Lara shrugged off her chef’s jacket and folded it into her bag. It had been a busy lunch hour, but she’d found the constant activity therapeutic. As she moved from sandwiches to soups to salads she made subtle suggestions to the young line cooks and for the most part things had gone smoothly. Lara was a perfectionist when it came to quality out of her kitchen, and it had been difficult to turn over the majority of food preparation to the newer, younger cooks that seemed to come and go with the wind. But since Kit had turned over the reins regarding everything edible, Lara had found she didn’t have the same amount of time to devote to actual cooking, so she was working on mentoring the few staff that stayed longer than two months. She was beginning to feel comfortable in the role.

She slipped a sweater over her t-shirt, hoisted her backpack onto her shoulder and picked up the salad she’d thrown together as a late lunch. Smiling and waving goodbye to the afternoon staff she shouldered the swinging doors open and entered the front service area and the dining room beyond.

"Lara-girl, come join us!" Kit’s warm voice rang out from a corner in the courtyard. Smiling, Lara turned to face Kit and Bette who were chatting over coffee. These past months Kit had been a bastion of strength offering kind words of support, followed by genuine acts of concern and Lara had come to regard the older woman as a trusted friend. Kit patted the chair next to her and said, "Great job today—I heard at least five customers rave over the cranberries and almonds you added to the chicken salad, and the pulled pork sandwich went over great with the straight guys and butch babes."

Bette rolled her eyes and Lara’s smile broadened as she sat down. "Thanks, Kit….maybe I’ll work up a full sexual identity menu for Pride—hummus for the granola lesbians and apple-tinis for the queens as starters. We could offer free identity interpretations with each order—talk about a coming out party!"

"Now you’re thinking! The dessert menu could be interesting." Kit reflected for a minute. "Angus would definitely go for chocolate bread pudding with a little spicy cinnamon."