Said she wanted proof that he loved her; more than just a hug and a kiss. Talked ’bout goin’ on some kind of trip with her. Like out to Vegas to get married by Elvis. Stay at some fancy hotel and eat at the best buffets. That’s what she said she wanted.

And, he gave it some thought. He’d stay up at night thinkin’ ’bout it while she’d lay on the other side of the bed; blankets coverin’ her petite little body; blonde hair wrapped ’round a pillow.

He’d just lay there for as long as he could; lettin’ pressure and tension build up inside. Done everything for her, he thought, a house, a new used truck. Got her a dog that yaps all the time. And now she wants to go to Vegas and get married, he’d push the covers down and make coffee in the middle of the night; dark outside; streetlights broken.

The middle aged man sat at the table in the kitchen; made toast to go with his joe. He’d eat and drink and think. Did he love her? Wasn’t quite sure. He’d been married before. Knew what that was all ’bout. And, so did she, he thought. Things were goin’ good, he mumbled, why’d she have to throw that in the picture. Cause that’s what women do, speaking softly between bites of buttered wheat. He stretched and blew a gust of air from his lungs. His mind was made up.

So, he walked back down the hall to the bedroom and saw her layin there. Walked over to her and patted her tiny arm. Wake up, he said into her ear. Come on now, get up, he cleared his throat.

I was dreamin’, she said. Just dreamin.

Well, get up and get dressed, he smiled.

Why?

I’m takin’ you to Vegas to make you an honest woman.

It’s three o’clock in the mornin’.

Don’t forget to pack your jacket. Gets cold out there in the desert at night.

It’s early Bud.

It’s time. We can get there by tomorrow night.

What ’bout work?

We ain’t comin’ back.

What’dya mean?

Start a whole new life out there.

Bud, we should talk ’bout this.

No time like the present.

We gonna get married?

Yeah, first thing we’ll do.

What’s with all the sudden?

Your words. They finally got to me.

That so?

Honey, be careful what you ask for.

And they rode off into the morning sun. Just them and that yapping little dog she called Ginger. They didn’t talk much. Just looked at signs and billboards along the way. Each one wondering what the other was thinking. Just quiet as cigarette butts were tossed out the windows.

He looked at her and she at him. They smiled. And, kept on driving.