Good things had an annoying tendency to come to an end too fast. The anniversary party of my bistro was over. The stacks of dirty dishes in the kitchen and tired smiles on my workers' faces were the only things to remind me there had been a celebration barely fifteen minutes ago.

"Take a day off tomorrow, all of you," I said to my people.

"But the place is a mess, Thierry.
Who's gonna tidy everything up?" asked Marco.

"Jim and Nick offered to help. Aiden will, too. We'll manage. Now, go home, and thank you for making my party a great one."

Several voices said, "You're welcome."
I waited until everyone left and began to pick up empty bottles and alike to have less work to do the following day.

Someone knocked on the door of the bistro, ignoring the Closed sign on it. I put aside one of the tablecloths I yanked off a table and padded to the entrance of my restaurant.

"Alan! What a surprise!" I grinned, seeing my friend who couldn't make it to the celebration stand on the other side of the door. "Come on in."

Alan walked into the bistro."I'm glad you're still here. I'm sorry I couldn't attend the party, but I have something for you."

"You didn't have to," I scolded him.

"Nonsense, Fauber. Besides, it's nothing special, just something to drink on stressful days."

"You would know." I laughed, accepting the bottle. "Thank you. Was the surgery okay?"

Alan smiled, lowering himself onto a chair at one of the tables. "Fortunately.  I'm not always so lucky when they call me on my day off."

"Understandable. Have you eaten?"

"Can I forget my good manners and ask you to feed me?"

Laughing, I slapped Alan's shoulder. "Wait here."

Luckily, we had enough food left. I heated up some meat and grabbed a plate with cold appetizers.

Alan rubbed his palms together as soon as I'd placed everything on the table.

"Go ahead and chew," I said.

"On it, chef."

The guy was clearly famished, judging by how fast he finished everything on his plate. I didn't blame him. Saving lives left little time for food and sleep.

"Thank you. It was delicious. I will probably recommend your place to my friends."

I laughed. "Don't be an ass. I already feed half of the hospital, thanks to you and Leo. Better tell me what's new. How is Ava?"

"Ava is happy in your beloved oh là là land," said Alan. "But I'm not gonna lie— I miss her way more than I thought I would."

"Marseille is a good city. If she's happy, you should be, too. Besides, you will visit her soon."

"I will at Christmas. I promised her we'd see more of France when I'm there. Whatever for my only child, you know?"

"You remind me of my dad. And that's a good thing."

"Did your dad also encourage you to take a gap year to figure out what you wanted to do?"

"No." I shook my head. "But he did everything he could for me, and I'll always be grateful for that."

"I'm trying to be a decent father, Thierry." Alan sighed. "The easy thing would be to tell my daughter to stay in this town and study the same degree I did, but I'm not sure it's what Ava would've wanted. Hopefully, by the time she's back, she will have figured out what she likes."

"Traveling is good, anyway. Not everyone can do it. I'm sure Ava will benefit from it."

Alan grinned, raising his wine glass. "Cheers to that. My biggest concern was to raise a decent human being. I think I succeeded. That's the most important thing."

***

"Welcome to our now clean and decent-looking place!" I said, opening the door for Louise, Ellie and their uncle the following day.

"Ellie, come sit with us, girl," Jimmy called the girl. She strolled toward him, glancing around.

Aiden was helping me heat up the food in the kitchen. As soon as he heard Ellie's voice, he came up to greet her.

"I gave my staff a day off," I said. "They worked hard in the weeks prior to the celebration, and yesterday as well. I'm grateful these gentlemen helped me clean everything here today. If not, I'd still be scrubbing. And since your boy is a decent cook, Ellie, he's been helping me get the dinner ready."

"You are lucky to have them." Louise laughed. "I am sure they would rather get some sleep after the party, so you have to be grateful."

"I'm more than grateful," I said, pecking Louise's cheek. "Alright, sit down, everyone. It's time to enjoy some appetizers."

We settled at the table to eat. I observed Louise's uncle out of the corner of my eye. He was civil, although his expression didn't seem friendly.

"So you cook, then?" I heard Steve ask Aiden when we started eating.

"Sort of, sir. Just to get by."

"Usually, that's what parents do." Lou's uncle said as he reached for some cheese.

"Not my case," Aiden replied quietly.

"What else do you like doing?"

"Kennedy's a great guitarist," Jimmy said, "it's a pity he doesn't want to do it professionally."

"What do you want to do, then?" Steve asked.

"I don't really know, sir."

"He doesn't know," Lou's uncle said, making me lose my patience. I had to be naive to think he wouldn't try to ruin the meal with an interrogation.

"Mister Donovan," I said, plastering a smile I used with my customers on my face. "When I was Aiden's age, I didn't have any idea either. Sometimes it takes some time or an event in your life to figure out which way to go."

"I don't know what I'll study, either," Ellie said, looking at Aiden. Her words were enough to make everyone direct their attention to her instead of Aiden, who was chewing his food with a frown.

When I showed Steve around the bistro later, I had to fake the enthusiasm. What he said didn't sit well with me.

I could be a hypocrite and agree with him, claiming that all young people knew what they wanted to do with their lives, but I didn't do it, because that would be a lie.

When I was Aiden's age, I was a damaged, scared guy. Getting through one day at a time was the only thing I could do.

All the good things I was proud of now — my profession, my studies happened later.

I didn't forget what it was like to be young and doubt your worth. I was lucky because Jean and my dad were there to uplift me and give me support. Did Aiden have anyone who would do the same for him?

***

When everyone left, I approached Aiden, who insisted on staying to help me tidy up the kitchen.

"Thank you," I said. "I wouldn't have managed without you."

Aiden shrugged. "It's nothing. Maybe I'm good at this. I have to be good at something, right?"

"You're good at many things. Not knowing what you want to do doesn't make you worthless. You're young, and there's plenty of time for those decisions."

Aiden sighed, dropping the kitchen towel onto the counter. "What if he's right, and I'm not enough for Ellie? Hell, I am positive she can do better than me."

"But she chose you, and that's the most important thing. Don't let one judgemental man undermine your self-confidence. You will find out which way to go sooner or later."

Aiden smiled a half-smile. "Yeah, I guess so. I do know I won't pursue a career as a musician. That kind of life is fun, but it's not easy to have a serious relationship when you tour for months every year. Am I crazy for thinking about it?" Aiden added at the end of his answer.

"No, Aiden. You're sensible. I wish Steve could see it."

"I wish I didn't feel like crap every time he speaks to me," said Aiden. "But the truth is, we don't always get what we want."