When Molly told me that her sister Kate was looking for a job, I told her to apply to my restaurant. I knew her but not well. She was Molly's younger sister; the second of the Quinlin girls who lived up the street. She was the girl who looked a little bit like Natalie Portman and a lot like Geena Davis, the League of their Own years. She was the pretty sophomore with an attitude. And the appointment before mine with Anne that seemed to take an extra amount of time. I figured she knew the who's who of Pittsburgh, in her interview she confirmed a higher understanding of food culture or at least how to eat, and as an Ellis girl, she could dress the part. Naturally, I hired her.
Like me and so many others before us, she had turned to the restaurant industry as a pivot point in life - as an I'm trying to figure it out, but need money in the meantime gig. We immediately bonded over a lack of direction, good clothes, better shoes, a fear of tipping scales, Chef McDreamy, and the need to get out of Pittsburgh stat.
In the year or so that we spent as much time together as possible, she taught me some of life's most important lessons.
That black is best; and that a five pound weight gain can easily be covered up with big hair.
She taught me how to gracefully dismount a simulated motorcycle ride in Vegas while covering up the giant comprising hole in the jeans that ripped on said attraction.
She showed me how to laugh off a fall, even when the blood dripping down your knees is staining your four inch heals.
She let me know that girls had just as much right to unbutton their pants after a big meal as guys.
Her narcoleptic attacks gave me the confidence to flirt with the boy at the next table, or at least they positioned me as the only available one.
She showed me how to be a professional by day and a party girl by night.
She demonstrated that I deserved better. She showed me a reflection of myself that I had failed to see. And she proved that you could look just as good alone as with a guy by your side.
Kate was the kind of friend I needed. Real and raw. But with the most thoughtful, kind, and caring center. And I continue to feel blessed to have her perspective, sense of humor, and loyal friendship in my life today.
When we went our separate ways after serving Pittsburgh's fine diners, I wondered, but never worried about where she would end up; I knew she was bound for great things.
Turned out, she landed a dental residency, then partnership, boyfriend, and condo an expressway away from me in Chicago. And when she told me that the boy loved her, that there was going to be a ring (a big one) and a wedding, I let her know how happy I was.
On Saturday, Mary and I watched her walk down the aisle, say 'I do', and became a Mrs. And I showed my little girl just who can put the pretty in princess. Kate looked more radiant than ever - sure it was the hair and makeup, the dress and the shoes - but mostly it was the glow in her eyes as she looked up at her husband - on the altar, around the dance floor, behind her tiered burnt almond torte, and in front of all her guests.
And Steve, like me, I'm sure you already know that when fall, there's no one who can pick you up and still make you feel fabulous better than Kate.
Congrats Mr. and Mrs. Brown. Looking forward to your eventual move to the Burbs ...
Lo.
