A couple of weeks had passed since I quit my job with Remi and walked out of his life for good. I was only barely starting to get over everything. I could still feel a heavy weight on my shoulders and a tightness in my chest. I’d be lying if I told myself I never had feelings for him. And to have him be the one to ruin my lifelong dreams—it was almost too much for me to handle. I couldn’t escape the sinking feeling I experienced every hour of every day. Even if I knew it wasn’t the actual end of the world, it certainly felt like it.

 

Every time I thought about him and what he did I’d get a little choked up. I fought back the tears anyway. A part of me didn’t want to give Remi any more of my tears, even though he wouldn’t be around to see them. I knew I had to get over everything and move on and that’s exactly what I was going to do.

 

I mustered up every ounce of strength I had to visit the place one last time; then I wouldn’t allow myself to feel bad about it anymore. I’d give my dream restaurant one last goodbye. Then it and Remi would be out of my life forever.

 

I was standing on the sidewalk outside of the building, looking at the walls and windows. I pictured how different things would have looked if it was my restaurant filling up the corner lot. The windows were still covered up with plywood, blocking the view from the outside in. I imagined all the workers inside were carting in a ton of weights and gym equipment. The thought sent a lurch through my chest. All those bench press machines should have been dinner tables.

 

It should have been a place for people to go and try delicious food they’ve never had before—a place for anniversaries, first dates, and family reunions. Now it was for jocks and alpha male types like Remi to lift and grunt so they could get ‘swole’ and pick up girls. The thought made my stomach do a somersault. I felt ill. I felt like a failure.

 

I looked down to the sidewalk and ignored the people bustling about around me as tears started to well up in my eyes. I clenched my fists, thinking of when Remi told me I wouldn’t achieve my dreams. He was right; and that made everything hurt even more.

 

“I figured I could catch you here at some point,” A familiar voice next to me spoke up. I looked up only to see Remi himself standing next to me with a cautious look on his face. I looked at him and instantly looked away. A sick feeling trickled down my throat and settled in my stomach. My skin crawled and tingled. My hands clenched even tighter. He was the last person I ever wanted to see again. A part of me wanted to run, but another part of me felt too defeated to even take a step. I just stood there, staring at the ground and willing my tears not to spill over and fall down my cheek.

 

Even breathing was difficult. The sounds of construction from the inside of the building had built up to a deafening level, but the moment the sound of his voice reached my ears, the noise seemed to have stopped.

 

I swallowed hard. "Are you so bored already that you've come to ruin my life even more?" I tightened my fists; I had just told him the very thing I didn't want him to know. The last thing I wanted to admit to him was that he had ruined my dreams. My only source of comfort was assuring myself he probably already knew.

 

“No,” he muttered. His voice sounded a bit depressed. I stayed quiet. “I was hoping I’d find you here so I could thank you for showing me the truth.”

 

“What are you talking about?” I said as I looked up at him.

 

“You were right when you told me I wouldn’t be happy if I tied my happiness to my father’s approval. I lived so long seeking his approval and you even warned me that was no way to live, but I didn’t listen. You were always right.”

 

I knew Remi was hoping for some kind of response, maybe even sympathy, but I refused to give him either.

 

“If I’m going to be happy, I need to do what I want and what’s right for me,” he said.

 

 “Well then you’re on the right track. You always get what you want one way or another. You always do what’s right for you.” I shot back and for a moment I saw hurt in his eyes.

 

“You’re right, but you’re only partially right. A lot of the things I’ve done haven’t been chasing true happiness. I didn’t even know what true happiness looked like until recently.”

 

I stared forward at the boarded up front of the building. I was so closed off to him. I was holding on to every bad feeling I had toward Remi and that was terribly unhealthy.

 

Deep down I knew I didn't actually hate him. I wanted to despise him; only because it would make things easier. But for some reason I couldn’t bring myself to truly hate him, even after all the things he had done to me. Maybe it was because I could feel the genuineness in his voice. I drew in a deep breath as I imagined what the giant storefront windows would look like when the place was finished.

 

“I’m sure it’ll make a pretty gym.”

 

It pained me to give him any sort of compliment, but I meant it. For all the pain he had caused me, I still wished him the best. I had finally accepted everything that had happened and I just wanted to let the pain go. In that one statement, I was saying goodbye to my dream and to him. It was refreshing. Just like I had told Remi he couldn’t tie his happiness to someone else, I had to do the same.

 

“No,” Remi said as his eyes locked onto mine, “it won’t make a pretty gym.”

 

My face scrunched in confusion as I looked at him for a moment. He looked back at me with the softest smile I had ever seen on him. I quickly turned back to face the building just as some workers were removing the plywood from the front windows. As they took another board off one of the windows an elegant logo was revealed. It was written in cursive and etched into the large, clear windowpane.

 

It read simply—‘Evelyn’s.’

 

 

At once, tears welled up in my eyes. My breath caught in my throat. I took a step forward now that I could clearly see inside. It wasn’t a gym or a big, empty building. It was a restaurant. I cupped my hands and peered through the windows. I could see the main dining room as well as a bar area tucked in a corner. My heart was racing. I couldn’t believe what I was looking at. I coughed and that was when I finally remembered to breathe! I took a moment to catch my breath before turning to look at Remi, waiting for answers.

 

He was already smiling down at me. “It’s yours,” he said softly.

 

My eyes widened, “What?”

 

 “It’s yours. The building and the restaurant are both yours, as they should have been from the start.”

 

He took a slow step closer to me. I could see his eyes watering. My eyes searched his for a million different answers. My entire body trembled as I tried to make sense of everything. Remi was an impossible person to figure out.

 

His smile dropped and panic crossed his face. “Is it not…?”

 

“No, it’s- it’s wonderful, Remi. It’s more than wonderful, actually.” I said as a tear rolled down my cheek. I quickly wiped it away with the back of my hand.

 

“Oh,” Remi sighed with relief, “Your face kind of scared me.” He paused and the two of us looked into each other’s eyes for a moment.  “I’m sorry. For everything. You have no idea how awful I’ve been feeling.”

 

“I have an idea,” I admitted.

 

“When the realtor called me to say I had gotten the place, I wasn’t happy. I wasn’t excited and I didn’t celebrate.”

 

How on Earth could I possibly take what he said to be true? Still, something tugged at my heart. There was something deep inside of me that still wanted to hold onto a tiny glimmer of hope I didn’t even know I had.

 

“Now I know where my true happiness lies. It’s not with my father’s approval, social status, or piles of money. My dad called me and told me he was proud of me for getting the property. He even said I was a good businessman. I’ve been waiting my whole life to hear him say that. But when he did, I still wasn’t happy. The thing I did to finally make him proud was something I hated myself for. The desire to please him made me lose sight of the true happiness I had already found.”

 

My heart was thumping in my chest. I could see the emotion in his eyes and hear the vulnerability in every word he spoke.

 

"Evelyn, you're the most amazing person I've ever met. You’re smart, kind and beautiful. You’re gorgeous and interesting, inside and out. I was right to call you out on that spunky attitude of yours, but it’s one of the things that makes you so awesome. That passion of yours that pushes you to fulfill your dreams is something I admire. You make me feel alive, crazy, passionate, happy, and so many other things I can hardly believe it.

 

“That day Stacy was at the apartment? She just showed up out of the blue and practically threw herself onto me. We had sex months ago, just once, and she's been relentless ever since. I wanted nothing to do with her. The only person on my mind was you. As soon as you stepped into my life, everything changed. Nobody makes me feel the way you do. You make me want to be a man I’ve never been before—a better man. You’ve taught me what matters in life. And what really matters in my life is you.”

 

Remi stared deep into my watering eyes. I felt the distance between us close. I sucked in another nervous breath as a tear rolled down my cheeks.

 

“Will you,” his smile grew into his usual big and playful grin, “be my chef… again?”

 

I beamed with laughter as I wiped away my tears. It was the last thing I imagined him ending his heartwarming speech with, but it was Remi after all. I reached forward and grabbed his arm for balance until my laughter faded.

 

“Just your chef?” I smiled with tears still in my eyes.

 

"You have never been just my chef, Evelyn. I love you."

 

His voice was quiet and sincere. Just as a tear rolled down my cheek he reached up to wipe it away, gazing into my eyes. I leaned into him as he stooped down and pulled me closer.

 

And right there on the busy city street in front of the restaurant of my dreams…

 

…I kissed the man of my dreams.

 

And nothing could have felt more right.