It’s been over two years, and Ethan is slowly recovering from the trauma of his last relationship, which led him to his downfall in his work and personal life. He was taking his medications like his therapist told him to and over time, he slowly got off his antidepressants Right now, he’s a full month without needed to take his medications. But he still has that lingering trauma in him

One day, he’s sleeping in his friend’s couch in his studio apartment with his headphones on listening to deep sleep white noise from his spotify. He’s dreaming the same dream of him arguing with Esther. 

Ethan went outside to get some fresh air while he took his cigarette. Esther soon followed him after her phone call with her grandfather. She grabbed her cup of tea.

Ethan stood beside Esther, and a long silence stretched between them. After a few minutes, he finally broke it.

“I want to let you know—”

Esther suddenly started to cry. Tears streamed down her face.

“What? What happened?” he asked.

“This was really hard for me, Ethan,” Esther said. “I’m not the kind of person who just stands there and helps while you’re trying to do the right thing.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” he said quickly. “And I hate what I did. I said what I said because it was easy to say. But the way I feel around you—it was really hard.”

Esther’s heart sank. “Holy shit, Ethan. I can’t believe you said that.”

“No, no, no,” Ethan tried to backtrack. “What I said back there in the house—I wasn’t even saying it to you. I didn’t know it was real.”

Esther looked confused. “Why was the way you felt around me so difficult?”

Ethan tried to make sense of his thoughts but stumbled over his words. “Because it makes me feel like I’m almost on fire.”

Esther gasped. “That’s awful.”

“No, no, that’s not what I meant,” Ethan rushed to say. “I’m not saying it’s a bad thing—or even a terrible thing. I’m saying it’s a good thing.”

Esther frowned, clearly confused. “What are you trying to say to me?”

A long silence followed. Esther finally broke it, fed up.

“If I make you feel like shit, then you should get the fuck away from me.”

“No, no, no,” Ethan said desperately. “I’m saying that I love you. I love you so much, and that’s why it felt so intense. I just don’t know what to do.”

Esther looked more confused than ever. Ethan tried to unpack his words without making things worse.

“I don’t know what to do with the feeling of being loved—of belonging. Even though we were only together for a long time, I felt like I belonged somewhere. That feeling is still new to me. I don’t know why. I tried to shut everything up in my head because it’s so loud in there.” He pointed to his head.

Esther began to sob—not just because she was upset, but because she felt like a failure.

“If you would’ve let me into that noise a little more,” she said through tears, “I saw glimpses of you. But I wanted to see all of you, and you wouldn’t let me. You kept pulling back, and I didn’t know how to act.”

Another long silence followed.

Finally, Ethan admitted, “I know. I didn’t want you inside my head because it’s full of chaos—fire, flames, torture, hell. Trauma from my past, my family, the fear of failure. I wanted to protect you from what’s going on in my messed-up mind because you’re all I have left that gives me peace. I honestly don’t know what else to say.”

Ethan took Esther’s hand. “You didn’t do anything wrong,” he said softly. “I promise.”

She pulled her hand away. “Yeah, I did,” she scoffed.

Ethan looked confused. “How?”

“How?” Esther snapped. “Oh my God, I’m sure I did so much. I saw you pulling away whenever things got too close, and I kept wondering if I should do the same. I didn’t say anything because I was scared. I’ve worked so hard not to ruin good things, and look at us—we built decent lives, decent jobs, and now I’m walking into a minefield with you. Alone. Because you’re basically nonexistent. And I don’t want to be scared that just being around you will push you away.”

Their voices grew louder as the argument spiraled.

“No. No. No,” Ethan said, shaking his head. “I wasn’t forced.”

“I never thought you’d shut me out like that,” Esther shouted, throwing her hands up.

“That’s not what it looks like!”

“I want to be honest—even if it hurts!

“I understand that.”

“I’ve known you forever!”

“I understand that!”

“Then what the fuck, Ethan? You can’t just do that to me. You can’t do that to us!”

“I told you— I didn’t know what to do! I told you already!”

“Like you’re not supposed to run away when I’m trying to help you!”

“I can’t do this! I’m so tired of this shit!”

“You can’t just run away from me! Why don’t you just say it?”

“I CAN’T FUCKING DO IT!”

“Say it!”

“Say what?!?!”

“Just say it!”

“NO!”

“JUST FUCKING SAY IT!”

“I’M SORRY!” Ethan took several deep breaths. “I’m so sorry.” He reached for her hand.“I really mean it. I love you, Esther.”

She slapped him across the face. “I loved you,” she sobbed.

Then she stormed back into the house. Slamming the door and making a loud bang.

Ethan woke up. “Why am I still having these dreams?” he asked himself. 

He looked at the time. It’s 5 am. It’s his day off today. He decided to get out of his couch and get ready to go to the gym. He brushed his teeth, put on his gym clothes and a day-old breakfast burrito he bought on the way home last night. 

His gym was 20 minutes from his friend’s studio apartment. So he decided to jog there to get some cardio in. He’s been going to the gym for a few months now. Physically healthy, quit smoking, and eat more regularly. All the things his therapist told him to.

After his workout that took him 90 minutes, he got a call from one of his cooks. He has a rule that no one, except his boss was allowed to call him on his day off. He picked up the call. “Hello?”

“Ethan, we need your help. Chef is super sick and the front of house team is scrambling with the wedding planner to get this organised” Ethan can hear Chef Kevin throwing up in the background. 

“I’m on my way!” he said. He hung up, took an uber and rushed to work

When Ethan arrived at the restaurant, he ran through the back door and went to Kevin’s office to look for him. He’s nowhere to be found. Soon after, the cook who called Ethan found him.

“Ethan! Thank god you’re here,” he said

“What happened? Where’s Chef? Talk to me, Arnold.”

“Follow me,” He led Ethan to the staff washroom. There’s Kevin. He’s coughing and throwing up in the toilet

“Chef!” Ethan screamed. He went to Kevin, handing him his warm glass of water

“Ethan,” Kevin said with a sore throat. “You shouldn’t be here.”

“That’s not important,” he replied. “What the hell happened to you?”

“Stomach flu. And maybe an actual flu. I can barely talk.”

Etrhan chuckled. “I can tell. Let me double check the team. Rest for now.” He left the bathroom to follow Arnold as Kevin continues to throw up.

“What’s the problem?” Ethan asked Arnold.

“This place is going to open in 2 hours, we got no preparation for our catering menu yet and the wedding planner is arguing with the front of the house staff.”

“Shit. She’s here right now?”

Arnold nodded. They went to the front to see her arguing with his staff.

“What do you mean you guys can’t dress according to the event. It’s supposed to be black and white. Not just black. It’s a wedding! Not a funeral!” the wedding planner told the staff

“I’ve told you, we’re not aware of this news. Plus our shipment of our new uniforms hasn’t arrived yet!” one of the staff members argues back.

“Whoa. Woah. Easy there, guys,” Ethan jumps into the argument. “Arnold. Help the front staff get composed for today. I’ll resolve this issue.”

“Yes, Chef,” he brings the staff to the kitchen to prepare for the day ahead.

Ethan looked at the time. 9am. Restaurant opens in 2 hours. He brings the wedding planner to a lounge chair where they can talk.

“Ethan,” they shook hands.

“Chelesa,” she said.

“What’s the problem? What are we still missing?”

She looked at her notes. “Well, uniforms are one of them. Your dumbass staff have no clue when the new uniforms we requested are arriving. The menu is fine. Decorations will be done on time by my team by tomorrow morning,” she is losing short of breath.

“Easy there. Deep breath.” Ethan rushed to grab two metal cups of warm water. 

Chelsea took several sips. “Thanks.”

Ethan nodded. “I’ll call our supplier to see when the ETA on your requested uniforms.”

“Good. And the menu?”

“Preparing soon. Kevin isn’t feeling too good right now so I’m leading until he gets back.”

“Thanks Ethan. I have to email my team about the current situation. You mind if I work here for 30 minutes?”

“Go ahead,” he went to the back and called Cintas, his uniform supplier.

It wasn’t long until Ethan got the call from them. They’re coming this evening. He went to the kitchen

“Arnold. Walk me through the menu so everyone is on the same page.”

“For appitizers, they have a choice of our in house soup or salad. For Entrees, we got the chicken supreme, flat iron steak and a black bean burger.” He showed Ethan the full menu.

Ethan looked at the menu. He has an idea. “I need some different colored highlighters, please.”

Another cook gave Ethan several highlighters. Ethan begins to highlight the full menu in different colors

“What I’m seeing is a puzzle. There are certain things we can prep ahead of time. Or even reheat. Soups can be made the night before and reheated. We just need to reheat it and serve it in a hot bowl so it can match its quality. For the salads, all vegetables, dressings, and other toppings can be prepped the day before. When the party orders it, we can build it super quick,” Ethan highlights the soup recipe in red and the salad recipe green.

“Moving onto the Entree’s, every dish has 4 components. Protein, starch, vegetable, sauce. We need 1-2 people in each station and the people that were operating on appitizers, will help plate. Anyone that is free during that time, waiters, cooks, even Kevin, will help plate so we can finish for the night.” Ethan began highlighting different components in each recipe in different colors. Red for protein, yellow for starch, green for vegetables and pink for sauce.

“We got 8 cooks tomorrow. So we have enough. Can we get the soup made by close and salad prepared but not built? I want the salad components wrapped tightly in the fridge and soup cooled before we close tonight”

“Yes, Chef!” said the entire kitchen team. 

“Good. Our suppliers will be here soon, and lunch service will start in 90 minutes. Please get those guys done, and don’t forget about today’s service. I’m going to check in on Kevin and Chelsa before heading home.”

The team nodded and went straight to work.

Ethan went to Chelsa’s table and went through the plan. Chelsea got lost when Ethan explained to her about the menu.

“You got all of that?” Ethan asked.

Chelsea nodded but still a bit confused. “Other than the uniforms will arrive on time, the menu rundown is all gibberish to me.”

Ethan laughed. “Just pay attention to the recipes. Not the highlight parts. That’s for my team. I’m guessing we’re outsourcing the dessert?”

Chelsea nodded. “I’m just about to leave for the baker to finalize everything. Thanks!”

“No problem” he said grabbing their glasses of water

“Kevin’s right. You’re really are the real deal,” she giggled. She left the building, accidentally slamming the door.

Then a rush of memories came back to Ethan. From that dream he had. He heard screams in his head. He dropped one of the glasses and starting to lose balance and draws shortness of his breath. He sat down and drink his glass of water. When he felt some of normalizy, he went to Kevin’s office, forgotten the glasses of water on the table.

Ethan went to Kevin’s office, where he’s taking his flu medications.

“I’m leaving now. Are you going to be okay for today?”

Kevin nodded. “Good enough,” he said with a weakened voice. “Thanks,”

Ethan left the restaurant to prepare himself for the next day.

Ethan went to the restaurant at 7am because he had trouble sleeping because of the wedding event. He unlocked the backdoor and went to the front counter to brew an urn-full of coffee. While he’s waiting for the coffee to brew, he heard Kevin coming in the back. He went to the back to say good morning.

“Good Morning Chef,” Ethan said while walking to the kitchen. “Hope you’re feeling better——”

It was Chelsa. “Morning to you, too.”

“How did you get it in? Ethan asked. “And where’s Kevin?”

“Kevin’s in the back,” Chelsea said, “He is currently taking his medications and wearing a mask.” 

Ethan groaned, “How is he doing?” 

She said, “Still okay, not good enough for today, but we’ll see.” 

Ethan went to the office, and Chelsea followed him there. They saw Kevin putting on his mask. 

“Ethan, how are you doing?” Chef shook his head. His throat seemed worse, not good. He said, “My voice is too sore to talk. I don’t think I’ll be able to work out to be the emcee for the wedding.” He said depressingly. Kevin looked at Ethan, “I think you have to take this one, kiddo.” 

Ethan gasped, “Wait, me?” He said, “No, no, no, no, that’s the wrong way to go. I am a chef, I am not an emcee, and what’s our other choice?” 

They both looked at Chelsea. “Well, I mean, we do have a spare uniform for you, Ethan. You can easily switch in and out of your chef whites.” 

Ethan thought for a minute, then he groaned, “Fine, I’ll do it,” he said.

Kevin nodded, “Thank you. I’ll help out in the kitchen today. Good luck.” 

Kevin went to the kitchen to preheat the ovens and start up the stoves. Ethan and Chelsea went to the front counter. Chelsea was very sleepy, and she started yawning. Ethan gave her another cup of coffee.

“Thanks,” she said.

“Yeah, no problem,” replied Ethan. “Let me guess, you didn’t sleep well?”

Chelsea shook her head, “Not one bit. I just want this thing to be done on roll with.”

Ethan nodded, “Yeah, yeah, same here. Don’t worry, we’re almost done, it’s almost this final stretch.” Chelsea looked at her phone. “The baker should arrive with the cake very soon”

“And what about the decorations?” Ethan asked.

“My team will be coming in with the flowers, and we’re going to decorate the restaurant, so you don’t have to do anything about it. All you have to do is make sure that the menu is up and it’s good, so that whenever the party orders, you just have to fire up the dishes. You don’t have to worry about it because that’s going to be your front of the house staff, and it’s going to be an open bar, so you don’t have to worry about that.”

Ethan nodded, “Good, I was like to hear let’s work for me to do cuz I already have enough shit to worry about because of you know who.” 

Chelsea laughed. “Thanks for doing this, by the way. I really appreciate it, and I know this is really hard for you, Ethan.”

Ethan nodded, “Yeah, it’s not a problem. Just part of my job.” 

Chelsea went outside. When she opened the door, she turned back to Ethan, “I’m just gonna get some fresh air before my team arrives. You do what you got to do?” 

Ethan nodded, “Roger that.” 

Ethan looked at the clock; it was 8 a.m., and the cooks were starting to come in to help prepare for the large event. Ethan went to the kitchen and jumped in to help prepare for the days ahead. He went to the evening crew.

“Did you end up preparing the components for salads? What about the soup?”

Arnold replied, “Salad components are done. We’re making the soup today, so we’re going to make this soup while we prepare all the other stuff: starches, proteins, veggies, sauces, and everything else in between.”

Ethan nodded. “Good.”

Arnold replied, “Oh, Chef Kevin is helping out on the line today. It’s just because he is unable to speak that well; his voice is straining, and we don’t want him to be on the front counter.”

Ethan chuckled. “Figure, yeah, I’ll just take one for the team again. I mean, what else is new?”

Arnold replied, “Yeah, I know. Well, we gotta get to work.”

8 hours have passed, and it’s now 4 pm. Everything is prepared and ready on standby. Chelsea has opened up the doors to the restaurant, and the wedding guests are slowly making their way inside. They’re slowly chatting and talking about their daily lives while the bride and groom sit at the center table, hungry and waiting for their food.

Ethan, dressed up in his formal waiter attire, turned to Kevin. “What do you think?” He showed Kevin his new front-of-the-house uniform. Kevin nodded with a smile. “Slick,” he said. ‘Thank you, let’s get this done.'” 

Ethan nodded. “Yeah, let’s get to work.” 

Right after everyone has been seated, Ethan went to the front of the house and introduced himself to the guests.

“Hello, everyone. My name is Ethan. I’m going to be the head chef for tonight. We hope that you guys enjoy your stay here with us, and it’s an absolute honor for us to serve you guys on this very special day. Nancy and Matthew, congratulations on your wedding! May the days ahead of you be filled with many moments of joy and growth for you, your friends, and your family.

And to all of you in this room, thank you for coming and helping celebrate on this very special day. We have a two-course menu: an appetizer and an entree. Pick one out of the menu, and we’ll go from there.

Once again, thank you for choosing us to serve you guys on this very special day. It is an absolute honor, and we hope that you guys enjoy your stay.

Thank you so much! “

The wedding party applauds as Ethan goes back to the kitchen and changes back to his chef’s uniform. 

As Ethan went back to the kitchen, everyone in the kitchen crew has started preparing the garnishes for the appetizers. The salad components that are ready to be made for salads are there on standby, and the soup is already warmed up alongside with all the garnishes. Soon after, Chelsea grabbed a bowl and handed them one ticket filled with large numbers of the appetizers. Ethan went to the pass and called out the orders. 

“Alright, everyone, we need 26 salads and 24 soups.” Yes, chef,” said the entire kitchen crew. Chef Kevin was unable to speak due to his strained voice, so he just nodded. Half the people start building the salads, and the other half starts building the soups. Ethan and Kevin help garnish the appetizers and plate them in unison. It wasn’t until 10 minutes after that that all of the appetizers were done, and the waiters, with their proper uniform that Chelsea has requested grab the appetizers and went to where they handed them their appetizers. Right after that, Chelsea gave Ethan the ticket for the entrees. It’s a massive one. 

“Alright, everyone. Listen up! We have:

• 15 Chicken Supreme
• 30 Flat Iron Steak
• 5 Black Bean Burger”

“Yes, Chef!” says the whole kitchen crew.

“Alright, crew, just a quick update. We’re going to do this in two parts.”

1. The first part, we’re going to do the chicken supreme and the black bean burger since those guys are the easiest.
2. The flat iron steak is going to take a little bit longer, so we’re going to need a little more time on those guys.

The flat iron steak: 10 of them are medium rare, 5 of them are medium, and the rest are well done.”

 They start building the orders for chicken supreme and the black bean burger that only took around 20 minutes, and the flat iron steak took an additional 20 minutes since flat iron steaks take a little bit longer to cook. They start plating up the supreme and the burger. While Ethan and Arnold plate the dishes, Kevin and 3 other cooks help cook the steaks since they take the longest. 

It’s still 5 minutes early for the steaks.

So Ethan came around and grabbed all the empty and dirty mixing bowls and put them in the dish pit, where the dishwashers clean the dishes. When he put the metal mixing bowls onto the cart, the metal bowl slipped and let out a large crash, echoing through the whole kitchen. The sound of shock was so loud that Ethan stumbled on his feet, tripping over himself. He managed to catch himself at the last second. That sound of the bowls crashing made him have small flashbacks from his argument with Esther. He screams in pain

Arnold came around the corner and helped Ethan up. “Chef, are you okay?” Kevin came over and hopped off the line to help Ethan up. 

“I’m fine,” said Ethan. “Just tripped. I need water. Warm water.”

“Are you sure?” said Arnold. “It seems like you need to rest, I’ll help you finish while you——.” 

Ethan looked Arnold straight in the eye. “Water. Please. Now!” Arnold quickly grabbed him a cup of water. Ethan slowly drinks the water, trying to regain his posture. “Thank you,” he said, stood up firmly, and continued his work. 

When he got back to the pass, Kevin and his team finished cooking up all the steaks, all the sides are ready to go. Ethan and Arnold help plate the last few dishes. Once those dishes are done, the servers come around and help wrap up and deliver the food to the remaining guests. 

Ethan’s side of relief. He did it. He finally managed to pass all by himself. He sighs in relief. 

“Great work today.” The kitchen cheered, Kevin applauded. “Alright, now let’s clean up! This kitchen! I want you guys to go home early; it’s been a long day.” The kitchen crew agrees, and they start getting onto cleaning. 

It took them well over an hour and a half to get the kitchen all cleaned up. During that time, while the kitchen crew was cleaning, people at the front of the house and the wedding guests were using the restaurant’s music speakers to play their wedding tunes. Some of them joined in on the fun, while some of them supervised at the dessert bar and open bar. 

“Excellent work today. I’m proud of every one of you guys, said Ethan. The time is…” he looks at the clock. 

“9 p.m. We finished everything an hour and a half early. Let’s call it a night. Kevin and I will supervise the kitchen and the restaurant until the guest leaves and the restaurant closes. Other than that, we have tomorrow off, so rest up and let’s regroup for today’s time.” The kitchen crew cheered as they hurried back to their lockers, grabbed their stuff, and left. Kevin went beside Ethan. He patted Ethan on his back. 

“Good job, kiddo,” he said with a slightly strained voice. He seems to be doing a bit better. “ I’m so proud of you. It’s been two years, but you did it.” 

Ethan looked up to Kevin. “We did it,” he said. Kevin smiled. 

“I’m going to have some of this leftover food in my office. Feel free to do whatever you like in the kitchen and grab a few things and make yourself a nice meal,” he said. 

“Thanks,” said Ethan. “Appreciate it.” Kevin grabbed any of the leftover sides and put them on the plate and went back to his office. Ethan did the same. But instead of going to his office, Ethan went outside to the restaurant’s front door patio, where there are tables and chairs. 

The restaurant patio was empty. Everyone was inside the building, just laughing, chatting, dancing, and drinking. Ethan grabbed a picnic chair and have his meal by the table.

While he enjoys his meal, he looked up at the night sky, it’s fully lit. He then closes his eyes, all he can hear was the sound of the music inside the restaurant. He is happy that he finally got his act together for this very special day. He is content while he was having his meal and looking up at the night sky. 

Chelsea went outside to see him. She’s having a small glass of wine as a celebratory drink. 

“Hey, Chef, can I join?” she asked. 

“Yeah, for sure, grab a chair and have a seat,” he replied. She grabbed the chair and sat beside him. 

She has her glass of wine, and they both looked up at the night sky. “Some view,” she said. 

“Yeah, it’s beautiful, isn’t it? It’s very rare that we have these kinds of nights in the city. But whatever we do, we always take them. Try to enjoy the moment.” 

Chelsea nodded. “Thank you for everything,” she said. 

Ethan seems confused. “What do you mean? I’m just doing my job.” 

“Yeah, that’s basically it,” she replied. “Kevin told me everything about you. And I’m so sorry about her.” 

He nodded. “That’s okay, the past is the past. I’m just carrying on, doing the best I can, trying to be the best version of myself.” 

“Hmm,” she replied. “Yeah, Kevin is very proud of you. You do know that, right?” 

Ethan chuckled. “Yeah. Yeah, I know. I’m glad that you have chosen to be the better and not linger too much on the past. Thanks.” 

He finished his meal and took a moment to look up at the night sky. The night sky is fully lit with stars, the moon, owls howling, and the crickets are chirping. Ethan stood up. “Well, I gotta wash these dishes and just double-check if the front house crew is okay. It’s a pleasure working with you. Hopefully, we’ll see each other again.” 

Yeah, you will very soon.” She giggled. Ethan seemed confused. “Wait.  What do you mean?” 

Chelsea stood up. “Since you and Kevin did such an excellent job with this event, I’ve already got a few more gigs for you guys. If this will help us become partners, professional partners,” she smiles. 

Ethan smiled back. “I like that, I really do.”

“Then, I’ll see you soon,” she said.

“Talk to you soon, and rest easy. We deserve it.” 

She nodded. 

Ethan went back to the restaurant where the loud music was. He checked out this crew and front-of-the-house staff, and everything was okay. He just washed his dishes and went to Kevin’s office, where he just finished his meal. “Chef, what’s next?” Ethan asked Kevin.

“Well, I want to rest here for a little bit and well, because we got a lot more gigs with Chelsea coming up. You might like working with her,” Kevin said. 

Ethan chuckled. “Yes, she already told me that, and I like that.” 

Kevin nodded. “Don’t get too comfortable with her yet. We’re still business partners, remember?” 

Ethan chuckled. “Yes, chef. Well, I’m just gonna go home and maybe crash. You might be helping the crew close down for the night, chef.”

Kevin replied, “Absolutely! You helped me a lot, and this is the least that I can do.” 

Ethan chuckled. “No, you helped me get my shit together for two years. Appreciate it.” 

“Ah, don’t worry about it, kiddo. I have faith in you from the beginning.” 

“Goodnight, chef. I’ll see you in a couple of days,” 

Kevin nodded as Ethan went outside, waiting for his Uber. He saw Chelsea still standing at the porch. Chelsea looked at Ethan. She smiles at him. He smiles back. They both waved just before Ethan’s Uber arrived.