"Carla, are you nearly ready?", Nick calls from the bottom of the stairs. He's wearing a pure black suit, with a snow white, buttoned shirt, a royal blue tie (which he had to help from Carla to put it on) and shiny black shoes. It's been awhile since Nick was wearing a suit, but today is the opening of their brand new bistro in Devon- he's feeling excited yet really nervous.

"Right, I'm ready", Carla tells Nick from the top of the stairs. She's wearing a long, smart dress, that is the same colour as Nick's tie, with bold white heels. Along wearing that, her makeup look spectacular and the jewellery she is wearing, effortlessly compliments her outfit. Nick is completely stunned:

"You look- you look amazing"

Giggling, Carla strokes Nick's cheek after she came down the stairs, as she can tell that he is full of nerves:

"And you look absolutely handsome Tilsley. Now just relax, stop being nervous and just have a good time today, yeah?"

Taking a deep breath, Nick tries to let out all his nerves, as he slowly exhales:

"Ok, yeah"


They arrive at the bistro just an hour before the main event. It looks exactly like Nick's old bistro back in Manchester, however, it had the original design: with the orange walls, black chairs and white tables. Both Carla and Nick own the place as they bought it together, yet Carla was able to persuade Nick to become the manager- mainly because she can work more behind the scenes. All the staff were there including Chris, they were just getting everything prepares for the night. The event is just going to be Nick introducing the new restaurant to customers and a few critics, then it would be back to taking orders and delivering meals.

Despite the simple task, Nick is still tense, as it is clear that he wasn't able to let go of all his nerves from before. Giving him a quick kiss on his lips, Carla tries to reassure her husband, as she is full of confidence that tonight will be brilliant:

"Hey, stop worrying, everything is going to be fine. You've put a lot of work into this, just let that speak for itself"


More and more customers and critics are walking through the door and taking a seat. A lot of people have been curious about the new ownership of the small restaurant they have known for a long time. Plus, there have been tons of advertisement from both Nick, Carla and even the members of staff. All of them believe that this is the start of a very successful business.

Suddenly, Nick begins to panic as he can't find the speech that he wrote for tonight:

"Carla, where's my speech?"

Turning around, Carla can clearly see the anxiety across Nick's face:

"Well last time I check, it was on the table in the dining room. Didn't you pick it up?"

Automatically, Nick puts his head in his hands and groans loudly; he can't believe how stupid he was for forgetting to pick it up.

"Nick comes on, it's ok. Please just calm down", Carla says as she tries to comfort Nick.

"How is it ok? I can't remember any of the speech. I'm going to look like an idiot", Nick moans.

"Nick, it will be fine, trust me-"

"No, it won't"

"Yes, it will. Just say "Welcome to the bistro" and "I hope you will enjoy". It's not rocket science isn't it?"

Removing his hands from his face, Carla stares deep into his eyes before giving him a kiss on his chin. Starting to feel a lot calmer, Nick begins to try and grab the attention of the audience. With everyone now looking at him, Nick starts off his speech:

"Hi everyone. Um... welcome to the bistro, um...um..."

"My husband and I both hope you enjoy the food, the company and the atmosphere. Then, if you all enjoy it so much, we will be happy to welcome you all back here anytime. So, without further ado, Nick's Bistro is now officially open"

As the crowd gives around of applause, Carla gives Nick a tight hug. He is so grateful that she interrupts him while his mind went completely blank... but he secretly wishes that she never had to.


Watching from the bar, Carla overlooks the busy restaurant, as the waiters (including her husband) gives services to very satisfied customers. Apart from the speech (which didn't go as bad as it could have done), everything is just going smoothly. The customers may be a bit loud, but to Carla, that just means that everyone is just having a good time.

"Hey", Nick interrupts Carla's trail of thought.

"Sorry, I was miles away", Carla smiles

"Don't worry about it. Listen, I need a bottle of Barbera please"

"Coming right up"

After been given the wine, Nick goes to the elderly couple's table and hangs over the bottle.

"Oh, we order the Merlot", the husband says.

Nick looks at the bottle for a few seconds and then immediately apologises:

"I'm so sorry. I will get it to you straight away"

He keeps on forgetting people's orders, even when he writes them down on his notepad, he forgets which table he's supposed to deliver it to. Plus, the noise is getting to him as well. However, he just tries to ignore all of this and appreciate the night- even though it is becoming increasingly hard for him.

An hour later, Nick comes out of the kitchen with three plates of food. The bistro has become even more busy with more customers coming in, as the others who have finished their meal go out. It's becoming like a maze as the waiters and the customers keep moving around the place, making it very crowded. Then just out of the blue, someone bumps into Nick which makes him lose his balance and he ends up crashing the plates towards the floor.

"Watch where you are going!", Nick yells at the young wateriness.

"Sorry", the wateriness replies.

Carla quickly moves out of the bar to come to help Nick clean up the mess. She's starting to get worried about him again.

"Don't worry about it, babe. It was just accident.", Carla says, trying to put Nick's mind at ease.

"Ah forget it! I'm obviously useless aren't I!", Nick snaps while getting up and walking to the bar. His face is turning completely red and he feels very tight in his chest. The whole evening is really starting to get to Nick as he just wants this night to be perfect, yet he feels like he is just been messing it up. Finishing cleaning up the mess, Carla goes up to the customers on the table (who are very understanding) and offers them a free bottle of wine.

The bar isn't actually that big at all. There is only a small space between the wall and the counter. Nick's chest feels so tight like his heart is about to get squashed. His breathing is becoming louder and more rapid. As he slides down the wall, Nick clutches his shirt and squeezes his eyes.

This is by far the worst time for him to have a panic attack.