First Line Friday: December 31, 2021

Dylan Hughes is our host for the MLMM First Line Friday, and this is the last one for 2021.
Your line for this week is:

“No one DARE say this is going to be our year!”

“No one DARE say this is going to be our year. You say that every year, and nothing changes.”
‘Oh come on Mam, don’t be such a killjoy! It’s New Year’s Eve and this is supposed to be a party. Stop looking so glum and put a smile on your face…………. Please?’
‘What’s the point? It’s the same old faces getting older, the same old jokes getting less funny, and the same idiots getting drunk and making fools of themselves.’
‘Don’t you want to see your friends? Catch up and have a laugh?’
‘What? You must be kidding! They’re only here for the free booze and grub. They’re sycophants, the whole lot of them. I don’t want to know and that’s that!’
‘But Mam. We always toast in the New Year with friends and family…… ‘

Gloria sat in her chair by the window thinking about her friends and family. The parties were tiresome, but she’d give anything to be going to one tonight.
The virus had taken its toll on all of them one way or another.
The first year had seen nine of her friends pass and three of her family move away due to financial pressures and hardships. Zoom and Skype were all well and good if you understood technology, which she didn’t, and no-one was allowed to visit. She was confined to her home ‘shielding’ because of her age and health issues, and couldn’t even get out to shop. Her daughter got the basic provisions and left them on the door step, but it wasn’t the same as squeezing a loaf yourself or smelling the freshness of  fruit.
The second year had seen vaccinations and boosters, but little was changing and her words came back to bite her. At least this year the family could be together, and maybe the coming year could be ‘their year’. She certainly hoped so.

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