Last time I wrote before the wedding, I was dreaming of a sunny, Jamaican honeymoon. Little did I know, there would soon be a storm brewing in the ocean.

As Jacob and I flew into Montego Bay, Jamaica, he commented, “It’s cloudy.” “Oh no,” I thought. The evening held no rain, however, but the next two days would bring what seemed like a monsoon. Anyone who really knows me knows one particular thing about me: I greatly dislike rain and I hate getting wet.

Jacob found this amusing as we trekked across the Sandals resort in ankle-deep water and I squealed at the gushiness between my feet and flip-flops and rainwater blowing under our umbrella. When one swift gust of wind inverted our umbrella, Jacob laughed as I screamed and ran for cover. I did not think this was funny.

One morning, after we spent nearly three days shopping the Sandals shops and looking out our balcony at a sad, gray beach, the sun decided to show its face.

Jacob opened our curtains that last full day of our honeymoon and I cried out, “Yayyy!” We got up and immediately went kayaking and beach-walking. It was hot, but the sun offered a welcome heat. While kayaking, we got to see a beautiful view of the resort, surrounded by mountains and clear, aqua sea.

My dear husband, however, was not used to being so pampered. On arrival, we received a chilled towel, and coconut desserts were brought to our room. Jacob made a face as a waitress pulled out his chair for him and put a hot napkin in his lap. Our refrigerator was restocked daily, and one morning, we enjoyed breakfast in bed.

I think he was finally getting used to being catered to when we left, except for the pulling out of his chair. My rugged man would rather pull out his own chair. I also had to interpret the language for him. It was English. The accent was very thick and my poor husband just nodded and agreed to anything and everything.

I think our favorite part of the all-inclusive services was the snack café. One of the great things about an all-inclusive resort is that you don’t have to carry a wallet with you. Food, tips, almost everything is included in your bulk payment.

One evening, we casually walked into Café de Paris. One of my favorite things in life is baked sweets. Cake, cookies, cupcakes. I love sweets. I walked up to the counter and asked the young woman how much we could get. “One of everything,” she smiled.

For a second, I was the happiest person on earth. Angels were singing. Everything disappeared around me except for the éclairs and chocolate chip cookies.

Jacob and I started pointing at things, and I felt like a kid in the Walmart toy section with a million dollars. Shortly, however, I would feel very sick; that didn’t keep me from coming back the next night, though.

We were sad when we left the tropical paradise and had to acclimate to paying for food and tipping servers again. Mama and Daddy may’ve had to bail us out of Jamaican jail if we had gotten up and left without paying after eating at the airport. We almost did just that, but the real world flooded back to us soon enough, and we were spared a criminal record.

Our honeymoon was not exactly what I expected it to be – a little soggier, a little colder – but more memories were made than I could’ve imagined.

You may write to Jessica Boyd-Smith by emailing jessimarie2010@yahoo.com.