The dinner guests had left and Jim and Pam were cleaning up in the kitchen. Pam’s face glowed a hue of red and Jim whistled a joyful tune as he wiped the dinner plates clean. Scarlet sat in the living room with her crayon’s and sketch pads.

“Scarlet let’s go get ready for bed.”

“Nooooo!” Scarlet cried out.

“Come on, let’s go. You need to get your sleep.”

Scarlet crossed her arms over her chest and pouted. Pam couldn’t help herself from laughing. She picked Scarlet up and took her up the stairs. Scarlet let out yelps and cries for help all the way up the stairs.

Jim pulled off his suit jacket now that the parents weren’t there anymore. He loosened his tie and finished up with the kitchen. Pam came down with her hair in a ponytail and her shoes off. She snuck up behind Jim and wrapped her arms around his waist as he faced the sink. He stopped at her touch.

“What are you doing Pam?” he asked, smiling.

“Nothing,” she said, taking in his scent.

Jim put down the pan and turned around towards her. He pulled her close to him.

“A ponytail. Very nice,” Jim said, flipping her hair with his finger.

“It is. You should try it some time.”

“I guess I should grow out my hair then. Like it isn’t already long enough.”

“No, it’s perfect. I have always loved your hair.”

“You know, you’ve told me that twice.”

“It’s the truth.”

“So, that’s the only thing you like about me then, huh?”

“No, that’s just the beginning.”

“Oh really?” he said, grinning.

“Your eyes. Oh my…I love them,” she said, rolling her eyes.

“Keep going.”

“And, your smile.” With her statement, he smiled to please her.

“That’s the one. Your lips are very nice too. Oh, and your teeth. You have great teeth. I’m just lucky to have a guy with a nice mouth,” she said with a giggle.

“Yes you are,” he said, pulling her closer to his chest.

“What about me? What drives you crazy about me?” she asked with a grin.

“Where to start. First off, your laugh is infectious. The best laugh in the world, by far.”

“That’s one. I need more than that.”

“Nope, that’s it,” he said as he laughed.

“Hey!” she said, pulling away from him.

Jim grabbed her arm and tugged her back into position. She fell into his arms as he grasped her closer.

“The way you smile when you’re really excited about something. Then there is the smile when your being sneaky, and the one when you’re laughing and you can’t keep yourself from smiling. I love all of those.”

“I have that many? I didn’t know that. You’re good.”

“I’m that type of boyfr…I mean, fiancé. So weird.”

Pam laughed. “Is there anything else?”

“I know there is plenty more. But, my new favorite is your hair when you’re jumping on the bed.”

Pam laughed again. “You don’t like my hair any other time?” she said, playing with her curls.

“Oh no. I love your hair. Especially the way it smells.”

Pam looked up and smiled. “You know what?”

“Huh?”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“Now that we have established that, let’s go jump test my bed,” she said, pulling on Jim’s tie.

“Pam…”

“Let’s go while we have ample time to get the….testing done.”

“I have a feeling you aren’t talking about jumping on the bed anymore.”

“Correct.”

-----

The morning light broke through the blinds and hit Jim in the eyes. Pam was curled up next to him with her arm wrapped around his. He rubbed his eyes and sunk down closer to her. He didn’t speak and tried to stagger his breathing so he wouldn’t wake her. His eyes lingered over her features, taking in her beauty. Her hair was in disarray but he still thought she looked gorgeous.

She moved and squinted her eyes from the blinding light. She moved her head out of the sun’s line and found Jim’s face with her hands.

“Hello.”

“Hi.”

“Did you sleep okay?”

“Great,” Jim said, stretching.

“You know what I just realized? I love waking up next to you,” Pam said as she slid her hands down his arms.

“Well, you gotta get used to that since we’re getting married and all.”

“I think I could get used to that. I just hate it when you’re not here.”

“We will be living together soon enough.”

“I know. Speaking of that, are we going to wait to move into together or do you want to do that before the wedding?”

“I don’t know. How far away is this wedding?”

“Oh yeah, I guess we need to set a date.”

“You get to pick the date.”

“Um, I don’t care when…it just better be soon.”

“We can decide on that later.”

“Another thing we need to discuss. Do we want to live here, your place, or find a new home?”

“I haven’t really thought about any of this stuff. Geeze,” Jim said, scratching his head. “What do you want to do?”

“Living here might not be the best thing.”

“Really?”

“There are a lot of bad memories that I want to leave behind.”

“Okay. We can see about moving you two out of here and either into my place or a new house.”

“That sounds great,” she said with a smile.

Scarlet came in the door and crawled up on the bed. She sat down in between Jim and Pam. Pam patted Scarlet’s head and greeted her.

“Good morning baby.”

“Morning Mom. Good morning Jim.” Scarlet said, snuggling under the covers.

“What do you want to do today?” Jim asked.

“Did you have a slumber party again?” Scarlet asked, ignoring Jim’s question.

Pam bounced her eyes between Jim and Scarlet. “Yes we did.”

“When will I get to have one?”

“Soon. We promise we will have a slumber party for you.”

“Good, because it’s not fair that you get to have one and I don’t.”

Jim laughed and Pam let out a snort. “So, do you all want to go do something today?” Jim asked again.

“Let’s get out of the house. What do you want to do Scarlet?” Pam asked, playing with Scarlet’s hair.

“Can we play in the park?”

“We could do that.” Pam said, lifting her eyes.

“Sounds good to me.”

“Okay, Scarlet, go get some clothes and bring them back in here.”

Scarlet leapt out of the bed and ran into her room next door. Jim and Pam watched until she was out the door and then glanced back over to each other. Jim grabbed Pam’s face and pulled her into a kiss. She rested her hands on his face too and pulled away when she heard Scarlet.

“Eww!”

“Oopsy again.” Pam, said getting out of bed.

“She really needs to learn that we are going to do that from now on.”

“She’ll get used to it. Now, do I need to tell you to get your clothes on too?”

“No ma’am,” Jim replied as he pulled himself off the bed.

-----

In the park, Jim pushed Scarlet in the swing. Pam stood at the opposite side and tickled her feet as she swung up to Pam. Most of their time in the park was spent that way. Jim would push, Scarlet would say ‘wee!’ and Pam would tickle. The classic Saturday in the park. Jim loved his time out with them. It was almost as if he was proud to show them off.

Before they loaded the car to go get some lunch, Jim had an idea. He drove them directly to the pet shop in Scranton.

“What are we doing?” Pam asked.

“We are going to get Scarlet a new kitty,” Jim whispered.

“What?”

“Yes. She deserves a new cat since you got that nice, new, shiny ring on your finger.”

“I guess that’s only fair. Okay.”

Jim smiled and jumped out of the car and unbuckled Scarlet. She gasped when she saw the front window of the shop. Jim grabbed her hand and led her to the door.

“Let’s go get you a new kitty,” he said, whispering in her ear.

“YEA!” she exclaimed.

In the store, they played with the new puppies, whistled with the birds, tapped on the fish tanks, and picked out the cutest kitten. The new cat was a calico with a beautiful array of colors. Scarlet locked on to the cat once she first spotted it.

“I guess that’s the one,” Jim said, leaning over to Pam.

“I think it is,” Pam said as she turned to Jim. “Thank you for this.”

“It’s well deserved. She needs a new friend and besides, it will keep her off our backs about the slumber party.”

“I’m having a slumber party?” Scarlet asked, as she turned quickly.

“That didn’t last long,” Pam said to Jim.

“Nope. So, I got the cat, you get the party.”

“No way. You said you would help.”

“That was before…this is now.”

“I see how you are. You buy her off so I get stuck with the party planning.”

“Exactly,” he said with a grin.

“I think I can handle the planning. You just get stuck with the girls running around all night long.”

“It’s not going to be as bad as being up with you all night long,” he said, teasing.

Pam gave him a look and then ushered Scarlet to the counter with the kitten. “I think we’re ready to go, Jim.”

After Jim paid for the calico, they walked back to the car and buckled Scarlet up. As Jim folded himself up behind the steering wheel he asked Scarlet, “What are you going to name her?”

“Um…”

“She’s a calico. You should name her Callie,” Pam suggested.

“No,” Scarlet said, shaking her head in disgust. “I will call her….um, Allie.”

Jim and Pam laughed at her how much she changed Pam’s suggestion. One little letter made all the difference for Scarlet.

“That’s a great name. Allie Halpert,” Pam said.

“Oh, so now the cat’s going to take my last name.”

“Yeah. The rest of us are, so why not the cat too?”

“You’re right. Why not?” Jim said, shrugging his shoulders.

Jim smiled to himself as they drove home. He already felt like he had the family he had always wanted. He had all he needed now. Pam, Scarlet, and even, Allie.