To: Erin Walsh
From: Nick Acevedo
Date: June 6
Subject: Low bar…
We have a control group. We have Matt and Lauren. Think about it, Skip. We got married the same day they did, and I know for a fact that he lost his shit when she was out of town for a couple of weeks last fall. It's as close to a control group as we'll ever get.
Downloading the books now. See? We've got this.
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To: Nick Acevedo
From: Erin Walsh
Date: June 6
Subject: Do you even have a theory to test?
I heard alllllll about that. She was gone for three weeks and I got a long, drunk email that was 17% intelligible. It was fucking troubling. I sent Riley to make sure Matt wasn't attempting a swan dive into the bay. Were you there when they sorta-kinda-but-not-really broke up? When he ran his own little marathon in the middle of a blizzard? As Riley would say: shambles.
You think you can do better than that? Or do you think I'll be the one in shambles?
But let's get back to my scholarly sensibilities, please. What are we even studying? Which outcome are we trying to evaluate? How long it takes until we start writing unintelligible emails and jogging through snowstorms? What happened to 'do no harm'?
* * *
To: Erin Walsh
From: Nick Acevedo
Date: June 7
Subject: I have several theories
We're studying how long it takes for one of us to bring you home.
No betting on the outcome. It's not scholarly.
* * *
To: Nick Acevedo
From: Erin Walsh
Date: June 11
Subject: in other news…
I'm in Iceland now. It is not Italy. It's remarkably cold. I just ordered everything that The North Face sells.
Also, I'm still not magical. I tried to unpack by yelling some charms, and then I tried some incantations to turn on the internet at my apartment, but nothing happened. Until that's patched up, you'll only hear from me when I'm at the lab.
* * *
To: Erin Walsh
