A New Year's Tale

My cell phone read 11:55 PM. The champagne was chilled, the fruit and cheese had been nibbled, and the TV was tuned to the Times Square New Year's celebration. All was going smoothly.

Eric turned to me for a quick pre-midnight kiss. I smiled.

"Any resolutions?" I asked him.
"Oh yes. Plenty. How about you?"

"I intend to quit smoking," I said, lighting a cigarette. "This is my last cigarette."

"You said that last New Year's, I'll bet." He grinned.

"I probably did. I can't remember."

My phone then read 11:59. I handed Eric a glass of champagne, and took mine. "Time for the countdown!" I said.

We counted down with the inhabitants of Times Square, and shouted "Happy New Year!", drained our glasses, and kissed.

"Here's to a beautiful year together," Eric said, refilling both our glasses. I smiled and kissed him.

I checked the time. My cell phone read 11:55 PM. The champagne was chilled, the fruit and cheese had been nibbled, and the TV was tuned to the Times Square New Year's celebration. All was going smoothly.

Brian turned to me for a quick pre-midnight kiss. I smiled.

"Any resolutions?" I asked him.

"Oh yes. Plenty. How about you?"

"I intend to quit smoking, " I said, as I lit a cigarette. "This is my last smoke."

"You said that last year, didn't you?" He smiled.

"I probably did. I can't remember.

The phone read 11:59 PM. I handed Brian a glass of champagne, and took mine. "Time for the countdown!" I said.

We counted down with the inhabitants of Times Square, shouted "Happy New Year!", drained our glasses, and kissed.

"Here's to a beautiful year together," Brian said, refilling both our glasses. I smiled and kissed him.

I checked the time. My cell phone read 11:55 PM. The champagne was chilled, the fruit and cheese had been nibbled, and the TV was tuned to the Times Square New Year's celebration. All was going smoothly.

No, all was not going smoothly. I wasn't sure what year it was currently, or what year it would become. I looked at the man smiling beside me, holding a glass of champagne. What was he doing here? I started to check the time and date on my cell phone, then realized I didn't have a cell phone.

I stared at the man beside me. No! It couldn't be. It was my ex-husband, who was long gone from my life. I knew that another man was supposed to be standing in his place, but who? What year was it? What phase of my life had I just left?

I looked around the room. I was in the house that John and I had shared. I remembered the details: my painting on the wall, the fig tree by the window, strung with Christmas lights, the new (at that time) wide screen TV...it was our place. However, I was definitely out of place. John was still standing beside me, smiling, apparently oblivious to my confusion.

Suddenly it hit me. I had read and watched enough science fiction to recognize a time loop when I experienced one. I seemed to be stuck.

"Oh dear goddess," I muttered. Would I have to relive the past 10 years of my life? Fortunately, I thought, John and I separated only a few months after New Year's, so that wouldn't be too bad. Plus, I'd have a chance to change the course of my life. Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing.

I was not enough of a sci-fi nerd to understand how the time warp thing worked, but from what I understood, there was one action I'd need to take to break out of the loop. It could be something as insignificant as refusing to kiss my ex-husband. I didn't want to kiss him, anyhow.

I set down my glass and looked at the clock. The time was 11:59 PM. The countdown on TV had begun.