Everybody (there) is moving as though every single moment of the day counts. When you're here for two years, you don't realise how much you've actually slowed down."

The couple have no regrets about migrating to the Caribbean, and Doug says he's satisfied with the clothes and other items he can buy on island. Dianne might have a few more complaints, as, like most women, she tends to crave a little more variety in terms of shopping. Nonetheless, she's content to hop on a flight to Puerto Rico whenever the need arises. Many locals do the same.

"If I want a bigger selection," Doug adds, "I know I can go back to Toronto and get it, or I can have someone send it to me." They've adjusted to the supermarket schedules in terms of the availability of fresh produce, which disappears quickly on weekends.  Doug recalls the shocked reaction by some international students at a medical school, who frequent one of Franciane's outlets, when they were told there was no lettuce for their sandwiches.  "They were like, 'What do you mean you don't have lettuce?'" he recounts.  "And I asked them, well, how did you get here? And they go, 'By plane.' And I said, ok, do you see any roads leading from here to Miami?"  "Procurement on the island is not as easy as it looks," he says.

They keep the workers happy with regular outings, including group picnics on the beach, nights out for dinner, and an annual Christmas party.  "It's a challenge to know where they all are, and what they're thinking, and how they're treating the customers," Doug says. "Then there's the insurance, and the health certificates and making sure people are legal to work here. In Canada, you didn't have that type of problem with hiring, because people came in the store, and you just knew they were Canadian." Doug wound up in trouble with the immigration department about two months ago, for hiring an illegal worker, but has since learned the do's and don'ts. The question remains: How does a couple trying to have fun on a tropical paradise find time for fun when they're running five thriving businesses?

"We don't," they easily admit.

"Our friends, and my mother will argue sometimes that we both look like we're ready to kick the bucket," Dianne says. Because of this, the couple is now looking to expand the management team, to give them a little more free time.  "We do feel the need for at least two weeks off sometimes," Dianne says. "Just to rejuvenate ourselves.  Because it's just the two of us." Doug handles most of the accounts, while Dianne concentrates on human resources. Some responsibilities are shared.

And while they live and work together, they try to separate home business from store business. "We might have our disagreements," Dianne adds, "but when it comes to the business, once we step through the doors, it's business, and we've always treated it that way."

Doug adds, "We really don't talk about the stores once we leave," which earns him a sideways glance from Dianne.  "We may have a small issue," he clarifies, "and they we'll talk about it, and that's it." Opportunities to travel for pleasure don't come easily, but ironically, when the couple found time for such a getaway, they wound up in London during the terrorist attacks.

"We tried not to think about the business, and the staff we'd left back here to run it," Dianne says, "and for the most part, we didn't."  They have yet to discover the other Caribbean islands as a couple, though Doug had visited some of them previously.  "I always said I was going to live in the Caribbean by my early 40s," he says. "And I said, you know what, if you never do it, you'll never do it. A good friend of mine in Toronto said, 'you're gonna come back.' But I might go to another island, I don't know what I'll do, but I like it here. I really do."

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