The guy behind the counter scratches his neck. “Are you being serious?” Her face is stoic. “Absolutely. I never kid about teddy bears.

I try not to laugh at the fact that even when she’s drunk, she has a hard time saying it. “Where do you want me to take you?” She drops her head back against my chest. “You can just keep carrying me. It’s very relaxing.

I fall down and my palms split open against the gravel. Injuries on the outside are easy to endure and I get up without hesitation.

I'll always be with you, inside and out," she reads. "Through hard times and helpless ones, through love, through doubt.

That's because you loved me. You just didn't know it yet." "You didn't know it either. You were just as blind as me.

It’s a moment I’ll remember forever, because it belongs to me.

For the rest of my life?" His voice softens. "Do you want that, Ella May? Do you want me eternally, infinitely, forever, till death do us part?