6. Dove & Ellie
6
DOVE & ELLIE
From: [email protected]
Dove,
As promised, here’s the email I said I’d send you as soon as I got home. The journey back was weird—it felt like being flung from one planet to another. This probably sounds ridiculous, but there’s so many people here. And cars. And trees. There’s just so much of everything . Even my apartment feels a little foreign.
I’m still so bummed about not being able to extend my trip. I’m sorry it didn’t work out. I really wish it had.
I’m meeting with my editor tomorrow morning, so I’ll be up all night sorting through my photos. I realized I didn’t take a single picture of you. Not one! What kind of photographer am I? Guess I’ll just have to rely on my memory of your hot, grumpy face...
I know you’re at the station for another month, and then you’ll be busy preparing for your lecture circuit. But can we figure out a way to see each other when you’re back on this continent? Even if it’s just for a day. The thought of never seeing you again makes me feel crazy sad.
Ellie
From: [email protected]
Ellie,
I should warn you in advance that I’m not great at letter writing. But I’ll do my best.
Of course we’re going to see each other again the second it’s possible. I don’t care what I have to rearrange. I’ll come see you.
Good luck with your editor tomorrow. I hope he recognizes how extraordinary your work is. Tell me how it goes, okay?
To be honest, it’s probably for the best that you didn’t take any photos of me. I’ve always been awkward about having my photo taken. And it shows. I’d say I wish I had a photo of you, except that when I close my eyes, I can see you perfectly. I can picture the exact soft brown of your eyes, the adorable dimple you get when you smile, the ample curve of your hips, the creaminess of the inside of your thighs…
Jesus Christ. I don’t know how I’m supposed to function without you. I should be writing up my research notes right now, but all I can think about is you.
Dove
From: [email protected]
You’re too flattering. You managed to function just fine before me, and you can keep functioning just fine without me there. Hey, remember how much you couldn’t stand me at first? Just think about that, Dove.
(Okay. The truth is that I can’t stop thinking about you, either. But telling you that will only make things worse, right?)
Not missing you even a little bit,
Ellie
From: [email protected]
I tried thinking about how much I couldn’t stand you at first, but all it did was remind me how stupid I was.
How did your meeting go?
From: [email protected]
The meeting went...not great. My editor liked the photos, but he said they were “missing something.” Something that would make them stand out among all the other Antarctic wildlife photographs that have been published. Something that would “justify the expense of sending me.”
Fuck. If I’d gotten the aurora shot, everything would be different right now.
I argued with him that I had gotten some unique images of the penguins’ social behaviors that haven’t been documented before, but he didn’t seem to care. He’s decided to run a different feature in the cover spot and use my images for a smaller article inside.
It’s not the end of the world. I’ve dealt with this kind of thing before. But it still sucks.
Sorry to dump this on you. I’ll be fine. Really.
How are things at the station? Anyone else get trapped in a blizzard since I left? Has The Thing showed up? And, most importantly, what besides guacamole do you want me to make for you when you come visit me?
Ellie
From: [email protected]
Ellie,
Your editor is an idiot. I saw those photos. They were extraordinary. If he can’t see that, his magazine doesn’t deserve your work.
It makes me fucking furious that you’re being overlooked like this. Here you are, so talented and passionate and dedicated, and you’re not getting the recognition you deserve.
Last night’s movie was some sci-fi film with mind-reading robots. Everyone loved it except me. No more blizzards, or signs of shape-shifting extraterrestrials, but I’ll keep you posted.
I have some news. We’ve observed unusual ice formation patterns, something we haven’t seen before. It could be a significant finding, and I need to stay an extra month to complete the analysis. I know that’s not what you want to hear, and trust me, I’m not thrilled about the delay either. But this could be important.
Goddamn it, I wish I could be in two places at once.
Dove
From: [email protected]
Dove,
As much as I really, really want to see you, of course you should stay if there’s critical research to do. I get how important your work is. We’ll survive the wait, as hard as it is.
And maybe it’s for the best, anyway. I just got offered a six-week assignment starting next month to document mountain gorillas in Uganda. It’s from my absolute dream magazine. I’m still in shock—I literally checked to make sure they didn’t reach out to the wrong person, but no, they actually want me. Apparently the editor stumbled across my website and liked my work.
I’m excited, nervous, humbled, and so pumped for the opportunity. Mountain gorillas, Dove!
Tell Colton I say hi. (Just kidding, please don’t.)
Ellie
From: [email protected]
Holy shit, Ellie. That’s amazing. I’m so goddamn proud of you. This is exactly what you deserve—people recognizing your talent and giving you the assignments that match your skill. I wish I could give you a big hug right now.
And I’m relieved our timelines are working out. I’m still going crazy missing you, but I’m powering through it.
By the way, I hate to admit this, but I think I’m coming around to the red sour gummy worms. You might be right about them, after all.
Dove
From: [email protected]
Nooo! Don’t you dare start liking the red ones. The red ones are ALL MINE.
On a more serious note, thank you for being so supportive. Not just about the assignment, but about my career in general. It means a lot to me, Dove. More than you realize.
This sure is bittersweet, isn’t it? We both have these big, important opportunities, but it also means more time apart. God, it’s going to be so good when I can finally be close to you again.
I just found out how remote I’ll be during the assignment. Extremely limited internet access, if any at all. So just a heads up, once I’m over there, you might not hear from me at all. What do you think, should I schedule a bunch of emails to send automatically to you while I’m gone? Is that completely over the top?
And before you even ask, Dove, no, I’m not sending you nudes to hold you over. You’ll just have to use those vivid memories of yours.
Ellie
From: [email protected]
Schedule all the emails in the world, Ellie. No amount is too many.