Attachments

Set in 1999 at The Courier, a newspaper, the story follows Lincoln O'Neill, a twenty-eight-year-old who takes a job as an Internet security officer on the night shift. His role involves monitoring WebFence, a software program that flags employee emails containing certain keywords. Lincoln finds the work ethically uncomfortable. His boss, Greg, the head of the IT office, tells him the position's real value is as a deterrent: Employees behave because they know someone is watching.

Two employees whose emails are repeatedly flagged are Beth Fremont, the newspaper's film critic, and Jennifer Scribner-Snyder, a Features copy editor. Their exchanges are warm, funny, and deeply personal. Jennifer argues with her husband, Mitch, a high school band director who wants children sooner than she does. Beth vents about her boyfriend, Chris, a guitarist in a band called Sacajawea, who shows no interest in marriage despite Beth's devotion and financial support. Lincoln finds both women likable, decides not to send them a warning, and before long reads their messages out of genuine attachment rather than obligation.

Lincoln's life outside the office is stalled. His mother cooks elaborate meals and subtly discourages independence; his sister, Eve, a married mother of two, pressures him to move out. His social world is limited to a Saturday night Dungeons & Dragons group hosted by his friends Dave and Christine and occasional outings with Justin, an old friend.

Lincoln's paralysis traces back to Sam, his girlfriend from high school. Sam was bold and outgoing; she chose Lincoln's college major, and he followed her to a university in California. There, she became consumed by theater and pulled away. Just before winter break, Lincoln found her kissing another man in an elevator. Sam ended the relationship over Christmas, telling him first love always ends. Lincoln never returned to California and transferred to the state school. Nearly a decade later, he still carries a notebook in which Sam once wrote a list of his best qualities.

Beth begins describing an attractive man she has spotted at work: tall, broad-shouldered, with brown hair and "action-hero facial features." She compares him to Harrison Ford, the Brawny paper towel man, and John Wayne. After watching the man listen attentively to Doris, the building's vending machine attendant, Beth upgrades her assessment from "cute" to "handsome."

Lincoln reads the description and, after checking a mirror, realizes Beth is writing about him. Elated, he joins a gym, starts eating dinner in the break room at the same time every night, and shares his mother's cooking with Doris, partly hoping to see Beth. When Beth writes a jealous email after spotting Lincoln talking to Emilie, a petite blond copy editor, Lincoln is thrilled. He confides in Christine, who warns him to stop reading Beth's email and cautions that Beth might never forgive the invasion of privacy.

Lincoln cannot stop. He attends Sacajawea concerts with Justin, watching Chris perform. When Beth spots Lincoln at a movie theater buying popcorn with his nephew, she secretly follows him into the film and later tries to tail his car home. Lincoln prints out her email about the encounter and keeps it in his wallet.

Jennifer, after months of anxiety about motherhood, deliberately tries to conceive and tests positive. Beth is happy for her friend but increasingly disillusioned with Chris, who cycles through emotional withdrawals she compares to winter. Then Beth and Jennifer's emails abruptly stop for nearly three weeks. When the messages resume, they are lighter and more guarded.

One rainy night, Lincoln finds Jennifer crying beside her car in the overflow parking lot with a flat tire. He changes the tire, offers her his French fries, and urges her to call someone. After reflecting on the weeks of silence and Jennifer's grief, Lincoln realizes she has likely had a miscarriage.

When Beth reveals her own crisis, the full scope of the silence becomes clear. At her sister Kiley's wedding, Chris told Beth he loved her more than he ever meant to, then said he was never going to marry her. Beth left the reception and returned the next morning to tell Chris to move out. She waited weeks to confide in Jennifer because Jennifer's loss took priority.

Jennifer and Beth have a painful exchange about guilt and grief. Jennifer believes her negativity toward the pregnancy caused the miscarriage; she says she wants to try again. Now that Beth is single, Jennifer encourages Beth to pursue Lincoln, urging her to "Carpe Cute Guy!" (290).

Lincoln, meanwhile, rents an apartment: Doris's old unit, a charming space in a yellow brick building. The conversation with his mother is difficult; she argues he does not need to leave. Lincoln tells her that living at home feels like living in her story rather than his own. She eventually accepts the move.

When Lincoln encounters Sam at a video store, she invites him to catch up, but he declines. Afterward, he throws away both her business card and the printout of Beth's email he has carried in his wallet, choosing to let go.

When Beth emails Jennifer about a date with a pharmacy student named Sean, Lincoln feels the finality. He scrubs the WebFence hard drive, erasing all flagged records. He writes a resignation letter to Greg and an anonymous apology to Beth, confessing that he read her emails and explaining that he liked her too much to send warnings. He tapes the note to Beth's keyboard and leaves The Courier for the last time.

Lincoln takes a new job as a computer technician at a university, begins taking classes, and slowly builds an independent life. He reads Beth's movie reviews in the newspaper. The aching fades but does not disappear.

One October evening, Lincoln goes to the Dundee, a small art house theater near his apartment, and spots Beth a few rows behind him. She recognizes him and moves to the seat beside him during the previews. After a long silence, Lincoln whispers that he is sorry. Beth tells him not to apologize. She reaches up and touches his face, whispering, "I think I might be a very stupid girl" (310). Lincoln whispers, "Perfect girl. Pretty girl. Magic. Only girl" (311). They kiss through the entire movie.

When the lights come up, Beth panics and runs; she is on deadline and has not watched the film. Lincoln drives to The Courier, finds her at her desk, and leads her to the old break room, now empty and lit only by a Pepsi machine's glow. Beth reveals she figured out Lincoln was the email reader after he quit, when a coworker mentioned the IT guy had left and the anonymous note confirmed it. She consulted Doris, who described Lincoln as one of the nicest men she had ever met. Beth tells Lincoln she is not upset, that she had a feeling about him from the start.

Lincoln tells Beth he fell in love with her before he ever saw her, through the kindness and vitality of her writing. Beth asks if he believes in love at first sight. He replies, "Do you believe in love before that?" (319). She tells him to stop explaining. He kisses her in the middle of her sentence.

The novel closes with Beth and Lincoln together, introducing each other to their families. One night, Beth tells Lincoln she did not know love could go on endlessly without falling off an edge. Lincoln pulls her close and replies, "There's no air in space" (323).