Coffee, tea? Or me?

Part III

III

A Little White Chapel was a small white building just outside the Strip on Las Vegas boulevard. It was built to resemble a church with a fake grass front yard delimited by a white iron fence, a covered arched named "The tunnel of love" took to the main entrance of double wooden doors. Its heart-shaped details, the red hearts glowing on the entrance sign and the giant Elvis neon figurine shining on the side, made it the perfect, kitsch location and a Vegas favourite.

Lucy and James walked holding hands into the chapel and to the reception desk where a woman in a golden vest and white shirt greeted them with a bright smile.

"Welcome to the Little White Chapel, you lovebirds."

"Good night," beamed Lucy. "A wedding, please!"

She turned to James and they both grinned, way more than they would have grinned had they been sober.

The woman reciprocated their enthusiasm with a loving chuckle.

"We are quite busy tonight, but we do have a gap in forty-five minutes if you want to wait."

"Of course," said James, locking Lucy's elbow around his. "We're not in a rush!"

The woman smiled again.

"Awesome! We can get the formalities sorted in the meantime. Can I have your IDs and your marriage licence?"

The grin died on the couple's faces.

"The what?" Asked Lucy, her eyebrow raised.

The woman nodded, used to this mistake.

"You need a marriage license to get married," she explained patiently. "Like everything else here in Vegas, it's very easy to get, takes about fifteen minutes at the Marriage Licence Bureau downtown."

James looked at Lucy.

"Well we have forty-five minutes to kill, let's go get one!"

Lucy nodded in agreement.

"Not so fast Romeo, the bureau closes at midnight..."

The couple looked at the heart-shaped clock hanging on the wall behind the receptions desk. 11.55.

Disappointment took the place of excitement as they both frowned.

"This is so sad..." said Lucy, with a childish pout.

James stroke her cheek with his thumb and looked at the woman behind the desk.

"Can we bring that tomorrow...Jill?" He asked, checking the woman's name on the golden badge.

Jill's face folded in a sorry frown.

"I'm sorry guys, we still have laws...despite what people think". She cheered up a bit.

"How long are you in Vegas for?"

"Another night," said Lucy hopeful.

The woman checked the computer in front of her.

"I have a space for tomorrow evening at seven-thirty if you want..."

James and Lucy looked at each other: they both wanted the same thing.

"We take it!" Said James and Lucy threw her arms around his neck with a happy giggle.

***

March, 26th

"...I just wanted to remind you about the ceremony this evening at seven-thirty. Remember identification and most importantly the marriage licence. You can get it at the Marriage Licence Bureau near Fremont. Enjoy your last day as singles!"