diff --git a/e2e/coach-open-at-end.spec.ts b/e2e/coach-open-at-end.spec.ts
index ef3ef4fd1..a86f0426c 100644
--- a/e2e/coach-open-at-end.spec.ts
+++ b/e2e/coach-open-at-end.spec.ts
@@ -185,12 +185,26 @@ test.describe("Coach: a saved conversation opens at its end", () => {
         waitUntil: "domcontentloaded",
       });
 
-      const thread = page.locator('[data-slot="coach-message-thread"]');
-      await expect(thread).toBeVisible({ timeout: 15_000 });
+      // The empty state carries the same `coach-message-thread` slot, so the
+      // thread being visible says nothing about the conversation having
+      // arrived; the height used to be read from the empty state on a slow
+      // run. Wait for the frame only a loaded thread renders, and for every
+      // stored answer in it.
+      await expect(
+        page.locator('[data-slot="coach-message-thread-frame"]'),
+      ).toBeVisible({ timeout: 15_000 });
+      await expect(
+        page.locator('[data-slot="coach-assistant-turn"]'),
+      ).toHaveCount(8, { timeout: 15_000 });
+      const thread = page.locator(
+        '[data-slot="coach-message-thread-frame"] [data-slot="coach-message-thread"]',
+      );
       // The thread scrolls at all: otherwise "at the end" proves nothing.
-      expect(
-        await thread.evaluate((el) => el.scrollHeight > el.clientHeight + 200),
-      ).toBe(true);
+      await expect
+        .poll(() =>
+          thread.evaluate((el) => el.scrollHeight > el.clientHeight + 200),
+        )
+        .toBe(true);
 
       const chart = page.locator(
         '[data-slot="coach-result-chart"][data-ref="r1"]',
diff --git a/e2e/day-view.spec.ts b/e2e/day-view.spec.ts
index 3b99bacd5..0aae88187 100644
--- a/e2e/day-view.spec.ts
+++ b/e2e/day-view.spec.ts
@@ -275,6 +275,25 @@ test.describe("the day view", () => {
         ),
       )
       .toBe(true);
+    // On a phone the calendar is a sheet over the day's own sheet. Focus
+    // arrives before Radix has handed it the Escape key: in between, the day
+    // underneath still holds it. The handover shows as the day's layer
+    // turning inert (`pointer-events: none`) once the calendar is the top
+    // layer; wait for that, not for a fixed time. The docked column is no
+    // dialog and has no such handover.
+    if (!desktop)
+      await expect
+        .poll(() =>
+          panel(page).evaluate(
+            (el) =>
+              new Promise<string>((resolve) =>
+                requestAnimationFrame(() =>
+                  setTimeout(() => resolve(getComputedStyle(el).pointerEvents)),
+                ),
+              ),
+          ),
+        )
+        .toBe("none");
     await page.keyboard.press("Escape");
     await expect(picker).toHaveCount(0);
     await expect(panel(page)).toBeVisible();
diff --git a/src/components/day/day-layer.tsx b/src/components/day/day-layer.tsx
index d0cfaec05..8c75f2ea3 100644
--- a/src/components/day/day-layer.tsx
+++ b/src/components/day/day-layer.tsx
@@ -717,6 +717,18 @@ function DaySheet({
           event.preventDefault();
           returnFocus();
         }}
+        onEscapeKeyDown={(event) => {
+          // A dialog opened from inside the day (the date's calendar) is
+          // portaled out of the panel. For a moment after it opens, until
+          // Radix has re-rendered both layers, the panel still holds the
+          // Escape listener: an Escape aimed at the calendar then closed the
+          // whole day. Escape from inside another dialog is never the day's.
+          const owner =
+            event.target instanceof Element
+              ? event.target.closest('[role="dialog"]')
+              : null;
+          if (owner && owner !== panelRef.current) event.preventDefault();
+        }}
         className={cn(
           // Quicker than the primitive's 500 ms, which read as lag on a
           // layer opened from a tap; no slide at all under reduced motion.