There were ten items on Coke McDonald’s to-do list on June, 17, but jumping off a cliff was NOT one of them.

But let me go back to the beginning of Coke’s reckless venture into the drug world which was first on his list. Coke had never done anything right so this would not be the first time! He had boarded a cruise ship in Miami and jumped off the lower deck near Anguilla, in the Caribbean. Unfortunately, he had misjudged the distance and struggled to reach the island floundering through white capped seas. It was harder than he thought because he had a heavy money belt around his waist and was still wearing his shoes! He lay prostrate on the beach for several hours until one of the native islanders found him and dragged him back to his small colorful cottage.

“Hey, what’s up, mon?” asked Banjo, the islander.

“I need to find a place to buy cocaine. Where can I get it?” Coke asked which was probably the dumbest thing he had every uttered.

“Oh, mon, I can help you. I have a friend who can get you coke on St. Martins which is really close and I can take you there in my rowboat for $500.”

Both Coke and Banjo piled into the rickety rowboat and headed in the general direction of St. Martins through the rough seas. Soon the patch on the bottom of the rowboat came loose and the boat began to sink. Coke abandoned ship, deciding to swim to St. Martins which was in view. What Banjo hadn’t told him was that the water was so shallow, he could wade in! Banjo sloshed through the water with him and introduced him to his friend, Stubbs, and then left him to go back home.

“Twenty thousand dollars,” said Stubbs. “Meet me in four hours at the other side of the island by the cliffs and I’ll have the coke for you in a suitcase.”

Coke spent the time while he was waiting drinking island rum. Realizing he was too drunk to walk across the island, he paid someone to take him there and drop him off. But no one was there waiting so he removed the money from his money belt and tucked it into his pants so no one could rob him. He was watching a school of sharks from the top of a cliff when Stubbs came up behind him and put a gun in his back. Rather than give up the money, Coke took a flying leap off the cliff, landing right in the midst of the sharks.

Well, Coke never did finish the nine other things on his bucket list.

There were ten items on Coke McDonald's to-do list on June, 17, but jumping off a cliff wasn't one of them.

Coke was going to try and propose to the girl of his dreams. He had a checklist from the lastest issue of 'Romance weekly' on what-to do to make sure you get a resounding sure yes.

Step 1-

Prepare a meal for your dearest love. The next thing would be to hide the ring. But not in a piece of the food. There was no sure way to guarantee that the ring wouldn't all be gobbled down with the food or treat.

Step 2-

Book a vacation trip to an exotic place. This would prove to the future Mrs. McDonald's that she wasn't marrying a simple guy. Coke was going to treat her right. He'd always remember to take really good care of his wife.

Step 3-

Place an order of a katrillion flowers and have them sent to your sweetheart. Also write a sweet poem, have a band play her or your favorite song, as this all takes place....it will be a sight and feeling for her to never forget. At the end of it all would be , most definitely, the best moment for the question of a lifetime.

Step 4-

Go the kinda scary way and talk to her parents. More so her Dad. Be a promising son-in-law. Show him and tell him that you wholeheartedly care, and love his daughter.

Step 5-

Take her on a boat ride. Go scuba diving. This might be a really fantasy dream idea. It might work. Bury the engagement ring in an oyster. (Without her noticing) You suddenly come across it and let her open it.

By now she should know that you're not going to stop trying to get a sure yes from her.

Step 6-

Wow. She still hasn't said yes. Okay, that's it. Time to go much bigger on this then. Shall we.

The next thing to do at this point, is to buy tickets for an opera, or her favorite  sports game which if you're lucky also has her favorite team playing.

Step 7-

Feels like a marathon here. Why isn't all this effort and ideas paying off? Look. You tried countless plans and strategies before you even checked this article. We know. You're not the first person in the universe to propose.

This will sound simple but write a card and send the ring in a small package, with the card.

Step 8-

Whew. This is crazy. Maybe she doesn't want to get married or she might not want a wedding any time soon right now. This is getting out of hand.

Maybe sing a song for her that clearly shows that you're seriously being serious about marriage.

Step 9-

If all the other plans fail. Which would mean that she either replied with i.) maybe I might have to think about it or ii.) she said toally Not. What a shock! Then there's only one solid  reason or solution to this setback....wait for it. Here it is:

She might not be the one. Don't worry theyll be no need to be dramatic now or jump off a cliff. Take a deep breath, spend time with friends and don't forget that you're a wonderful person. After going through all these steps to make sure that you get a YES....hmmm.

Lucky for you there's another step to consider.

Step 10-

So, you didn't get a yes. Then forget about ever doing these steps again. Just kidding. On a serious note.... You could just go the sure way and save time, money and effort, you know, next time go right ahead & ask for the lucky woman's hand in marriage.

Good luck to you. Thank you for taking time to follow these steps and go through with them all. ( if the first one and the one after that didn't work) All the best in your wedding preparations. Wishing that you and your darling live happily ever after.

There were ten items on Coke McDonald’s to-do list on June, 17, but jumping off a cliff was NOT one of them.

June 17th was a normal Coke. He had to get up early to go to work and to wake his wife. His alarm went off at 6 and he woke his wife at 6:30. They both got ready, ate breakfast, and went to work. Coke worked til noon and his wife, London, worked til 11. Now, 1 in the afternoon, he would have to shopping for his honeymoon as he just got married yesterday. His work let him have no days off. He did an hour of shopping and drove his wife to a popular lookout. Once there, his ex-girlfriend was there and she chased him. The only way to escape her craziness was to jump the guardrail. Expecting ground he jumped. It was too late before he realized it was a cliff.

There were ten items on Coke McDonald's to do list on June,17, but jumping off a cliff was NOT one of them. Despite his friends pleas he was not going to go bungee jumping to celebrate his eighteenth birthday. In fact he'd made his list years earlier and was looking forward to it. He happily waved goodbye to his parents despite their grumpy expressions, they were not pleased with what he was doing. Still, they didn't have a leg to stand on. His whole life they'd told him he could do this when he was legally an adult. Obviously they'd hoped he'd change his mind before then. As Coke entered the court building his face split with a grin as he unfolded and examined the list still in his first grade handwriting. The school assignment answers hadn't changed in over a decade. 

"What do you want to do when you grow up"  

1. Change my name

2. Change my name

3. Change my name

4. Change my name

5. Change my name

6. Change my name

7. Change my name

8. Change my name

9. Change my name

10.Change my name

There were ten items on Coke McDonald’s to-do list on June, 17, but jumping off a cliff was NOT one of them.

At least, it was not mentioned in very specific, technical detail on this particular birthday list of his.

It all started this morning, when his cousin, Phoebe, came over, to wish him a happy birthday. She greeted him with a bear hug and a loud obnoxious rendition of “Happy Birthday” (You may have thought that you have heard the most obnoxious rendition of it in your lifetime, but trust me when I say that Phoebe takes the cake on this one).

After blowing his eardrums out, she asks him what he wants to do today. At first, he hesitated, but then pulls the list out of his pocket to show her. She began reading it out loud,

“Number one: pay rent. Seriously? This is on your birthday list?”

“Hey, it needs to be done,” He held his hands up in defense.

Phoebe rolled her eyes at him and continued, “Number 2: Go to the beach. Wow, that’s original.”

Coke crossed his arms and sighed, “Well it’s not like I’ve been there recently. Will you stop being so judgmental and just read all the way through before adding your own freakin’ commentary?”

She looked up at the ceiling and finally, in a very exasperated voice, said, “Fine.”

“Thank you. Now continue.” She read number’s three through nine without a pause, which are:

Number three: Hang out with Phoebe for the day (If this wasn’t on the list, Phoebe would have forced him to add it, so he decided to do so on his own).

Number four: Sleep in (This may not sound exciting for some people, but Coke McDonald was not one who usually let himself sleep in late, so he thought his birthday would be a good day for it).

Number five: Wear mismatching socks (Usually Coke McDonald loves to have his clothing in order, but he wanted to go a little crazy on his birthday, but not too crazy. He figured that mismatching socks were easier to hide than bright colored pants or polka dotted shirts).

Number six: No house cleaning (Not only does he like to have his clothes in order, he also loves having a clean house. He thought that he should give himself a break for one day, because why not? It’s his birthday!)

Number seven: Buy the top three books on his wish list (He loves reading, but hates spending money, so he thought this would be a great birthday gift to himself).

Number eight: Pick up his favorite cake from the local bakery down the street (This bakery, simply called Dawn’s Bakery, has the best red velvet cake he has ever had. Dawn knows Coke very well, as he comes in every day to moon over the cakes, but will only ever buy one on his own birthday).

Number 9: Feed the ducks at the duck pond (This is actually something he does every day, but he loves doing it, so there’s no way he would skip this on his birthday).

When she finally got to number ten, a grin crept over her face, and eventually became a smirk full of pure evil. The last thing on Coke’s birthday list was to do something out of the ordinary, something extraordinary in order to celebrate his day of officially being one year older.

And Phoebe knew exactly what he should do, “Come with me dear cousin.”

“Where are we going?”

“We’re going to do something extraordinary for your birthday, just like you wanted.”

And now here they are, Coke and Phoebe about to go cliff diving into the ocean (which actually crosses off number two on his list, since he is on the beach after all. Might as well kill two birds with one stone). Phoebe glances over at Coke, who is staring intently at the ocean below them, his eyes bulging out of his head with fright, “Hey Coke, you ready?”

Coke tears his gaze away from the ocean, “I don’t know.”

Phoebe smiles at him encouragingly, “Trust me, you are,” And she squeezes his hand, “Now JUMP!” and without further warning, Phoebe jumps off the cliff, and Coke follows soon after, since they are holding hands after all.

Coke is screaming in pure fright as Phoebe laughs maniacally next to him. The wind rushes past him, pulling their hair back in long willowy strands, Coke’s heart is in his throat, and he can’t seem to stop thinking that Phoebe secretly just wanted to kill the two of them and decided to cover it by saying it was a birthday surprise.

In what seems like the longest, yet shortest moment of his life, Coke hits the water with a splash, and it is over. Phoebe had let go of his hand as soon as they hit the water, so Coke goes to find her. He swims back up to the surface to see Phoebe already floating up there with the most satisfied look on her face. Hearing him splash around, she turns her head lazily towards him, “So cuz, what did ya think of that?”

Coke is silent for a moment, his eyes wide with shock, “I think that was the most extraordinary thing in my life.”

“How did it make you feel?”

“More alive than I ever have before.”

“Good. Now let’s get back to the shore, I wanna go get some cake.”

Coke laughs for no reason other than pure joy, “That sounds like a great idea to me.” So the two cousins swim back to shore, and the whole time, Coke replays the moment over and over again with the biggest grin on his face. 

There were ten items on Coke McDonald’s to do list on June 17, but jumping off a cliff was not one of them. And yet, there he was, falling through the air; anger surging through him at having been put in such an impossible situation, but there was also fear and even a sort of cruel humor.

Coke had this day planned for weeks and it seemed like for once, everything was going to work out. But then, the call came, and it ruined everything.

“Coke? I lost it,” his sister’s voice came through the receiver desperately.

“Lost what?”

She didn’t respond.

“Mary, what did you lose?”

“The ring.”

It was the one thing, the only thing that had been asked of her, and she blew it.

“Mary, all you had to do was keep it in the box, and keep it at your apartment,” Coke responded tensely. 

“I know. I know, Cokie, and I’m sorry,” Mary said. “I had it, I did. I didn’t even open the box. I set it on the kitchen table, right in the middle so I’d see it and not forget. But then…”

“Then what?”

“Well, it’s just… well then some friends came over and-”

“What friends?” Coke interrupted.

“Ben and - and Kev and Cici.”

“I thought you had stopped hanging out with them.”

“Well I had, but then… then Kev reached out, and I hadn’t seen them in so long. I didn’t see any harm.”

“Evidently,” Coke sighed.

“I’m sorry, Cokie.”

“I know you are, Mary, but this time it’s not enough. They took it, give me an address so I can go get it.”

“No. No, Cokie. I can do it.”

“You can come with me, but I don’t want you going alone.”

“Let me do this one on my own. I promise, I’ll get it,” Mary wanted fiercely to prove herself.

So, once again, Coke gave his twin sister the benefit of the doubt.

It’s hard to determine the exact moment which marked the beginning of the end for Mary McDonald. Mary struggled from a young age with neurosis and borderline personality disorder, which worsened as she grew older. She was always either under focused and distracted, or over focused to the point of obsession. It was Coke who kept her sane. In that great sea that was her, it was him every time who held her hand and kept her from sinking below the surface or being caught up in the ocean winds and swept away.

At 19, a new kind of stronghold entered Mary’s life in the form of Kevin Cain: six feet, two inches, curly red hair, dark eyes, and a smooth voice which promised and deceived again and again. If Coke was her stillness in the storm, Kev was her storm. He was that reckless ocean wind, which swept her away with the force of a typhoon and let her go for moments at a time.

After two years of being tossed around and as many months of being back in the safe house that was her brother, the winds had started back up again.

The evening before that regretful call, Coke sat down at his dorm room desk and went over the list of things he needed to do the following day.

Three months before, Coke’s dad had called him, excited.

June 17 marked 30 years to the day that Coke and Mary’s parents had met. Cynthia Franklin’s car had broken down on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere, Maryland. Walking down to a fishing pond nearby, came Kurt McDonald, pole in hand. He fixed the problem temporarily, and they went their separate ways. It was more than a year later that they met again; and the rest is, well, what it is.

The plan for the surprise was simple: just like every summer for the last 26 years, the couple would take a road trip and pick their two young adult children up along the way. Their planned route would have a slight detour taking them down a long forgotten country road where they would stop at the place they had first met: Cokeland, Maryland. There, Kurt would propose with the new ring his daughter had picked out, down on one knee as he had done two and a half decades before.

Coke had checked and rechecked the list.

1. Make dinner reservations for the family at Monte’s

2. Pick up pastries from E. Claire’s

3. Get bouquet from Beautiful Blossoms for mom

4. Be at Mary’s BY 9:30!!

The list went on, mapping out each step that needed to be taken that day in order to make his dad’s surprise proposal an absolute success.

Satisfied with what he read, Coke folded the list, turned out the light, and went to bed.

“Dad? There’s a bit of a problem,” Coke said gently the next morning. “Do you think you could hold off coming into town for a couple more hours?”

“Is everything okay,” his father asked uncertainly.

“Yeah, it’s fine. There was just a bit of a mix up, and if you guys come at 10:00, we won’t be ready.”

“What’s the mix up about?”

“It’s nothing, really. Being taken care of as we speak,” Coke assured him. “We just need an extra hour or so.”

“Alright then, I’m sure I can convince your mother to stay a little longer.”

Relieved, Coke hung up.

Mary had called him moments after, telling him she had got the ring back.

“It was just a joke. Kev was just messing around.”

Coke became hot with anger and tried to control his voice. “If that’s how your friends play, Mary, you need new friends.”

“He gave it back. He was going to give it back,” Mary replied.

“They aren’t good for you. They aren’t good for themselves.”

“We aren’t kids anymore. You can’t just tell me who I can and can’t hang out with.”

“That’s not what I’m trying to do, Mary.”

The conversation went on for a few more minutes, ending with Mary’s declaration that she was a grown woman and as such, did not need her brother’s protection.

An hour later, Coke was at Mary’s apartment door. After three minutes and no answer, he opened the unlocked door and went in.

After confirming that Mary was not there, he tried her cell. No answer.

Walking over to the kitchen table, he saw the blue velvet box in which the ring later meant for his mother sat. Weighted down by the box was a handwritten letter in Mary’s rushed scrawl.

Coke,

I’m sorry.

I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.

Everything keeps falling apart. I thought I could make Mom and Daddy proud. I couldn’t. I thought I could be better than I was, than I am. But I’m not. I keep thinking the next thing will be the right thing, and it never is.

It’s not about the ring, or our phone conversation. It’s about everything. Every time I invest myself, it crumbles. It’s like my entire life has been building up to this moment and now there’s this giant banner in front of me screaming, MARY ELIZABETH MCDONALD IS NOT ENOUGH. And worse, MARY ELIZABETH MCDONALD IS TOO MUCH.

It seemed like everything was so much better there for a while. Like I was better. But I’m not, Cokie, and I’m kidding myself, we are kidding ourselves to believe I am better, can stay better. I promised myself that if I messed up again, I’d clean it up. Really clean up the mess.

I love you, Cokie. I love Mom and Daddy.

I’m ready to fly.

Coke called Mary.

“Pick up. Pick up. Pick up.” Voicemail.

“Mary Elizabeth, don’t do this. Pick up. Talk to me. Please.”

Where would she go?

“If I could choose how I die,” Mary had said months before, “I’d want to fall from high up and land in water. Somewhere surrounded by trees. It’d be like I’m flying before it all ends.”

“That’s completely morbid,” Coke had said disapprovingly.

Jay’s Peak.

Coke called the police as he frantically drove to the peak.

“It’s my sister. Mary McDonald. She’s going to kill herself…”

Coke was just moments from the peak when he had called for help, he could hear sirens in the distance.

He ran to the top and there she was. Right on the edge, ready to jump.

“Mary don’t,” he screamed.

She didn’t look over her shoulder, or turn around. She just took the final step off the edge.

There were ten items on Coke McDonald’s to do list on June 17, but jumping off a cliff was not one of them. And yet, there he was, falling through the air; anger surging through him at having been put in such an impossible situation, but there was also fear and even a sort of cruel humor.

All of their lives, Coke had tried. He had tried to take care of Mary then, now, always. It was all he had ever done. It was all he could do. It was all he knew to do.

Saving Mary, forever and always.

There were ten items on Coke McDonald’s to-do list on June 17th; but jumping off a cliff was NOT one of them!

Now, as you may know, Coke McDonald is no average boy. In fact, he is one of very few who can see ghosts. And that little fact makes his life so much more difficult. He was at one point even admitted into a mental facility where they had treated him for his ability. While there, he learned that not everyone is as special as he is. So he decided to start acting like he was "cured".

Eventually, after a few weeks of pretending he was discharged. He became a working man and got himself a job. Coke McDonald started becoming more and more secretive about his ability until one day, he met a woman.

Susan was walking down the street and they bumped into each other, with Coke spilling Susan's coffee.

"I am SO sorry ma'am!" Coke apologized. He quickly grabbed a few napkins out of his pocket and handed them to her and picked up her cup off of the ground.

"Oh, it's fine. It was only a few dollars and it wasn't even that great." She replied cooly.

Then Coke asked her if he could buy her another coffee and she agreed. They walked together to the local coffee shop and he bought her a new coffee. As they were walking out of the shop, he asked her if she worked anywhere near here.

"Yes, just a block away. Today's my first day." Susan answered.

"Oh that's cool! We work near each other then!" Coke discovered. "Do you want me to walk you to work?" He asked.

"Sure, if you don't mind being late." She chuckled.

Coke looked at the time, "Oh crap! It's almost 8 o'clock! I'm not worried about me, you can't be late on your first day!"

They rushed towards the building and discovered they worked together when they arrived to work. That begins the wonderful relationship between Coke and Susan.

***five years down the road***

"I can't believe you talked me into rock climbing with you!" Coke shouted over to Susan.

"Are you doing okay?" She questioned loudly over the wind.

"Yeah, I'm fine! I love it!" He responded.

A few hours later, they made it down the mountain and then took a break to eat.

"So, how about we go home after this?" Coke asked her.

"Sounds like a plan baby, I love you." Susan responded.

****a few months later****

"I can't believe that after six years, she wants to leave me! What happened? How did I ruin this?" Coke thought to himself.

A few hours go by, and Susan calls him, "Coke! I need your help!" She shouted.

"Susan? What's wrong? Where are you? What's that sound?" Coke questioned.

"Just please hurry! Come to the mountain!" She quickly said and then the line went dead.

'Well looks like I'll be going to the mountain today...' he thought to himself.

There were ten items on Coke McDonald’s to-do list on June, 17, but jumping off a cliff was NOT one of them.

There were ten items on Coke McDonald’s to-do list on June 17, but jumping off a cliff was NOT one of them. Certainly not. Never. Not by the hair of his chinie-chin-chin.

But then came, a Huff, and a Puff, and blew Coke McDonald away.

Down he fell, first with confusion, then with anger, then with fear, then with amazement, then with happiness, then with joy, and finally, he hit the water with satisfaction. The cool water of the lake covered him, leading him into a state of bliss, and the buoyance pushing him back upward. He screamed with joy, and thanked none but Mother Nature for giving him his best surprise ever.

There were ten items on Coke McDonald’s to-do list on June, 17, but jumping off a cliff was NOT one of them. In fact, it was not something he ever planned on doing. That is, until he met. Georgia Anderson, the girl that changed everything. Coke was what most would call a hermit before he met Georgia. He never left his house unless completely, 100% necessary. She forced him to go to the park almost daily now. She decided that the park wasn't enough. She wanted Coke to experience something fun and daring and maybe even a little dangerous for once. That's how they both ended up exactly where they are now, falling through the air while Coke is screaming at the top of his lungs and Georgia laughing at the silly expressions he makes while he's yelling. Coke definitely never planned on jumping off a cliff today but then again he didn't plan on meeting her either. He's just glad he did.