In These Long Years, We Forgot Each Other

The night my fianc won Chef of the Year, he stood in front of every reporter in the room and announced he was closing the restaurant we'd run together for ten years.

A journalist asked whether he'd discussed the decision with me first.

Joseph James just smiled.

She only handles operations. She's an employee. The professional calls are the owner's to make.

After it broke up, he handed me his phone with an irate investor already on the line.

"I only handle my own field. You deal with the rest."

I didn't take it.

Ten years ago, we made a promise: when he won Chef of the Year, we'd open that bottle in the wine cellar together.

And start our new life, the two of us.

Tonight, the ten-year promise had come due.

Except now I was an employee.

Some bad jobs, you should have quit long ago.

...

When the ceremony ended, Joseph was still backstage giving interviews.

I sat in the lounge waiting for him, the wine-cellar key clenched in my hand the whole time.

It was an old key.

Ten years ago, when the first place had just opened, we'd worked until two in the morning and cleared barely seven hundred dollars.

He took the day's earnings and insisted on buying a very expensive bottle of wine.

I told him he was out of his mind.

He wouldn't let go of the box.

"When I win Chef of the Year someday, we'll drink it."

The restaurant moved three times after that.

The bottle moved three times with it.

Before I left tonight, I made a point of going to look at it.

Still there.

At eleven-twenty, Joseph finally came back, Jade Fox at his side.

Three years ago, Jade was still an apprentice.

She had a little talent, and she had a real gift for telling Joseph what he wanted to hear.

Joseph was always praising her instincts, and so she became the assistant who never left his side.

Every time I came to Joseph with a cost sheet, she'd stand there and laugh.

"Let big sis handle all that. A man like Joseph shouldn't be chained to a ledger."

Jade had her arm looped through Joseph's, and let go the moment she saw me.

"Oh, you're still here?"

Joseph pulled off his suit jacket and handed it to her.

"Did Steve and the others get hold of you? Call them back."

He scrolled through a few messages to show me.

All of them investors, asking what happens now that we're closing.

I didn't take the phone.

"Why the sudden closure?"

Joseph finally looked up.

"It's not sudden. I've thought about it for a long time."

I tightened my grip on the key.

"Then why is it that I, the fiance, knew nothing about it?"

He frowned.

"Jade brought it up a while ago. I thought she had a point."

"Watching costs, table turnover, bad reviews all day. What's the point of any of that?"

Jade rushed to explain.

"Don't get the wrong idea. I only mentioned it to Joseph a few times, in passing."

"I just felt he should be making something he actually loves."

Joseph nodded.

"The new place will only take a dozen-odd guests a day. No chasing ratings. No bending to what customers want to taste."

I asked, "And the members we have now? The investors? The suppliers?"

"That's exactly why I'm asking you."

He said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"That's your job."

I looked down at the key.

"And the new place?"

"I handle the menu, Jade handles the creative side. You still do operations."

Then he added one more thing.

"It's better this way. You don't understand kitchens. Forcing yourself into the craft only wears you out."

As if worried I'd mind, Jade said with a smile, "I could never take your spot."

Joseph checked the time.

"All right, everyone's waiting."

I looked up.

"Waiting for what?"

Jade blinked.

"To drink, of course."

She pointed toward the room.

"Joseph opened that old bottle from the cellar."

That seemed to jog something in Joseph.

"Oh. That was the one we said we'd drink when I won an award, wasn't it?"

He gave a small laugh.

"Well, isn't that perfect. I won tonight, so everyone celebrates together."

I couldn't let it go.

"Who opened it?"

He said, "Jade saw it was a good year and wanted a taste."

The corner of Jade's mouth curved, and she gave the glass in her hand a little swirl.

"There's still a bit left inside. I saved some for you."

Joseph was already losing patience.

"It's just a bottle of wine. Who are you throwing that face at?"

I set the key on the table and turned to leave.

Joseph frowned. "Where are you going?"

"Home."

"What about the investors?"

"Deal with them yourself."

Before the door closed, I heard Jade ask under her breath, "Joseph, is she mad?"

Joseph answered fast.

"It's fine. She'll handle it."

On the way home, the seafood supplier messaged to confirm the order.

I replied: "Talk to Joseph. He's the boss."

The next morning I went back to the restaurant.

There were still a few personal things in the office, and I meant to take them.

The moment I walked in, I almost thought I'd come to the wrong place.

The communal tables by the window were gone, all of them, and a few workers were tearing out the old partition.

Jade was standing in the middle of the dining room with a tape measure, mapping out positions.

The second she saw me, she came right over.

Vivien, the seafood and produce didn't come today. I've been on the phone for ages, and they all told me to talk to you.

I stopped it.

The smile froze on her face.

Why?

Joseph came out of the back kitchen right then.

I'd like to know that too.

He walked up to me.

Fine, you threw a fit yesterday. But you cut off purchasing? How are we supposed to test dishes for the new place?

You can find new suppliers.

Vivien.

His voice dropped.

After all these years working together, you just cut it off like that? Do you have any idea what a headache it is to negotiate a whole new supply chain?

I looked at him.

I do.

Back when our first place was just starting to get a name, Joseph insisted on using the fish that came into port before dawn every single day. The supplier thought our volume was too small and wouldn't hold stock for us.

For three months straight I went to the market at four in the morning, begging and pleading.

All he ever had to do was tell the kitchen: We're still using the Dickersons' fish.

The rest of it, he never had to ask about.

Joseph paused, then held out a document to me.

Stop being difficult and take a look at this.

The plan for the new restaurant. Twelve guests a day, no group deals, no set menus, no participation in any platform rankings. The last page had two names on it.

Head chef, Joseph James.

Head of the restaurant, Jade Fox.

I stared at those two words for a few seconds.

Three years.

From apprentice, to R&D assistant, and now the one running the place.

I flipped further down. The line for operations lead was blank.

Joseph glanced at it.

Members, purchasing, investors, that's always been you.

Jade skimmed the blank page, smiled, and pushed it toward me.

Vivien, whether your name's on it or not, it's the same thing.

Joseph and I only know how to cook. All these little outside things still have to fall to you.

I looked at that blank space, and there it was: ten years of work, and in the end I didn't even need a name, because there would always be someone to do the labor for them.

A server hurried over.

Vivien, the member chat is about to blow up.

There are over sixty reservations booked this month, and now everyone's asking how they'll be compensated for the closure, and what happens to their stored-value cards.

I said: Ask Joseph.

She froze.

But you've always been the one who handles this.

Not anymore.

Joseph's face finally went cold.

How long are you going to keep this up?

I already told you about that bottle yesterday. I'll buy another one to make it up to you.

All this over one little thing, and you won't even run the restaurant?

I was about to answer when my phone rang.

Steve Chavez. The restaurant's biggest investor.

I picked up.

Ms. Pruitt, I just want to confirm something with you.

Joseph said last night that the old place is just switching formats, and the new one will still have you running operations, with the existing members and supply system carrying over.

I looked at Joseph.

He was looking at me too.

On the line, he went on: :

So we're prepared to keep investing.

Is that what you want?

I said: :

No.

Joseph's brow snapped into a frown.

There was a beat of silence on the line.

Steve asked: :

Then does the new place have anything to do with you at all?

No.

I hung up.

Joseph stared at me.

Vivien, what are you saying?

I set the office key down in front of him.

Exactly what it sounds like.

From now on it's your restaurant.

You run it yourself.

On the afternoon of the third day, the work group chat suddenly came alive.

Jade posted a supplier quote.

"Got the seafood vendor locked in."

"Same specs, eighteen percent cheaper than before."

Someone in the kitchen replied right away.

"Nice work, Jade."

"Hubert hasn't budged on price in years. You got it down that much on your first try?"

Jade sent a face-palm emoji.

"Guess I just got lucky."

A moment later she added, "Honestly, the new place only does twelve covers a night. No need to lock everything down as tight as we used to."

Joseph replied with a single "Yeah."

Below that, someone chimed in:

"Vivien was always too fussy about that stuff."

"She'd practically fill out two pages just for a delivery check."

I finished reading and muted the group.

Not long after, Joseph messaged me privately.

A purchasing contract.

"Take a look for Jade."

I didn't open it.

"Get a lawyer."

The call came through instantly.

"It's just a few pages."

"You always used to handle this kind of thing."

"That used to be my job."

"It's Jade's first time on purchasing."

There was already an edge of impatience in his voice.

"Would it kill you to walk her through it?"

I laughed.

"Isn't she the head of the place?"

Joseph paused.

"The head runs the food."

"She doesn't know contracts and all that."

I said nothing.

So not knowing contracts was perfectly acceptable, but not knowing how to cook meant you were nothing more than an employee.

"If that's all, I'm hanging up."

"Vivien."

He stopped me.

"You really plan to stay out of everything from now on?"

"Yes."

"Fine."

His voice went cold too.

"Then don't come crying later."

That night, the new restaurant held its first internal tasting. All twelve seats were full.

I didn't go.

But the old operations manager sent me a photo of the menu.

"Vivien, did you see the last dish?"

I scrolled down.

The last dish was called "First Encounter."

My finger stopped.

Ten years ago, the day before the first restaurant opened.

Joseph had run through seven versions of the appetizer and wasn't happy with any of them. When the last one came out, he asked me, "What do we call it?"

I said, "First Encounter."

"Why?"

"If the people trying it for the first time remember it, they'll come back for a second."

That dish went on to be the longest-running item on the menu.

The menu changed four times.

It stayed. And now, under "First Encounter," there was a new line.

Head Jade Fox, a fresh reinterpretation.

The next day, Jade posted the tasting feedback in the group.

Twelve guests, eleven raves.

She even added a photo of herself holding a plate of "First Encounter."

"The most popular dish last night."

Someone asked:

"New dish of yours, Jade?"

She replied:

"Call it half a new one."

"Joseph had an old base for it. I reworked the sauce and the plating."

Joseph liked the post right away.

I closed the chat.

Ten minutes later, the brand agency called.

"Ms. Pruitt, the new restaurant is applying to keep using the original brand identity."

"We need you to confirm on your end."

Back when we registered the trademark, Joseph never even looked at the paperwork.

He said the kitchen was busy and told me to decide.

I ran around for months and ended up registering the trademark under my own name.

Now the old restaurant had already been shut down by his own announcement.

I asked, "In the new restaurant's application, is my name on it?"

They checked.

"No."

"Then no licensing is needed."

"But Mr. James said..."

"Tell him to make a new one."

I hung up.

Less than five minutes.

Joseph's name lit up.

I declined it outright.

The old brand was off the table, so Joseph had someone cover the signage that same day.

The next day, reservations opened as usual. Twelve seats, gone in under three minutes.

Jade posted a screenshot of the booking dashboard.

"Thank you, everyone."

Someone commented:

"People will pay for the best chef anywhere he goes."

She replied:

"So in the end, what keeps guests coming back is the food."

Steve called me that same day. He told me the other two investors were pulling out of the new place.

"You're gone, the brand's gone. They think the risk is too high."

I asked, "And you?"

"I'll hold off for now."

He gave a short laugh.

"But credit where it's due, Joseph really isn't short on customers right now."

"First month's already almost fully booked."

I said, "Good for him."

Steve went quiet instead.

"You're not angry?"

"Why would I be?"

Whether the new place made it had never been the thing I wanted to prove.

That afternoon, I went to meet with a restaurant group.

They'd approached me two years ago. Back then I hadn't even asked about terms.

Because Joseph had said:

"You've got your own restaurant and you'd rather go work for someone else?"

This time, the man across from me slid a file over.

"We've got a location that's lost money three months running."

"If you come on board, it's the first project we hand you."

I'd just opened to the first page when my phone rang.

The wedding planner.

"Ms. Pruitt, Mr. James says the banquet menu gets its final sign-off today."

"When will you be here?"

I froze for a second.

These past days I'd moved out, quit, killed the brand license.

Joseph hadn't brought up the wedding once. I'd assumed he at least knew something was wrong between us.

Turned out he didn't.

By the time I reached the wedding company, Joseph was already there.

So was Jade.

Seven or eight tasting plates sat on the table, and she had her chopsticks in a piece of fish.

"This sauce is too heavy."

"With this many tables at a banquet, you want to let the ingredients speak for themselves."

Joseph nodded.

"Change it."

I stood in the doorway and watched for a few seconds.

Jade noticed me first.

"You're here."

She set her chopsticks down fast.

"Joseph said you don't usually deal with the kitchen, so I came to help you two taste the menu."

She pointed at one of the dishes.

"I already tried this one for you. It's not right for a banquet."

Joseph handed me the guest list.

"Go through the dietary restrictions and special requests again."

I didn't take it.

"Why is she here?"

Joseph frowned.

"I told you, didn't I? She's helping with the tasting."

Like I was being unreasonable again.

"Vivien, given everything going on, can you not drag Jade into every single thing?"

Jade stood up at once.

"Joseph, maybe I should just go."

That's what she said, but her hand was still pressed on that menu.

"If it makes you uncomfortable, I won't be involved from now on."

Joseph's face only darkened.

"She doesn't know any of this. If you go, who's going to taste it?"

I laughed, all at once.

The wedding planner stood off to the side, looking at me, then at them.

Nobody said anything.

I took off my ring.

Joseph froze.

"What are you doing?"

"The wedding's off."

His face dropped.

"Vivien."

"Restaurant business stays with the restaurant. You have to bring it to the wedding?"

I looked at him. So even now, he still thought I was just making a scene.

The restaurant could be discussed with Jade.

The new place could be run by Jade.

Even our own banquet, she could sit here and taste for me, while all I had to do was tidy up the guests' dietary restrictions at the end.

Still operations.

Still an employee.

I pushed the banquet list back at him.

"I'm not making a scene."

"We're not getting married."