Rolan had saved me a chair with room on the right.
I noticed before I noticed the papers. No one would brush my supported arm while squeezing past the table. A small consideration, and an irritatingly effective one.
"I remembered the last exhibition," he said.
"The plate that tried to escape?"
"Your hand afterward."
I sat without answering that part.
The East Court was warmer than it had been during the earlier exhibition. More people, more lamps, fewer open windows. Groups had arranged their equipment beneath banners which varied mostly in how expensive they wanted to look. At Rolan's table, a supported training stand waited beside a padded case.
Exactly the kind I couldn't use during my shortened pooled hour.
He let me look before he opened the case.
"Available on the early afternoons. Supervised sessions. We have a partner who needs to work on distance rather than force."
"A convenient coincidence."
"A useful arrangement. I knew what you needed before I invited you."
