A rude woman walked into my restaurant and demanded I change my hairstyle and uniform because she didn’t want me “distracting” her fiancé. Little did she know, I owned the place. And little did I know, she was about to become family.

I own an upscale bistro in Portland—the kind of place with a two-week weekend waitlist, farm-to-table menus, and regulars who know me by name. I built it from the ground up, and I wear every hat here: host, manager, bartender, even server if we’re short-staffed.

So when my brother Mike called to say he was visiting with his new fiancée, I was thrilled. We’re close, and I couldn’t wait to meet the woman he planned to marry. I reserved our best table for them and cleared my schedule to spend the evening with them.