Jim rolled over in the bed early in the morning. He looked at Pam, who was hugging tight to her pillow next to him. He looked over at the clock. It read 3:34 am. He was having a hard time sleeping. Was it the flopped proposal, the dinner, the conversation at the dinner table, the activities after his meager attempt at a proposal? He wasn’t sure, but nothing had seemed to go as planned.

Jim inched closer to Pam to feel her against his body. She moved slightly as he cuddled up next to her. Her eyes opened and looked into his.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Can’t sleep.”

“I’m sorry. Is there something on your mind?”

“Kind of. Nothing really turned out as planned.”

“Don’t worry about that. Everything was great.”

“I mean, do you feel like the proposal was a little too soon?”

“Are you taking it back?” Pam said, defensively.

“No, no, no. I just had pictured it differently. That’s all. And, it might be too soon, you know.”

“So, are you saying that you didn’t want to propose?”

“I had intentions to. Not right away though.”

“Well, if I had a ring on my finger I guess that means that I should be giving it back right about now.”

“No, Pam. That’s not what I’m trying to do here. I just want to make sure that you're ready for this.”

“Why would I have said yes if I wasn’t, Jim?”

“I’m just making sure.”

“Yes, Jim. I’m ready. I love you. Don’t you feel the same way?”

“Of course. I guess I’m just nervous about everything.”

Pam rolled over and put her arms around Jim. She squeezed him tightly. “Are you nervous because of Scarlet?”

“I guess that might be it. I’ve never had to be the stepdad before.”

“Just remember, you get along with her better than anyone else I know. She loves you and is crazy about you. You’ll do a fine job.”

“Thanks,” Jim said as he pulled her closer.

“Are you going to be able to sleep now?”

“I don’t know,” he said with a yawn.

“I think so.”

Pam reached up and kissed Jim. He instinctively grabbed her face in his hands and deepened the kiss.

“Jim…we have a long drive ahead of us tomorrow. Let’s get some sleep.”

He pulled away from kissing her lips and down her neck. “Okay…fine.”

“I would love to stay up all night kissing you, but who’s going to drive us home safely if we both stay up?”

“Larry…”

“The concierge isn’t going to drive us back to Scranton,” she said with a giggle.

“Night,” Jim said, rolling over.

“Goodnight.”

-----

Jim and Pam slept into almost eleven and they had to check out by noon. Once they were out of bed they scrambled to get their things together and get out of the room. Standing in the lobby with their luggage, they waited in line to check out.

“This was a good weekend,” Pam said staring up at Jim.

“It was.”

Pam noticed his demeanor. “Hey, are you tired?”

“I guess. I was up most of the night.”

“Why are you still freaking?”

“I’m not. I was up most of the night because I was trying to figure out the best way to tell my parents that I’m engaged.”

“Really?” Pam said with a little smile.

“How are we going to tell your parents?”

“I don’t know. Should we invite them all to a dinner?”

“That could work.”

“When do you want to break the news to everyone?”

“Give me a few weeks.”

“Can do.”

-----

Pulling into Pam’s driveway, they saw Scarlet bolt out the front door to greet them. Pam’s mother followed as well.

“Mom! Jim!”

Pam scooped up Scarlet off the ground and hugged her tightly.

“I missed you baby!”

“I missed you too.”

“How was it? Did you and Nana have fun?” Pam asked, putting Scarlet down.

“We played everyday!” Scarlet said, running over to Jim who was pulling Pam’s luggage from the car. He picked up Scarlet and gave her a hug as well. Pam’s mother gave Pam a hug and kiss on the cheek.

“So Pam, how was your vacation?” her mother inquired.

“Mom, it was great.”

“What did you do?”

“Lot’s of stuff, Ma. Lot’s of stuff,” Pam said with her eyebrows raised.

Jim looked over in Pam’s direction and lightly bounced Scarlet in his arms. He couldn’t help smile at Pam’s reaction to her mother’s interrogation.

“Oh, in a few weeks Jim and I were thinking about having a dinner. Would you be able to come?”

“Sure. What’s it all about? Is there something I should know?”

“No. We would just like to get the two families together. So, we thought a dinner somewhere would be a good idea.”

“I see. Well, I guess your father and I could do that.”

“Great.”

Jim put Scarlet down and closed his trunk and took Pam’s suitcases to the front door. He walked back over to his car and opened the door.

“Well, ladies, I must get going. I have work in the morning.”

“Oh, too bad,” Pam’s mother said.

“Are you sure you can’t stay longer?” Pam asked.

“Yeah, I need to get some stuff done before the week starts and I think you all have a lot of things to talk about,” he said with a grin.

Pam smiled and walked over to say goodbye to Jim before he left. She put her arms around his waist and lifted her chin up for a kiss. Jim hesitated, knowing that they had an audience. He leaned down and pecked Pam on the lips and smiled at her.

“Is that all you got?” she asked.

“Uh, I don’t think your mom and your daughter want to see us making out.”

“I don’t care,” she said, pulling his face to hers.

After their kiss finally broke, Pam turned to see her mother’s reaction. Her mother stood with her hands crossed over her chest.

“I guess I don’t need to ask what you two did this weekend,” Pam’s mother spouted.

Jim quickly ducked into the car. “I’m outta here.”

Pam laughed and waved as he shut the door. “Bye Jim. Talk to you later.” Pam walked over to where her mother was standing. “I’m crazy about that guy.”

“I can tell.”

----

After Jim got home and started cleaning out his luggage, he decided to call his mother.

“Yeah, I just got back from a vacation with Pam.”

“Really? How was it?”

“It was great. The hotel was amazing.”

“That’s nice son.”

“Oh, Pam and I are planning this dinner in a few weeks. Can you make it?”

“Sure. What’s this dinner thing for?”

“I think you should meet Pam and her family.”

“Oh.”

“Is that okay?”

“Yeah," Larissa said and then paused. "Are you proposing to her, Jim?”

“What? Why would a simple little dinner mean that we are getting engaged?”

“Jim. You’re going to ask this girl to marry you aren’t you?”

“Too late, Mom.”

“What? You already did it?”

“Yeah. It sort of just happened.”

“Jim. Do you know what you just got yourself into?”

“Mom, can you please just be happy for me? I need some support here.”

“She has a kid.”

“Yeah, a kid that I sincerely love.”

“Okay Jim. It’s your life.”

“Yes it is. Despite what you think Mom, I know what I’m doing.”

“Okay.”

“I really need you and Dad there. Please. Mom, I love her.”

“I can tell. So, I won’t say anymore.”

“Thank you.”

“I love you. Talk to you soon.”

“Bye Mom.”

Jim took in a sigh of relief and threw some of his laundry in the washer. He put the soap in and went over to his couch and flopped down. He rested there until he felt his phone go off in his pocket.

“Hello.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too, Pam.”

“I miss you already.”

“Same here. What’s going on?”

“Nothing. Scarlet is already in bed and I was bored.”

“I see.”

“Jim, I’m so glad we took that trip.”

“Me too. I’m exhausted though and I still have a butt-load of paper work to do,” Jim said, rubbing his eyes.

“I’m sorry. Hey, Scarlet drew this really cute picture of you and she saved some cookies for you too.”

“That’s so sweet.”

“See, you don’t have to worry about being a parent. She will make it easy on you.”

“I highly doubt that. You’ll be regretting that statement when she turns sixteen.”

“Probably. When will we see you again?”

“Tomorrow I hope. I have some things I need to do after work, but after that I might stop by.”

“Great.”

“I need to get to finishing up this work, so I will talk to you then.”

“Okay. I love you, Jim.”

“Pam, I love you more than you know."