Elsewhere(45)

Liz climbs down from the ladder. "I was about to take a break anyway," she says coolly.

"I'm sorry," he apologizes, "it was Jen's idea. We should have called first."

"Thanks again for the lessons," Liz says in a slightlyfriendlier tone. "I'm sorry I was such a slow learner."

"It was my pleasure," he says, suddenly stiff and awkward. "When will you be getting your license?"

"Well, it turns out the Elsewhere DMV is mainly used to take people's licenses away. New ones are only issued on the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month and not at all in December. I have to wait until January."

Owen nods. "Good luck with that." He twists his wedding band around his finger, a nervous tic of his that Liz finds annoying.

"I should get back to helping Betty with the lights," Liz says. "Maybe you'll stop by my house again someday." Liz smiles and walks away.

Owen calls after her, "Maybe I'll stop by your house every day!"

Liz turns and looks Owen in the eye. "But I think my parallel parking's up to snuff, don't you?"

"We didn't really cover how to parallel park if you're on a hill. I doubt it'll come up, but "

"No," Liz interrupts, "it's better to be totally safe where parallel parking is concerned."

"That's what I've always thought," Owen says.

For Christmas, Liz gives Owen a book called How to Speak Canine. Owen gives Liz a pair of fuzzy dice to hang from her rearview mirror. (Or rather, her grandmother's rearview mirror, as Betty's is still the only car Liz drives other than Owen's.) For the weeks leading up to Liz's driver's license test, Owen and Liz practice parallel parking on all sorts of surfaces. They parallel park on dirt roads, by rivers, under bridges, on the highway, near stadiums, at the beach, and yes, on hills. As test day approaches, Liz finds herself almost hoping she might fail.

On the night before the test, Owen grabs Liz's hand as she is leaving the car.

"Liz, I like you very much," he says.

"Oh," she says, "I like you very much, too!"

Owen is not sure if she means "O" for Owen, or just plain "Oh." He is not sure what difference it would make in either case. He feels the need to clarify. "When I said 'I like you very much,' I actually meant 'I love you.' "

"O," she says, "I actually meant the same thing." She closes the car door behind her.

"Well," he says to himself, driving back to his apartment, "isn't that something?"

The next morning, Liz arrives at the Elsewhere DMV at seven o'clock, the first appointment of the day. She passes easily. The test administrator comments that Liz's parallel parking ranks among the "smoothest I have ever seen."

"Congratulations," Owen says to Liz that night, "but you know, there's one place we haven't practiced parking yet. You may have your license, but I won't feel totally safe until we've done it."

"Really? Where?" Liz asks.

"Be patient. You are my driving protegee, and I can't, in good conscience, release you into the world until we've done this last thing."

"All right." Liz shrugs. "Do you care to tell me where this driving rite of passage will take place?"

"No," Owen replies with a smile, "I do not."

So Owen and Liz get into Owen's car yet another time. Liz drives, and Owen gives an occasional direction. He finally tells her to stop in front of a red neon drive-in movie sign.

"Are we going to the movies?" Liz asks, looking up at the enormous movie screen.

"No," Owen says, as he pays the attendant, "we are practicing your driving."

"I think you're taking me to the movies," Liz insists. "I think you're taking me on a date."

"Well, you see things your way, and I see things mine." Owen laughs.

"Incidentally, what movie are we going to see while I practice my driving?"Liz asks.

"It's a remake of some love story. Natalie Wood's the girl, and River Phoenix plays the boy."

"Sounds good," Liz comments, "but I hate remakes."

"Luckily, you aren't here to see the movie."

After a quick stop to get popcorn and soda, Liz parks in the front row of cars. They eat their popcorn and wait for the movie to start. "I think it's strange," Liz says to Owen, "that you never call a thing by its name."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, when you invited me to dinner, you called it 'doing dishes.' And now you've done the nice thing of taking me to the movies and you call it 'practicing my driving.' "

"I'm sorry," Owen says.

"Oh, I'm not angry. I like it actually," Liz replies. "It's as if you're speaking in code. It gives me something to do. I've always got to decipher you."

"I'll try to speak more plainly from now on," Owen says.

As the movie starts, Owen whispers to Liz, "I thought maybe now that you've got your license, I might never see you again."

Liz rolls her eyes. "You're so stupid sometimes, Owen."

A week later, Owen and Liz find themselves at the drive-in again.