The Bucket List Read online

  90 text messages.

  80 of them are from Jason.

  9 from my mom.

  1 from my dad.

  There are also a few voicemails.

  Eh, I look at those later.

  Dad: Congratulations, baby girl. I always knew Kale and you would end up together. Glad you finally realized it.

  I grin.

  I knew I could count on my dad to be happy for me.

  “You turned it on,” Kale says.

  I nod.

  “And you’re smiling.”

  I show him the text from my dad.

  “Your dad is my favorite,” he says.

  Kale and I walk out to my car and get in. He drives this time, so I decide to open the texts from my mom.

  “Want to know what my mom said?” I ask him, as we pull out of our hotel into the heavy traffic.

  “Probably not.”

  My phone starts vibrating and the music cuts off.

  Jason is calling.

  “Should I answer?” I ask.

  Kale doesn’t answer. He just pushes the answer button on my steering wheel.

  “Hello,” I say.

  “Juliet Summers,” Jason says.

  “Actually, it’s Johnson now,” I say. Okay, maybe I’m adding fuel to the fire.

  “What the heck were you thinking?” Jason asks.

  I can’t answer.

  “We’re in love, Jason,” Kale says, coming to my rescue.

  “In love? I’m going to kill you when I get my hands on you,” Jason says.

  “You’re not going to kill my husband,” I say, standing up for Kale. “You’re being dramatic.”

  “I’m not being dramatic. My little sister just married my best friend. In Vegas,” Jason says, now yelling. “Juliet, you’re only nineteen. I don’t know how Kale talked you into getting married, but I swear I’ll help you. We can get it annulled.”

  “I’m happy, Jason,” I say. Then I add, “I love him,” because I know that my brother won’t accept anything less.

  Part of me wishes we were in love.

  But I can’t be in love. I refuse to let anybody fall in love with me.

  It’s good I married Kale. There is no chance that he will fall in love with me.

  I hear him sigh through the phone. “Juliet, did you really have to elope with him to Vegas?”

  “We wanted to tell you,” I say. “It’s just; we knew you’d freak out.”

  “You couldn’t have told me you were dating?” Jason asks.

  Kale jumps in. “And have you murder me in my sleep?”

  “Dude, I wouldn’t have murdered you,” he says.

  “Yeah, you would have,” Kale says.

  “Where are you guys at?” Jason asks.

  “Um... we have left Vegas,” I answer. I look in the rear view mirror and see the Vegas skyline behind us.

  “Why?”

  “We’re going on our honeymoon,” I say. “Don’t worry. We’re going to document the whole thing. You can watch it on YouTube.”

  “Well, not all of it,” Kale says.

  I laugh.

  “Hey!” Jason yells. “None of that. That’s my little sister. And I thought you always saw her as a little sister too. If I had known this, I would’ve paid more attention to you two growing up. How long have you two been dating?”

  “Jason, no matter how much you talk... yell,” I correct, “it isn’t going to change the fact that Kale and I are married. And I’m going to be until the day I die. So, please, just be happy for me.”

  “Fine. But this conversation isn’t over,” Jason says. “And call Mom. She’s freaking out.”

  “Later,” I say. “You call her and tell her I’m fine. I love you, Jason. Bye.”

  I push the end button on the radio screen, and music starts back up.

  I’m not going to let my brother ruin my day.

  10 a.m.

  Be called sugar at a diner.

  We stop at a diner on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere.

  We’re still in Nevada, but I think we’re pretty close to the Arizona state line. I’m excited to be in Arizona for the first time.

  We walk inside the dinner, and I feel giddy. It looks exactly like I imagined. A black and white tile floor. Red booths. There is even a jukebox in the corner, and somebody is flipping through the songs.

  A waitress, whose name tag says “Betty” smiles at us when we walk in.

  “Sit wherever you want. I’ll be right with you,” she says.

  Kale and I make our way to a booth and a few seconds later, Betty comes over with a couple of menus and a pot of coffee.

  “Want coffee?” she asks.

  “Just water,” I tell her.

  “Same for me,” Kale says.

  “Okay,” Betty says, walking away to give us a chance to look over the menu.

  Kale smiles at me over the menu. “So, wifey, does this diner have your seal of approval.”

  “Yes,” I answer. “We should vlog this. I know it’s not on my bucket list, but I’ve always wanted to come to a place like this.”

  “Okay,” he says, pulling out his camera. He points it at me.

  “Why am I always the one with the camera on me?” I ask.

  “Because you’re the hot one,” he answers, winking at me. “Why don’t you tell everybody how great the first night of our honeymoon was.”

  I laugh. “So great. We edited videos for our YouTube channel and then went to sleep.”

  “You’re no fun,” Kale says, not putting down the camera. “You’re supposed to tell them how hot I am.”

  “As if your ego could handle that.”

  He puts a hand over his heart. “That hurt.”

  Betty comes back over, so Kale puts down the vlogging camera. “You two know what you want?”

  Kale orders first. Something really greasy with lots of meat and calories.

  “What about you, Sugar?” Betty asks me.

  Sugar.

  She called me sugar.

  My day is made.

  I order the only vegan thing on the menu and she walks off, leaving us alone again.

  “Still on that vegan kick, I see,” Kale says.

  “When I became a vegan, I researched it a little bit. I heard that some people who had stage 4 cancer reversed it by eating vegan,” I say. “I mean, I know that I’m dying. But I might as well give it a shot, since medicine can’t help me.”

  “I don’t want you to die,” Kale says.

  “Me either. But if I don’t, you’ll be stuck with me.”

  He smiles. “Forced to live the rest of my life with a beautiful girl. I don’t know how I will ever survive.”

  I roll my eyes, but smile. It’s so easy to flirt with Kale. We’ve always had this kind of a relationship and it drove Jason crazy.

  “Have you read any of the comments on YouTube yet?” he asks.

  I shake my head.

  “Me either. But I did read some tweets. Hashtag Kalet is the number one most trending topic,” he says.

  My mouth falls open. “No. Way.”

  Hashtag Kalet is something our fans came up with. People have been rooting for us to get together for a long time, but we’ve always assured them that we are just friends. I guess everybody is pretty happy right now.

  My phone vibrates on the table and I see a text from one of my YouTube friends, Karlie. She’s a beauty guru as well.

  Karlie: Congratulations on your wedding, and on 3 million subscribers!

  I look at Kale. “Apparently I hit three million subscribers.”

  “That’s awesome!”

  Which means I gained a ton of followers last night. Because, according to the growth rate on my channel, I was still a couple of months away from three million. I guess the wedding has made us very popular.

  Kale looks at his phone and smiles. “The video already has over a million views and rising.”

  “Huh,” I say. “Who knew eloping was all it would take to g
et a viral video.”

  “You already had a viral video,” Kale reminds me.

  “I can’t believe so many people watched a video of me pranking my big brother. I wasn’t even going to put it online, but figured I’d torture Jason a little bit,” I say. “Maybe I should do more prank videos.”

  “We should tell them that we’re going on a road trip for our honeymoon. I bet everybody is going to love us doing things on your bucket list,” Kale says.

  “Let’s not tell them about the bucket list. That’s too personal,” I say.

  Betty comes back over, carrying our food. She sets two huge plates in front of Kale and a small bowl in front of me.

  “Thank you,” I tell her.

  “Where you guys from?” she asks.

  “Idaho,” I answer.

  “We’re going on a road trip for our honey moon,” Kale tells her.

  I hold up my left finger. “We got married in Vegas.”

  “You two look a little young to be married,” she says.

  “I’m nineteen and he’s twenty-one.”

  “But she’s been in love with me since she was four,” Kale says. “The first time she asked me to marry her was then.”

  “I did not!”

  “Did so,” he says. “Don’t you remember? We were playing in your treehouse.”

  “Oh, right. Well, every princess needs her prince,” I say, then wink at him.

  “You two are sweet,” Betty says. “It’s not every day you see a couple so in love.”

  In love?

  Yeah, right.

  “Enjoy your breakfast,” she says, and walks away to another table.

  “I guess we’re convincing as newlyweds,” I say, then pull out my vlogging camera.

  Yeah, so maybe I vlog my food before I eat it. I’m a YouTuber. I vlog everything.

  2 p.m.

  See the Grand Canyon.

  When we cross the state line into Arizona, Kale stops so I can take a picture by the sign. We even record a short video. Some for our fans on YouTube, some for my family only. Kale is going to help me with an epic goodbye.

  Arizona is very... flat. And brown. It’s beautiful, but also a little bit boring after a while.

  And the cactuses here are as big as trees. It’s crazy!

  Finally, we arrive at the Grand Canyon.

  As we park on the side of the highway, I pull out my list and mark off another item.

  24. See the Grand Canyon.

  I can’t believe I’ve already marked off two items on my list.

  I look at number one.

  1. Kiss a boy.

  Besides the small peck on the lips that Kale gave me at our wedding, he has made no move to kiss me again. Maybe it’s too weird for him to kiss me. He’s always seen me as a little sister.

  Still, I want to be kissed.

  The kind of kiss that makes your insides melt and your heart race.

  “What are you thinking about?” Kale asks, as we look over the rail at the Grand Canyon.

  It’s bigger than I thought it would be. I think everybody says that. The view is absolutely breath taking, but it’s also making me question my decision to go cliff jumping. My heart is racing as I look over the edge.

  One of my biggest fears in life is heights.

  “Just thinking about my list,” I say. “Just how I should’ve made this list a long time ago. How I wish I could do more than what’s on it. I wish I had more time.”

  “Me, too,” he says.

  “We should add to the list,” I say. “After I’m...” I clear my throat. “Well, anyway, you can finish it for us.”

  “What is one thing you wish you could put on the list?” he asks.

  “Run a marathon,” I answer with the first thing that pops into my head. “Also I’d like to go on a cruise and backpack around Europe.”

  “Put them on the list,” he says.

  I pull out the list and add the items.

  29. Run a marathon.

  30. Go on a cruise.

  31. Backpack around Europe.

  “Why did you mark out fall in love?” Kale asks.

  “I already told you. It wouldn’t be fair to fall in love. I would just leave the guy heartbroken and alone,” I answer. “Besides, we’re married. It’s not like I can exactly fall in love with somebody when I’m married to you.”

  “Yeah, I guess,” he says.

  Kale takes a few pictures of me and I take a few of him. An older couple offers to take pictures of us together, so we pose for a few and then take a few for them. I start to upload one of them to Instagram, but decide against it. It can wait. I want to enjoy every second of this while I can.

  “You’re kind of incredible, you know that?” Kale says.

  When I look over at him, I see that he’s watching me. “Why do you say that?”

  “Most people, including me, would be at home, depressed about their diagnosis. You’re not. You made a bucket list and you’re achieving some crazy goals,” he says. “You’ve always been afraid. All your life, I’ve seen you hold back. Now, when you have every right to be scared, you’re being brave.”

  “Thanks,” I say. “And thank you for your help, Kale. I couldn’t do this without you.”

  And I mean it.

  Kale Johnson is going to make the last six months of my life incredible.

  I only wish I had more time with him.

  Saturday, June 4

  What’s not to love?

  After leaving the Grand Canyon, Kale and I drove to Albuquerque, New Mexico and spent the night. We wake up early the next morning, stopping at the Texas state line to make another video and take pictures. Then we drive to Dallas.

  It’s a ten hour drive from Albuquerque to Dallas, so we are exhausted by the time we get there.

  “How do you feel about marking another item off your list tonight?” Kale asks, once we get to our room. We edit the video of us in Nevada and Arizona and upload it online for the world to see.

  “Um... what item?” I ask.

  “Hand me your list,” he says.

  I pull it out of my pocket and hand it to him. He unfolds it and points.

  5. Sing karaoke in front of a huge crowd.

  Of course.

  “We’re in Texas,” he says.

  “I don’t know any country songs,” I say, feeling nervous.

  “Come on, Juliet.”

  I don’t know why I’m nervous.

  He’s right.

  We are in Texas. Nobody knows me here and I probably won’t see any of these people again. Sure, Kale will probably record it and upload it to the internet for the whole world to see, but what does it matter? I’ll be dead in six months. I want people to look at me and see how brave I was.

  “Okay, let’s do it.”

  “Awesome,” Kale says. “I found a bowling alley that has karaoke tonight. I already called. You go on at eight.”

  We still have a few hours, so I get dressed and fix my make-up, so I can record a video for my main channel. I’ve been uploading a ton of daily vlogs, but not a lot for my main channel.

  I try my best to get some good lighting. I sit by the window and take the shade off of a hotel lamp. It’s not the best, but it will do.

  I set up my microphone and turn my camera on.

  Kale sits at his laptop, editing the footage from our trip so far. He is editing vlogs for the both of us right now, giving me half the footage, and half for himself. Because of it, people have been watching both our channels and we’re getting a ton of hits for our “honeymoon” vlogs.

  “Do you mind if I record a video real quick?” I ask him.

  “Go ahead,” he says, pulling a headset out of his computer bag.

  YouTubers are prepared for any situation.

  I record an outfit of the day video, or an OOTD. People seem to love those kinds of videos. It’s short. I also updated people on our road trip and tell them a few places we’ve been. I will put a link to my daily vlog channel on the vide
o so they can check it out.

  When I finish recording, I look over at Kale who is watching me.

  “What?”

  “Nothing,” he says. “It’s just... how can you make a video about clothes be so fascinating. I see why you have three million subscribers. I bet you have a lot of guy subs.”

  “Not a lot. Maybe, like, thirty percent,” I say, shrugging. “And of the thirty percent, forty percent are fifteen to seventeen, fifty percent are eight to twenty five, and the rest are twenty-five and older.”

  “And you think those thirty percent of guys are watching for makeup and fashion tips?” he asks.

  I laugh. “You never know these days.”

  “I bet they all think you’re hot.”

  “Whatever,” I say. “Are you jealous?”

  “No. Because I’m married to you, remember?” he says.

  “Right.” I almost forgot. “So, my viewers want us to do a Q&A video together.”

  “Mine, too,” Kale says. “Well, it’s about a seven hour drive from here to New Orleans. Maybe we can spend a couple of days there and we can record a few videos.”

  “Sounds good,” I say, thinking New Orleans is going to be one of my favorite places to stop.

  Good food.

  Good music.

  What’s not to love?

  8 p.m.

  Sing karaoke in front of a huge crowd.

  I think I’m going to vomit.

  I’m standing up on stage in front of a room full of people.

  Kale tweeted the location of my karaoke performance, and there is standing room only. I am mad at him, but also love him for it. I asked for a huge crowd and here it is.

  I grip the microphone and nod my head to the guy so he will start the music.

  I end up singing my favorite One Direction song. I’m not a good singer, but this song should be easy. And hopefully I won’t make a fool out of myself.