Alone on New Year's Eve

About two-thirty in the afternoon on New Year’s Eve, I finished organizing the freezer and realized I didn’t have any chicken poppers.  I’d planned to air fry them for my New Year’s Celebration.  I’d prepared some stuffed raw mushrooms earlier that morning and had everything else ready.  I put on my shoes and threw my jacket around my shoulders.  A quick trip to Walmart to buy the chicken and a can of spray paint, and I’d be set.

After setting the alarm, I stepped into the garage and realized the light rain we were supposed to have sounded like a violent storm. I opened the garage door from inside my car and started the vehicle. I backed up into a torrential downpour. I hesitated. Would my party of one really miss the nuggets? I laughed to myself and headed to the store. There was more traffic on the roads than I expected, and when I reached the store, the parking lot was packed.

I had to park a good distance from the entrance, and by the time I got inside, I was quite wet. With my jacket in my cart, I headed for the paint. Did I want beige or tan? Light brown seemed too dark, and I wasn’t convinced that a satin finish might be too glossy and a flat finish. Somehow, I had six cans of paint in the cart before I walked off. I remembered the painter’s tape and a plastic drop cloth.

Choosing something to drink was no easy task. I got some orange juice and a case of Ozarka water. Added to that were ginger ale, coke, and a Sunkist orange. I’d promised myself that I was going to stop drinking that stuff. The chicken nuggets were not easy to find, but I did locate the taquitos while I was looking.

It was while I was looking for the chicken that I noticed him. Six feet of amazingly straight posture with a short haircut, clean-shaven face, and hazel eyes. He and another man were trying to decide which pizza to purchase. He glanced over at me and caught me looking. I didn’t look away. He had the look of someone I’d love to hold hands with while looking at the sky as the clock announced the stroke of midnight and the start of a new year.

The man next to him asked him a question, and he turned away. I felt a pang of loneliness strike my heart, and I went to the desserts and picked a coconut cream pie. I walked slowly through the produce department and then to the check-out line.

I had just put all my things on the conveyor belt when the stranger came up to me. “Hey, um, I saw you on the freezer aisle.”

I smiled. He had a kind face, and I’m sure he had a nice body beneath that coat.

“Sorry for staring,” were the only words I could get out.

“Kaleb,” shouted the man who had been with him looking at frozen pizzas. “Let’s get going.”

Kaleb looked at the man and back at me. “I like your hat,” he said and then scurried off to catch up with his friend.

I looked down at my selections as the clerk began to scan them and bag them up. Why did I bother coming here, anyway, I wondered. I didn’t need anything, not really. I paid and rolled my cart to the car. It was still raining, and I was getting soaked. I had put the bags in the trunk when a car stopped behind mine.

Kaleb jumped out and stood next to me in the rain. “Hey, sorry about back there, my brother’s in a big hurry, but I just had to get your number and your name.”

I gave him both, and he patted me on the arm. “It’s nice to meet you, Aaron.” He got back in the car.

I drove home, put my purchases away, and read a book while munching on mushrooms. As midnight neared, I air-fried my nuggets. I took a look around at all I had. I felt really lucky and thankful. My phone buzzed, and I walked over to it, expecting the usual text message from my sister.

Instead, I read a text from Kaleb. “Your eyes told me there is something special about you. I look forward to getting to know you in the new year. I’m feeling good about things so far.”

I sat down next to my Christmas tree and looked into the lights. I had the feeling that I had been blessed with another gift. I couldn’t help but smile.

I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year. May this year bring you a life full of blessings.

--Danny