The email appeared in my inbox just after noon, at a moment when I was least expecting anything beyond invoices and client updates. I was at the boutique’s back table with fabric swatches spread out in uneven rows. Some were pinned to paper, others draped across the wood, the colors shifting under the light. I had been deciding which set would suit a client’s winter commission when the subject line caught my attention.

Special Exhibition Opportunity.

I almost didn’t open it. These subject ...