Free Kitchen Trouble by Sara Hooper Page A

that I wasn’t willing to compromise and went my own way.”
    “I’m not saying that you can’t go back to it, but most companies react better to the clean cut look, instead of the hippie wannabe.” I could tell he was put off by my statement, but I think deep down he knew that I was just trying to be a good friend.
    “You can make the appointment for me, but I can’t promise that I’ll show up.” I got up and phoned Zee to get him in tomorrow morning before the interview. Her real name is Zelda, but she has always been known as Zee. Her shop was even called Zee Best Hair. I never fully understood why, but it seemed to draw the clientele right into her door.
    “Sure boo, I can fit your friend in. Is this the hunky guy that is practically stuck to your hip?” She only said that because Peter would attend all the functions with me. Whether, it was a wedding, or Christmas Party, Peter was always ready with a smile to join me.
    “Yeah that’s him.”
    “I’ve never understood why you two never got together. I know for a fact that I’ve never heard you mention him ever having a girlfriend. He isn’t your gay friend is he?” Come to think of it, I’ve never seen him with a girl. I’ve always seen him as being a big brother who was always just there when I needed him. I can’t even remember a time when he wasn’t there, providing me a shoulder to lean on.
    “No, I don’t think he’s gay and besides we’re just friends.”
    “Maybe, while I have him in the chair, I’ll do a little digging and see what his deal is.”
    “Don’t go making him uncomfortable. If you do, he’ll never come back.” Zee was pretending that she didn’t hear me and hung up before I could get another sentence out.
    I went back to the table and found that Peter had finished off the spaghetti and was now drinking a glass of red wine.
    “Zee, will see you tomorrow when she first opens. You’ll recognize her by the bustier tops she wears and her long dreadlocks. Do you think I should get dread locks? They seem to be quite the trend these days.” He put his hand into my hair and ran it through to the other side.
    “You already look beautiful, all dreadlocks would do is make it hard to wash your hair and make you look Jamaican. Then you’ll have to start saying ‘Hey Mon’ and no one needs that.” I punched him in the arm and we laughed together. He downed his wine and left, he had to get home to feed his cat Socrates.
    Let’s see, he’s good looking in the beat nick way, no girlfriend, lives alone, has a cat and his best friend is a woman whomeets him every Sunday for Mimosas and brunch. Was it possible that he was my gay friend?
    I was driving home when fate lent a hand to my decision to open my own place. There was this old restaurant called Mony Mony and there was a ‘For sale’ sign hanging on its dusty showcase window. Apparently, the owner of the place loved the singer Billy Idol and opened the restaurant with only foods that Billy loved. I could’ve told him that it wouldn’t work. People were getting away from kitschy places with motives, and more now into fine dining and fancy plates.
    My foot hit the brakes and I rolled into the parking lot. There were plenty of parking spaces in the front. What I could tell, just from looking outside, the building seemed to have a good foundation. I looked through the window and saw that it could comfortably fit up to at least 75 persons. I could see the kitchen from where I was, and it was one of those diner types, so the patrons could see you cook. That would be the first thing I’d change. I’d also changed the name and bring my grandmother’s recipes to the locals. Look at me, already deciding changes when the place wasn’t even mine yet. I found myself skipping back to the car with a little lift in my step.
    The next day, I called the realtor for the place and found out that it would cost 300 thousand dollars. I’ve been saving and I have a small inheritance after my