Natasha makes plans with Illya, then promptly inhales pollen, forgets a huge part of who she is, and also forgets about Illya. More or less. Until he video chats her Thursday morning to ask her if she has any food allergies. In response to her questioning look, he reminds her of their plans. She insists that she knows. She thought she had to sneeze. Give a girl a break. No, she's not allergic to anything, and yes, she still wants to go. It would be suspicious to cancel. He would want to know why, and she has no good answer. If she admits that she forgot, he will wonder what else is missing. She doesn't want to go down that road. He's probably not buying that she had to sneeze. No, she's not pushing that. Besides, now that she remembers, she does sort of want to go.

So she hangs up the phone, mentally breaks down her next four hours, and is pretty sure she can pull this off. Getting ready takes almost no time. Her hair is fine, full loose curls looking intentionally disheveled and not like she just rolled out of bed and hasn't done a thing with it yet. Clothes and makeup come together quickly, and it's relatively short work to get a truck from the Perimeter Guard motor pool. The boat is slightly more problematic. She doesn't own a boat. She doesn't know anyone who owns a boat. In the end, she just drives around properties near the river until she sees one.

She does not steal the boat. Not technically. She requisitions it. She requisitions a shabby green rowboat for ‘official’ Perimeter Guard use, and has the owner help her hoist it into the back of the truck and secure it with some tie down straps. Perfect. With a bit of time to spare, too, so she picks up a bottle of vodka before driving back to the housing building and parking illegally right in front of the entrance just a few minutes before noon.