give you orders.” He reached out and playfully grabbed my butt then. I laughed and swatted his hand away.
“We could invite both our families and…would it be weird to invite Steve if your dad is here?”
“Probably, but I doubt Steve can make it anyway. It turns out he’s fallen pretty hard for a local woman – she’s a nurse at one of the hospitals the foundation set up in Honduras. I think they’ve already made plans to spend the holidays with her family. He was actually telling me about it just last night in an email.”
“Oh that’s nice,” I said , genuinely happy for Steve. Despite my first impression of him, he was growing on me. I’d seen how supportive he was of Hayden and that, in turn, warmed me up to him. “It’s too bad we won’t see him.”
“About that,” Hayden said , looking hopeful. “You get some vacation time this summer, right?”
“Yes.”
“What if we go down there and visit him for a few weeks? It will give me a chance to do some work with the foundation, plus I’d really love for you to get to know him better.”
“I’d like that.”
I smiled to myself as we ate . We were just like any other married couple, eating a quiet dinner in the kitchen of our modest home. It was just a normal Tuesday night. Our life together was simple but nonetheless felt magical, somehow.
We weren’t rich – certainly not by Henrik Slate standards – but Hayden’s restaurant was a huge success and my professor’s salary wasn’t too shabby either. We were comfortable, in love and happy. And we were free.
There was something so liberating about knowing we could live our lives exactly the way we wanted. If we wanted to travel, we would. If we wanted to start a family, we’d try for a baby. The possibilities open to us were endless. Life was good – and I was beginning to see that I really could have it all. In fact, in a lot of ways I already did.
___
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___
COMING SOON:
Palate: Spicy by Octavia Wildwood
PREVIEW
I never quite knew what I wanted to be when I grew up, unless my third grade aspiration to become a “ninja astronaut princess turtle” counts. But I always knew who I wanted to be. When I grew up, I was going to be a strong, successful, powerful woman in control of her life. Or at least that was the plan. You know what they say about the best laid plans, right?
At twenty-eight, I was a graduate school dropout and the single mother of a two year old. When I wasn’t at work, my days consisted of scraping spaghetti off the ceiling, diffusing toddler temper tantrums and trying to teach my son that no, pants are not optional. I swore that kid would grow up to be a nudist – possibly a nudist who stomped his feet and screamed at the top of his lungs while flinging spaghetti at the ceiling.
It wasn’t exactly the life I’d envisioned for myself.
At least work gave me some reprieve. I loved my son with all my heart but it felt so good to be around actual grownups. And being able to work for Hayden Slate was pretty cool. He was a rather big deal, well known both for his career as a gourmet chef and his philanthropist work. But to me, he was just my friend Daniella’s husband – and a great mentor.
After seeing Hayden put his skills to use in the kitchen, I guess I was inspired. I decided I wanted to do what he did someday, although it would take me years to save enough money to open my own restaurant. In the meantime, I felt lucky to have the best teacher around.
Except then everything changed. I wasn’t sure why it still surprised me when life didn’t go as planned. You’d think after an unplanned pregnancy and a betrayal so severe it still left a bad taste in my mouth, I’d know better.
Anyway, I was going to be out of a job. Hayden’s wife was pregnant, you
“We could invite both our families and…would it be weird to invite Steve if your dad is here?”
“Probably, but I doubt Steve can make it anyway. It turns out he’s fallen pretty hard for a local woman – she’s a nurse at one of the hospitals the foundation set up in Honduras. I think they’ve already made plans to spend the holidays with her family. He was actually telling me about it just last night in an email.”
“Oh that’s nice,” I said , genuinely happy for Steve. Despite my first impression of him, he was growing on me. I’d seen how supportive he was of Hayden and that, in turn, warmed me up to him. “It’s too bad we won’t see him.”
“About that,” Hayden said , looking hopeful. “You get some vacation time this summer, right?”
“Yes.”
“What if we go down there and visit him for a few weeks? It will give me a chance to do some work with the foundation, plus I’d really love for you to get to know him better.”
“I’d like that.”
I smiled to myself as we ate . We were just like any other married couple, eating a quiet dinner in the kitchen of our modest home. It was just a normal Tuesday night. Our life together was simple but nonetheless felt magical, somehow.
We weren’t rich – certainly not by Henrik Slate standards – but Hayden’s restaurant was a huge success and my professor’s salary wasn’t too shabby either. We were comfortable, in love and happy. And we were free.
There was something so liberating about knowing we could live our lives exactly the way we wanted. If we wanted to travel, we would. If we wanted to start a family, we’d try for a baby. The possibilities open to us were endless. Life was good – and I was beginning to see that I really could have it all. In fact, in a lot of ways I already did.
___
Don’t miss out! Subscribe to Octavia’s mailing list to be notified about new releases!
___
COMING SOON:
Palate: Spicy by Octavia Wildwood
PREVIEW
I never quite knew what I wanted to be when I grew up, unless my third grade aspiration to become a “ninja astronaut princess turtle” counts. But I always knew who I wanted to be. When I grew up, I was going to be a strong, successful, powerful woman in control of her life. Or at least that was the plan. You know what they say about the best laid plans, right?
At twenty-eight, I was a graduate school dropout and the single mother of a two year old. When I wasn’t at work, my days consisted of scraping spaghetti off the ceiling, diffusing toddler temper tantrums and trying to teach my son that no, pants are not optional. I swore that kid would grow up to be a nudist – possibly a nudist who stomped his feet and screamed at the top of his lungs while flinging spaghetti at the ceiling.
It wasn’t exactly the life I’d envisioned for myself.
At least work gave me some reprieve. I loved my son with all my heart but it felt so good to be around actual grownups. And being able to work for Hayden Slate was pretty cool. He was a rather big deal, well known both for his career as a gourmet chef and his philanthropist work. But to me, he was just my friend Daniella’s husband – and a great mentor.
After seeing Hayden put his skills to use in the kitchen, I guess I was inspired. I decided I wanted to do what he did someday, although it would take me years to save enough money to open my own restaurant. In the meantime, I felt lucky to have the best teacher around.
Except then everything changed. I wasn’t sure why it still surprised me when life didn’t go as planned. You’d think after an unplanned pregnancy and a betrayal so severe it still left a bad taste in my mouth, I’d know better.
Anyway, I was going to be out of a job. Hayden’s wife was pregnant, you
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