“I need to call the plumber, but I can’t. I need to get the cookies in the oven right now,” she talked to herself.
Putting on an apron and getting the ingredients needed, she started putting them together, and within fifteen minutes, it was time to get them into the oven. After setting the timer, she set about making the sandwiches that had become a popular hit for her customers.
“All right, crisis averted.” She breathed a sigh of relief as she plopped down on the stool. But it was short-lived as the sound of the smoke detector had her running back to the kitchen.
At the sight of the smoke blanketing the kitchen and the water now full-on gushing from the faucet, her feet buckled under her, and she crumpled to the floor.
“Why is this happening to me?” she threw out into the atmosphere as she held strands of her hair in her hands and looked at the chaos around her helplessly. Just then, the sprinkler came on to add to the disaster. Diane let out a guttural cry as tears broke through and flowed nonstop down her cheeks.
So much for her motivation today because, in the space of a good minute, everything had turned into a nightmare.
The sound of the doorbell brought her out of her stupor, and she quickly wiped at her tears before rising to her feet and heading out to the front. A woman in business attire stood outside, looking at her watch and back at the door while tapping her foot. Diane hurriedly walked to the door.
“Hi, good morning. I’m sorry, but we're closed.” She smiled politely as she informed the woman.
“But your sign says otherwise.” The woman folded her arms across her chest as she stared pointedly at Diane.
“It does, but there is an emergency. I really am sorry for the inconvenience.”
The woman’s top lip trembled while her eyes screamed in anger. She closed them and then took a deep breath. “Fine,” she finally replied in a strained voice. With that, she turned on her heels and left.
Diane released the breath she had been holding, along with a stream of tears. She reached for her phone in her back pocket and dialed a number, then put it to her ear.
“Hello?”
“Aunt Kerry,” she whimpered.
“Diane? What’s wrong?” her aunt’s worried voice rang through the speaker.
“I…I… the bistro.” That was all she managed to get out before breaking down again.
“I’m on my way,” Kerry said.
Fifteen minutes later, Kerry was by her side and scooping her into her arms.
“Today was supposed to be a good day.”
“What happened?” Kerry asked, holding her niece's head against her chest.
Diane lifted her head to look at her aunt. “I'll have to show you,” she replied in a small voice.
Kerry nodded, and Diane walked her to the back, where the kitchen was. Her hand flew to her mouth, and her eyes popped as she looked at the sodden room and burnt, soggy pastries on the countertop.
“Oh no, Diane, this is bad.”
“Mom was right. I’m not cut out for this. Maybe I was just fooling myself that I could do it.” Diane sighed dejectedly.
Kerry rounded to look at her. “That is not true, Diane. This is your dream, and you have been doing well so far. You can't let a one-off day ruin everything you've accomplished so far.”
Diane stared at her feet. She knew her aunt’s words were true, but the feeling of being a failure stuck to her like glue, and at the moment, it was the most tangible emotion she could accept.
“Sweetie, look at me.” Kerry held her cheeks and turned her head toward her.
Her green eyes bore into her niece as she continued, “You are a strong, independent young woman who is coming into her own. I wish I had this courage at your age to follow my dreams. Don't let anything or anyone tell you differently.”
Diane's lips curled into a grateful smile. “Thanks, Aunt Kerry. I really needed to hear that.”
“It was my pleasure.” Kerry smiled. “So what are we going to do about all of this?” She gestured to the chaos around them.
