A giddiness rises up within me, like the bubbles in champagne zigzagging to the top of a glass. Effervescent. Shimmery. Natural, in a way. It has only been five emails, but this back-and-forth is familiar. It’s like slipping on an old, favorite sweater. Scarlett and I started sparring the night we met and would continue to do so over the course of our relationship. It became almost a form of verbal foreplay and often ended with us in bed, exploring more ways to elicit different kinds of responses from each other. This feels so similar to that, and even though I know I shouldn’t, I’m holding out hope that it’s having the same effect on her.

Another email from her pops up in my inbox, and my excitement intensifies.

From: Scarlett Frye <[email protected]>

To: Ryan Whitlock <[email protected]>

Subject: Re: MS Notes

The bike is gritty. Dirty. On the ground. Everything you mentioned is ethereal and sky-bound. The bike is not meant to be pretty or create imagery. It’s meant to be tangible and real. And (again, I’m surprised I need to point this out to you), it exists in direct contrast to the birds and the clouds. A foil, if you will.

So, what I’m hearing is that I actually need to weave the bike into the book more, to make it inextricable from Madeline’s story. Would that appease you?

The contrasting symbols did not, in fact, escape me, but the bicycle felt extra. The scene in which it appeared was stilted, almost as if Scarlett had been trying too hard to include it. But if she could work it in even more, make pieces of the book grittier and, by comparison, make the other scenes even more ethereal…

My elation at communicating with Scarlett morphs into the exhilaration of solving a puzzle. Something clicks into place. It’s so satisfying—so obvious—that I can’t believe it escaped me before.

From: Ryan Whitlock <[email protected]>

To: Scarlett Frye <[email protected]>

Subject: Re: MS Notes

That’s brilliant. Yes. More of the bike would solve the problem. But keep the bike gritty and real; keep the birds and clouds airy and light.

Her response is almost immediate. Yet again, I dare to hope everything I’m reading between the lines of these emails has been reciprocal.

From: Scarlett Frye <[email protected]>

To: Ryan Whitlock <[email protected]>

Subject: Re: MS Notes

I might be rusty, but I’m not an amateur. Trust the process.

I’d better get to work on this. My editor is known to show up at my house unexpectedly with more notes.

Thanks, Ryan.

And even though I know that message is a clear indication that she’s signing off, I risk another question anyway.

From: Ryan Whitlock <[email protected]>

To: Scarlett Frye <[email protected]>

Subject: Re: MS Notes