January in Portland is grey and specific about it.
Not the aggressive grey of somewhere that wants you to know winter is serious. The soft grey of a city that has accepted its relationship with rain and cloud and made peace with the limited light. The buildings are wet. The bridges are beautiful in the specific way of things seen through mist. The coffee shops are full of people who have decided that the grey is fine actually and have built their whole indoor culture around that decision.
Nathan arrives on a Wednesday.
The industry conference starts Thursday. He's come a day early because Serena is speaking on Friday morning and he wants the day before to be — he's not sure what he wants the day before to be. He told himself it was logistical. Time to review the conference materials. Time to orient.
Mostly he wanted to be in the same city a day earlier than required.
He notes this about himself. Files it. Does not find it alarming.
