‘Round Midnight
December 30, 2024 by Dianna Sinovic in category Quill and Moss by Dianna Sinovic tagged as Dianna Sinovic, New year's Eve, short story
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:
Dianna Sinovic, Featured Author
March 31, 2024 by Dianna Sinovic in category Featured Author of the Month tagged as Dianna Sinovic, Featured Author of the Month, Quill and Moss, Short Stories
Author of the Month: Dianna Sinovic
Dianna is a contributing author in the last three anthologies from The Bethlehem Writers Group, An Element of Mystery: Sweet, Funny and Strange Tales of Intrigue, Fur, Feathers, and Scales, Sweet, Funny Animal Tales and Untethered, Sweet, Funny & Strange Tales of the Paranormal. She has also contributed stories for the Bethlehem Writers Roundtable ezine, including “In the Delivery.”
Born and raised in the Midwest, Dianna has also lived in three other quadrants of the U.S. She writes short stories and poetry, and is working on a full-length novel about a young woman in search of her long-lost brother.
She is a member of Sisters in Crime, Horror Writers Association, The American Medical Writers Association, and The Bethlehem Writers Group, LLC.
Dianna also has a regular column here on A Slice of Orange, titled Quill and Moss, in which she frequently includes short fiction.
Below, you can also listen to Dianna read her short story, “Cold Front” from the GLVWG Writes Stuff anthology.
Other books by Dianna Sinovic
Dianna Sinovic, Featured Author
March 21, 2024 by Dianna Sinovic in category Featured Author of the Month tagged as Dianna Sinovic, Featured Author of the Month, Quill and Moss, Short Stories
Author of the Month: Dianna Sinovic
Dianna is a contributing author in the last three anthologies from The Bethlehem Writers Group, An Element of Mystery: Sweet, Funny and Strange Tales of Intrigue, Fur, Feathers, and Scales, Sweet, Funny Animal Tales and Untethered, Sweet, Funny & Strange Tales of the Paranormal. She has also contributed stories for the Bethlehem Writers Roundtable ezine, including “In the Delivery.”
Born and raised in the Midwest, Dianna has also lived in three other quadrants of the U.S. She writes short stories and poetry, and is working on a full-length novel about a young woman in search of her long-lost brother.
She is a member of Sisters in Crime, Horror Writers Association, The American Medical Writers Association, and The Bethlehem Writers Group, LLC.
Dianna also has a regular column here on A Slice of Orange, titled Quill and Moss, in which she frequently includes short fiction.
Below, you can also listen to Dianna read her short story, “Cold Front” from the GLVWG Writes Stuff anthology.
Other books by Dianna Sinovic
Dianna Sinovic, Featured Author
March 1, 2024 by Dianna Sinovic in category Featured Author of the Month tagged as Dianna Sinovic, Featured Author of the Month, Quill and Moss, Short Stories
Author of the Month: Dianna Sinovic
Dianna is a contributing author in the last three anthologies from The Bethlehem Writers Group, An Element of Mystery: Sweet, Funny and Strange Tales of Intrigue, Fur, Feathers, and Scales, Sweet, Funny and Strange Animal Tales and Untethered, Sweet, Funny & Strange Tales of the Paranormal. She has also contributed stories for the Bethlehem Writers Roundtable ezine, including “In the Delivery.”
Born and raised in the Midwest, Dianna has also lived in three other quadrants of the U.S. She writes short stories and poetry, and is working on a full-length novel about a young woman in search of her long-lost brother.
She is a member of Sisters in Crime, Horror Writers Association, The American Medical Writers Association, and The Bethlehem Writers Group, LLC.
Dianna also has a regular column here on A Slice of Orange, titled Quill and Moss, in which she frequently includes short fiction.
Below, you can also listen to Dianna read her short story, “Cold Front” from the GLVWG Writes Stuff anthology.
Other books by Dianna Sinovic
Answer Me This
January 30, 2024 by Dianna Sinovic in category Quill and Moss by Dianna Sinovic, Writing tagged as Dianna Sinovic, short fiction
The deck beckons you to turn over a card. The cryptic symbols on the backs intrigue you, but you aren’t sure you want to wade into the tarot just yet.
A friend gave you the deck yesterday, on your birthday, telling you with a smile, “This will help with your decision.”
Britt knows you too well—that you are often indecisive and in fact have put off this most important action until it is almost too late.
“But I know nothing about fortunetelling,” you sputtered after opening the small box that neatly held the tarot deck.
“All the better,” she said with a knowing nod. “They will guide you.”
And now you stare at the deck, your hands trembling slightly. You feel like a skier at the top of a steep hill: Once you push off, you will be on a downward slope without any ability to stop until you reach the bottom—or hit a tree.
Britt has already nudged you gently. “Start your session with the cards by asking a question.” She winked. “You already know one, right?”
Yes, you do. And, so here you are, whispering the question to yourself. The deck is ready even if you are stalling.
The first card’s smoothness belies the fellow on the other side: a joker. You wonder if you’ve misunderstood the intent. Are these meant for playing a game like poker? Then you notice that the card’s name is the Fool. Ah, that makes sense. Who’s the Fool now?
From some memory your mind dredges up—was it a carney attraction when you were a kid?—you recall that a handful of cards are turned over and from them your fate is revealed.
The memory comes crashing back: The woman with the short-cropped hair and dramatic eye liner, her long, blood-red fingernails tapping the cards as she discussed your future. The musky perfume that infused the small room off the main carnival path.
“Today is here, make the most of it.” Then her frown as she turned over the last card.
You fled before she could pronounce your fate. What had seemed a lark had become menacing. Now, you mull over her cliched answer and realize how spot-on she was: You were indecisive even then.
The Fool’s card is followed by the Six of Wands, then you flip up Judgement, then the King of Cups. Is that enough? Once again, you mine that long-forgotten memory, but the number of cards on the threadbare carney tablecloth is just beyond your grasp.
You decide to turn just one more face up. This time it’s the Wheel of Fortune, reversed.
And now you should have the answer you reluctantly seek . . . somewhere in these images.
The words form in your mind, as though someone or something is dictating them: You are at the cusp of a new beginning. This is your wake-up call; once you take this step, there is no going back, but this is good news. You have long seen your life as one in which you are waiting for the best to come. That changes with today.
And now you are texting Britt. She has posed a question to you, one that will indeed change your life.
“Yes,” you text. “My answer is yes.”
Some of Dianna’s Stories are in the following anthologies:
Featured Books
SNOW IN LOVE: Sweet Romance Holiday Collection
Escape into holiday magic with SNOW IN LOVE's sweet romance holiday stories!
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ONCE UPON ANOTHER WORLD: A Twisted Fairy Tale Box Set
Not all fairy tales are as they appear.
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THE SHORT & SWEET OF IT: When the Right Word Is a Short Word
How do we say more with less? Can short, simple words make what we write so clear that the reader gets it? Or will it remind them of reading a child’s board book?
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