“Wait, you’re saying, you don’t go to the movies, you just watch at home? That counts. A good film’s a good film, even if you watch on a phone.”
“No, I mean, I don’t watch movies at all. Or TV. I like books.”
“So do I, but a film is a whole other experience. How about I go over this next bit and help you down?” He lowered himself to the next obvious perch in the rocky cliff and tested its weight.
“You can’t possibly get as much depth in a film. Plus, it’s like I see a film in my head while I’m reading. I’m not seeing the words so much as a whole world. I love that.”
It still sounded like nervous chatter, but she seemed to relax when her mind was on something abstract, like the knots. “Have you never even watched an adaptation? Back out over the side and I’ll guide you.”
She clung heavily to the rope as she came over, and he had to grab her before she swung face-first into the boulder. The maneuver left his arms around her, her back grazing his chest. Again, the perfume.
“I … I did once watch a movie version of one of my favorite books. Vivi begged me to.” Lana turned, contained within the cage of his arms. It put them in an even more intimate position, but she didn’t react, deep in thought. “The heroine pouted all through it.” Lana did an adorable imitation with her pale pink lips. Griffin stepped back and his boot slipped, dislodging loose rock. He grabbed a fern growing from a crack as he found his footing. Turned out he was the one who needed to watch his step. “Plus, she waswhiny. In the book, the character is not at all whiny. And they changed other things. It was not at all the way the book looked in my head. If I love the book I don’t want to spoil the pictures in my head, and if I don’t like the book, why bother? I have nothing against movies—they’re just not my thing. I don’t do documentaries either—I prefer nonfiction books. Holy crap, I am babbling.”
She was worried. He got it. “A good adaptation can add layers to your understanding of the book. It doesn’t have to take anything away. And there’s so much subtlety and nuance in film—in a good film. Just not the films I’m in. How about TV?” He navigated over a boulder and down to a granite ledge. “You watch TV?”
“I did watch the first season ofGods and Mortalslast weekend, to see what an extra did.”
“Not to diss the project I’m currently dedicating my life to, but it’s not life-changing art. If that’s the only TV you’ve watched…”
“Don’t sell yourself short! Popular entertainment is a powerful medium. Have you heard of a show calledTheX-Files?”
“Yes. Yes, I have. Same again,” he said, beckoning. “As you climb over this bit, try to keep three points of contact with the rock at all times—like, two hands and a foot. Move only one hand or foot at a time. Slow and controlled.”
“What about the rope?”
“Let it hang. We’ll need it more for going up. You got this.” She didn’t look convinced. “You were saying?TheX-Files?”
“Apparently there’s a character called Diana Scully?” She started down, following his hand and footholds. He helped guide her feet into the right places, as she didn’t have the reach.
“I know who you mean.”
“They did a study, and they found that women who watched that show in their youth were more likely to go into STEM careers, because of that character.”
“I did not know that.”
“Stories don’t have to be highbrow to touch people, to make a difference.” Her voice strained as she lowered herself. “Your show has massive reach. Given how many people are watching, the themes of resilience and loyalty arguably have a more positive impact on the world thanThe Atlas of Lost Roads.”
“Than what?”
She reached the ledge and turned to face him. He was close enough to count the tiny beads of sweat on her upper lip. “Life-changing literary masterpiece no one has heard of. Not that a book needs to be a bestseller to be worth writing. Stories wantto be told. Even inThe Precipice, there’s that scene where the boy realizes he’s no longer just a taker in the relationship with his older brother, but he has something to give, too. That was a genuinely touching coming-of-age moment.”
“So you have seen it? You said before you didn’t watch movies.”
“Ah, I…” She tried to step back, and again he had to catch her waist.
“Listen, Lana, I’m happy to help you out here. But something you should know about me? Ihatebeing lied to. You indicated before that you hadn’t seen it, now you’re saying you have. Which is it?”
“I watched it Wednesday night, in the hostel.” The side of her mouth did that little tweak. “Someone was playing it on the TV.”
“Really,” he said doubtfully.
“Okay, fine, it was me playing it on my laptop.” She spoke with a strange defensiveness. “Just to see. That’s all.”
That was closer to the truth, but not the whole truth. He released her waist but kept his hands at the ready, in case her conscience tried to sacrifice her again. “To see what—how bad it was?”
“Something like that.”
“Lana. The truth, or I go no further.”
