I am sitting on the edge of the hotel room bed, fully dressed: a simple summer sundress, with a fitted cardigan sweater over it. It’s sunny but with a little spring breeze outside. Inside, I don’t really need the sweater but the room is cool and dark and it’s nice to have my shoulders covered. Anyway, I’m nervous and clothing is a sort of armor, isn’t it?

I’ve been sitting here for a half hour already. As always, I had arrived at the hotel at 7 p.m. precisely and approached the front desk, asking the clerk if there was anything for Ms. Yn. As always, there was.