Free Love and Food by K.L. Prince

something that was always present.  I like to think of it as a need given by God.  I don’t mean to get spiritual on you, but I totally believe that we all have that need inside of us.  I think that we all have something that we love to do and we need to do.  Yours was cooking and mine was restoration or revival.  I like bringing things back from the dead.  It doesn’t matter what it is.  It could be a bird with a broken wing or a restaurant.  Restoration has been something that has been with me since I was young.  I remember when I was probably about eight or nine….” Ethan stops and looks at her.  “I’m so sorry.  This meeting isn’t about me.  I do that sometimes – hijack conversations.  I apologize.”
                  “No apology necessary.  I would like to hear where you were going.  What happened when you were eight or nine years old?” she says, intrigued by the man sitting in front of her.  Along with cooking, she’s always had an interest in people and what makes them tick.  He’s interested in how the restaurant came to be, but she is also interested in what’s behind Ethan Saint and how he’s become who he is in his life.
                  “Okay, if you insist,” he says, raising an eye and looking at her.
                  “I insist,” she says, nodding for him to continue.
                  “Well, as a child, I grew up on a farm.  When I was bored, I would explore.  In my mind, I would call them adventures.  Anyway, one day I was walking through the wooded part of our property and I found a raccoon and its paw was stuck in a trap.  I remember I was furious that my parents had placed a trap on our property, but after speaking with them, I found out that it was done by the previous owners.  I remember when I found the raccoon, I ran as fast as I could to the house to get my mother.  My mother, who by the way is one of the greatest women I have ever known, didn’t even question me.  She immediately stopped what she was doing and she rushed back with me to save the raccoon.  She helped me release the raccoon and we brought him back to the barn.  To make a long story short, we nursed him back to health and he never left my side after that.  I named him Ralph and he was my best bud for a long time.  That is when my love for restoration begin”
                  “Sounds to me like you should have been a veterinarian.”
                  “I thought about it, but it wasn’t what I loved,” Ethan says, fiddling with a fork on the table.  “So, back to you, when did you decide that you wanted to open a restaurant?”
                  “When I was in culinary school.  I weighed what my options were when I finished school and that was the one I decided on.  I knew that I wouldn’t be happy working for someone else.  I wanted to be the boss.  I decided that I wanted to be the overseer and not be overseen.”
                  “So what did you do to make it here?” he says, gesturing with his hand at their surroundings.
                  “When I graduated, I got a job working at an upscale restaurant called The Renaissance in town.  I worked day and night and I saved up ever cent I could until I had enough money to pay for everything I needed to start this place.”
                  “How long did that take?”
                  “About ten years.”
                  “Wow.”
                  “Yeah, it took awhile, but I was patient and determined.  I knew what I wanted and I went for it.”
                  “Okay, so I have a good idea how this place came to be, but can I ask you something?”
                  “Of course.  Ask me anything.”
                  “Every time I’ve seen you so far, you’ve been sitting in that office in the back.  I have yet to find you in