The Holiday

He was already drowning in work when his boss walked up to him to give him more work to finish by the end of the week. He absolutely loathed his boss, but tried not to express his feelings towards him.

 “Richard Boucher”, his boss said in a stern voice, “I need these reports finished by day-after tomorrow. Do you understand?” “Y-y-yes boss”, he stammered. “Good”, he said and walked away.

It was getting late and it seemed as though he was the last one to leave the office. As he walked home with his briefcase in one hand and his coat in another, he wondered why he was working under such a man who pressurised him way too much. He was so lost in his thoughts, he didn’t hear the thunder, and it began to pour.

He stood under a bus-stop to take shelter and decided to take the bus home. He reached home and although he was tired, he knew he couldn’t go to sleep anytime soon. He had lots of work to finish.

Before he knew it, he was sleeping on his work table. Fast asleep.

Richard came from a typical French family who cared about their status in society. They lived in a small town in the suburbs of France. He was the oldest son of his parents and had a sister, who was about five years younger than him. His father was a butcher and he owned the shop. The family ran a business on their small farm. His mother used to work on the farm years ago. The family used to go on picnics very often to the farm when Richard was younger.  

Richard missed his parents immensely and barely got to see them after he went to London for work. He also missed the picnics, which were memories from his childhood which he treasured. He regularly called up his sister and had long conversations with her. She, too, had moved out of the house two years ago.

He was imagining playing with the sheep in his little farm when he was abruptly woken up by the alarm. It was time to get back to real life and rush to work.

Richard thought of resigning from his job and starting his own business but worried his parents would not appreciate it. He was indeed, very smart and talented and knew he was capable enough to build a successful company. All he needed was an opportunity.

At work, he was quite shy and did not like being expressive about his feelings. He would never make anyone feel left out and would always hear them out. He would often take up extra work, despite being tired, which would pressurize him later. He just could not refuse taking up the extra work given to him.

He was stressed that day and strained his eyes reading the papers. All he wanted was a holiday. Was that too much to ask for? A few hours later, his desk partner finished his assigned work and decided to help Richard.

They were committed to finishing as much work as possible. They made a great team and ended up finishing not only the day’s work but also, the next day’s work too. Their boss was impressed and granted them a holiday the day after.

The next day was Friday. He had the weekend in his hands too. He decided to make a getaway. He planned to surprise his parents. He took an early morning flight and reached his parent’s house at nine in the morning. They woke up to a pleasant surprise. They were overjoyed to be able to see their son after a long time.

His mother prepared his favourite dishes and his father got freshly butchered meat. He decided to see how his mother made the dishes and surprisingly, he wanted to help her cook.

He was suddenly interested in the process of how the meal was being made. At first, it seemed hard, but soon enough, he got the hang of it. Not much later, he learnt a few basic dishes and when he returned to London, he decided to try and make them himself. All of a sudden, he felt calm in his heart when he was cooking, though he had just begun.

A few weeks later, he found himself eating fewer meals in the office and cooked all three meals himself. He was getting better at cooking and most importantly, he stopped worrying. He was enjoying himself in the kitchen - a place he least expected to find pleasure. He realised that the break he took after the hectic week made him feel a lot better and gave him a fresh perspective of living life.

About a month later, Christmas arrived, so he went to his parent’s house. His sister was visiting too. He took up a few dishes and he stunned everyone. His mother and sister were impressed. He stayed a few days after Christmas, before he left.

During those days, he came up with an idea to start a side business to do something he loved, though he did not know what to tell his parents. He said his goodbyes and left after New Year.

His days after that were in and out of the office and surprisingly, he was less stressed than he was before. Whenever something bothered him too much, he cooked up a dish and that got his mind off the topic. He was calmer than before and he was getting better at cooking. As you would have already guessed, this was is new passion and he liked trying out new recipes and challenging himself.

Soon enough he mastered several dishes and cooked every day. This was his little escape from his boss’s harsh tone. He didn’t care about that promotion he had his eyes on and now all he wanted was to cook. He realised his true calling was cooking, and all his job gave him was more stress and anxiety.

Months passed, and before he knew it, a year had passed. He had saved up some money and he was ready to face his father that Christmas. He gathered some courage and went to have a talk with his father.

He told him he wanted to open a restaurant of his own. At first his father was speechless. He explained to him why he wanted to do so and he found his solace in cooking. His father remembered the turkey his son made the last Christmas and grinned. He soon learned how fascinated Richard was with cooking. 

He appreciated his idea and said he’d help Richard, which left him flabbergasted. His father then said to him, “It is okay to have high hopes, but we should work towards to be able to accomplish our goals.” “Yes Dad, all I need is a chance. I will prove this is not a bad idea. I am certain this will work, please keep faith in me”, he replied convincingly.

He showed his father the saved-up money and his father topped up with his investment. Not much later, he purchased a plot and began to hire people. He took off from work for a few months and worked on his new venture. His family supported him thoroughly and believed in him.

By February, the restaurant was ready and he had people working for him. Soon, he started making money and he ended up quitting his job in March. He lived with his parents and supported the family business by using the fresh meat from his father’s shop in his dishes. He named the restaurant after his father.

Before he knew it, his business was reaching great heights. He started living his life at the fullest now, the holiday helped him to connect with his family which paved the way for him to acquire a new skill and this gave him a second chance to live his life the way he wanted to.