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“Me neither. Every time I think about the end . . .” She choked on a sob and covered her face. Kent tried to move his seat next to hers, but they were cemented to the ground. He went to her instead and crouched down.
“Hey, I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.”
“But I am.”
He said nothing. There was no point in arguing with reality. They both knew how their trip would end. Still, Kent wanted Palmer to enjoy herself to the fullest.
“Thank you for my shirt,” he said to her. “I’m going to wear it with pride.”
“And you’ll think of me?”
Kent scoffed. “Palmer, there isn’t going to be a day in my life when I don’t think about you.” He took her hand and placed it over his heart. “Like I said, you have a piece of me, and I don’t want it back.”
He finally convinced her that they should get a bite to eat and then hit the road. There was one more stop he wanted to make before they headed for Missouri. They still hadn’t heard back from Courtney. Kent wasn’t bothered. If it came down to postponing the rest of their trip, he would. Nothing was more important than Palmer finally meeting her sister. She had a list of questions and deserved every answer possible. They had her name, and while Missouri might be a big state, he wasn’t opposed to searching every nook and cranny for Courtney. He refused to let Palmer down.
Palmer suggested they walk around campus. As they did, she used Kent’s phone to take photos, and then posted them onto their Instagram story. She had yet to tell the world why they were on this trip. Kent wouldn’t pressure her, even though Greg had pretty much told everyone. Palmer would say it when she felt the time was right.
The campus of Ohio University was quaint, with old brick buildings and a homely feel. Kent felt comfortable, even when they happened upon an old asylum. Palmer gawked at the four-story redbrick structure that looked like it belonged down south, with its fountain out front and the white wrought iron railings to keep people from falling in.
“Wow, I’ve never seen something so beautiful and scary at the same time,” she said as they stood side by side.
“They say it’s haunted.”
“Of course it is. We don’t even want to imagine what went on in those rooms. It was built in the late eighteen hundreds.”
“How do you know?” Kent asked.
She held up a pamphlet. “I found this by the door at the bookstore. I wanted to see it.”
“Clever.”
Palmer turned around and walked away from the structure, and then abruptly stopped. “Come here,” she said to Kent, who went to her right away. “Look.” She pointed to the hospital, which was now part of the school.
“This place is enormous.”
“I can’t imagine living in a place like this,” she said. “To think I almost went into hospice care to be another number.” She looked at Kent. “Thank you for saving me.”
He pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head. “You’re saving me too. Don’t forget.” Palmer nodded against him. He turned her away from the building and guided her back toward where they had parked on Court Street. If they weren’t going to go meet her sister, he’d suggest they stay a day or so, and really take advantage of everything Athens had to offer. He’d love to go sit by the lake and roast marshmallows or rent a canoe for the day.
They found a diner that was an old-school landmark near the college. Most of the patrons seemed on the younger side, which Kent hadn’t expected despite the proximity to campus. It wasn’t until after he’d opened the menu that it dawned on him: this place was affordable to college students, and it all made sense.
“Do you want to go someplace else?” he asked Palmer, who had her face in the menu. He slid his phone across to her, but she ignored it.
“Not at all. I already found something I want.”
“You did?”
“Yes, don’t be so surprised,” she said. “The letters are really big.” Palmer laughed, and Kent marveled at her ability to turn her situation into a joke.
“All right,” he said as he continued to look over the menu. When the server stopped at their table, he ordered the firecracker burger, while Palmer ordered the open-face roast beef.
“I wanted the mashed potatoes,” she told Kent when he eyed her suspiciously. “You can eat the rest of my food.”
“Why didn’t you just order a side then?”
She shrugged. “I like roast beef, and the Texas toast sounds good.”
“You know we can go to Texas, if you want.”
“Is that really where the toast comes from?”
Kent shrugged. He had no idea and watched Palmer reach for his phone. Instead of typing her question into the search bar, she voiced it. Over the course of their trip, she had become quite the cell phone user.
