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‘Round Midnight

The clock read fifteen minutes to midnight on New Year’s Eve, and the party had descended into arguments instead of winding up for the big calendar change. Melissa and Jake were yelling in the foyer; Drew and his new girlfriend glared at each other over the punch bowl, and Julie and Maye stood at opposite ends of the room, each looking away or down.

The evening had started so peacefully. Ashlie sighed as she surveyed the standoffs and registered the growing tension in her home. She had no idea where Cole had vanished to. Was he also angry?

“Almost time!” She raised her voice over the dance music blaring from the speakers. No surprise that no one was dancing. She brought out her bag of noisemakers and passed them out. She had “Auld Lang Syne” programmed to play at the stroke of twelve. She’d hung mistletoe in several strategic doorways. The champagne was chilling in the fridge, the flutes ready on a fancy tray in the kitchen.

Where was everyone’s holiday spirit?

“Cole?” she called. Even if he was in a foul mood, he could at least help pour the bubbly when the time came—which was approaching quickly.

He didn’t appear, so she texted him. No response. Was he sulking in the bathroom? If so, she was on her own.

A crash and the sharp tinkle of breaking glass from the foyer. Someone—Melissa?—screamed, “I hate you!”

Petra, a colleague from work whom Ashlie had invited at the last moment, appeared at her side. “Show me where the broom is and I’ll go clean up the mess.”

Ashlie blinked in surprise. “Thanks.” She directed Petra to the supply closet. “There’s a broom and a dustpan in there. I’ll go open the champagne. Only five minutes left . . . ”

She filled the flutes halfway and carried the tray into the great room. “Grab a glass! And let’s count down.”

The guests swarmed the tray, apparently setting aside their differences for the moment. “Ten, nine, eight . . . ” They joined in the recitation, erupting in applause and raising their voices to blend with the song on the speakers, “Should auld acquaintance be forgot . . . ”

Just like clockwork, Ashlie thought, relieved that the annual tradition could still dampen disagreements and bring people together. Tomorrow they could resume their spats, but not while the party continued.

Then Jake, who had moved into the great room after the foyer incident, called out, “It’s after midnight, right?”

“Has to be,” Drew said, belting back his champagne. “We already sang the new year’s song.”

“But you didn’t kiss me under the mistletoe,” his girlfriend said, with a pout. Ashlie couldn’t recall the woman’s name.

“Still time,” Jake said, holding up his phone. “Mine’s stuck at 12:00. Weird.”

“Mine’s stuck, too,” Julie said.

Several others echoed her. “Mine, too.”

Ashlie pushed through the kitchen door to check the digital clock on the range. It read the same: 12:00. But it had to be at least a quarter past the hour already.

She opened another bottle of Moutard Brut and refilled glasses held out to her.

“Might as well drink up while time stands still,” Drew said.

“Here, here,” Maye called from the couch.

Ashlie noted that Cole had reappeared and was seated next to Petra. Maybe the night would never end and she would not have to face him and his excuses.

Turning to the Spotify app, she cued up its New Year playlist and tapped on Play. Nothing happened; just a spinning circle. The wifi must be down, or maybe the modem. She switched to her music app and started a downloaded album, anything to fill the silence of the room.

With the speakers once again booming, a few people stood to dance. Drew pulled his girlfriend into a doorway for a deep kiss. The time remained stubbornly stuck at midnight, but no one seemed to care. Even Melissa rejoined the group, and a few moments later, followed Jake to an open spot on the carpet to move as one to the music.

It was a party, after all, and they’d keep the bash going ‘til dawn … if it ever came.

More of Dianna’s stories are in the following anthologies:

THE DARKEN DOORSTEP

AN ELEMENT OF MYSTERTY: SWEET, FUNNY, AND STRANGE TALES OF INTRIGUE

UNTIL DAWN: A Supernatural Anthology

FUR, FEATHERS AND SCALES: Sweet, Funny, and Strange Animal Tales

UNTETHERED: SWEET, FUNNY, AND STRANGE TALES OF THE PARANORMAL

SEASON’S READINGS: More Sweet, Funny, and Strange Holiday Tales

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Featured Author Renae Wrich

December 29, 2024 by Renae Wrich in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Featured Author of the Month tagged as Featured author, Mac and Cheese, mac and cheese in outer space, renae Wrich

A born and raised Minnesotan, Renae Wrich is a lover of hot dishes, lakes, and snuggling up with a good book on a cold winter day. Renae holds a B.A. in English from the University of Minnesota Duluth. She lives in a suburb of Minneapolis with her husband and two children (who love macaroni and cheese).

Her second children’s book MAC AND CHEESE IN OUTER SPACE was just published. You can read more about it here.

More of Renae’s Books

Hover over the cover for buy buttons. Click on the cover for more information.

MAC AND CHEESE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE

MAC AND CHEESE IN OUTER SPACE

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Winter Solstice

December 26, 2024 by Neetu Malik in category Poet's Day by Neetu Malik tagged as longest night, Neetu, snow, Winter

Winter Solstice

don’t tell me how much
you love me, not now

when days are fragrant
with lavender
and the earth’s pulse
throbs with the beat of every heart
and I hear yours

make no promises when
the scent of moonflowers
rides on the night breeze
through the window

wait until fluttering wings
have flown south
the sky is muted
and snow has padded
the ground
until the air wears
a winter shroud

tell me then how much
you love me
on the longest night
and if you’re still
by my side

Some of Neetu’s Books

Pennsylvania Bards’ Eastern PA Poetry Review 2023

THE POETIC BOND X

THE OCOTILLO REVIEW SUMMER 2018 VOL 2.2

THE POETIC BOND V

THE POETIC BOND VI

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NISHA’S JUST-RIGHT CHRISTMAS TREE—A REVIEW BY VERONICA JORGE

December 22, 2024 by Veronica Jorge in category Write From the Heart by Veronica Jorge tagged as Jaya Mehta, Nisha's Just Right Christmas Tree, Parvati Pillai, Susan Lynn Meyer

NISHA’S JUST-RIGHT CHRISTMAS TREE

SUSAN LYNN MEYER
AND
JAYA MEHTA

ILLUSTRATED by PARVATI PILLAI

Beaming Books
2024
ISBN 978-1-5064-9646-7

BIG. That’s all Nisha can think about. After all, in her mind, she’s not little anymore. She’s big. So, when it’s time to buy the family Christmas tree, Nisha wants to help her father pick out the right one.

Nisha wants a big tree. “As tall as a camel! As wide as an elephant!” One that can fit all of their ornaments, many of which came all the way from Baba’s home country of India.

But her Baba wants a small tree. One that he can easily carry up the stairs and that will fit in their small Brooklyn apartment.

Nisha and her father shop around, but they cannot seem to agree on a tree.

“Too big,” says Baba.

“Too small,” says Nisha.

Yet somehow they must find a tree that’s just right for each of them and that will make their Christmas special.

Nisha’s Just-Right Christmas Tree celebrates the childhood excitement of growing “big enough” to participate in holiday preparations, and is a heart-warming story of a little girl on a mission to help her father find the perfect Christmas tree.

Parvati Pillai’s illustrations in deep rich green, red, and gold colors draw the reader into the magical season and the warm tender family moments.

Nisha’s Just-Right Christmas Tree is a meaningful story of the ways in which cultures often mix and blend traditions from their home countries with those of their new country in order to create the just-right life for their families.

This is one to add to your holiday collection.

Veronica Jorge

Happy Holidays!

See you next year, January 22^,2025!

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