Pam awoke to the sound of the phone ringing.

“This is your wake-up call,” the robotic voice said. She hung up and turned over to Jim who was still snoozing serenely.

“Time to wake up,” she sweetly whispered to him. When he grunted and rolled over, she put her hands on his shoulder and shook him over and over. “Jim, I know you’re awake,” she said, a little louder this time. When he still didn’t open his eyes, she bent down and pressed her lips against his. She knew he was fully awake when he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer. When they pulled away, they were radiantly smiling at each other.

“Good morning,” he said in his usual deep and throaty morning voice.

“Good morning,” she replied.

“What time is it?”

“Seven. We are scheduled to check out at 8:15 so I thought this would give us enough time to get ready and eat breakfast.”

He sat up and stretched until he threw his legs over the edge.

“Okay. But I call first shower,” he said and dashed to the bathroom and closed the door before she could protest. She turned on the TV and watched Good Morning America until she heard the shower stop. He walked out a few minutes later in khaki shorts and a light blue polo shirt that had drips of water from his still wet hair. She smiled at him and went to take one herself. When she was finished, she put on some make-up and fixed her hair in the way that she had been wearing it for the past few months. She changed into jean shorts and a green tank top. She also made sure to rub lotion on her freshly shaven legs before walking back into the room. He looked back at her and smiled.

“Are you ready for breakfast?” he asked.

“Yeah, I’m pretty hungry, actually.” They made their way downstairs hand in hand and got in line at the breakfast buffet.

“Okay, what the hell is this?” he asked, pointing to a food that couldn’t be described. It looked like chocolate pudding but with dark green chunks inside.

“I dare you to try it.”

“If I throw up, I blame you.”

Their conversation was interrupted when Kevin stood in line next to them and said:

“Hey you guys.”

“Hey!” they both replied in unison.

“Pam, those shorts look really hot on you. You should wear them to work.”

“Uh—thanks, Kev, but I wouldn’t count on that,” she replied, flustered.

“Jim, help me out, don’t you think she should wear them to work every day?”

“Absolutely,” he replied and winked at Pam. “So, Kevin,” he continued, “where’s Stacey?”

“She’s sitting down with Abby. We brought her along too. Abby will be happy you’re here. She thinks your cute.” he replied then let out his usual Kevin snicker. “Aw, Jim, you’re so popular with the 12 year olds!” Pam said. He nudged her and she giggled. They finished getting their food and then got a booth.

“Now, try that unidentified food. I have to see this,” she said.

“How come I have this feeling that if I have a bad reaction to this you’ll just laugh?”

“Stop being a baby and eat it.” He did as she commanded and slowly guided the food into his mouth. He chewed and forced a smile but his face turned red and he quickly grabbed his napkin and spit it into it.

“That tasted like anchovies and peanut butter mixed together in a fruit salad,” he choked. He gulped down half of the water before he could get the taste out of his mouth. Pam was sitting across from him with her hand over her mouth laughing so hard that tears were rolling down here eyes.

“I knew you were going to laugh.”

“I wish I had a camera! Your face was priceless!”

“You’re lucky you mean so much to me.”

When they finished breakfast, they grabbed their luggage and caught a cab. When they got inside, Pam turned to Jim with excitement in her eyes. It was as if it just hit her that they were so close to boarding the ship. He smiled back at her and the ride was silent but their anticipation was obviously present in the air. The ride went slowly, but they finally arrived. She opened the door and ran to the trunk to pull out her suitcase but struggled due to the heaviness. Jim helped her just like he did the night before and then he got his. He purposely walked slowly at the beginning and pretended to enjoy the architecture of the ships exterior, which caused Pam to practically scream out of anxiousness.

“You’re so slow!”

“Can I help it that the architecture of this ship is so exquisite?” he asked teasingly.

“Stop tormenting me.” She finally convinced him that the inside of the ship would be more interesting. They walked up the ramp and made their way into the lobby. She gasped at how nice it was. She felt like spinning in circles like people did in those old-fashioned movies. The room was modern and spacious with high ceilings. Jim walked up to check in while she took a look around. After a few minutes, he walked up behind her and put his hand on her back. “Are you ready to check out the room?” he asked. She nodded and they walked through the lobby and to the elevators. He put in the room key and leaned against the door as she stepped inside.

“Jim!” she exclaimed.

“What?” he asked, pretending he didn’t know what she was so excited over. He was actually highly content with how the room turned out to be. There was one neatly made bed and a window that looked out over the ocean.

“You never told me you were going to get an ocean view room. I told you it was too expensive!”

“And I knew you wanted it, so there.”

She dropped her suitcase and stood on her tiptoes to kiss him.

“If you’re going to have sex, you could at least close the door.” They pulled away when they heard that painfully familiar voice and giggle approaching down the hall.

“Hey, Michael,” Jim said.

“Ahoy, matey. Welcome aboard the USS Dunder Mifflin!” he replied. Jim raised his eyebrows in response and looked at Pam who rolled her eyes and shook her head.

“I never knew that was the ship’s name,” he replied.

“Its—not. Just—never mind. You ruined the joke.”

“Oh, I didn’t notice that was a joke. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, Jim, I forgive you. So anywho, last night I had a dream about you and I in this Caribbean paradise.”

“You had a dream about me?” Pam looked up at Jim and tried not to burst out in giggles.

“Just—Listen. You and I were lying on the pool deck in our swim trunks. Girls in skimpy bikinis were checking us out, we were getting our tan on, and we were drinking Strawberry Daiquiris. So anyway—”

“Hey, Michael? I hate to interrupt but we’ve got to start unpacking.” Jim said.

Michael giggled again, “Unpacking. Yeah, sure. Well, I guess I’d better go ‘unpack’ too. You know, with Jan?”

Jim nodded his head and closed the door before Michael could say anything more. The couple immediately broke out in hysterics.

“Swim trunks? Was he serious?” Pam asked.

“I was actually surprised we weren’t in Speedos,” he replied.

“You were ‘getting your tan on,’” she mimicked. They finally calmed down and began to unpack. When they were finished with that, they took a look around the room.

“Jim, come over here!” she called from the balcony. He went out to where she was standing and wrapped his arms around her from behind. She leaned into him and took a long whiff of his pleasurable scent that was mixed with the unfamiliar smell of saltwater.

“It’s so beautiful,” she said. The ship hadn’t even departed yet and she was having the time of her life. They stayed like that for a long time, marveling at the sea, the intensity of the sun beating down on their faces, and the safety they felt in each others arms.

“Let’s take a look around before we have to get ready for the welcoming party tonight,” he suggested.

“Maybe we can sit on a pool chair in our swim trunks and get our tan on,” she replied.

“And then we can have a cannonball contest. Oh, and afterwards we’ll eat shrimp cocktails.”

“Let me just call Michael and let him in on the plan,” she said and reached for the phone.

“Don’t you dare!” he said and pulled her hand away before she could pick it up. She laughed and said, “Did you really think that I would let Michael Scott intrude on our vacation?”

He smiled and intertwined their fingers together. They headed out of their room and back to the main floor. And then she saw a person whose existence escaped her mind since the night before: Karen.

Karen was checking in and before Pam could pull Jim away from her sight, the Utica Branch manager noticed him and began to walk closer. Jim looked down at her and squeezed Pam’s hand for reassurance. It was as if he knew that she was uneasy around Karen. She still couldn’t help but worry. Her stomach sunk for the first time all day. It was as if they were a happy, white cloud floating around in the sky but the dark storm cloud was mingling around them. Whenever it came near, it would take them over and the darkness would prevail.