Chapter 9
Now
“This question is for both Scarlett and Ryder,” says our moderator, a dean at the college’s School for the Performing Arts named Winston Currituck who apparently goes by “Dr. Wynn.” A super-tanned man in his sixties with a shock of white hair, he reminds me a bit of George Hamilton, only with more facelifts.
Drama is clearly the right lane for him—he’s been directing the panel discussion with all the gravity and earnestness of a presidential debate.
“How does it feel to be back in Seafolly?”
I look to Ryder, but he motions for me to go ahead.
“It’s fantastic to be back. We were welcomed with open arms ten years ago, and the reception we’ve received this week has been just as warm.
I’ve loved being an adopted daughter of Seafolly.
Filming this movie was a really special time in my life, and I look back on the whole experience with such fond memories.
” I keep my eyes trained forward, making sure to not so much as glance Ryder’s direction.
“And having the opportunity to spend a week with this group of people who mean so much to me, while helping Seafolly in the process, is an honor.”
“I couldn’t say it any better,” Ryder chimes in charmingly. Ladies titter and swoon in the audience. Somewhere, a woman faints.
“Scarlett, what’s your favorite memory from shooting the movie?”
Ryder’s face, ghostly pale and panicked in that old prop plane, pops into my mind unbidden, and I nearly laugh out loud.
But before I can fully process that flashback, it’s replaced by another: Ryder and I on one of our sandy Sundays at the beach, his body looming over mine and blocking out the sun, the ends of his wet hair dripping salt water onto my skin as he kisses me awake from a sun-soaked nap.
I clear my throat, forcing away the memories ticker-taping across my brain.
“Gosh, it’s so hard to pick just one. We filmed at so many beautiful locations around Seafolly, including all the old historic buildings that I completely fell in love with.
Every day on set was a new adventure, and being surrounded by all the vintage props and set dressings was so much fun.
I remember when they had to teach me how to drive an antique car—”
“Which took ten years off my life. The insurance policy on it was astronomical,” Nate breaks in with a beleaguered groan, eliciting laughter from the audience.
“I may have had one minor accident,” I reveal conspiratorially.
“Oh, and I loved filming the swing dancing scene. We got lessons for that too, and I think we got pretty darn good at it, what do you all think?” I prompt the crowd, and I’m rewarded with enthusiastic cheers.
“I have to admit, I’ve broken out the jitterbug more than once since. It’s a great party trick.”
Dr. Wynn beams at me, clearly pleased with my answer. He’s loving the energy in here, and I can practically hear my publicist congratulating me for the great sound bite. “Ryder, what about you? Same question.”
Ryder pauses for a moment, considering. “One of the unique things about The Lost Letter was that there was such great camaraderie between all of us from day one, and you don’t always get that on a set.
It didn’t matter if we were filming a beach scene in freezing temperatures or exhausted from a night shoot or stepping in cow poop, we always had fun because we genuinely enjoyed the people we were working with.
But my favorite on-set memory?” He casts me a mischievous look, biting his lip like it’s all he can do to keep his smile from escaping, and there’s no time to prepare for the bomb he drops.
“Hands down, it was filming the barn scene.”
Gasps ripple through the amphitheater, followed by scattered hoots, then applause that grows louder and bolder once the initial shock wears off.
I have to consciously school my features so as not to betray my reaction, but beneath the surface, my internal organs are rioting.
Did he seriously just say our love scene, where Melody and Holden lose their virginity to each other, was his favorite scene to film? !
He sure did. And he’s looking quite smug about it.
The crowd’s going nuts for this juicy bit of innuendo, though his comment unnerves me for an entirely different reason, one only he and I are privy to: It was the same day Ryder and I slept together for the first time, too.
I can’t believe his brazenness. It’s like he’s intentionally trying to resurrect the “will they or won’t they” relationship rumors I’ve spent years trying to put to rest. Why is he deliberately baiting an audience that’s already primed to see things that aren’t there?
This stuff is private. Is nothing sacred to him?
I shift in my seat, cognizant that every move I make is being catalogued and scrutinized by our hyper-invested audience.
I’ve been vigilant about my body language, careful not to angle myself toward Ryder (too intimate) or turn my back (not the cold shoulder!) or otherwise send any sexually charged mixed messages sure to be dissected later by social media armchair experts in endless, breathless TikToks.
I refuse to let them see me squirm, just as I refuse to let a suggestive remark from Ryder get under my skin that easily.
Time to flex the PR muscles I’ve honed over so many years in the spotlight.
I paste on an amused but slightly reproachful expression that says, That Ryder, what a rascal!
and rattle off a good-natured, in-on-the-joke laugh.
From the outside, I’m a polished professional. Inside, I’m grinding away tooth enamel.
“As you all know, debate has raged for a decade about whether Melody ended up with the right man. Every Lost Letter fan feels, shall we say, passionate about who she should have ended up with, so let’s do a little test. Let’s hear a round of applause if you think she should have ended up with Tate,” Dr. Wynn declares, then waits for the earsplitting cheers to die down.
“Or Holden,” he continues, and the thunderous applause ratchets up to a deafening level.
These folks are in the tank for Ryder, and he aims a taunting grin Jase’s way.
Dr. Wynn quiets the crowd with some “settle down” hands. “Okay, the people have clearly spoken! The #HoldMes have it. But I think we need to hear from Scarlett herself. Who do you think Melody should have ended up with?”
I don a diplomatic smile and give my practiced answer.
“I probably feel similarly to the audience. It was heartbreaking that Melody didn’t end up with the love of her life, but I like to think that despite his own pain, Holden knew she was making the right choice for their child.
In essence, Melody sacrificed the old love of her life for her new one, and that’s the ultimate act of love, isn’t it?
It’s what I think makes the movie so powerful, that it’s not just a story of romantic love, but also a mother’s love for her child.
” Emotion tightens my throat, the subject reopening old wounds and bringing long-buried feelings to the surface.
I pause to collect myself, tracing a finger over a violet I find in the floral pattern of my skirt. Breathe.
“So, I think things probably ended up the way they should have. Sometimes loyalty can mean more than passion, in the end. There’s a lot to be said for platonic soulmates,” I say, smiling at Jase.
“I think it would’ve been hard for Holden and Melody to merge their worlds, and in many ways, Tate was a better fit.
I know it’s not as romantic, but the truth is, Melody probably had a smoother life with Tate than she would have had with Holden. ”
Ryder cups his hands around his mouth and boos, much to the audience’s delight. “I like to think that Holden came back and they had a steamy affair once a year.”
“Guys, I’m sitting right here,” Jase says with mock exasperation. Someone in the audience yells, “Justice for Jase!” and he snaps his fingers and points at them. “Thank you for that.”
Dr. Wynn calls on a bespectacled female reporter in the front row next.
“Scarlett, you donated a couple of your original costumes to the Seafolly Fund auction, including the iconic red ‘rain’ dress that had memorabilia collectors in a frenzy. Your Lost Letter wardrobe has achieved cult status in the fashion world, and I’d love to hear your thoughts about Melody’s enduring influence on pop culture. ”
Now this is a question I can handle. “I was as obsessed with Melody’s wardrobe as all of you!
Our costume designers did an incredible job bringing that time period to life, and I’m not surprised that people still talk about that red dress,” I say, waving at a beaming teenage girl in the audience who’s wearing an exact replica, “or Tate’s newsboy caps, or even Holden’s bathing suit.
” I bite my cheek to keep from laughing.
“Most people don’t realize that much of my Lost Letter wardrobe was made up of one-of-a-kind vintage pieces, so I had to be insanely careful not to damage anything, and even then, the dresses were falling apart so frequently that a costume assistant had to follow me around with a needle and thread!
“For the rain scene in particular,” I continue, grinning at the memory, “when Ryder and I ran toward the barn, I had to carry my shoes in my hand because they’d rigged these firehoses overhead to drench us with water, and the minute they turned them on, those vintage heels literally disintegrated on my feet.
And since it would’ve been nearly impossible to run in platform slingbacks anyway, I wasn’t mad about it,” I joke, and the audience laughs along with me.