One Year Later
One month after Laurent and I got engaged, I was accepted into my top choice for pastry school.
Leaving Le Jules was harder than I expected. Of course, once I had made the decision to leave, all the diners behaved perfectly, as happy as I was to be in the Eiffel Tower. I still drop by every month or so to see Chef La Croix and Luc and everyone else.
I’m nearly finished with my nine-month Dipl?me de Patisserie program. It’s been hard, but I’ve never doubted it’s what I’m meant to be doing.
Once I have my certificate, I plan to work in a bakery for at least a year to find my feet. After that, I may keep going with that job or try to open my own shop. Either idea makes me feel overwhelmed with happiness and excitement.
Laurent and I found the perfect spot to open his new restaurant in Colmar.
It’s a tiny space, just enough for six seats, exactly what Laurent wanted.
The grand opening went off without a hitch.
Laurent did everything from cooking the meals, to pouring the wine, to, yes, washing the dishes until they sparkled.
We’ve been traveling between Paris and Colmar on our days off to see each other, and as soon as I finish my program, I’m joining him in our new apartment.
Yasmine got accepted into EHL’s hospitality program, left Le Jules Verne right before I did, and is throwing herself into her courses in Switzerland. Le?la took over as head server at Le Jules Verne and, by all accounts, is doing perfectly. Even Chef La Croix says so.
I see Chef almost more than I did when he was my boss.
He stopped by my apartment once to see how I was doing and ran into Madame Blanchet on his way out.
I don’t know what they spoke about (with them, truly the possibilities are endless), but he now stops by to see her at least once a week, a bag of homemade dog treats clutched in his hand.
Laurent and I were married two months ago. We had the official ceremony at the town hall in Colmar, just the two of us. Our reception was a week later, at Laurent’s parents’ house.
We spent the week before the wedding preparing all the food ourselves.
Laurent made the main courses, and I baked a four-tiered lemon poppyseed cake with vanilla buttercream frosting.
Yasmine and Noelle helped me put up decorations.
There were fairy lights in the garden and strawberries in the champagne.
Luc manned the speakers, and people danced in the grass as the sun went down.
Before the night ended, I ducked into the shadows for a moment to soak everything in. Here we were, on the cusp of our new careers, surrounded by our friends and family before we began our new life together. I couldn’t have pictured a more perfect wedding.
And the food, of course, was delicious.