She changed her outfit three times, which she acknowledged was embarrassing and did anyway.
The first was too formal — a dark dress she'd bought for Dra. Tavares's office meetings that communicated I am a competent adult in a legal situation. The second was too casual — the jeans she wore to pick Daniel up from nursery, which said something she hadn't decided to say yet. The third was the blue shirt and dark trousers, which said something she could stand behind: I thought about this, but not too much.
Her mother, who was staying for the week, watched all three changes from the hallway doorway with the studied neutrality of a woman who had learned that expressing opinions about her daughter's choices in real time produced worse outcomes than waiting.
Daniel was already asleep. She'd put
