Pierre, a talented pastry chef, lived outside of Paris and when he was thirty-five, he immigrated to America.
He opened a large bakery in San Francisco which was a tremendous success and he eventually hired a team of pastry chefs to do most of the hands on work. He developed recipes and was quite proud of his ten pastry cases.
After twelve years Pierre married a French Polynesian who was twenty-three years younger than him. He sold this successful bakery after several years of marriage, to try a new venture and he and his wife, Palila, moved to a small city in Colorado where Pierre opened a bakery/café.
Palila has a fiery temperament and Pierre is laid back. Palila is drama and Pierre is one who likes calmness. At first Pierre attributed their opposite ways of approaching life, to their age difference. They had a daughter and motherhood did not mellow Palila. Pierre could not deal with Palila’s intense energy and they clashed.
They had different views on how to run the restaurant and the tense atmosphere affected their business. Years down the road, there were less customers and the business was losing money. They closed it, got a divorce and Pierre retired.
Pierre was restless during retirement and longed to be in a commercial kitchen again. After several years of retirement, Pierre applied at a French café and was quickly hired as the pastry chef. Life was good again until Palila also started working at the same French café. Pierre thought they could work together since they were no longer married.
Drama followed Palila and she ordered the staff around as if she owned the place. After six months, Palila was fired.
Pierre now shares his divorce wisdom with the young male staff:
- Marry someone in your age group, not a person young enough to be your offspring. The vast age difference did not work in his circumstance.
- Pick a partner that shares a similar temperament. Sometimes fire and water do not mix.
- Just because you both share the same first language, that does not ensure a lasting union.
- Choose someone that you really enjoy being with and have some common interests.
- Pierre adds that working with an ex-spouse may not be the best idea.
Pierre is well liked at the café and has a following of devoted customers.