Chapter 2 - Love... There she is!

I stood underneath my shower letting the hot water fall down my body as my tears mixed with it. I often cried like this, in hiding then blaming the red eyes on the peppermint shampoo.

The interview I had today... I totally ruined it... or the interview ruined me, one of those statements was true I was just trying to figure out which one of them made me feel better.

What if this meant we were gonna lose the apartment?

What if this meant I would need to move back home?

No, absolutely not. That is a kind of low I do not want to sink down to.

And Mira? I can't believe I let her down after everything she has done for me. It just feels like all of my luck has run out and no matter what I do I can't catch a break.

This job would have been perfect, right up my alley. A chance in the jewelry design world but according to them I lack vision... everything I want to say has already been said.

I can already hear my father..."I told you to study something useful that would bring bread to your table... leave behind the sketchbooks and get your head out of the fantasy land... get a grip..." But then again I was already used to it.

But I also refuse to be like my mother. She gave up on her dreams and despite what she says now I know she regrets it.

I know I am destined to make it in design, but first I need to figure out how to pay rent this month.

"Are you alive in there? I brought food." Mira says as she knocks on the bathroom door.

"I'll be right out," I say as I close the water and grab my towel to fry off my body before putting on my bathrobe. Before leaving the bathroom I splashed my eyes with some cold water to help hide the crying and walk out.

"Hey, you," Mira says as she puts the plates on the table. "How did the interview go?" She asks as I grab the spoons from the drawer and place them next to the plates before sitting down.

"I didn't get it. I'm so sorry Mira." I say as she sits down.

"Well fuck them, it's their loss," Mira says as she passes me the bread she made yesterday. "We seriously got some bad mojo."

"Why?" I ask.

"Uhh, I ran into our landlord. He wants the rent in a week and I dont have it all. I tried to explain to him our situation and that we paid the utility bills yet the old bastard doesn't care." He was an old bastard alright, but this apartment was the only thing we were able to afford at the time and now we can't even do that.

"I'm sorry, it's all my fault," I say as I put my spoon down and lean back on the chair in despair.

"Hey, I don't want to hear none of that. Getting a job in this city gets harder by the day, that is not on you. We will figure something out." Mira says offering a kind smile. "Now eat up, we have a party to get to." Uhh the Halloween party. With everything that has happened today, I was in no mood for a party.

"Mira I don't wanna go. I just want to put on my fluffy pajamas and watch some Matthew McConaughey in his prime era." Nothing cures my heart better than How to lose a guy in ten days.

"Absolutely not, you are coming with me. You need to socialize and have some live distraction." She insists and no one can say no to Mira when she puts her mind on something.

"I dont have a costume." I remind her to which she stands up and walks over to her bag pulling out a pair of sunglasses and some kind of a black case.

"I dont get it," I say as I look at her confused.

"They sent it to the clinic yesterday." She says as she opens the case and unfolds a White cane for blind people.

"You want me to be a blind person?" I ask.

"Love, I'm going in my old scrubs... At least your outfit is new and clean." Mira hands me the cane and puts the sunglasses on the table next to my hand.

“I’ll do it," I finally mutter, my voice barely above a whisper. "But only because you’re making me." I look up at her, half-heartedly smiling.

"That's the spirit!" she exclaims, practically jumping up from her seat. "Now, eat, and then we can get you ready. You’ll be a total knockout."

I stare at the cane, the sunglasses, and Mira. She always had a way of taking the worst situations and turning them into something, well, manageable. Even if it meant looking ridiculous.

...

"Love, are you ready? We need to go." Mira yells as I put on my ankle boots. My outfit was just my regular self. Jeans, green shirt, brown jacket. The sunglasses and the cane made it a costume.

When I step back into the living room, Mira gives me an exaggerated once-over, grinning from ear to ear. "Love... There she is!" she says, tossing me a pair of earrings from her dresser. "You’re perfect. We’re gonna own this party."

I give her a small, tired smile as I put the small earrings on. They were tiny deep green emerald earrings we once found at a yard sale and we both shared them ever since. "You’re right. Let’s just get it over with."

Mira’s already grabbing her jacket, her face a mask of determination and excitement. “You know what? I have a good feeling about this night. Something tells me it's going to get better from here."

And for the first time today, I almost believe her. Almost.