Chapter 161

• The first week after the last article ran, the boutique felt both familiar and different at the same time. Customers still came in quietly, moving their fingers over the fabrics like they were touching something alive, but there was an edge of recognition in their eyes now. Some had clearly read about us before walking through the door. Others tried not to say it outright but slipped small comments into conversation, as if to confirm that they were in the right place.
• I began noticing how often people lingered longer than they used to. They took photos of details I never thought anyone would notice, like the curve of a neckline on a mannequin or the way the light from the front windows caught the weave of a particular fabric in the afternoon. One woman asked to take a picture of the small handwritten tag we keep beside the register that explains our return policy. She told me later it was because she wanted to show her daughter that a business could be gentle and firm at the same time.
• Behind the counter, Claudia seemed both energized and cautious. She had always been quick with her words, but now there was a deliberateness to the way she answered customer questions, as though she understood that what she said might travel far beyond the walls of the boutique. Lena, on the other hand, seemed completely at ease, joking with visitors the way she always had, even pulling out her phone to take photos when they asked.