Nina told me Sunday morning that she planned to meet Thea without me. She presented it as information rather than permission, which made my first useful response obvious. Their meeting belonged to two adults who could choose their own terms without my supervision.
"Do you want me available afterward?" I asked, keeping the question away from whatever they intended to discuss.
"Available, yes," Nina replied, fastening one silver hoop earring beside my bathroom mirror, "waiting outside, definitely not."
I agreed, then returned toward making breakfast while she finished dressing beside the mirror. Nina had chosen dark jeans, a rust-colored blouse, plus the brown jacket from our rooftop date, though I did not ask whether that connection was deliberate.
Thea had suggested the botanical garden because its paths allowed distance without trapping either person at a table. They arranged the meeting directly, leaving me outside the messages after Nina confirmed that choice with her.
