The Librería del Colegio is a large, old bookstore near Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires. Its basement provides a discreet meeting place for Manolo and Fred Goodwin: among the shelves, the two men can speak in whispers while remaining out of sight of customers. The scene makes the bookstore’s ordinary purpose—holding and displaying books—serve a second, practical function as concealment.

Setting and arrangement

The meeting takes place at eleven on a Wednesday morning in the basement, which is as empty as Goodwin had promised. The room’s defining feature in the scene is not merely its isolation but its arrangement: an aisle and a bookcase give the men a place to stand where anyone coming down the stairs would not see them.

The concealed meeting

Goodwin takes a book from the shelf in front of him and encourages Manolo to do the same. For fifteen minutes, they whisper without incident, turning the simple act of browsing into the visible cover for their conversation. No customer comes down the stairs, as Goodwin predicted.

Narrative significance

The basement offers privacy without removing the men from public life: they meet inside a functioning bookstore, behind a bookcase, with books in hand. That modest concealment makes the location an effective setting for discreet contact. The exchange also carries a personal connection alongside its secrecy: Goodwin passes on Meg’s affection, and Manolo asks him to return it.