The days lose sunlight. A chill threatens in the evenings. It's been dry, so far, but the lack of rain is not bound to hold forever. It's already October first. Back at home where the months do not observe the same schedule as they do in more northern climes, Nolan would still be going around in t-shirts. But this isn't Southern California. The way he understands the weather here in Washington State, the deluge could begin at any moment. Clara says it's only a matter of time.

Nolan wonders what they will do once the rooftop is not a viable option for their evening campouts. He would like to invite Clara to sleep in his room with him, but how exactly does he make such an invitation? She hasn't been in his room, as far as he knows, since the day they met. Nolan would like to reassure her that he appreciates her company, whether it's on the rooftop or in his room. But when he thinks that phrase in his head, it sounds like he's asking for something more than her companionship. Which he sort of is.

A physical relationship is impossible between them, but Nolan would like to ask her to make it possible. He would like to make it possible. He wishes he understood what she was. He wishes he could comprehend physics the way his father can. Then he would find a way to extract her from her plane and bring her into his own. He has never been good at math. Nolan thinks that if he was, he could find a way to change their situation. His inability to alter Clara's lot in life is another one of his many failings.

Today, the manager gives Nolan an extra-long list to complete. It's possible the manager or one of the other employees has noticed him talking to himself, which must be the way he appears to everyone when he speaks with Clara. Maybe a guest said something, or Arby noticed him taking the keys and told on him.

If any of these things occurred, the manager makes no mention of them. He barely notices Nolan at all these days, other than to hand him his list every morning.

Because of today's extra-long list, Nolan is late meeting up with Clara after work. It will be cold on the roof tonight but it's still dry out, and neither of them are ready to broach the subject of where they will spend their nights once the roof is uninhabitable. Nolan hurries up the narrow staircase leading to the roof's hatch, and there she is, waiting for him. She gives him a little wave, and then turns to unlock the door.

Just then, Nolan realizes that he's forgotten to swipe Arby's keys. He came from his last task in such a rush that he didn't stop in the lobby. He'll have to go back down and retrieve them. Clara is already through the hatch and her version of the hatch doorway is closing fast behind her.

"Wait," he calls to her and reflexively reaches out his hand to stop the door from closing further. He grabs onto wood and tugs it back open before realizing that this should not be happening. This is Clara's version of the door—the one she opened with her set of stolen keys and which should be non-corporeal to Nolan. He can just make out the door from the living realm, but it appears flat and inconsequential, like a flickering shadow cast by fire. He knows before he even tries that he will be able to move through it.

Clara is beyond the hatch setting out her blankets. Nolan pulls himself across the threshold and shuts the door behind him before she can notice what's happened. He needs time to process this experience before he shares it with her.

"What's wrong?" Clara asks him when he approaches.

"Nothing. I'm just tired." He offers her a half smile. She nods and goes back to making up her half of the bed.

The night proceeds like is usually does, save for the flurry of thoughts Nolan chooses to keep to himself.

Clara's birthday note—how could he have overlooked that? Clara told him that she takes from his plane but can't put anything back into it. So, how can Nolan explain the fact that he can see and touch the note?

Maybe she's wrong. It could be. Clara's understanding of what she is and what she can do is incomplete. It would be easy to assume that Clara has misunderstood the situation, that occasionally, she puts things back into his plane.

It would be easy to assume this if you were someone besides Nolan. But Nolan is Nolan and he's not a glass half full kind of person.

Something else is going on. The thought of it keeps him up long after Clara falls asleep, the chill of the air tingling his nose—a sensation he's particularly grateful for tonight.

The next morning, before Clara has woken, he takes a set of keys from her storage chest and uses them to opens the hatch.

They're just like the set he steels from Arby each night.

Nolan goes back to his room and retrieves Clara's birthday note. It's just like any other piece of hotel stationary. He shoves the note back into its hiding spot, fills out his passport application, and takes it to the post office as soon as it opens.