Autor nearly drops his chopsticks. No one has ever asked him about Spinning--and few people ask him what he does in general. His heart thumps in his chest, and he quickly reviews what he has told her.

"Oh! Um," Autor says, setting his utensils down to rub his warming cheek. "No, no more all nighters, but I'll be pulling another one of those soon. And I think I may have found an interesting lead, but I'll have to take a book apart to do it. Thanks for, um, thanks for asking."