A week elapsed before their paths converged once more. He finally saw Laura again.

It occurred within the confines of an Evans family-owned shopping haven.

There stood Laura, engaged in retail therapy alongside Lina, who cradled a multitude of bags as though bracing for an imminent polar expedition despite the calendar's insistence that it was still autumn.

A pair of down jackets had found their way into her shopping conquest.

Edwin's serendipitous encounter with them unfolded during his routine rounds.