New Beginnings...

Before you get started, I must confess that my brain seems to be determined to write a novel now that I have neglected this oasis on the web for two whole months. So I ABSOLUTELY MUST post something to ring in the new year. As I worked on this little tale, I realized I have questions that I want to answer. Some precede this token of my affection for my readers, others follow. I shall work to answer those questions and post at least half of them next week. In the meantime, read, enjoy, and post questions. Maybe I missed one. XOXO!

Even with the roaring of music and laughter that rages around her, subtle ringing finally sends Kirsten’s hand sliding down into her date’s pocket. He smiles for a moment until her hand reappears with her cell phone. She keeps step with her dance partner even as her eyes focus on the phone. A frown creases her face as she reads a name amid a soft, blue glow.

“Sorry.” She mouths as she pushes a button.

She lifts the phone to her ear. Hearing nothing, she shrugs, and slips the phone back into his pocket. Her date tightens his grip, pulling her further into an awkward embrace. As she leans into his chest, smelling the soft nuances of his cologne, the tiniest bit of her lip slips into her mouth. She gnaws worriedly for a minute as a soft tone indicates a message waiting for her.

Her hand seeks out her phone again. Her date loosens his hold as she hits buttons on the touchscreen. She waits a few seconds before hitting a few numbers followed by the pound key. Then she rests the phone against her ear.

The usually bubbly voice of her best friend greets her with muted tones. “I won’t be alive in three hours to wish you a happy new year, but I know you’ll make the best of it. Happy new year, Kirsten.”

A chill runs through her as a heavy click cuts off April’s voice. Kirsten slowly pushes a button to put out the soft glow of the screen. She looks into the questioning face of her dance partner. She mouths her apologies again.

“I have to go.” She leans in to whisper but gives him no time to respond.

Hurried footsteps carry her out of the warmth of the hotel. She had hoped to ring in the new year with her blind date, but they hadn’t really clicked. Both clung to the hope that maybe letting their date last until after midnight would change that, but she knows April needs her right now. This helps her ignore the guilt that tries to gnaw at her. Since the countdown clock blinks 3:30, she has less than half an hour to figure out how to help her friend…if that.

As she steps out onto the snowy sidewalk, the noise she hoped to escape meets the dissonance of rival revelries up and down the street. She places the phone to one ear and covers the other with her free hand. The phone on the other end rings again and again and again. Finally, she reaches her friend’s voicemail. She shivers slightly as she waits for the message to end.

“April, call me back. I have to talk to you.” She forces words through chattering teeth before stepping back into the building and claiming her coat from the overflowing coat closet.

Her coat hangs heavy about her shoulders as she steps back into the chill. After slipping a glove on one hand, she scrolls through her contacts with the other.

“No. No. No.” She keeps repeating this as names fly across the tiny screen.

She lowers the phone, looking out over the street encrusted in crystal snow.  Her shoulders slump as if she accepts defeat, but her face still contorts in concentration. Finally, she sighs and raises the phone again. Punching in a number from memory, she takes a deep breath and hits the send button. The phone on the other end begins to ring. She pulls her coat closer around her. The ringing stops to be replaced by the sounds of laughter and loud music.

“Hello?” A questioning voice screams to be heard.

“John?”

“Yeah. Who’s this?”

“Kirsten.”

While the party rages on, no distinct voice comes through.

“Still there?” She asks after only a few seconds.

“Just surprised to hear from you…”

“…especially tonight.” She finishes his sentence and pushes on. “I need your help.”

“You in New York?” Hope infuses every word.

“No, but April is. You remember April?”

“Your crazy friend with the boyfriend no one likes? She’s hard to forget.” He forces a laugh.

“Well, she broke up with him a while back, but she just left me a weird message and won’t answer her phone.”

He sighs. “So what do you want me to do?”

“Could you forgive me long enough to check on her?”

He pauses and she feels a vise closing in on her heart. When he finally speaks, warm tears have begun to course down her cheek.

“Okay, Kir. Where does she live?”

“She sublet my old place.”

“Okay. I better hurry. Call you when I get to her place.”

The sound from the other end of the phone disappears in an instant. Kirsten leans against the wall, pulling on her other glove. Then she wipes away the tears that freeze on her cheeks and waits, willing the tears not to flow again.

Her eyes grow heavy. She dozes despite the cold and the noise pouring from every building on the street. Her eyes flutter open with every passing couple that walks past her. Sometimes they pause to kiss and she looks away, not wanting to be reminded that she left her blind date alone for New Year’s. The phone rings and she fumbles with her glove, tapping the screen emphatically until the call gets picked up.

“John?”

The soft laugh from the other end of the phone reassures her before the voice follows. “Kir, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to make you call him of all people.”

“But you said…”

“I know what I said. I smashed my phone so I couldn’t take your call. Then I realized I didn’t want to end things that way, but I can’t get a new phone until tomorrow.”

She hears a voice in the background, then April says. “I’ll call you tomorrow. You and John should talk. This is his phone.”

“Promise?”

“Yes, Kirsten. Even if I have to beg the old lady next door to let me use her phone.”

“Okay. Talk to you tomorrow.”

“Kir.” John’s voice makes her heart start hammering all over again. “You owe me.”

“I know.”

“So let me take you to dinner the next time you’re in New York. We need to talk.”

He pauses. Fireworks pop on his end.

“It’s New Year’s here, can I trouble you for a kiss?” He asks with a soft laugh.

“Of course.” She blows a loud kiss into the phone.

“You still owe me a dinner.” He says after returning her long distance kiss.

“I know. I have your number.”

“I look forward to your call.”

Kirsten clicks the end call button. Now that she knows April will be around to call her in the morning, weariness sets in. She’ll worry about her promise to John in 2013.