(11/12) “We’ve built a little family here over the past year. A...

(11/12) “We’ve built a little family here over the past year. A family of people who believe in food. Many of our customers have strict diets because of allergies or illness. But they walk in this door and say: ‘Oh my God, I can eat everything here. I’ve found my place.’ But still, it’s been slow. Sebastian tallies our receipts at the end of the day. And I always beg him not to tell me the number, but I can tell how we did by the look on his face. On the days when it’s only $200 or $300, he’ll look so disappointed. But on a good day, when we’ve done a little better, he’ll get the biggest smile. And the dreamer will awaken. He’ll begin to talk about franchises, or selling our food in grocery stores. But those are Sebastian’s dreams, they aren’t mine. My dream is to be a mother again. It’s been nothing but work. We’ve been here sixteen months, and we’ve only had three family days. My girls are suffering too.  It’s hard to be in a new country. It’s hard to make friends. They need their mother. So maybe one day we can hire employees, or even a manager. I’ll be able to pick up the girls from school, and just be with them for a while. I worry most about the youngest, Hebe. She’s my baby. And she’s the one who misses me the most. She’s running around my feet in the kitchen. And I’m with her, I’m trying to be there, but I’m not there. She’s begun to show some bad behaviors. My other daughters complain, but I beg them: ‘Please, just talk to her. Hug her. Give her what she needs.’ But what she needs is her mother. I know that. Hebe’s birthday was a few months ago, and all she wanted was a picnic. It’s the only thing she asked for. But last weekend was the first time we were able to do it. We went to a local park, just a few minutes from our house. We spread out a blanket. Sebastian had some whiskey. I had some wine. The girls had sparkling water in champagne glasses. We made a toast, to our family. We celebrated how far we’d come. Then we shared some food that I made: ham and cheese sandwiches on almond bread, and some chocolate cupcakes. It was nothing special. But it was special. Because I made it just for my girls, the way I used to. It was something I cooked as a mother.”