“I won’t.”
“Come on, Ellie. We both know I can’t compete with the fellas you go to school with. You said it yourself. They’re destined to be doctors and lawyers. The only thing I’m destined to be is poor.” Jack hung his head.
Ellie’s face twisted in agony. “Just because you’re not going to college doesn’t mean you won’t be a great man. My father once told me that a person’s success isn’t measured by money but by what his family thinks of him. Like I told you before, money and status aren’t everything. Not to me.” She took his hand in hers. “What you and I have is special, and I want it to last. And if you’re worried about me being faithful, don’t. My word is my bond, and I promise that no one will come between us.”
And there it was again, the hope Jack had come to rely on Ellie for.
* * *
For the rest of the summer, Ellie and Jack were inseparable. During the day, she was by his side, joining him on his afternoon tours. And in the evenings, when work was over, they’d fish and scour the islands or find a secluded cove where they could be alone.
As July melted into August, Jack and Ellie realized their summer was ending, so they tried desperately to hold on to what time remained.
“When do you go to work at the mill?” she asked him one evening as they trolled along the edge of the sandbar.
“As soon as the weather turns.” He checked his line. “When’s the first day of school?”
“The twenty-first, but I’ll have to move in a couple of days before just to get settled.”
Jack was silent for a moment. “Did you ask your parents if you could come back next summer?”
“Not yet, but I will, when the time is right. Did you give any more thought to visiting me in Indiana?”
“I spoke to George about it, and he says I can catch a bus in Knoxville, and it’ll take me all the way to Bloomington.”
“Really?”
“Yep, and the best part is it’ll only cost me twenty dollars for the round trip.”
“That’s not so bad,” said Ellie. “Oh, I hope you can come. I can’t wait to show you off to my friends. Marjorie and Susan will be green with envy.”
Jack smiled, thinking of what it might be like to meet Ellie’s friends. “That reminds me.” He grabbed a bottle from beneath the seat and handed it to Ellie.
“What’s this?”
“Just a little something to take home when you leave. I got one of George’s old bottles and filled it with sand and pebbles from the lakeshore. That way, wherever life takes you, you’ll always have a piece of this place close by.”
Jack’s gesture cost nothing, but it was the sweetest gift anyone had ever given her. “Thank you. I’ll keep it with me always.”
* * *
That night, the sky was clear, and the moon and stars shone brightly overhead.
“It’s a perfect night for fishing.” Jack reached into the live well and retrieved the box of night crawlers. Using the light from the lantern, he baited their hooks and dropped a line in the water. “Hang this lantern over the side.” He handed it off to Ellie. “Fish are attracted to the light.”
She did as he directed, and in no time, she’d caught a bass.
“You know, I had no idea I’d like this place so much,” said Ellie. “It’s so much different than home.”
“How so?”
“Well, for starters, there’s no lake, no mountains, and no…” She turned to face him. “You.”
Jack smiled. “How do you spend your time, when you’re not studying?”
“Well, Mother and Father entertain a lot, so there’s always a house full of people. But I spend most of my time with friends or my sister. She and I are extremely close.”
“Do you miss that world?”
