Dear Celia

VII

August

“There’s seriously nothing good to listen to,” I grumbled as I flipped through the radio channels. We were driving in basically the middle of nowhere, and there was no signal at all. “Just static.”

“Is my voice not enough?” Celia teased from the passenger seat.

“Ha ha.” The car fell into a small ditch and came back up with a jerk.

“Holy crap, try not to get me killed before we get there,” Celia exclaimed, clutching her seatbelt.

“Sorry,” I said lazily. I had just received my license a few days ago, and my driving wasn’t the greatest.

“So,” Celia said, “will you ever tell me where you’re taking me for my 18th birthday?”

“Probably not,” I said. I switched the radio off, giving up completely. Uncle Jed's radio probably didn't even work anyway.

“Are we almost there at least?” she pressed.

“Well, where are we on the map?” I asked as I steered around a dead bunny laying flat on the road.

I heard the rustle of paper and watched from the corner of my eye as Celia raised the map up to her face. “Uh… all I see is green,” she replied.

I shrugged. “So like two hours.”

Celia grumbled something that sounded an awful lot like it rhymed with “mustard”.

We drove in a comfortable silence for the most part of the two hours, save for some cursing when I accidently jerked the car too hard.

“Holy shit, you should just let me drive,” Celia complained, clutching the door handle for dear life as I turned sharply.

“That would involve me telling you where we’re going,” I remarked.

“Better than dying,” Celia retorted.

“The surprise will be worth it.”

Celia fell asleep at the 20-minute mark, and as I drove I couldn’t help but keep glancing over at her as we quickly began to approach our destination. She looked peaceful; delicate and innocent. My eyes travelled to her lips and I instantly flushed, looking away. I tried not to look at her for the rest of the ride.

When I finally pulled into the parking lot and came to a stop, Celia jolted awake and I lunged towards her to cover her eyes with my hands. “Don’t look!” I yelled, fumbling for the bandana I had stored somewhere in the glove department.

“What-?”

“I’m tying this around your face so you won’t peek at the surprise,” I told her and quickly tied the ugly yellow bandana around her eyes. I slipped out of the driver’s seat and ran to the other side. I opened the door. “Okay, now walk out.”

I didn’t expect her to trip and fall.

“Fucking asshole,” Celia muttered as I began to help her up.

“Keep in mind that this ‘fucking asshole’ just drove you 5 hours to come here,” I reminded her as I rested my hand on her back and took her hand with my other one.

“What ‘here’ is is what I want to know, Lucas,” Celia said.

We walked a few yards before stopping. “Okay,” I said softly, and slipped her bandana off.

She gasped. “Oh my god…”

I grinned and bowed dramatically, sweeping my hand across the landscape before us. “Welcome to the Blue Mesa Reservoir. 20 miles long and the largest body of water in all of Colorado.” I snuck a glance at Celia’s face, excited to see her reaction. She was practically glowing with happiness, with her hand over her mouth and her eyes wide with delight and shock.