3D: Time Marches

Jonathan tried not to worry about Skyla, but she made it difficult. She missed Aubrey something fierce and thought she hid her tear-stained eyes and shaky voice well, but Jonathan knew her like his own reflection. Not only did she miss Aubrey but also she worried for her. The first year of marriage tried all couples. How were they doing? She didn’t know because Aubrey didn’t pencil them in her full calendar to keep them in the loop, and it scared her. At first, Skyla only tried to hide the tears. Then, the redecorating began. Her alibi was it had been a while since she refreshed the furniture. That was true. Life got busy when Oliver was born, and she never redecorated the new house. But, the colors she chose gave her away. The only person in the Pruett family who loved yellow was Aubrey. Skyla would never choose such a loud, gaudy color but yet they had a brand new yellow couch and matching accents.

When she expressed uncertainty about returning to work, Jonathan officially upgraded his status from trying not to worry to worried. Skyla told him on many occasions she would never allow depression to get out of control like it did when they first got married. He wanted to believe and gave her space, but staying cooped up in the house with those negative feelings would only feed the blues. He hoped she knew what she was doing. Everyone asked about her at work. They were her friends and shared his concern. Still, the matter had the potential to become delicate, and he chose to draw a thin line between friend and employee, telling them she was focusing on painting at the moment. Hopefully, they bought it.

Time marched through the lives represented at Viviana’s but not with the same level of kindness. Archer’s wife divorced him, and he didn’t take it well. He never yammered on, but he became increasingly reticent. Archer originally took the job out of desperation after being laid off and downsizing to save money. He wanted a job that could give the same level of comfort they were used to, but it proved difficult. Their savings quickly disappeared. The ex-Mrs. Wray was pregnant, and he needed a job like yesterday. She assumed he would work at Viviana’s until something better came along and did not expect him to make a career out of it. 

Viviana’s popularity soared like a rocket zipping through the galaxy; it knew no end. Critics said no one expected the restaurant to remain relevant for so long. People came from far and wide to experience the hype for themselves. Even celebrities got curious. Jonathan didn’t always recognize them, but the way everyone lost their minds, he quickly gathered they were important.

Food magazines contacted him constantly wanting to learn the secret sauce to his success. As flattering as it was to have the media and famous people flocking to the restaurant like it was going out of style, Jonathan enjoyed seeing the old, familiar faces like his culinary schoolmate, Lee.

He had neither seen nor heard from her since she opened her first restaurant in Magnolia Promenade. Since then, she got married and opened a few more restaurants with her husband. When the children came along, she wanted to pair down and focus on her family. That’s when she sold The Mexican Food Shack. Some would say she threw in the towel, but Jonathan knew best of all for he made a similar decision. People crafted future plans without considering what more life could offer. They claimed to know what is the one thing that will define success and create happiness. But, many times, life had other plans. Plans so great, no one would ever suspect them. Having a family and being satisfied by it might not seem so glamorous to most, but sometimes it’s the one thing that makes all the uncertainty of life click.