Summary

Ariel and her friend Matt drive out of the city for her old friend David's birthday party. Ariel remembers driving around in her hometown with Matt, past David's house, in the summer after their freshman year of college. She remembers a road trip she and Matt took the following summer from New York state to California. Ariel has fond memories of driving through Utah and swimming in California lakes.

At David's birthday party, Ariel feels disconnected from the other adults, most of whom are married with children. Ariel realizes she is just as lost as she was 20 years ago. She had thought she was moving forward, but she feels she was only moving in circles.

Analysis

Levy compares the car she and Matt drove around in their youth to a spaceship. The spaceship-car was driving forward through their lives, taking them on new adventures...