Friends

"Are we going out tonight?" Vicki asks me when she calls in the afternoon.

My mind goes bonkers within a milisecond as I remind Vicki that I have a party to go to and once again invite her, without it appearing as if I'm begging, which I am, as panic and subsequent ease of my panic that I could tell her why we were sharing food once we got there. All in a milisecond.

"It'll be fun!" I tell her.

I then explain to Vicki that this is my friend Miranda's party and she belongs to a ghost group. She has parties throughout the year and the entire ghost group come and it makes for an interesting get-together. I also go on to explain that my friend Miranda is a renowned Medium, in an attempt to sell the "come with" to the party.

I have to hand it to her, she gave it some thought, but, opted for the "going out" without me.

Off to Miranda's I go.

"You're here." Miranda greeted me at the door.

"Yep. I'm here." I told her.

"Samantha's not coming." She informed me.

"I know." I replied.

We walked into the kitchen and Miranda again thanked me for coming to her Christmas party.

"Miranda, stop thanking me. You're a great friend. I wouldn't miss it for the world." I tell her.

Miranda beamed.

Miranda now continues to set up the food display.

"So, now that I'm here, what do I do?" I ask.

"Eat, drink and be merry!" She said.

"Can I make fun of your friends?" I ask.

"No." She replied.

"Preach Jesus?"

"Not this year." She said, with a look this time.

I let out an exasperated sigh.

"Where's Milt?" I ask.

"Leave him alone." She reprimands me and opens the refrigerator to get out some appetizers.

"Oh come on Miranda! I stop once he starts shaking!" I tell her.

Miranda opted to ignore me at this point.

I start giggling and remember: friends know all about you, and love you for it anyway.