Page 108 of Before I'm Gone

“I like it too,” she said.

Kent helped her into the car, stowed the blanket, and then got behind the wheel. He handed Palmer his phone and told her what to look up. “I think we should stay at the Paris,” he said as he pulled out of the parking lot. “All the hotels have wedding packages, so if they don’t have a room, we’ll go to another hotel.”

“What do we need a package for?”

“The package is one of those all-inclusive things. They’ll give us the flowers, photography, the venue, and champagne. Remember how I said the New York–New York has a roller coaster?” Palmer nodded. “Well, the Paris has the Eiffel Tower. We can get married at the top.”

“And make it seem like we went to France.”

“Or there are other hotels. Look around on my phone and find one you like.”

“What if they’re booked?”

Kent laughed. “Then Elvis it is.”

Palmer put her glasses on and started scrolling. Every so often she would ask Kent a question, but he left the details up to her. His mind raced with how he was going to find her a ring and a dress. He wanted her to have and wear both. Getting married in the clothes they’d traveled in for weeks on end didn’t sit well with him. They didn’t need anything fancy. Call him old fashioned—he wanted a ring on Palmer’s left hand, and he wanted to see her in a wedding dress.

Each time she called someone, Kent smiled. After every phone call, she’d tell him what they’d discussed and then leave a voice memo on his phone.

“The lady I spoke to says we need a marriage license from the licensing bureau before we can get married. What time will we be there?”

“Two hours, so that’ll be our first stop,” Kent said. He’d picked up speed after the rest stop, eager to get to Las Vegas. He wanted this. He wanted to be her husband, and the sooner they could get it done, the happier he would be.

Palmer made a couple more phone calls and then finally had a plan. She excitedly told Kent, “The only opening the Little White Chapel has is tonight at ten p.m. I booked it.”

Kent fist pumped. He now had time to get the provisions he needed. “Did you find us a room?” He had heard her say a couple of times that they were coming to Vegas to get married and wondered if the person on the other end had given Palmer any special treatment or accommodations.

“Yes, at the Paris. I asked for a room with a view of the fountains. I’ve always wanted to see them.”

“You’ll have front-row viewing,” he told her. “We’ll go there tonight.”

Palmer put the phone down and looked at Kent. He smiled and struggled to keep his eyes on the road. “Thank you.”

“For what?” he asked. Kent kept his head on a swivel when all he wanted to do was stare at Palmer.

“For being this kind, generous person.”

Kent took Palmer’s hand and kissed it, and then kissed her ring finger. Soon enough, he’d put a ring there, giving her something to look at and remember until the end of her days. He held her hand in his lap and continued to drive.

“I forgot to tell you something.”

“What’s that?” he asked.

“That I love you.”

Kent’s smile turned into an ear-to-ear grin. As much as he wanted to pull over and kiss her, he couldn’t. They had important plans, and time was of the essence. “Best damn words I’ve ever heard,” he told her as he once again kissed her ring finger.

Before I’m Gone

Sit in the front seat of a roller coaster and feel the wind in my hair

Eat tacos or tortillas from a roadside stand in New Mexico

Shop at a large farmers market

Meet Lana Del Rey and see her in concert

Take a picture of the most-painted shed in the US

Sit in the sand and watch the sunrise in Cape Cod

Take the steps to the Lincoln Memorial

Do yoga in Sedona

Tour and feed animals in a wildlife sanctuary

Stand under a waterfall

See Elvis on the street corner in Las Vegas

Hug an elephant

Find my family

Step on grapes and make wine

Run through a wheat field

Drive Route 66

See the marquees on Broadway

Ring the Liberty Bell

Buy a quilt from an Amish stand

See the northern lights in Minnesota

Visit Plymouth Rock

Touch Babe Ruth’s bat

Travel the Loneliest Road

Visit the Muhammad Ali Center

Dance in the rain with someone I love

Take the ferry to the Statue of Liberty

Check out the Grand Canyon

Take every picture I can of Palmer

Make Palmer smile

Eat chowdah in Boston, per Palmer

Eat pizza in Chicago

Try frozen custard in New York City

Get coffee in each city

Get married in Las Vegas!!!!!!!!!!!

THIRTY-SEVEN

As soon as they arrived in Las Vegas, they went straight to the licensing bureau. Palmer had read online that the lines could be long, depending on how many people were trying to “pull off a quickie”—the website’s words, not hers.

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