more serious expression. “The scores are in. Six out of ten for originality. Lost a few points because simply switching items is one of the oldest tricks in the book but gained a few since you went for something big and an obvious target. Five out of ten for impact. This would classify as more of a minor inconvenience rather than a major disruption but considering the target of said prank it’s obvious the intent wasn’t to cause disruption, just mischief. Finally, the big one, twelve out of ten for execution. You earned a few bonus points there since it takes a deft hand to not only pull off the item switch, but to come up with the idea so quickly since I’m assuming you weren’t planning on pranking me when you showed up tonight. So, it looks like you’re at twenty-three points out of a possible thirty. Well done Miss Beesly, your scores are improving!”

Pam tilted her head back in laughter. “Helps having a good coach,” she said.

“It does,” Jim agreed proudly as he set his diploma down on his desk, “It does indeed.”

“Yep,” Pam grinned evilly at him. “I should thank Larissa for all the tips.”

Jim mimed being stabbed in the chest and sat down heavily in his chair. “Ugh! Straight for the heart. Farewell cruel world!”

Pam giggled at his antics and threw a pillow at him. “You can use that to soak up the all the blood.”

Jim easily caught the pillow and tossed it back on the bed. He craned his neck to try and see what page Pam had his yearbook open to. “Whatcha lookin’ at now?”

“I found the pictures from your senior class trip,” she said. Pam glanced down at the book before giving Jim a skeptical look. “Niagara Falls? Really? Couldn’t your class have gone somewhere more exciting?”

“Ehhh,” he shrugged. “As I recall, I wasn’t on the trip planning committee. Mark was, so direct all scorn to him. It did end up being a fun trip.”

“Why?” Pam’s eyebrows raised. “Did you guys sneak out of your hotel rooms and try to get into the casino?”

“Yes actually. It was well after curfew. Me, Mark, a few other guys met up with some of the girls in our class and tried to get in. But you have to be nineteen to gamble in Canada. The security guards wouldn’t even let us in the lobby.”

“Jim Halpert? Breaking the rules?” Pam fluttered her eyes and placed a delicate hand on her collarbone. “Perish the thought.”

“I know, right?” Jim laughed with her.

“So, what did you do instead?” she pressed.

Jim looked at the ceiling and smiled as the memory came back to him. “We walked next door where there was a new part of the casino under renovation. There was this big open area on the second floor with a bunch of construction debris all around. We found a couple pipes and decided it would be a good idea to use them to play stickball.”

Pam’s face fell forward in laughter. She was wiping her eyes when she looked up again. “Stickball? Please tell me you’re kidding!”

Jim looked very pleased with himself. “Hardly. The only thing was we didn’t have a ball. Instead we tried using clumps of dried drywall mud that had these little stones in them. They ended up exploding everywhere when we hit them so stickball turned out to be a bust.”

“You have got to be making that up!”

“Go ask Mark if you want,” Jim pointed with his thumb to the stairs. “He was there.”

“Maybe later,” Pam said and went back to looking at the pictures.

She sat up to sit on the edge of the bed and patted next to her for Jim to join her. When he had, she started asking questions about who was who in the various pictures. Jim gladly told her about his high school friends and the other adventures they’d had during the trip. Getting soaked on the Maid of the Mist, daring each other to go past the barrier in tunnel behind the falls, debating who would be the most likely to survive going over the falls in a barrel. He was more than a little surprised when Pam leaned her head over to rest on his shoulder.

“It looks and sounds like it was a good time.”

“It was,” he said softly. “Haven’t you ever been to Niagara Falls?”

“No,” she admitted. “But I’ve thought a lot about it.”

“Oh? Like when.”

She ducked her head a little, but Jim could tell she was starting to blush. “It’s silly.”

“Hey I told you about playing stickball. Your turn for something silly.”

Pam gave him a mock –glare but took a deep breath. “You probably know that every girl starts planning her wedding when she’s about eight. For a long time, I thought getting married at Niagara Falls would be kind of cool. To have my future husband pull off my veil by Bridal Veil Falls seemed really special.”

Jim covered the pang in his heart with a knowing smirk and nod of his head. “A destination wedding, sounds nice. I like it.”

“Stop it you,” Pam smirked, but still swatted his arm good-naturedly at his teasing tone for good measure. She looked back at the yearbook with a wistful look to her eye. “It was just a dream back before I’d even met Roy. I told him about it once and all I got from him was, ‘why go all the way to New York when something like my uncle’s backyard is free.’”

Jim had to swallow hard in order to keep his voice level. “So that’s where the big event will happen? Roy’s uncle’s backyard?”

“Huh!” she scoffed. “If he ever finally agrees to a date. Every time I suggest something, he blows it off saying, ‘we’ll see.’ It’s hard to plan a wedding when you don’t know when the wedding will be.” She looked up at him. “I’m sorry Jim. I didn’t mean to dump all this on you. Especially since this party has been so much fun.”

“Hey, it’s okay,” he assured her. Taking a chance, he brought his arm up and draped it over her shoulders. Gently, he started rubbing her upper arm. “We all need to vent sometimes.”

Pam didn’t reply. She just looked down at the pictures in front of her. Jim didn’t want to spoil the moment so he stayed still, save for his hand still travelling up and down her shoulder. It wasn’t often he got to be this close to her so he was determined to savor every second.

A loud crash and a loud chorus of shouts from downstairs broke the spell. Reluctantly, Jim stood up. “I should go see what that’s about.”

“I’ll go with you,” Pam said as she also got to her feet and set the yearbook down on the bed behind her. “Considering that both Michael and Dwight are now here I’m sure you could use the back-up.”

The tightness that had formed in Jim’s chest loosened somewhat and he gave her a lop-sided smirk. “What would I ever do without you Beesly?”

“Probably something dumb like go over Niagara Falls in a barrel,” she smiled back as they left his room and made their way back downstairs.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Jim was tempted to crush the envelope in his hand and toss it into the river. After all, he mused. That’s why you’re here. To let her go.

After several half-hearted attempts, Jim found he couldn’t bring himself to damage the envelope. The words inside had too much meaning to him. Words he’d written promising that if he had the chance, he’d do everything to make her dreams come true, to apricate her as she deserved, to love her as deeply as he could.

He put the envelope back in his pocket and turned one last time to face the waterfall. When he brought his hand to his face, he wasn’t sure if it was tears or spray from the falls he was wiping from his eyes.

“Good-bye Pam.”

His whisper vanished in the current to be carried over the brink and disappear into the mist. He turned back and walked up the path towards the Cave of the Winds pavilion to head to the parking lot. On the other side of the building a woman with curly honey-brown hair had just arrived and was making her way down the path Jim had just walked up.

Pam steeled herself as the roar of the river grew louder. It seemed to match the boil of emotions in her heart. It was only this morning she’d woken up in her bed next to Roy. His side of the bedroom was still as cluttered as ever. The dishes he’d promised to wash last night were still sitting in the sink. Empty beer cans were stacked on the end table next to the couch. The ensuing fight had been long and loud. Pam once more screaming at Roy for his lack of commitment to even simple household tasks. He shouted back just as loudly that she was nagging him again. They ended up across the table breathing heavily at each other. When Roy said that it was only the stress of the wedding that was making her act crazy and that after Saturday everything would be back to normal, Pam felt something break inside.

“How can things get back to normal, when this is already what normal is?” she had asked him.

When Roy couldn’t answer her, she slipped her ring off and set it on the table between them. Pam grabbed her keys and purse, walked out the door, and climbed into her car. Her heart took another hit when she looked in the rearview mirror and didn’t see Roy chasing after her.

She pulled into the parking lot of a strip mall and let the tears flow. Pam knew she should call either her Mom or Penny to let them know what had just happened. But when she dug her phone out of her purse, she couldn’t bring herself to hit the key for their speed dial numbers. Not when that little number ‘2’ was staring back at her. She’d always felt slightly guilty that Jim was the first person on her speed dial list. Now that guilt threatened to overwhelm her.

So instead of calling her family, she drove.

At first her course had her meandering around Scranton aimlessly. Since she’d taken off the week before the wedding, she wasn’t expected back at Dunder-Mifflin. Not that she wanted to go there and face the desk in front of hers that had been empty ever since Casino Night. Despite her best efforts thoughts of Jim creeped into her mind. She found herself turning onto I-81 northbound towards New York. Four hours later she was pulling into the Cave of the Winds parking lot.

The thoughts that had crashed through her mind during the drive didn’t abate as she walked towards the river. Ten years! Ten years I gave to Roy only for him to treat me like I’m his mother! What the hell Jim! How could you kiss me like that? Say what you did to me and then leave? You love me but you just disappear off the face of the earth? I mean really? Australia? How is any of this fair? Why is this happening to me? What am I doing? Driving to New York just to see some stupid waterfall. But it’s not some stupid waterfall. It’s the place that Jim said would be nice. Why would you love me Jim? I’m just the secretary. I’m not like Katy. Little Miss Perfect-and-Put-Together. Still nothing from Roy. Huh, you’d think he would have at least tried to say something. Where does he get off? ‘Just tell me where and when to be babe. Whatever you want babe. I’m sure it will all look great babe. What about hot dogs for dinner babe?’ He could have put some effort into things. Jim! Where are you? I need my best friend. I don’t care anymore! I need you Jim!

She reached the railing at the edge of the falls. Around her mist swirled and clung to her face and hair. The cold metal under her hands matched the numbness in her chest. As she wiped tears and water from her face, she whispered into the mist.

“I love you Jim. Please come back.”

“This is supposed to be our wedding day,” Pam sniffed again before looking back at Jim. “Why did we invite all these people?”

They shared a quick smile and laugh. Then Jim looked up with a serious expression on his face. “You’re right,” he said with a calm confidence in his voice. “This is supposed to be our wedding day. So, let’s have our wedding.” He pulled open his tux jacket and reached into a pocket.

“Good luck with that.” Pam scoffed.

"I was going to save these for after the ceremony. I think we’ll just use them now instead.” He took the slips of paper he’d taken from his jacket and held them out to his fiancé. Pam reached out for them and looked at what he’d given her. As her surprise registered, Jim took his own mental picture of the face she made.

“Are you serious?” Pam asked. Mentally she’d gone back in time and was sitting next to Jim on the edge of his bed looking at his yearbook.

“Absolutely.” Jim was wearing the smirk she loved so much.

Pam wiped her eyes again as she looked down at the pamphlet about getting married on The Maid of the Mist. “You remembered.”

“I could never forget,” Jim told her while he tenderly brushed the back of his fingers across her cheek.

She leaned forward and threw her arms around him. Jim wrapped his own arms around Pam and simply held her.

“When did you get these?” Pam was still reeling when she leaned back after a long embrace.

“The day I saw that video on YouTube with everyone dancing down the aisle.”

Pam cocked an eyebrow at Jim. “You really think that’ll happen with us?”

Jim cocked his own eyebrow back at her. “Knowing Michael, he probably made a copy of the wedding party list and has been holding rehearsals for weeks.”

“Yeah, that has Michael written all over it,” Pam reluctantly agreed. Her face lit up again when she took another look at the tickets. “We’re really going to do this?”

“We’re really going to do this,” said Jim.

“The rings Jim!” She was suddenly flustered. “We’ll need the rings but I already gave yours to Penny to hold onto.”

“Yeah, Johnathan has yours too.” He admitted.

“Your cousin has the ring? Isn’t that supposed to be a Best Man thing?”

Jim gave a light scoff. “You’re not the only one with family drama. Tom may be the official Best Man, but for something like this, I trust John way more than him. Do you want the rings for the boat?”

Pam nodded. “Yeah.”

“We’ll have to tell them,” he warned.

“Penny won’t say anything. She knows how much my Mom has been driving me up the wall. Will Johnathan?”

“No, he’s good.” Jim told said as he pulled out his phone and punched in Johnathan’s number. “Hey bud, do me a favor. As quietly as you can find Penny and bring her to the Sunday school room please. I’ll tell you when you get here. Great thanks.”

“No one’s going to believe us, you know that right?”

“Easily taken care of,” Jim assured her. He turned to the doors. “Stop skulking around guys. We both know you’re there.” The camera crew came in. None looked remotely contrite for having filmed such a personal scene. “I’ve got one extra ticket. If you want to film the amazing runaway bride and groom you get one camera and no sound guy. Deal?”

The producer didn’t hesitate. He smiled before taking the ticket and shook Jim’s hand. “Deal.” He turned to the small crew. “Mike, you’re up. The rest of you fan out. Once everyone figures out these two lovebirds are gone, I’m sure there will be all sorts of great reactions. If anyone asks, you’re just as clueless as the rest of them. Jim do you have your car keys on you?”

“Yeah, why?”

The producer held his hand out. “Hand them over. I’ll have the intern move it the next block over so no one will see you drive off.”

Pam felt a huge weight leave her chest as Jim handed over his keys. She couldn’t stop the mist forming in her eyes as she smiled. “Thanks.”

The producer gave her a sly nod and left the room.

Johnathan and Penny arrived just as the crew was leaving. They both grinned like fools when Jim and Pam explained what they were up to. Penny leaned forward to hug her sister after handing over the ring. She did the same for Jim and leaned up to kiss his cheek. Johnathan kissed Pam’s cheek before his own hugs after surrendering the ring. They both assured Jim and Pam they’d keep their secret and made plans to re-take the rings after the boat ride for the church ceremony.

“Shall we?” Jim grinned after Penny and Johnathan left.

“Let us shall,” Pam beamed back at him. “Come on, there’s a back door.”

Jim walked over to the door and peaked around the corner. “Coast is clear. Let’s go Beesly!”

Giggling like schoolchildren they snuck out of the church. The only person they saw outside was Meredith puffing on a cigar, but she was looking the other way. They made a break for it and jogged across the lawn. Once they were out of sight of the church they slowed down to a walk. The intern had the car parked on the side of the road. He tossed Jim the keys before turning back to the church. Jim held open the passenger door for Pam. Mike resumed the spot he’d had on the trip from Scranton to Niagara Falls in the backseat. Jim put the car in gear and drove off.

“We’re really doing this!” Pam exclaimed.

“That we are.” Jim said back as he dug into his jacket again. “I just need to make a call first.” At the first red light Jim scrolled through his contacts to find the right number. “Hello this is Jim Halpert, I need to talk to Mary Clark about a wedding for today. Sure, I can hold for a second. Hi Mary, it’s Jim from Pennsylvania. I talked to you about getting married on the boat? Yeah it looks like we’ll need the ceremony after all not just the cruise. Yup, I’ve got the tickets. Short and sweet is just fine. So, we pick up the license when we get back to shore? Yeah, no problem. Hold on, I’ll ask her.” Jim turned to Pam. “She said that it might not be a good idea for you to wear your veil. Apparently more than a few brides have lost their veils because of the wind coming off the Falls.”

“Oh,” Pam sobered for a moment but it didn’t last long. “No, that’s fine. I’ll just keep it in the car.” As she reached up to unpin the veil Jim resumed his conversation.

“She said that’s fine. Okay. We’re about five or ten minutes out. What can I say, plans changed quickly. Just about. Thanks so much for being so flexible with all of this. Yup, see you in a few. Bye.” Jim clicked his phone shut. When he looked over at Pam she was beaming.

“This already feels better,” she said. “Just you and me, well mostly you and me,” she spared a glance to Mike in the back. “Running off, sneaking around, and having fun.”

Jim reached over to take her hand and lifted it up to his lips for a kiss. “I’m glad.” he said with a smile.

The rest of the car ride was uneventful. It didn’t take long to find a parking spot. “You ready?” Jim asked as Pam joined him at the front of the car. In the distance they could hear the roar of the Falls.

“Absolutely I am,” Pam replied.

They got quite a few stares as they made their way into the visitor's center. Since Jim already had tickets, they skipped that line. Mary Clark was waiting for them when they passed the gift shop. She was holding their blue ponchos.

“Do we really have to wear these?” Pam asked.

“Only if you want to,” Mary told her.

“How about just for the start?” Jim offered. “We can take them off when we get on board. Is that okay? He looked at Mary.

“Whatever you want,” Mary beamed. “It’s your day.”

Pam slipped on her poncho and started walking towards the elevator that would take them down to the dock. “Come on Jim.”

Jim slid on his own poncho and gladly took her hand. “Right there with you.”

Mary held out a third poncho for Mike. She joined the trio in the elevator and put her own company coat on as they descended. Mike jogged ahead to get shots of them walking to the boat. Once aboard Mary introduced Jim and Pam to the Captain. He told them to simply knock on the window to the wheelhouse when they were ready.

“Do you have any prepared vows you’d like to read or would you like me to use the traditional vows?” he asked and held up a well-worn Bible.

“I think we’ll just wing it,” Jim said.

“Sounds good. Do you have any readings or a Scripture passage you’d like me to read? The ‘love is patient,’ speech from 1st Corinthians is always popular.”

“Um, no, not that one,” Pam said. “Do you have any other suggestions?”

The Captain thought for a moment before an idea came to him. “I think I know one. Do you want me to tell you now or have it be a surprise once we get on the river?”

“You can surprise us,” Pam replied feeling slightly rebellious.

“Not a problem. After the reading I’ll ask you to state your vows and exchange rings. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to make preparations to cast off”

They nodded as the Captain turned away. Hand in hand they walked to the upper deck of the boat and grabbed a spot on the port side railing. The sun that had been behind some clouds when they’d arrived at the dock, now burst forth with warm golden beams. A safety message came over the loudspeakers before the boat pulled away from the dock and headed upriver.

The roar of Niagara Falls grew louder with each passing moment. As the boat passed in front of the Bridal Veil Falls a large gust of wind sent the first spray of water over the boat. Pam laughed as the mist started to swirl. She nodded at Jim. He grinned back at her and leaned in for the last kiss they’d share as an engaged couple.

They walked over to the wheelhouse and Jim knocked on the window. After they took off their ponchos Jim gestured between the two of them and the to the bow of the boat. His words were lost in the roar of the plunging waterfall. The Captain smiled and nodded. He turned the boat over to his First Mate and stepped out onto the deck to join Pam and Jim. He pointed to the stairs and led them to the lower deck and the very front of the boat.

“Ladies and Gentlemen on the lower deck by the front of the boat,” the First Mate came over the loudspeakers. “If you would be so kind to make some space on the rail, we have a special moment two people are sharing with each other. On board today we have Jim and Pam who have chosen The Maid of the Mist to get married.”

A round of applause broke out as other tourists opened a space for Jim and Pam. The roar of cascading water quieted a little as the boat made its way past the American Falls and headed for the Horeshoe Falls. The Captain took this time to start the small ceremony. He asked them to face each other and hold hands.

“Jim and Pam, you are here today to pledge yourselves to each other for the rest of your lives. Marriage is one of the world’s oldest traditions. It’s practiced the world over as a way to join the lives of two people together. Today you’ll make that same pledge. You’ve asked for a passage from Scripture.” He opened his Bible and flipped through the pages until he found the page he was looking for. “From the book of Ecclesiastes, chapter four, starting with verse nine and reading through verse twelve;

“Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their labor:
If either of them falls down,
one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
and has no one to help them up.
Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?
Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A chord of three strands is not quickly broken.”

The Captain closed the Bible and placed his hand on top of Jim and Pam’s. “May God be the third strand in your marriage to bind you close to each other so you may face all the trials and joys this life has to offer.”

By now the boat was nearing the Horseshoe Falls. The roar and mist were getting more intense so the Captain had to raise his voice slightly. “You have chosen to say your own vows. Jim, please start.”

Jim couldn’t keep the smile off his face. Before boarding the boat, they’d given Mary the rings for safe keeping. Now he turned to her and picked up the simple white gold band he’d bought for Pam. He slid it halfway down her ring finger and looked deep into Pam’s eyes.

“What more is there to say? We’ve had more than our share of ups and downs already. There were a lot of days I thought I’d never be standing here like this with you. Now that we’re here there’s only one thing I want to tell you. I’ve loved you since the day we met. I’ve never had a better friend or companion. You’re smart, talented, witty, beautiful and so much more all wrapped up in one. You make me happier than I ever thought was possible. I love you Pam and I promise to spend the rest of my life showing you just how much you mean to me.
“I, James Halpert, take you to be my wife from this day forward, through anything life may throw at us, for now and forever.”

Jim slid the ring the rest of the way down Pam’s finger.

Pam’s smile was just as large as she reached over to pick up her ring for Jim. She also slid the ring halfway down his finger before she started talking. “When you walked into Dunder-Mifflin on your first day, I never thought I’d just met the man I’d one day marry. You snuck up on me. We started out as co-workers but soon became friends, confidants, and eventually lovers. Soon we’ll become parents.” She glanced down at the slight swell of her abdomen. “You’ve always been there for me. You’ve never misinterpreted anything about us in all the time I’ve known you. You inspire me, challenge me, and support me in ways no one ever has in my life. You're the best man I’ve ever met and I can’t wait to see what the rest of our lives have in store. I love you Jim and I promise to spend the rest of my life showing you that too.
“I, Pamela Beesly, take you to be my husband for now and forever.”

She slid Jim’s ring the rest of the way down his finger.

The Captain spread his hands apart. “By the power vested in me by the State of New York and the Province of Ontario, I now proclaim you husband and wife. Jim you may kiss your bride.”

They reached for each other at the same moment and shared their first kiss as a married couple. Cheers and applause broke out on the deck again. They broke apart after a few blissful seconds. The roar of Horeshoe Falls was now drowning out the cheers. Jim leaned forward again to hold her. He meant to kiss her cheek but she turned her head and they ended up kissing the corners of each other’s lips as their arms wrapped around each other.

When they broke apart again the Captain shook their hands and explained that his First Mate and Mary would sign their license as witnesses when they returned to the dock. Several people came up and offered their congratulations. Jim and Pam held each around the waist as they accepted the kind words from those around them.

By now the boat was surrounded on three sides by falling water. Jim took a moment to gaze at the spectacle around him. The roar of the falling water matched the feeling of love and triumph pounding in his chest. When he looked down at his wife, she was also gazing around in wonder.

“Hello Pam,” he whispered into the mist and leaned down to kiss the top of her head.

The boat turned around to start heading back to the dock. Pam led them to the back of the boat so they could watch the Falls glide past. The other people on the boat gladly gave them room at the rail. Just as the boat was passing Bridal Veil falls, Pam turned her head to press a kiss against Jim’s chest. “I love you Jim,” she whispered. “Welcome back.”

 Pam briefly thought back on the years where the thought of marriage had been a source of worry and heartache. The Falls answered her by washing those feelings away in the rising mist. As she stood on the back of the boat with her husband’s arm around her back, she knew the day wasn’t over. They’d need to head back to the hotel to dry off and for her to freshen up her makeup. That all can wait, she thought. Right now, the only thing she felt was peace.

“Oof! I’m stuffed!” Pam tossed her clutch purse on the bedside table as she and Jim walked into their hotel suite.

“Same here,” Jim agreed. “That was a good meal. After the day of exploring we had it was nice to get off our feet for a while.”

Pam turned to face her husband with a grin on her face. “Right! I'm really glad we were able to get back here and do all the things we couldn’t get to the first time.”

“I don’t seem to recall you having to many complaints about missing anything when we were here last,” Jim smirked as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

“Well we did spend an inordinate amount of time in our hotel room ten years ago,” Pam said with a saucy smirk of her own.

“Objection!” Jim’s voice raised slightly. “If memory serves the time spent in that hotel room was entirely ordinate.”

Pam giggled at one of their long-standing private jokes. “Objection sustained,” she grinned at him before rising slightly on her toes to kiss him.

“I love you, you know that?” he said softly.

“You’ve mentioned once or twice over the years,” she teased back before sinking further into his embrace. “I love you too, you know.”

“Oh good! Here I was thinking you were only in this for my paycheck.”

Pam looked back up at him. “Well the paycheck is only part of it.”

“Yeah?” Jim’s eyebrows raised. “What’s the other part.”

“The beard my darling,” Pam deadpanned while running a hand over Jim’s hair covered cheek.

Jim burst out laughing for a moment. He then proceeded to nuzzle Pam’s neck while holding her close to prevent her escaping. Pam let out a squawk of laughter as she tried to pull away from him.

“Let go of me, you great big hedgehog-faced beast!”

She only succeeded in turning in a circle so her back was to Jim’s chest. She tried leaning forward to break from his grip. She wasn’t able to break free and found herself straining forward. Jim took that opportunity to let go which caused Pam to overbalance and fall towards the king size bed in the middle of the room.

“Ahh!” Pam wind milled her arms but couldn’t stop from faceplanting the mattress. She rolled over and grabbed a pillow. Her face wore a predatory smirk as she got back to her feet. “You are in so much trouble buddy.”

“What?” Jim grinned at her as he started backing away around the foot of the bed. “You told me to let go.”

Pam stalked towards him swinging the pillow in front of her in a figure eight motion. What followed was what they would later describe as a pillow fight for the ages. They’d both ended up with a pillow in each hand; one to use a shield, the other as a, “sword.” They ranged across the suite laughing at each other while trying to batter past the other’s defenses. Pam landed a particularly well stuck blow to Jim’s face at one point which caused him to stagger a touch. She took the opportunity to duck in to the bathroom.

She knew it was a risk, hiding behind the shower curtain, but she thought it would be worth it. Grinning to herself she waited for Jim to come find her. However, after a few minutes, he hadn’t come into the bathroom. Pam peaked out from behind the curtain and didn’t see him in the spacious bathroom of their suite. Cautiously, and holding her shield pillow before her, she stepped out of the bathroom. He wasn’t in sight when she peeked around the corner.

“Jim?” She called out softly, before changing to a sing-song voice. “Jiiim? Come out, come out wherever you are!”

Just as she walked past the closet into the main room, Jim leapt out from the closet to wrap his arms around her and lift her off her feet. His roar of surprise combined with her yelp of shock that quickly turned to laughter. Jim quickly crossed back to the bed and fell on it carrying her with him. Her laughter only ended when he claimed her lips with his. The duel ended with their hair mussed, clothes wrinkled, and arms around each other.

“I love being like this with you,” Jim said as he brushed a lock of her hair behind her ear.

“Me too,” she smiled back. The buzz of her phone had her perking her head up. She rolled over and dug the phone from her clutch.

“Anything important?” Jim asked as he started trailing kisses across her shoulder and neck.

“Just Darryl checking in,” Pam said after she read the text. “The kids are fine.”

“Oh good,” said Jim as he started running his fingertips up her arm. “We’ll have to thank him for keeping an eye on them for us.”

“Maybe later,” Pam told him as she rolled back to face her husband and started tugging at his tie. “Right now, I just want to spend time with you.”

She was able to slid his tie off and was deepening the kiss when he pulled back. “Hold that thought.” He glanced down at his watch. “It’s almost time.”

“Time for what?”

Jim stood up and held a hand out to her. “Come on. I’ll show you.”

He helped Pam to her feet and led her to the large windows of their room. He stood behind her as they gazed out over Niagara Falls. They had a panoramic view of both the Horseshoe and American Falls from their room on the ninth floor of the hotel. Outside the sky was getting dark since the sun had just set. Looking down they could see a small crowd starting to form on the railings above the falls.

“Any minute now,” Jim whispered.

Pam tilted her head back with a questioning look. Jim wasn’t looking at her. His eyes were on the waterfall. Outside the torrent of water continued to spill over the precipice. Millions of gallons plunged into Niagara Gorge in a column of white water causing the familiar plume of mist to reach skywards. Suddenly the curtain of water was transformed from its normal white, to a bright blue as large LED spotlights lit up the falls.

“Oohh!” Pam’s awed voiced filled the hotel room. “That’s so pretty!”

Jim kissed her hair. “It is.”

The lights started to change through a rainbow of colors. At times the entire curtain of water would be one color. The lights would then shift so individual sections were lit up with different hues. Pam quickly darted back for her phone and started taking pictures. After snapping a few, Pam started going through the pics she’d just taken. A frown appeared on her face and she deleted some before raising the phone back up to take more pictures.

Jim knew exactly what she was doing. “You can edit the reference pictures for your next painting later honey,” he whispered into her ear. His hands started sliding over her hips and across her stomach as he leaned closer over her shoulder.

Pam tilted her head to the side to allow Jim better access to kiss her neck and shoulder and set her phone down on the windowsill. Her arms came up behind her to tangle in his hair as he continued his ministrations. She couldn’t, nor wanted to stop the groan of pleasure that escaped her. By now Jim had slid the strap of the dress off her right shoulder to have unrestricted access from neck to her upper arm. Goosebumps prickled her skin under his featherweight kisses and fingertips.

“I have something for you,” Jim’s voice was low and husky.

“Mmmm, yes please,” Pam murmured as she took a hand out of his hair to brush up the inseam of his pants.

She could feel his grin on her shoulder. “That comes later. Wait here.”

Jim left her at the window and walked back towards the closet. While he was gone, Pam wrapped her arms around her and continued to watch as the lights continued to play across the falls. His fingers brushing her hair away from her ear signaled his return.

“Hold out your hands and close your eyes,” he said as he resumed his position standing behind her.

Pam did as she was instructed. She didn’t have to wait long. The feel of cool ceramic in her hands made a smile bloom on her face.

“Open your eyes.”

She looked down and just as she suspected, her teal teapot was nestled in her palms. She tilted her head back to look at her husband. “Let me guess, this is an amazing gift because it has bonus gifts?”

Jim just smiled warmly at her before tapping the lid and giving the rejoinder. “Look inside.”

Feeling just as giddy as the first time she’d opened the teapot, Pam set it down on the windowsill and took off the lid. True to form it was filled with little trinkets. She felt her heart glow as she started to remove them from the teapot. Like last time, the first thing she saw was a picture.

“I’m still the best looking one in this shot,” she said as she held up the miniature family photo.

“I’ve never said otherwise,” Jim agreed.

“Hmmm, and you thought Dwight was going to do something to you or the kids. Tsk, tsk. Scared for nothing.”

Jim nodded his head from side to side. “You can’t blame me, I really thought I’d gone too far what with the whole Velcro suit and de-suiting in the parking lot.”

Pam smirked back at him as she set the photo down to explore more treasures. A necklace made of yarn and threaded with uncooked red and green noodles was next out of the pot. The pendant was a small plastic couple holding hands with marker scribbled inside the black outline of the figures.

“Awww,” Pam cooed. “The Christmas Shrinky-dink necklace of us Phil made me back when he was in pre-school.”

“You should have seen the way both of your faces lit up when you started going on about what you called Phil’s first piece of artwork.” Jim’s voice remained tender but was had a note of pride in it. “It made his day.”

“I remember,” said Pam fondly as she set the necklace down next to the photo. She snorted with laughter at the next item out of the teapot. “Really Jim? The soccer blob?”

“That,” Jim said as he took a small and well-used gel filled stress ball designed to look like a soccer ball from her hand. “Is what Cece wanted to put in the teapot. So, I can’t be held responsible for its inclusion.”

“Right,” Pam said skeptically before grinning again. “Cece was so upset when she heard the other soccer moms talking about how five-year old's always blob around the ball when they start playing soccer.”

“I think it was a great idea of yours to pick this up after that first game. It made Cece a lot happier.”

“That and the ice cream we got too,” Pam remarked smugly as she looked for the next trinket. Her smug smile disappeared from her face when she looked in the teapot. There was only one thing left and the sight of it caused a large lump to form in her throat. Her hand came up to her mouth and she could feel tears starting to form in her eyes. At the bottom of the teapot she once again read words she’d written years before.

Jim,
Don’t forget us when you’re famous!
Pam

Reverently, she picked up the note. The gold yogurt top was still paperclipped to the message. One of Jim’s hands travelled from her shoulder and down her side before he again wrapped his arm around her waist. Pam stood speechless as a host of emotions washed over her. She could feel his other arm shifting behind her. His voice returned to a low register when he spoke again.

“There’s only one thing different about the teapot. This time I’m not going to chicken out about giving you the card.”

His other hand came around. In it was a white envelope with her name of the front. Pam took her hand away from her mouth to take the envelope. Flipping it over she saw Jim had used wax to seal the note closed. The wax had the imprint of a honeybee in it. Sliding a fingernail under the seal so as not to break it, she opened the envelope and pulled out the card. In the center of the card was a picture of her torn veil with his cut tie laying on top of it. Pam sniffed as she opened the card. He’d written on both sides of the card.

Pam,
                Where do I even start? In all the time I’ve known you it’s
                always been easy to talk to you. That’s one of the many
                reasons why I fell in love with you. Writing it out though,
                that’s a different thing altogether. What do I say that I
                haven’t said a thousand times before?

I know you don’t watch the old doc all that much. You know
                I don’t either, but when I started thinking of these new bonus
                gifts, I went back and watched a few of our highlights. The last
                talking heads we did for the bonus material stood out to me.
                I said something about how everything I had was thanks to that job.
                Your quote, was more beautiful than anything I ever said.

“There’s a lot of beauty in ordinary things. Isn’t that kind
                of the point?”

That is your true gift. That you can so easily see the beauty
                and wonder in everyday things. That you will see the best in
                even the craziest of people. It’s made you a wonderful mother
                and a talented artist. It’s what drew me to you when we first
                met. Your calm smile despite the lunacy that was the old office,
                like you were deciding even then just how to frame it just right
                for a painting.

At one time I almost forgot about all that. But sitting in a chair
                in New York you reminded me of everything I’d ever want. All
                with a message slip and a yogurt top. David asked me where I saw
                myself in ten years. The only place where I could see myself happy,
                was with you. We’re together because of your courage that night
                on the beach and by putting that note in my paperwork. I can never
                thank you enough for that. For showing me, we did still have a
                chance together.

There have been rough patches since then of course. Even still, I
                wouldn’t trade a second of it for anything. You’re my confidant,
                my partner-in-crime, my lover, and still my best friend. Thank
                you so much for also being my wife.

Through anything life may throw at us, for now and forever,

I love you,
                Jim.

Pam couldn’t stop the flood of tears running down her cheeks as she read his words. Looking down, she saw that Jim had reached over and was holding a box of tissues for her. Taking a few, she wiped off her face before turning around to face him. Her arms wrapped around his neck and she just held him. After a few moments she leaned her head back but only far enough so she could kiss her husband.

“Thank you,” was all Pam could say when they finally broke apart.

“You’re welcome,” Jim said gently before leaning down to kiss her again.

When they broke apart again, Pam turned them so they only needed to turn their heads to gaze out the window at the rainbow of colors lighting up the falls. She started stroking his back with the hand that wasn’t holding the pink note or the card he’d written her.

“Hey Jim?” she asked without looking away from the waterfall.

“Yeah,” he answered.

“I’m glad you didn’t chicken out about the card this time around.”

He gave her a loving squeeze. “Same here. Want to hear a story about that original card?”

“Sure.”

“I almost threw it over Bridal Veil Falls.”

Pam drew back in surprise. “You never told me that! When was this?”

“About a week after I left Scranton for Stamford. I was still planning on going to Australia. The day before my flight was supposed to leave, I drove up here and walked to the edge. I was going to throw the card over as a way to say finally good-bye to you. But for some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to do it.”

“Oh Jim,” Pam buried her face in his chest.

“Hey it was a long time ago and yeah it sucked at the time, but it’s in the past,” he assured her. “We’ve both come a long way since then.”

“Yeah we have.” Pam took a deep breath before a new thought crossed her mind. “Wait a minute!” She looked back up at him. “You said you were up here the day before you were supposed to leave for Australia?”

“Yeah, why?” he had a confused look to his eye.

Pam’s eyes furrowed. “If I remember right, you were going to fly out on June 8th which would have put you here in Niagara Falls on Wednesday the 7th, right?”

“Seems right,” Jim nodded.

“I was up here that day too!” Pam’s eyes grew wide.

“What?” It was Jim’s turn for be shocked. “When?”

They both went on to explain their reasons for driving up to Niagara Falls that day.

“How did we never know that about each other?” Jim asked after the stories were told.

“With all the other baggage we carried around, I guess it just never came up,” Pam answered.

“Chalk up another missed moment in the great Jim and Pam saga. What are we up to now? Twenty? Thirty?” he chuckled.

Pam shrugged her shoulders. “I gave up counting a long time ago. Right now, the only thing that matters is that we’re together.”

“That, is something I completely agree with,” Jim said with a smile and leaned down for another kiss.

“Oh!” Pam blurt out after he leaned back. “I almost forgot. I have something for you too. Stay here.”

She set the note and her card down next to the teapot and walked to where she’d put her suitcase near the bed. Digging to the bottom she came back with a small white box wrapped with a silver ribbon and her own envelope.

“It’s not nearly as mushy as your card, but I think you’ll like it,” she told him after she handed him both items.

Jim just smirked at her as he opened the card. In colored pencil, Pam had drawn a bird’s eye view of Niagara Falls. In the river, a boat was approaching the Horeshoe Falls. Even though it was small, Jim could make out the image of a man in a tux and a woman in a white dress at the bow of the boat. He felt his own throat grow tight as he opened the card.

Jim,

Ten years ago, you made a dream come true.
Thank you for keeping that dream alive ever since.

I love you,
Pam

“That’s very sweet,” he said. “Thank you.”

“Open your present,” Pam told him. “The tenth anniversary is sometimes called the aluminum anniversary so that’s why the ribbon is silver colored.”

“So, you got the kids to start crushing soda cans? Aww, how thoughtful,” he smirked as he opened the box.

Pam whacked his arm at his teasing tone of voice. “Just look inside.”

Inside the white box was a black felt lined box with a hinge on the back. Setting the white box on the table Jim cracked open the felt box. Inside was a simple black watch with silver fittings. The band was black leather to match the watch face. Dashes marked the hours except where four square cut diamonds were placed at the top, bottom, and sides of the watch face. A small window to mark the date was set in the lower half of the face.

“Pam! Wow!” Jim said as he lifted the watch from the box.

“The anniversary may be aluminum, but the gift is supposed to be diamonds,” she explained. “You don’t wear much jewelry and have never liked those big thick watches. When I saw that online though, I knew it was perfect.”

When Jim looked back at her, he was beaming. “It is, thank you. I love the simple but elegant feel of it.”

Jim set the watch down next to Pam’s teapot and the new bonus gifts. Once more he enfolded her in his arms and leaned down to kiss her. When he leaned back, they were both smiling at each other.

“Happy anniversary Pam.”

“Happy anniversary Jim.”

Outside, the colors continued to shift and change as the Niagara River continued its timeless plunge over the crest of the falls.