24
24
From: Rhys Baker
To: Ginger Davies
Subject: Mental note
Don’t ever let me go out partying with Logan again. Seriously, if I ever end up telling you I’m going to go hang out with him, remind me of the November 14 when we wound up high and sitting in the police station.
My head hurts. I think I need some sleep.
From: Ginger Davies
To: Rhys Baker
Subject: RE: Mental note
RHYS, YOU GOT ARRESTED?
From: Rhys Baker
To: Ginger Davies
Subject: Good morning
I don’t know how many hours I’ve slept. Yeah, we got arrested. Yesterday my boss’s boss told me if I was willing to move, he could give me a job for a year at one of his other clubs. So we went out to celebrate, but it was supposed to be chill; the plan was to just grab a drink. It turns out, though, that we met a couple of girls there who were on vacation. A couple of girls who happened to have weed. A couple of girls we wound up at the beach with at the crack of dawn. You can imagine the rest.
I don’t remember most of it. Just that at some point I was out by the sea, the cops stopped us on the boardwalk, and Logan threw up in the car that was taking us to the station.
What did you do over the weekend?
My head still hurts.
From: Ginger Davies
To: Rhys Baker
Subject: Bad morning
Thanks for going to bed yesterday without responding; I was freaking out. I kept asking myself what you might have done, and I was about to try and find out if they had computers at the jail so I could keep emailing you or whether we’d have to switch to pen and paper.
That reminds me: we’ve never exchanged numbers. I’m not saying we have to, but it is kind of weird, right? You’re my best friend, and I can’t call you if I ever feel like talking to you or if something happens. Whatever, forget it.
My weekend was way more normal than yours, obviously. I went out with Kate and some girls from our class who are really cool. I had a beer, played some snooker, and got to my dorm without getting arrested. Congratulate me.
This week I have a few exams.
I envy you so much sometimes, Rhys…
From: Rhys Baker
To: Ginger Davies
Subject: RE: Bad morning
My phone number? Do you have a hidden agenda, Ginger? J/K. I’ll give it to you if you’ll give me your address. Your birthday’s next month, right? I want to send you a present.
From: Ginger Davies
To: Rhys Baker
Subject: [No subject]
Sounds a little like a mail bomb.
From: Rhys Baker
To: Ginger Davies
Subject: RE: [No subject]
HA HA HA. You’re fucking nuts, Ginger.
From: Ginger Davies
To: Rhys Baker
Subject: Nerves
I was kidding! Sorry I didn’t answer yesterday. I’m basically living in the library again. My address is at the end of this email. But you should know… I’m really nervous! I don’t know if I ever told you, but getting presents drives me up the wall. UP THE WALL. Like I want to know what it is that reminds you of me or that you think is right for me, and I’m scared you’ll get it just right, and I’m scared you’ll screw it up completely. No pressure though. When I was little, I used to always scour the house trying to find my Christmas gifts. Sometimes I’d make Donna and Dean help me find them. So my parents ended up hiding them at the company’s office because they were always afraid I’d open them early. (I was young when I learned Santa didn’t exist, because my birthday’s three days before Christmas, and I only got one set of presents. I know, it’s horrible, and no child deserves to go through that.)
But let’s get back to what matters.
Your job. Where to now, Rhys? If it’s Europe, maybe we could meet somewhere. There are more and more cheap flights all the time. I don’t want to seem like a stalker though. I’m not going to call you, BTW, even if I do have your number; I just like to know that you’ll be there for me if I ever do need you.
From: Rhys Baker
To: Ginger Davies
Subject: RE: Nerves
Okay, here’s my number then. You can call me if you want, but I like these emails. It’s the best thing when I get home, you know? Like right now: I came home, cracked open a beer, plopped down in an easy chair by the window, and opened my computer to read your message and write back. I like that this is something only the two of us share.
Oh, and I’ll hit the mark with my present. You don’t realize it, but I know you better than you think. Peeking in every corner of the house like a crazy person trying to find your presents—yeah, that sounds like you.
Will you spend your birthday at home or in the dorms?
Sorry, I won’t be coming to Europe this time. Maybe in the summer. I’m going to the other side of the world. To Australia. I needed a change…
From: Ginger Davies
To: Rhys Baker
Subject: The end of the earth
AUSTRALIA? That’s the literal end of the earth. I hope there’s Wi-Fi there. And that you’ll send me photos of koalas. They’re so cute. I don’t know what it is about them, but they’re fascinating, the way they evolved to hug things. Plus they’re super furry.
You’re so lucky, Rhys. Take me with you. Put me in your suitcase.
I’ve got a plan: Kidnap me. We’ll enjoy a month of vacation on a heavenly beach of white sand. Then you can ask for a ransom. My parents love me; I’m ninety-nine percent certain they’d give a good amount of money for me. (Remember, I’m supposed to take over the family business.) With that, we can record an album, and you’ll get famous. I’ll bribe my professors so they’ll let me make up my exams, and I’ll graduate summa cum laude. Plus I’ll be in the papers because of the kidnapping. What do you think? It’s an airtight plan IMO.
Shit. I don’t want to take my exams. I don’t want to spend the winter in London. It’s cold all the time. It doesn’t matter how I dress; I always feel like an ice cube. And the sky’s always gray. And you just keep traveling back and forth from one hot, fun place to another. I hate you. A little bit.
Don’t act like you know me soooo well. I’m a mysterious girl, enigmatic. Ha ha. By the way, I’ll spend my birthday half here and half there. I’ll spend the morning here packing my bag, and then I’ll catch the train to have lunch at home. I’ll stay there for Christmas.
From: Rhys Baker
To: Ginger Davies
Subject: You say when
Come with me. What’s stopping you?
From: Ginger Davies
To: Rhys Baker
Subject: RE: You say when
Very funny, Rhys. I don’t know, maybe I have a degree to finish? For example. Not that it matters. It’s just a minor thing. Also, I need to start my job after. Just that.
From: Rhys Baker
To: Ginger Davies
Subject: Life is long
True, you have to finish school. But when you do, there are still lots of summers left. Who knows, maybe one day you’ll catch a plane for Australia or somewhere else? You did do it once, remember?
From: Ginger Davies
To: Rhys Baker
Subject: RE: Life is long
Yes, I remember how I was lost until some dude looking bored with the world came up and rescued me. Rhys, let’s admit it, I’m not one of those adventurous chicks destined to take on the world. Probably the opposite. Probably I’m just waiting for the world to crush me. But it’s fine, I’ve got lots of other things going on. Not all of us have to be brave and independent and all that. I don’t know, I see you and I think, I just couldn’t live like that: grabbing a bag and taking off on my own. I’d probably lose my shit, break down in tears, and run for the first embassy I could find.
From: Ginger Davies
To: Rhys Baker
Subject: Routine
I feel weird when we go for more than a day without writing. Turning on the computer and not finding one of your emails makes me sleep badly, just so you know.
I told you already. I’m addicted to your emails.