Plot Twist

20. brace yourself

I knew that breaking the news to my brother about me leaving my job at The Royal Rose would be somewhat of a challenge, precisely because he knew how stable of a job it was and how much I needed it, despite the night and the weekend shifts. At the end of the day, it was a fancy restaurant, therefore the tips were very nice, and so was the pay. I just didn't know that it would be this challenging.

"Mel, why would you want to quit your job at the restaurant?" Lucas popped the question. I felt like I had X-ray vision at that moment, and I could see his brain turned into knots as he tried to figure out the reason for why I would leave such a job.

"I told you." I took in the crispy air of London and whipped my head to face him. "L'Amour is a better opportunity for me."

We were walking side by side, as we had just exited the Natural History Museum, with the kids and Nicole a couple of steps ahead of us. The little ones were running around the green area that surrounded the large, tall building while my sister in law was chasing after them. Whenever our schedules allow it (mostly mine), we always try to get together with our children and do something fun, spend quality time. They absolutely love coming to this museum, it's their third time and they still have a blast as if it was their first.

On this autumnal Saturday afternoon, the cloudy skies of London were darkening the city rapidly,and, minute by minute, I could see the lampposts lighting up and making the city shine bright.

"I'm never going to be more than just a simple waitress at The Royal Rose, no matter how hard I try to tell myself otherwise. And at L'Amour I actually have the chance to work behind the scenes, cook the food we'll be serving. That's what I've always wanted to do, you know that."

"I do know that, Mel. And I am so happy that you found a place where you can actually do what you love."

"Why do I sense a but coming?"

He pursed his lips into a tight line after he exhaled, his expression looking concerned. "I'm just looking out for you, you know that."

"I do." I nodded.

"But this seems very sudden to me." He said. "I'm sorry, but I can't not see it."

"Lucas," I stopped in my tracks and nudged him on the shoulder to make him stop too. "I can guarantee you that I have thought this through, I know what I am doing."

I seemed to have caught his attention, and my message seemed to get across. "Plus, you know better than anyone what it's like to chase after your dreams."

Lucas had always dreamed of being a cartoonist. He'd spent his entire life drawing animated characters of his own creation, and he had even attended an Arts School, but ended up being a jewellery designer at Gems of the Heath, his friend's jewellery store, in Hampstead. That job was not even close to what he wanted to do with his life, but it paid the bills and, much like my waitressing job, it was steady. He worked there for quite a while, until he met his wife, Nicole. They dated for a while, and when he went with her to the US to spend Thanksgiving with her family, she actually managed the opportunity to have him visit the Pixar studios in California, where he then scored an interview and, later on, started working there. And, long story short, his lifelong dream literally came true.

"I do, I know." He said, repetelly. "I just don't want you to jump into a whole new job and career without thinking things through. And I don't want you to regret it in the end."

That was all true, but the main reason why I changed jobs was not something I could exactly tell my brother. If Lucas dreamed that I had been getting calls from my ex in prison, and that I had his lawyer find me at my job and ask for me, demanding me to pay David a visit, he would absolutely lose it.