Day 96: Fields of Gold, Chapter 5

I spent an inordinate amount of time on my hair and makeup, that afternoon, running through scenarios in my head. They all involved midnight and fireworks and Dave--this was going to be a night to remember. A night to start over.

We met up with his brother, a bunch of friends from EFY and Jerusalem, and drove the hour to Salt Lake for New Year's Eve. The evening quickly descended into a freezing cold, foggy night, so we hopped from indoor concerts to the planetarium to events on Temple Square. Near the end of the night, our group found a great outdoor Blues concert--heavy on the harmonica and exactly Dave's kind of thing. Standing close to him, stuffing my freezing hands into my pockets and grinning through chattering teeth, I was determined to keep up. As the concert wound down, it was time to move to the main stage for the countdown to midnight. We hurried with thousands of other people, but as I turned around I realized I'd lost Dave in the crowd. I was standing next to his brother, Mike, as the countdown began.

Disappointment doesn't begin to say it. My plan was foiled. I was about to greet the next thousand years with no New Year's Eve kiss. I was flunking Singlehood 101. So I did the only thing I could do: I whined to his brother.

We counted down 9,8,7... Where was Dave??? ... 6,5,4... I guess it was too late now... 3,2,1... Rats. Happy New Year.

Music played. Fireworks shot into the sky, which we couldn't even see because they went off above the fog. Mike, ever the Good Samaritan, looked at me, bent down and gave me a kiss. May he receive an eternal reward for that act of service.

Thirty seconds later, Dave appeared.

Happy New Year indeed.