The boutique was quiet that evening. The kind of quiet that does not just settle around a space, but sinks into it. The lights had been dimmed. The street outside was beginning to shift from the chaos of the afternoon to the hush of evening. Cars passed in waves, but none lingered. The foot traffic had thinned. Inside, the last of the interns had left nearly an hour ago, and Helena had taken her laptop and disappeared into the back, giving me space without having to ask if I needed it.

I stood ...