Garrett

Garrett is a coworker of Poppy Wright at a travel publication, where destination pitches can mean the prospect of a coveted work trip. His brief appearances link professional brainstorming with the personal hopes attached to travel: he suggests places for the magazine to cover, while quietly anticipating Santorini as an opportunity to go with his boyfriend.

Work and the Summer Feature

During a meeting about the next summer issue, Poppy is expected to propose a major feature. When Garrett leans over as if to read her notebook, she snaps it shut and offers St. Petersburg instead. Garrett contributes Amsterdam as another possibility. The exchange places him among the colleagues trying to fill the pitch meeting with destinations while Poppy struggles to produce an idea of her own.

Garrett’s confidence has been shaken by an earlier discussion in which Swapna Bakshi-Highsmith called Amsterdam trendy. His face had flushed, and he had not quite regained his confidence afterward. Later, as suggestions include Cozumel and Las Vegas, he offers Santorini in a cartoon-mouse voice. The delivery makes the pitch comic, but the destination matters to him beyond the joke.

Santorini and Poppy’s Decision

When Poppy agrees to keep working on a pitch rather than committing to a destination in the meeting, Garrett sags in his chair. She knows he and his boyfriend are desperate for a free trip to Santorini, a wish she recognizes as familiar to travel writers and perhaps to people more generally. Her own awareness that she ought to be excited about the prospect sharpens the contrast between Garrett’s eagerness and her reluctance to pitch.

After Poppy decides not to take Santorini, Garrett messages her to thank her for leaving it available. In a separate message, though, he calls her decision strange and hopes she is okay. Poppy explains that a wedding came up at the last minute and asks him to send pictures so she can regret her choice. Their exchange shows both the practical stakes of the pitch—who might get the trip—and Garrett’s concern for a coworker whose unexpected decision seems out of character to him.