She had a few weeks before her month started, time she wanted to use wisely to figure Joe out. After mulling it over, she had her ‘Aha moment’ and knew what Joe needed. She grinned at herself as she got ready to rub the other gods’ noses in it. She was going to win!
Joe attended the community New Year’s party on the town square. They had a small version of the Times Square ball drop for the several thousand people to watch and cheer. A band played big band and classic rock music while several food trucks sold snacks and drinks. Many of the revelers had clearly snuck alcohol to the event, something the police ignored as long as people behaved.
Joe wandered around greeting a few people and coworkers he knew only by Zoom. The crowd got more festive as time went on and alcohol was consumed. He was alone but was more than happy just being with the crowd.
Before the countdown started he had pulled himself away from the biggest crowd and watched the activities with a bit of bemusement. During the last few minutes, people were laughing, cheering and blowing noisemakers. As the seconds ticked down he heard the crowd shouting out the seconds down to zero when everyone screamed ‘Happy New Year’ as many couples came together and kissed.
Suddenly, from his left, a woman jumped up, grabbed him, called out ‘Happy New Year’ and planted a big, long and fairly intense kiss on his lips. She then laughed at his surprised look before saying, “You looked like you needed a New Year’s kiss.”
“Uh, thank you.”
“Hey, it was for me also. I didn’t have anyone to celebrate with, either.”
“Well, I wish you a happy one also.”
“I’m Trish. You?”
“Joe.”
“Care to share a glass of bubbly with me, Joe?”
“Sure, as long as the police don’t mind.”
“Joe, they just want to keep things calm and they’re not worrying about a little champagne. Let’s find my friend Frieda, she has some.” She pulled him by the hand into the crowd and led him to a tall, Scandinavian woman.
“Frieda, this is Joe. He was my New Year’s kiss. We need some of that champagne to celebrate.”
Frieda handed over a half-empty bottle letting Joe and Trish share it. They passed it back and forth, not worrying about germs; they had just kissed, after all. In short order Joe was feeling a buzzed.
“Whoa, I better take it easy, here.”
“Drank too much, Joe?” asked Frieda.
“Yeah, a bit much on an empty stomach. I didn’t realize it was so powerful.”
“Trish, should we offer him a place to crash tonight?”
“Yeah, let’s. Joe, our place is just over there. You can have the couch until you can drive. OK?”
“Uh, yeah, thanks.”
Once he had crashed on their couch, the two went back to Trish’s bedroom. They sat on her bed, talking quietly.
“Thanks for setting that up, Frieda. Putting vodka in the champagne was a great idea.”
“You sure looked like you were drinking a lot, too.”
“No,” she giggled quietly, “It looked like it, but I mostly kept my tongue over the bottle. He ended up with most of it.”
“Well, good. Now you’ve got a chance with him. I’m going to leave now for several weeks. You’ll have him all to yourself when he wakes up in the morning.”
“Thanks, Frieda. You’re a peach. Night.”
Joe woke up to the wonderful smell of freshly brewing coffee and frying bacon. When he sat up he was surprised to have no real headache or hangover. On his feet he felt stable and wandered to the kitchen. Trish was standing there in a thin tank top and flannel PJ bottoms.
“Uh, Good morning, at least I think it’s morning.”
“Oh, same to you. Yes, it’s still morning, about ten thirty. How’re you feeling?”
“Actually, pretty good. I wasn’t totally hammered, but I knew I’d had more than enough to drive safely. Thanks for letting me crash here.”
“Coffee will be ready in three minutes, breakfast in ten. Bathroom’s back there.”
“Uh, thanks,” he replied as he toddled back. Once he finished, he returned up front.
“How do you like it?”
“Black, two sugars, thanks.”
Once they sat down for breakfast their conversation was pleasant and wide-ranging. They occasionally teased each other like old friends. He helped with clean up but was reluctant to leave. She didn’t seem to be in any rush to push him out the door and settled on the couch, patting the seat next to her.
Once he sat down, he realized Trish was an attractive woman. Her hair was a blonde mop of curls on top with short hair on the sides. It reminded him of a Lucille Ball hairstyle and he thought it looked good on her. Under her tank top were two nicely-sized breasts with nipples tenting the cloth. She seemed to have a thin torso and the PJ bottoms were loose and hid the shape of her butt and legs from the casual view.
They talked of themselves, their jobs and interests. Trish was a nurse practitioner at a clinic serving the low income and marginalized members of the community. She described caring for them with warm empathy in her voice. Outdoor activities were high on her list of likes but she also enjoyed community theater and was a “very amateur” actress. Joe told her of his background, as well.
It was early afternoon before they knew it. Joe went to excuse himself but Trish teased him, telling him he could leave only after they had arranged to meet again. He offered dinner in two nights but she insisted with a wicked grin on her lips that dinner would be the next night, no excuses accepted.
As he turned to leave, she approached, gave him a big hug and tipped her head up for a kiss. It was quite nice, not too long but with a hint of her tongue tip. “Now, that ought to give you something to look forward to when you return.”
Dinner the next night was great. Their talking was free, loose and comfortable. She was on call and had to answer her cell phone a few times but always did so after politely excusing herself and turning away to provide patient privacy. Their kissing that night was even nicer than the night before. After spending several minutes on her front porch, she sighed, “You know your way around a girl’s lips, don’t you?”
“Mmm, I guess.”
“Your kisses are making it very hard to not invite you in, I’ll have you know.”
“I’d love to come in, but you and I both have busy days tomorrow.”
“Yeah, you’re right. But don’t be surprised if I drag you in here one of these nights.”
“I’ll look forward to that,” he smiled.
Their next date was two days later. She met him at her door with a long, firm hug. “I needed that, Joe. Thanks.”
“Rough day?”
“Not really, but it’s been nearly forty-eight hours since I had one of your fabulous hugs. So, you ready for your special date?”
“I guess,” he answered, “Just where are we going?”
“Remember how I told you I like community theater? I’m starring in the next show and I am practicing tonight. I thought you might like to watch us put the show together. It’s kinda fun to see what goes into one of these productions.”
She was right. Joe enjoyed sitting near the director, watching her bend and mold the actors into what she wanted for the show. At one point she introduced herself to Joe and whispered to him Trish was one of her best actresses. On the way home Trish sat right next to Joe on the bench seat, resting her head on his shoulder. They chatted a bit about the practice but most of the ride home was in quiet.