Pam planned the weekend gateway within one week. She booked a room at a nice resort about three hours away from Scranton. If she was going to be getting out of Scranton, she wanted to get out and forget all about it. She made a list of activities that they could enjoy so they could do their own thing all weekend long. She didn’t care what they did together, as long as it was just the two of them having a good time.

Pam’s mother called to confirm her plans with Scarlet.

“So Friday, I will need to be there to take her to school?”

“Yes. I think Jim and I are leaving that morning sometime.”

“Okay. And you will be gone until Sunday?”

“Yup. Thanks for doing this, Mom.”

“Oh, I’m just happy that you’re getting out of the house and plus, it’s with a boy you really like.”

“It’s long overdue.”

“Yes it is. So, I guess I will talk to you Friday.”

“Yeah. Talk to you then Mom.”

-----

At work, Jim sat as his desk anticipating Pam’s plans. He had let her plan the trip as opposed of him planning a whole bunch of things that she didn’t want to do. She called later in the day to reveal the agenda.

“We can go to a spa, golf, bike, see some shows, and a whole bunch of stuff like that.”

“Wow. Well, you can totally pick what you want to do. I’m game for anything.”

“You have to help me pick some of the details. Like, do you want a suite or a regular room?”

“Definitely the suite,” Jim said with a chuckle.

“With mini-bar or without?”

“Definitely with the mini-bar.”

Pam giggled. “I haven’t had a drink in a few years.”

“Well, then you should get toasted pretty quickly.”

“I don’t think so Mr. Halpert.”

Jim tapped his pen on his desk. “So, what did your mother say about Scarlet?”

“She is really excited to get to watch her.”

“Great.”

“I am so ready for this Jim. You don’t know how long I’ve wanted a weekend off of being a mom.”

“And plus, you are going with a pretty good guy.”

“Nope. He wants to get me drunk. What kind of a gentlemen is that?” Pam joked.

“A smart one. The drunker the Pam, the more exciting.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Oh, I don’t know. I think it was a very long time ago at the Dundies…”

“Oh my gosh. You remember that?”

“Of course. That was like the best night of my life.”

“How so?”

“Come on Pam. Are you joking?”

“Are you talking about our little kiss?”

“What else would I be talking about? When you fell off the bar stool?”

“I cannot believe you remembered that. I barely remember that.”

“Well, I wrote it down in my journal and I read it every night before I go to sleep,” Jim said teasingly.

“Ooooohhh. You so need to bring that journal with you.”

“Trust me. I never leave home without it,” Jim said as Pam laughed.

“Do you use pink pens and glitter too?”

“Are you kidding me? I do overkill on the glitter. I get a fresh supply of it every weekend.”

“Well, I would love to chat about your femininity a little bit longer but I have to run. So, will I see you tonight?”

“I have major paperwork due to corporate tomorrow so I might be a little late. Do you and Scarlet want to meet me somewhere to eat?”

“Sure.”

“Let’s meet at Scarlet’s favorite dining spot at seven.”

“Gotcha.”

“Bye Jim.”

“See you then.”

-----

Jim poked his head into the stuffy tunnel to find Scarlet. She hadn’t made a peep since she entered the maze. He reached in, yelled her name, then wedged himself in the bright yellow tube.

“Scarlet. Where are you?”

Another child Scarlet’s size crawled by and went over a rope bridge. Jim looked at the bridge and dared not to take that route. Soon, Scarlet came crawling towards him.

“Were you lost?”

“No. I knew where I was the whole time.”

Jim laughed and pulled her down. “Let’s go finish our dinner before we play anymore.”

Scarlet ran over to the table where Pam sat guarding the happy meal. Pam lifted Scarlet into her booster seat and she began to munch on her chicken and French fries. Jim sat down, holding his tie to his chest so it wouldn’t end up in his ketchup. Pam giggled.

Jim looked up and asked, “What?”

Pam shook her head and smiled as she nibbled on a fry. “Nothing.”

“It must be something.”

“You just look so out of place in a McDonalds.”

“Why’s that?”

“You’re wearing your suit.”

“Well, what else was I supposed to do? Come naked?”

“That would be interesting,” Pam said raising her brows.

“Only you,” Jim said shaking his head.

“So are you excited about the trip?”

“Oh yeah. I’ve already asked off for that Friday and bought some new duds.”

“You’re buying new clothes for the trip?”

“I had to get some new shoes. I think I wore out my old pair.”

“Are you sure you weren’t supposed to be a girl?” Jim gave Pam a look as she continued. “I mean, you write in a pretty journal and go shopping before big trips.”

“I learned from the best girl I know. Momma.”

Pam laughed. “Well, you should totally go shopping for me then. I have no clue what I need.”

“Bring at least one nice outfit.”

“Oh great. The one thing that you ask me to bring, I don’t have.”

“Come on. You have a nice outfit somewhere.”

“It’s more fun buying it.”

“You’ve got a point there.”

Pam looked over to Scarlet who was playing with her happy meal toy.

“Are you going to have fun with Nana when she comes up to watch you?”

“Yes. She told me we could make cookies.”

“Oh, that sounds like a mess in my kitchen,” Pam said, exasperated.

Scarlet popped her head up and looked at Jim. “We are going to use your secret ingredient!”

“Wow! You can’t tell your Nana though. It’s a secret.”

“Okay.” After a short pause, Scarlet added a question. “What are you going to do on your trip?”

Pam looked over at Jim and then to Scarlet. She obviously didn’t know what to say. Jim smiled and winked to Pam.

“We are just going to have fun. Like you will with Nana.”

“Oh.”

-----

Friday morning, Pam rushed around the house finding her shoes, packing her luggage, getting Scarlet ready for school, cleaning up the house before her mother arrived, and pulling the tags off her new little black dress. For some reason, Pam was nervous as she got ready. She didn’t know why she was nervous, but knew that once she saw Jim, she would feel alright.

Pam heard a knock at the door. She assumed it was her mother. Instead, Jim stood at the door looking at his watch. Her nerves didnt subside like she'd hoped, the sight of him made her even more nervous.

“Good morning.”

“You’re early,” Pam said as she blew a piece of hair out of her face.

“I know. I guess I’m a little excited.”

“Me too, but my Mom hasn’t shown up yet.”

“No problem. We don’t have a specific time we need to be there,” Jim said as he stepped in the door with his hands in his jean pockets.

“I still have some packing to do and Scarlet has to be at school in twenty minutes. Mom said she would be here to take her. I guess I should call her.” Pam picked up the phone and dialed.

“Hey. Where are you?”

“You’re running late?”

“How late?”

“I can take her to school. Will you be here to pick her up?”

“Okay. See you soon.”

Pam hung the phone up and sighed. She looked over at Jim and gave him a disappointed shrug.

“It’s okay, Pam. Calm down. We’ll get to the hotel tonight. No biggie.”

“How can you say that? I have waited for a whole week to do this and now the plans are ruined.”

“No they aren’t. We haven’t even gotten to the hotel yet and you think it’s all ruined. Just go pack,” Jim said as he turned her towards her bedroom door.

“Scarlet has to be at school. I need to take her.”

“I will. I know the drill. Go pack and stop freaking.”

“Fine,” Pam said as she gave Jim a kiss.

Jim turned and hollered for Scarlet.

“Scarlet, let’s go to school. I’m going to take you today,” Jim said as he jingled his keys in his pocket.

Scarlet barreled around the corner with her book bag in her hand. She stopped at Jim’s feet and he picked her up off the floor. He took her into Pam’s bedroom where she was packing her suitcase. He let Scarlet lean over and give Pam a kiss goodbye.

“I love you Scarlet. You be good for Nana.”

“Love you too.”

“I will call and check up on you.”

“Bye Mom,” Scarlet said as Jim carried her out of the room.

----

By the time Jim got back from dropping Scarlet off, Pam’s mother had arrived and was standing in the Pam’s bedroom. Jim overheard their conversation.

“Are you planning on…you know, sleeping together?”

“Mom! First off, I don’t know. And secondly, who’s mother asks their grown daughter if she is going to be having sex this weekend?”

“Pam, it’s just a question.”

“Well, that’s not up to me. Stop….I don’t want to talk about this with you," Pam said shaking her head and waving her hands in the air in surrender.

“Apparently you’re really nervous about this weekend. You look tired and distracted. I think you packed that tank top four times already.”

“Mom, you don’t know what’s going through my head right now.”

“Why don’t you tell me?”

“Mom, it’s just that I haven’t been this close to another man in a long time. I used to like Jim a lot and now we are going on a trip together. This is very different for me. I just don’t want this weekend to turn out bad.”

“It won’t.”

Jim decided he should make his presence known before the conversation got anymore juicy. He smiled to himself and then made heavy footsteps to Pam’s bedroom. He turned the corner and leaned against the door jamb. Pam and her mother turned around to look at him.

“Hello ladies,” he said with a smile.

Pam’s mother smiled over at Jim and then helped Pam shut her suitcase.

“Did Scarlet behave for you?” Pam asked.

“Pam, I took her to school. It wasn’t like I had to watch her for a weekend.”

“I know. I was just making sure…”

“I think I can handle dropping her off at school. Although, I couldn’t remember who was supposed to take her to her classroom. It was either the lady with the green sweater or the guy with his hood pulled tight to his head. I think he said his last name was Dahmer.”

They all laughed at Jim’s joke and then shuffled their way with suitcases in hand towards the living room. Pam grabbed all her contact information and placed it on the fridge. She made sure her mother knew what time to pick Scarlet up, when she got her snacks, and when her bed time was. Her mother nodded and then urged them to get on the road.

“I got it Pam. I think I can handle this for three days. Don’t worry. If you call, I will hang up on you. I will call if there is an emergency. Don’t call us!”

“But Mom, I need to check up on Scarlet once and a while,” Pam said with pleading eyes.

“You get one phone call. That’s it. So, make sure you use it wisely.”

“Mom…”

“Pam…”

Jim chimed in, “Jim…”

After the laughter died down, Jim grabbed Pam’s luggage and her arm and pulled her towards the door.

“Okay, I get one call, but you better call if Scarlet asks for me,” Pam said pointing her finger.

“Will do. Have a great weekend you two.”

“Thanks Mrs. Beesly,” Jim said opening the door.

Jim put the luggage in his trunk and then folded himself into the car. He sighed, slapped his thighs before turning on the car, then looked over at Pam. She was smiling from ear to ear back at him. He put the car in reverse and they left the comfy home in Scranton.