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Once he finished, he went over to the soap dispenser, which looked like it was from the seventies, and bought his laundry soap. This was something he could buy at the store, but hated carrying it back and forth, and he wasn’t a fan of those pods. They never broke open all the way, and often left stains on his clothes. Maeve never understood why Kent didn’t buy his soap and fabric sheets at the store to save money. Kent got his soap and changed his dollars into quarters. He added the soap, closed the lid, and fed the machine.
The note weighed heavily on his thoughts. He took it from his pocket again, sat down, and opened it slowly. He hadn’t read it fully the night he was at her house, but now that he had time, his eyes glossed over at her words. Palmer didn’t just want to go to Disney World. She wanted to sit in the front of a roller coaster and feel the wind in her hair. She wanted to go to an animal sanctuary and touch the animals. Everything on her list had a reason. To Kent, this wasn’t your normal bucket list. Palmer was trying to make her last days count.
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
The line that struck him the most was “eat tacos or tortillas from a roadside stand in New Mexico.” He had done that too many times to count. His friend Raúl was from El Salvador, and his family had settled in New Mexico. Throughout basic training, Raúl talked nonstop about his abuelita and how she was the best cook ever. After Kent left the army, he had to find out for himself and visited Raúl and his family. He wasn’t lying. His family had the most popular roadside stand in the state. Kent ate there daily during his visit. The next time he visited, he and Raúl drove to Chicago to see a friend of theirs. They took historic Route 66 because they weren’t in a hurry. Those days were some of Kent’s favorite memories.
Kent continued to read Palmer’s list until he came up with an idea. It was far fetched, but it was something he wanted to do for her. He was going to help her cross off as many of these items as he could. He didn’t know how, but he was going to do it. Kent had vacation time to use, and with everything happening with Maeve, he could use the distraction. He could take Palmer to meet Raúl and his family or take her to Santa Monica, where she could take a photo of the END OF THE TRAIL sign for Route 66.
The more he thought, the more his plan came together. He’d use his vacation time for places that required them to travel longer distances, and on his days off, they’d do what they could nearby. Santa Monica was an easy day trip. They’d go there, take a picture of the sign, and then head to Disney. Kent loved roller coasters and would take Palmer to Disney so she could feel the wind in her hair.
Kent impatiently finished his laundry. He wanted to tell Palmer his idea and start planning their trips, but his clothes wouldn’t dry. It took two cycles for the waistband of his pants to not feel damp, and he was certain this was because he was now in a hurry. Kent rushed home, folded his clothes, and put them away, and then he saw the mess in his apartment. He had to go back to work tomorrow, and it would be another full day of looking like this.
Kent ran down to a nearby convenience store, paid for an overpriced ten-count box of trash bags, and ran back home. He separated the returnable cans and bottles from the trash. Kent would leave the bag of returnables downstairs for whoever needed them.
After cleaning, he showered. He couldn’t get Palmer’s list out of his mind and started adding other things to it. He’d always wanted to see the northern lights and wondered if they could fit a trip to Minnesota in. Kent also wanted to ride the Stratosphere in Las Vegas. They could knock a couple of things off this list . . . their list . . . if they went to Vegas. Palmer could see Elvis and ride the roller coaster at the New York–New York Hotel.
