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Myla was in awe of her friend. Miranda had her flaws, but none of them ever spilled over into her role as a mother. Even though she had been a teen mom, Miranda had always been the type of mom to Heaven that she wished her mother had been to her. Heaven knew of none of her mother’s secrets, and both Miranda and Myla planned to keep it that way.

“You always have some type of adventure going on. If I knew you would’ve been back before my first client arrived, I would’ve gone with you,” Myla admitted.

Myla loved everything about New Orleans: the culture, the traditions, the environment, the food. She wanted to go with them badly, but she knew she couldn’t leave her patients.

I’m going to need you to start using some of that vacation time that you accumulated over the years. You need some rest and relaxation like the rest of us. I like to keep my days full of excitement because all work and no play make me bored as fuck,” Miranda laughed. “But girl, I’m sleepy. So, I’m about to get out of here. But before I go, I wanted to stop by and give you this before I went home and crashed,” Miranda said as she opened her large Brahmin purse and pulled out the plastic white bag.

Myla screamed excitedly when she saw the white bag with black writing and a smiling red lobster on the side.

“Oh, my god! you brought me charbroiled oysters from Drago’s! Thank you, Miranda! Girl, you should’ve given me these first,” Myla squealed as she hugged the freezing cold bag to her chest.

“I was trying. But you were all in my damn business.” Miranda laughed.

Oysters had always been Myla’s favorite seafood. But the day she and Myla were in Louisiana, and they stopped for lunch at Dragos in Metairie, she watched her best friend nearly orgasm at the table. Miranda loved seafood, but she could not stomach oysters. The look of them made her want to throw up. It didn’t matter that they were covered in Parmesan cheese and garlic butter; they looked gross, and she wanted no part of it.

“Well, I apologize. Had I known you brought me charbroiled oysters, I would’ve minded my business,” Myla lied.

“Yeah right. Myla Eileen minding her business? Now that is laughable,” Miranda joked. “And correction, Dr. Pleasant, I didn’t bring you a single order. I bought three dozen.”

It was things like this that made Myla love her Bestie so much. She always thought of her when she was out and about. In Myla’s mind, Miranda was truly a gift from God.

“Thanks, Miranda! You always know how to brighten my day. Work has beaten me down the past couple of days. So tonight, I’m going to relax with a glass of white wine, eat my favorite seafood, and listen to an audiobook,” Myla stated as she put her food in her mini fridge.

Miranda sighed. She could not believe that Myla was trying to stay home alone, yet again. She understood why she preferred to be alone on New Year’s Eve, but enough was enough, especially since she went out and celebrated on other holidays.

“Myla Eileen Pleasant, you’re not some elementary school teacher that has to go home and grade homework assignments. Even Heaven is going out tonight,” Miranda said seriously as she stared at her best friend.

Myla’s eyes watered. It had been four long years since she participated in New Year’s Eve festivities. Her heart simply hadn’t been in it. It was as if the day had been cursed.

Myla sighed before speaking. “I’m just not in the mood, Miranda. Holiday Blues have gotten the best of me. I can help other people during their problems, but I can’t help myself through this.”

“I get it. New Year’s Eve hasn’t been kind to you. Finding out your fiancé is cheating, then the death of your amazing father. Those two things are enough to knock anyone off their square.”

“I just feel like I lost so much,”

“You didn’t lose anything. God removed the threat from your life. Had he not removed that piece of shit, you would have that deadly disease just like he does,” Miranda stated, referring to the fact that Myla’s ex-fiancé and his new wife now had full-blown AIDS.

“And as far as your dad, it was just time for a good man to go home. No one is promised to Earth forever. You didn’t lose anything when he died. You regained memories that you had long forgotten; you gained strength in knowing that you can carry on with the wisdom and knowledge he instilled in you. You are a confident, social butterfly whose energy lights up any room you walk into.

“New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day will probably be hard and emotional from now until you take your last breath. And that’s ok. No one can tell you when your grieving period must end. But life is for the living, and living like a hermit and canceling your social interactions will not help you heal.

“With that being said, you’re not listening to some boring ass audiobook tonight. We’re going out like we used to. Going to Posh, mingling, and having a few drinks until the new year comes in,” Miranda said as she wrapped her sobbing friend in her arms.

This was what Myla needed to hear. Grief could be so crippling. She needed to know that it was ok to move on with her life.

“You’re right, Miranda Renee. I know this is going to sound weird, but I convinced myself that I had to grieve forever because I was his only child. Literally just making shit up because I didn’t have the closure I needed. But I can’t let Terry’s bullshit or my dad’s death stop my life any longer. I’ll meet you at The Posh Lounge. It’s time for me to start mingling again.”

“Yayyy!! My girl is back! Let me get out of here and get some sleep. I’ll see you tonight!” Miranda shouted cheerfully before grabbing her things to leave.

“Alright, New Year’s Eve, be good to me,” Myla spoke out loud as she prepared herself to begin the new chapter of the rest of her life.

2

Myla sat behind the steering wheel of her car with tears in her eyes. Though she wanted companionship, she was nervous about going out on New Year’s Eve. After the past couple of years, it seemed as though the day was cursed. She missed the lights, laughter, and festivities that came with the holidays. But too much had happened on that specific day, and truthfully, it left her scarred and scared.

“Nah, I’ma just keep my Black ass home. With my luck, I’m bound to experience a disaster. Damn, I miss you, Daddy,” Myla admitted. The tears that were clouding her vision and hanging onto her lashes fell in rapid succession. As she drove, memories of her and her father’s last conversation began to play in her head.

“Can you believe it’s been a year since Terry and I broke up? Only twelve months and now he’s married.”