Writing Prompt Wednesday: “New Year, New You”

Gwen stares at her drink, counting the bubbles as others countdown the clock. 52 bubbles in the matter of seconds. She sighs.

He hadn’t shown up. He promised that he would, but the countdown had ended, the fanfare had played, and she is sitting at a table alone counting bubbles in her champagne.

Gulping down the remains of her night, she stands and brushes down her dress. A couple stumbles by laughing, and she gives them a strained smile. She gathers the last remaining energy of the night to put on her coat and walks out of the party.

As the elevators close, she thinks about all the other things she could have done this evening. She had been meaning to go through her closet for months, and this could have been the night she would have done it.

Instead she waited four hours for a man to arrive and kiss her at midnight. A man who promised he would be there. A man she had texted at 11:30 and gotten the response “OMW.”

Those three letters were her date on more than one occasion, but somehow they never transitioned to the “I’m here” text. She would ultimately get a text hours later explaining the situation away and apologizing. Somehow, he always got her to forgive him.

With each ding of the elevator, she becomes more sure of herself. By the fifth floor, she texts, “Don’t bother. I’m going home.”

It wasn’t a lot, but the moment she hit send, she felt free. All the guilt of trying to not pressure him or weigh him down with her needs just floated away.

The final ding for the lobby felt like victory. As the doors open, she sees his face. Standing there, phone in one hand and flowers in the other, looking a bit like a hurt puppy. Her stomach dropped.

She didn’t move. She felt something akin to terror as he looks up at her.

“Can I at least walk you home?” He says, holding out his arm.

Gwen breathes in deeply. “Yes.”

He takes her arm, and as they walk through the lobby, he begins telling her about his insane day. She hears the elevator’s final ding as the hotel doors close behind them.

“I’m so glad I caught you, Gwen. I’m not sure how I would react without you in my life.”

A neon sign catches her eye as they round the corner. “New Year, New You.” His grip tightens on her, and she smiles up at him meekly.

“I don’t even want to think of it.”

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