[ That's one of the weird things about Alan. He just thinks of himself as another guy; a well-known writer, sure. And he knows he has his fans, groupies, and other things like that, but he still just thinks of himself as someone who wanted to write. Outwardly, he might act like he has the confidence and swagger of famous individuals that women fawn over, but inwardly, he's more complicated.

He attracted Alice at one point, but that was before their marriage hit the rocks. Maybe he just fooled himself into thinking he was attractive. ]

Yeah. General rule of thumb: try not to hit your head on anything. [ He purposefully plays up the deadpan tone in an attempt to be humorous. Whether or not it works remains to be seen. ] Amnesia isn't fun.

[ He's feeling a similar pull towards her even though he barely understands why. She pulls him in, makes him want to stick with her, not letting her go. Why? He doesn't know. She's important somehow, and some instinct is telling him that it's in his best interests to stay with her as long as he can. Maybe even past that. ]

I'm good to go. [ I know I'm not a hiker. I'm not an outdoors guy. But I don't have a choice, I have to handle this. I can handle this. ] Why, you think I'm not?

[ Wait a second... When did she...? ]

When did you start calling me Alan? I'm just curious. [ And he tries his best to make his tone sound curious, not accusatory or anything but pleasantly surprised. ]