Unexpected Love Read Online Free PDF Page A

woman who told them the daily specials.  They chatted after ordering. At first, he did most of the talking but she soon relaxed.  She talked about her adventurous road trip and he told her more about Maggie and Walter and the town.
    “How long have you lived here?”
    “In this city, about four years.  I met Maggie and Walter my first week here.  They’re nice people.”
    “How long have you been in the U.S.?”
    He thought about it, “I guess around nine years.  Where do you live?”
    “Oh, Cumbersmith for a couple of years.  I was lucky to get a really good job there.”
    The waitress came back and refilled their drinks and brought their food.  The food was delicious.  She had the special for the day, fried chicken and Sean had followed suit.  She didn’t order fried chicken very often but this was really good.  The coating was crunchy and flavorful and the chicken was juicy.  It was served with a sweet cornbread muffin, homemade cole slaw, and hand cut French fries.  She loved to cook and appreciated good, homemade meals. 
    She thought about the popular local restaurant where she had worked as a sous chef before the accident.  The restaurant was usually busy when it opened for lunch and dinner.  Even though they were not open in the morning, they were usually in the kitchen prepping food for the day.  They never knew the specials for the day until the morning.  The chef liked to come up with specials daily decided the night before.   The restaurant had a good reputation so it was not uncommon for there to be a waiting line.
    She thought about the smells, the busy atmosphere, the line cooks, wait staff and noises of chopping, pots and pans, spoons clanking, staff shouting out needs.  The chef had to let her go because they needed someone in her role and it was going to be a long recovery time before she could hold up in a fast paced, sometimes stressful kitchen environment. 
    She understood even though it did not make her feel any better about it. She had also been disappointed when wait staff and kitchen help had sent her cards while in the hospital, but the head chef had never even checked on her.  She tried not to be negative, but past experiences sometimes made her that way.  She usually tried to be a positive person and she was trying to get back to that state of mind.
    It was a good thing she had saved up a portion of her checks so she could afford to go for a short time without a job.  She had been saving it up in the hopes of buying a house and getting some pets.  She really wanted a couple of dogs, but there were no pets allowed at her small apartment complex. 
    She loved animals and would have a houseful if she could.  Dogs, maybe a cat, a couple of birds, fish.  They would probably be too much to care for with her schedule, but she liked to dream about it.  She wasn’t sure how long her money would last so she was being very careful.
    Her thoughts were interrupted when she realized Sean was talking to her.  “Did I lose you?” he asked.
    She shook her head and smiled at him.  “Sorry.  I was thinking about how good this food is and how much I love to cook.  I was a sous chef at a restaurant before the accident but they had to let me go.”
    He frowned, “I’m sorry.  You can’t work there now?”
    She shrugged, “No, can’t keep up with the kitchen pace so I was let go.”
    He leaned back in the booth bench across from her.  “I think you are the first professional chef I have ever known.”
    “Sous chef de Cuisine.”  She said sassily.
    “What does a sous chef de cuisine do?”  His tone was light and almost teasing.
    “Well, I prep, cook, and take over on the rare occasions when the head chef is not there.  Or I did.”
    He nodded, “I see.  Did you like it?”
    “Other than the long hours, lack of personal time, and the pressure?  Yes, I did.  Now, I don’t know.  I miss it, but not as much as I thought I would.  I guess life has a way of