Miranda moved to the big city nine months ago to work for a popular law firm. She worked constantly and hadn’t thought about the up-and-coming holidays. It wasn’t until her boss Emily who loved the holidays, asked her what her plans were for Thanksgiving.
“I hadn’t thought about it. I could fly home but then I would have to rush back for Owen’s case the following Monday,” Miranda said.
“Well, would you like to see how I celebrate Thanksgiving?” Emily asked.
Feeling hesitant, Miranda asked Emily how she celebrates it. Emily told her that she celebrates for three days, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Sunday is a day of rest for her and her friends. Emily went on to tell her that Thursday she and her friends meet for brunch somewhere nice, and then plan the meal for Saturday. Friday we spend the day out shopping and do an early dinner somewhere. Friday night we each prepare the dishes that we plan to bring to the main meal. And then Saturday we all go to Jennifer’s house because it’s the biggest, for our main celebration.
“Wow, that is quite a celebration and it sounds like fun. I would love to celebrate with you and your friends,” Miranda said.
“Great! How about I pick you up Thursday morning at ten? I think this year we are meeting at the Blue Box Café.”
“Okay, that sounds good,” Miranda smiled.
Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday went by surprisingly fast, and Miranda couldn’t wait to celebrate Thanksgiving differently. When Thanksgiving morning arrived Miranda called her family to wish them all a happy day. As Emily knocked on Miranda’s apartment door, she held two foam-covered Macchiato. Miranda through her coat on and answered the door with a smile. Happy Thanksgiving they both said simultaneously. The two of them left the apartment building and climbed into Emily’s Audi.
At the Blue Box Café, Miranda glanced around as she walked behind Emily to their table, “this place is really nice.”
“Yes, it is. We try and get in here every other year for our brunch,” Emily said.
At the table, Miranda met Emily’s friends Jennifer, Becky, Nicole, Jason, and brad. They all ordered and then talked about various things happening in their lives since they last talked. The afternoon was full of smiles and laughter as they sipped their Mimosa during brunch. And before the afternoon ended, they planned the meal for this year's Thanksgiving. Miranda hadn’t laughed so much in almost a year and she felt great.
When two o’clock rolled around they all left the restaurant. Emily dropped Miranda off at her apartment and told her that she will pick her up again at ten Friday morning. Having the evening to herself gave Miranda a chance to do some laundry and clean her apartment. On the television was a Christmas musical which Miranda sang along with. She couldn’t help but feel happy with all the laughing that she did at brunch today.
Friday morning Miranda got up feeling positive. She took a shower and hummed “We Wish You A Merry Christmas” from the musical last night. It was almost 10 am and Miranda knew that Emily would be there soon, so she layered her white blouse with a red knit sweater. She was ready for another fun day of celebrating Thanksgiving with new friends. As she heard the knock on her door, Miranda grabbed her purse.
“Good morning,” Miranda opened the door.
“Good morning. How are you this morning?” Emily asked.
“I’m great! I had so much fun yesterday, plus a good night’s sleep… How about you?”
“Oh, I’m good as well. I’m so happy that you are enjoying yourself. I could tell that you needed some fun in your life. Working for a lawyer can be stressful at times,” Emily said.
Miranda smiled and closed her apartment door. The two of them hurried down the stairs.
“Did you like that Macchiato that I brought you yesterday?” Emily asked.
“Yes, it was very good.”
“Good, because we are meeting everyone else at the coffee shop where I got it,” Emily said.
“Oh, okay. Now I’ll know where to get a good cup of coffee,” Miranda climbed into Emily’s car.
It was ten-fifteen when they got to the coffee shop and met with the rest of their friends.
Brad was wearing a red sweater that looked similar to Miranda’s, “nice sweater,” he smiled.
“Yes, yours as well.”
The seven of them sat down at two small tables and enjoyed their coffee drinks. Becky reminded the group of the time when she tried to make them pumpkin pie lattes.
“Yes, way too much pumpkin pie spice and not enough cream,” Emily laughed.
“Yeah, that’s why you don’t work here anymore,” Jason laughed.
“Let’s just say that I learned that being a Barista wasn’t a good career choice for me,” Becky looked at Miranda.
The group was at the coffee shop for about forty-five minutes and then walked down the street to two of the stores that they enjoyed shopping at. Once again there was a lot of laughing throughout the day. This shopping trip was mostly for Christmas presents or non-perishable items for Saturday’s dinner. Anything needed to cook for the meal would have to be picked up after their early dinner tonight.
At the end of the day, Miranda was back at her apartment preparing the sweet potato casserole from her mother’s recipe. The smell of cinnamon and marshmallow filled the air as it baked.
“It smells so good in here,” Miranda said as she talked to her mother on the phone.
She also told her mom how she has been celebrating Thanksgiving with her boss Emily and her friends, “I never thought that I would have so much fun while working for a lawyer.”
“That’s good dear, and I’m happy that you didn’t spend Thanksgiving alone,” Miranda’s mom said.
About an hour had passed when Miranda said goodnight to her mom. The casserole was now done and cooling on the counter. She grabbed a glass of red wine and sat down to watch part of a Christmas movie until ten o’clock when she decided to go to bed.
When Saturday morning arrived, Miranda got up, made some coffee, and had a cream cheese bagel for breakfast. Emily wasn’t picking her up until noon this time so Miranda could be lazy for a while. She thought about how thankful she is for her family who she misses very much. And nice it is to have a boss who believes in the holidays and what they stand for. She was looking forward to sitting down at someone’s house for a turkey dinner. And she was hoping that everyone would like her sweet potato casserole.
It was just about noon when Emily knocked on Miranda’s door. Miranda opened the door and invited her in. She asked for just a few more minutes while she finished her hair. Emily looked around at the family photos that Miranda had on her wall.
“It looks like you have a nice family,” Emily said.
“Yes, they are pretty great,” Miranda put the last clip in her hair.
Miranda put on her jacket and picked up the pan full of the sweet potato casserole, ”okay I’m ready. What about your family, where are they?”
“My friends are my family. I grew up in foster care with them. We can’t always get together during the rest of the year, so that’s why I like to make the most out of the holidays. We make sure that we get together during the Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks,” Emily explained.
Stunned by Emily’s answer, ‘oh, I didn’t know that. I…”
“It’s alright, foster care made us who we are today. Thoughtful, driven, and fun-loving people,” Emily opened her car door.
Thrown back by what her boss just told her, Miranda tossed away all the negative thinking that she might have had about kids that grow up in foster homes. Some of the kids that she encountered in the past ended up on drugs or in prison. But knowing Emily and her friends proves that you can be good people even if you were a foster kid.
When Emily and Miranda arrived at Jennifer’s house, Miranda saw the beautifully set up table for their special dinner. The glass-clinking toasts started almost immediately with them saying what they all are thankful for. And around one o’clock when the turkey was done, Miranda found out what good cooks they all are too.
“Happy Thanksgiving everyone,” Miranda held up her glass.
Please join me again for another Tis The Season Stories story next week.