Write Club Prompt #1

The Last New Year

New Year’s Eve 2019 into 2020 was spent sitting on my couch alone. With my cat but still alone. This was planned as I was soon leaving for a trip and needed to preserve my strength for the night. Normally I would be in bed with in minutes of the ball drop. I watched Jacky Gleason mugging for a studio audience and nurtured my crush for Audrey Meadows. I tried to nap but nervous energy kept me awake. I checked my bags.

What coat should I bring? Arizona is still warm, right? Check the weather app. Is the flight still on time? Check the airline app. I double check that I removed the knife that usually resides in my carry on bag.

I forget what happens next but at three o’clock I call the Uber. Outside the air is not too cold and the black Camry pulls up as promised. I used the share to save a few bucks and we drive to the parking lot of the New York Times printing plant and a woman joins us. She eats from a plastic container. No one speaks and we travel down the Van Wyck. She’s dropped off first somewhere in Jamaica then it’s back to the Van Wyck and Kennedy airport. There’s traffic and I see two cars stopped. A rear end collision has ruined someone’s night.

We arrive and the JetBlue terminal and I gather my bags to leave. The driver has started making small talk. I tell him I am going to Arizona to attend a friend’s wedding. He smiles and says that is a blessed way to start the new year.