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“No way!” I protested. “You’re a family of teachers. You’re a snowboarding and surfing instructor. You say you’ve never touched your fund. I assume that means you can take good care of yourself financially. You don’t live in luxury or extravagance, but you get by fine. In the summer in your trailer. Now here in an arrangement where you have free room and board.”

We had stopped again and Shane was staring at the lake. “I even put something aside from every paycheck, into the account for bad times, as my mother called it.”

I couldn’t help myself and laughed out loud. “See? You’re just like your parents. In everything that matters—a simple, contented life as a teacher, with a nest egg tucked away.”

“I’m like my parents.” Shane whispered the words and stared at me with wide eyes.

His frightened grimace made me laugh out loud. “Oh my God. Did that realization break you?”

Still wide-eyed, Shane shook his head. “No. I’ve never seen it that way before though.”

I smiled as I studied his facial features. “I think that’s a pretty good thing. Maybe even the best thing you can achieve in life. Contentment and independence. Damn. I’d love to be there too.”

Now it was Shane who glanced at me with amusement. “Maybe this event is exactly the signal you need. Even if it turns out to be totally silly, it’s not the end of the world. It’d be the realization that this isn’t your path. Or at least not with this star chef. Nor with this kitchen.” He nodded energetically and moved on. “That’s what I always tell my students: if you fall off the board, you’ve learned something. What you tried doesn’t work, there are no mistakes. There are only insights. Safety measures and common sense must be observed, of course. But I assume you already know that.”

I quickly followed him and let his words sink in. I let them sink into my heart, my head, my stomach. Every part of my body agreed with Shane. He was right. There were no mistakes. I was allowed to find out what worked and what didn’t.

Although every step became heavier, I felt lighter than ever before.

I observed his profile. If only I had the opportunity to make mistakes with him too. To find out what worked and what didn’t. Unfortunately, people weren’t job opportunities.