A frozen new year

 He waited in his car, then, forgetting his manners, hurried to the door. Running, he slipped on the ice and fell face-first. He quickly stood as the door opened and she appeared, hand over her mouth, stifling a laugh. He was often clumsy, the butt of jokes, but she loved him with all his quirks. Arm in arm, they carefully crossed the icy path, skaters in their own duet. Once in the car with the heater blowing as good as it got but better than out in the frigid temperatures, he looked at her and suggested that maybe tonight they should stay home. It's already been a circus, he said, and I for one don't want to chance sliding off the road into a ditch where nobody would find them until the plows went by and plowed them over. Well, she said, how about we dress a lot warmer and walk? He pondered that for a minute, asking himself what could possibly happen, and came up with several reasons: walking was a bad idea.

First, one of them could slip on the ice and break something, or both could slip and be left to freeze to death while waiting to be rescued. A car could veer off course and hit them, or a giant icecycle could fall from the power poles and hit their heads, knocking them unconscious. And besides, what was so important that they had to risk limbs and pain and even frostbite? But she ended the discussion as they dressed in cold-weather gear, looking like Michelin men on their way to the Arctic.

Slowly walking into the freezing wind, the cold sneaking in the cracks of their snow suits, they went forward. I can see their house she said as she took his hand in hers and finally reached it with no time to spare. You made it the lady at the door said, and look at you, giant frozen marshmallows. It took them a minute to get out of their gear, then they greeted the other guests, mainly from the neighborhood.

At the stroke of midnight, New Year toasts were made as the party went on until early morning, when they donned the Michelinmen suits and braved the walk home. I'm a little hungover, he said as he slipped on a chunk of ice and went face-first into a snow pile. She bent over to help him, and she too slipped on the ice, landing on top of him. Both lay laughing so hard that tears froze running down their faces. Just another New Year's party in Buffalo, where the chicken wings were plenty, and nothing would prevent you from an open bar and good friends.

Mike 2006