Andrea holds firm at 12:30 P.M., and after much coaxing the president’s staff concede to 12:15 P.M. The plans are back on until a day before the event, when Andrea lets the palace know we’ll be there at 12:30 P.M. They respond—confirming the meeting for 12:00 P.M., their original time. At this point both sides remove me from the emails.