The relationship exhibition opened Friday with `Permission to Stay` hanging inside the second room exactly where Thea chose. Nina's article had gone live that morning without identifying our accident, while the university website used only the approved full-frame image; every public boundary survived installation.
Thea had reserved one chair near the rear wall for her mother, an internationally exhibited painter whose surname appeared inside three campus textbooks. She mentioned the invitation once, then checked the entrance whenever a new group arrived; the empty chair became more visible because nobody discussed it.
Nina attended as both subject plus invited guest, keeping her press notebook inside her bag. I wore the green shirt, charcoal-blue trousers, plus rust pocket square Thea recommended. Thea wore a long midnight-blue dress with silver stitching near the hem, making her glass-bead necklace appear brighter beneath the gallery lights.
