I had got a text from Ben the previous night: he mentioned that Phil invited us for breakfast and that Kate could come too. And this would be my last day at Kate’s place since her boyfriend was coming back.

I still hadn’t decided on what to do with my life. I thought about Phil’s offer but I wasn’t sure. Everything seemed so overwhelming; the idea of trusting someone again only to get hurt was a ‘no’ for me.

“Caro, would you please hurry?” Kate knocked on the bathroom door.

“I’ll be done soon.”

“It’s almost 10 am!”

I looked at my blue dress lying on the bed and thought of changing my mind but decided to wear it anyway. I let my curls loose and applied eyeshadow.

“Look at you. All beautiful,” Kate said with a cheerful voice.

“Thank y-”

“Caro… You crying?” She walked closer and handed me a tissue.

“I-I’m just exhausted…. ” I sat on the bed. “I can’t do this-”

“What do you mean?” she asked, concerned.

I stood up, wiped my eyes and grabbed my purse. “We don’t want to be late, do we?”

She looked at me, her face covered in confusion.

“I’ll be fine… I’m fine, Kate,” I reassured her.

After being misled by Google maps twice, we finally got to Phil’s house in one piece. And right in front of the door, stood Ben with his million-dollar smile.

“Oh my gosh…CC, I’m so glad you both made it!”

“Haha, we did… Caro wanted to get back home. You should be glad I changed her mind,” Kate laughed.

“That’s why I love you!” Ben said. “Thanks Kate!”

We all laughed and joined Phil at the dining table. Everything looked well prepared. French toast with berries around the tray. Waffles covered in syrup and many other finger foods. It looked like those Christmas breakfasts in movies. But strangely Phil was alone; I thought he would be with his family. This house is big, surely he doesn’t live alone, I thought.

“I hope you enjoy… Ben has put so much thought into this breakfast,” Phil smiled.

Looking at the picture across from me, I asked, “Will your wife and daughter join us?”

There was a bit of silence before Ben could look at Phil then face me. “They both lost their lives in a car crash a year ago.”

“Oh, my word… I didn’t mean to… ”

“It’s alright, Caro,” Phil reassured me with a smile.
Although Ben made small talk here and there, everyone decided to enjoy the delicious breakfast in silence.

“Kate, mind helping me clear the table?” Ben asked, while packing the plates together.

I smiled, genially.

“Thanks for this amazing breakfast, Ben. We really appreciate it.”

“You’re probably better than me… Hope you weren’t judging my cooking skills?” Ben winked, then left with Kate.

“Phil. I’m so sorry about earlier on… Ben never mentioned that to me.”

“Oh no, it’s okay. But I would like to know if you have made a decision about my offer?” he continued.

“Phil… it’s just that… ”

“Look, you remind me of my daughter. She loved talking about technology – she always wanted to build an app.” His voice cracked a little.

“I’m sorry about that, but why me? You could sponsor a computer science school. You don’t have to help me.”

“I have to, Caro!”

“Huh?” I looked at him in shock.

“Because not helping someone is the same as hurting them.”

“But…”

“Especially when you can,” he held my hand.

“Okay Phil. I accept your offer.” What was there to lose anyway? Another app?

Both Kate and Ben joined us, smiling at me. It looked like they had been talking about me and I decided to try and act natural, but failed.

“Caro has agreed to my offer!” Phil exclaimed.

“Her room is ready at any time and I will let my secretary know about you starting work on Monday… is that too soon?”

“Eh, CC… you’ll be living here? Don’t say I didn’t warn you about Uncle Phil’s crazy cat,” Ben laughed with excitement in his eyes.

“Wow sis, I’m proud of you!” Kate hugged me.

“You will be part of every process until we get your app in the app store,” Phil reassured me.

Could this be God’s surprise for me? Maybe my parents were watching over me. As scared as I was, I would not let fear deprive me from a life-changing opportunity.

“Thank you, Phil!”

***

It had been three great months of my life. My app was all done and polished, work was great and Phil’s house was peaceful.

I was invited to present my app at a business event. Many great chefs and well-known business people would be there.

Kate and I will be there soon.

Ben messaged.

I invited them for moral support. I looked at myself in the mirror and I felt good. My long black silk dress fitted so well with the silver high heels. I decided to go for natural but elegant make-up.

“We’re here!” Kate shouted down the stairs.

“Woah… what did you do to our CC!” Ben stared at me.

“That’s my sis. Glow your way up, girl.”

We were almost late and didn’t want to waste more time. On our way, Ben kept staring at me every once in a while, but I pretended like I didn’t notice.

Right on time I was called to the stage.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” I looked at the well-dressed audience. “Three months ago, I would have never believed this moment… not even in my dreams. But you are not here to listen to that. This app is called ‘Be the Chef’. It’s a collection of my own made-up recipes and maybe one day yours. It makes it easy for people to watch and make their own food while following the steps.” I continued. Then I noticed Nadia in the crowd, but she quickly looked away.
“But this was never my first app. I lost ownership of that app… “ I continued, looking at her. “But I’m so grateful to the amazing friends who believed in me,” I smiled

“And this here is the result of a vision never lost.” I walked off the stage and opened my arms to a bunch of beautiful roses from Ben.

“I knew you had it in you, always!”

He kissed my forehead and led me to my seat. I was walking on air. I knew my parents would be so proud of me and making my vision happen.

***

Tell us: What did you think of this story?