Can You Not?

Chapter 6

The day after the party they made a new arrangement. Since Ellis now had his own car and was qualified to drive it, he offered to carpool to school with Norah. They took their first drive together the day after Ellis' party. He was at her door at five that Sunday afternoon. She was genuinely surprised that her parents didn't have any qualms about her driving with him. Her suspicion was that her mother was too happy about her hanging out with a nice boy. When they were both buckled up, Ellis reversed out into the road, much gentler than she expected. He just seemed like the type of person who'd spin away from a stationary position and enjoy the sound of screeching tires. 

They listened to a mix he aptly named "Road to Nowhere". It felt like they were going nowhere with how slow Ellis drove, but also because she had no idea where they were going. When she saw the Hope to see you again soon sign at the edge of town, she began to worry.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"It's a secret." He smirked, but didn't take his eyes off the road for a second.

"That doesn't make me feel any better."

"I promise I'm not going to murder you."

"That doesn't either."

He laughed. "Seriously. You'll like it. I want it to be a mild surprise."

"A mild surprise?" she asked. "I think that'll be the name of my memoir."

Ellis chuckled and turned onto a dirt road. She could smell the dust that shot up behind them as they drove and felt every single bump. She wasn't sure she enjoyed that part of their adventure. It was very uncomfortable and Ellis was concentrating so hard on the road that she really didn't want to distract him with conversation. There were trees lining either side of the road. Their branches created a sort of canopy. The sunlight slipped through here and there and fell on them in patches. It felt like they were in a Renoir painting; only it was less pretty. Ellis pulled through an opening in the tree line and parked the car, then she saw where they were. Ellis brought them to a creek that ran into a decent sized pond. The pond created a near perfect circle in the mass of trees. The sky was just turning a glowy orange. It was practically gold. Ellis got out and ran around the car to open her door. They sat down on the hood of the Jeep and watched the sun set together. The view of it disappearing behind the trees was like something out of a landscape photographer's gallery. Ellis reached around into the car and pulled out two sodas that he managed to hide from her.

"To an awesome sunset," he said, raising his bottle and they toasted.

After the sun was gone completely and the sky turned black, they stayed, replacing the fiery heavens with the moon and stars. Even when the mosquitoes started biting. They stargazed like that, leaning their backs against the Jeep's windshield for what could have been hours. Time stood still. They pointed out constellations again and tried making their own. Norah felt Ellis brush up against her every now and then, especially when he laughed.

"Thank you for bringing me," she turned and said. "It's amazing."

"You're very welcome."

For the first time in her life, Norah understood what calmness truly felt like; what serenity was. It was a kind of comfort beyond words, like nothing could touch her. It was something comparable to invincibility. 

"Can I tell you a secret?" Ellis whispered.

"Shoot."

"My name isn't really Ellis."

"Gasp," Norah said jokingly. "Shock. Horror."

It took away the tension that was gnawing at him and he gave a short laugh. "I'm serious. Ellis is my last name."