New Year’s Eve
© 1998 Mary Catherine Whitney
All Rights Reserved.
(A Nonspank Story)

Once upon a time there was a little girl named EM and a high school boy named Andy. Our story starts on December 31st, 1986 in Chicago, Illinois when Mary Catherine was five years old and Andy and Patrick were on Winter Break during their junior year at Saint Sebastian’s Prep School in Tyrone, Pennsylvania . . .

"Mary Catherine Whitney, get down here this instant!" Mary hears the voice calling from downstairs as the front door slams. She's lying facedown on her bed reading Black Beauty. Her ponytail is tied back with a long blue ribbon and she's wrapping the end of it around her left index finger. The voice calls again, louder this time. She sits up letting the book fall shut. She climbs off her bed and goes into the hall. Reaching the banister she peeks between the rails. No, it couldn't be . . . YES . . . it was . . . "PATRICK!!!!!!!" she cries. Running down the stairs she launches herself at him four steps from the bottom, her arms outstretched wide.

"Surprise, Sport!" he says as he catches her around the waist hugging her as he swings her around in a circle. Her little legs are flying behind her, navy blue Keds making a blur. "Mommy said you weren't coming home, that you went skiing in Colrado." Giving her a kiss on the forehead he says, "That's C O L O R A D O, Sport. I did, but I couldn't start the New Year without seeing my favorite girl in the whole world."

Looking up at him with a look of confusion on her face she asks, "Who's that Patrick?" Giving her a look of mock disappointment he hugs her tighter, "You brat, who else?" Mary sticks out her tongue as he sets her down in front of him. "I AM NOT A BRAT!" "Hmmm . . . really? Too bad Em, I brought a present for my brat, but since you're not her I guess I'll have to take it back to the store." Mary jumps up and down, "Wait!" she says giving him a big smile showing off a mouth that's missing two front teeth since the last time he saw her "Maybe I AM a brat. What's the present Patrick?" He laughs, ruffling her hair. "Thought so! Now, presents later, first let's get a good look at you . . . ATTENTION!"

Mary Catherine straightens up in front of him, fidgeting as she smoothes down her little plaid skirt. Patrick can hardly keep from laughing; he loved the little terror more than anything in the entire world. What a mess though, at the moment she looks like she was hit by a tornado. He walks around her, making loud tsk tsk noises. Mary starts to blush, hands twisting behind her back while her toe traces little circles in front of her.

As he's about to pass judgment the doorbell rings. Tweaking her nose he says, "Be back in a minute brat. Stay at attention . . . " He opens the door and a cold blast of wind and snow hit the hallway. Mary Catherine shivers pulling her cardigan around her. "Hey, Andy, sorry to leave you out there with the bags, I was just inspecting the troops." Giving him a wink, Patrick grabs a duffel bag and a pair of skis. Just dump your gear and close the door, it's colder than a witch's t . . . " His voice dies out shooting a glance at Mary Catherine. "Anyway, come on in . . . "

Andy drops his gear and closes the heavy front door, unwrapping his scarf from around his neck. Pulling off his ski jacket and gloves he takes a good look around. He can't believe he's really here. This has got to be the best winter break ever. When his parents said they couldn't have him home he was so mad that he was going to have to stay at Saint Sebastian's over the break, but then Patrick said why didn't they go skiing instead. Patrick was the best friend a guy could have, he thought. At Saint Seb's the two of them were inseparable. In and out of trouble constantly, where one was, the other was sure to follow. Skiing had been great, and now they were going to spend a week in Chicago before heading back to school. Patrick had promised Andy that there would be plenty of parties to go to and tons of cute girls to meet this week.

"Hey," Patrick said, clapping him on the shoulder, "I want to introduce you to someone important. Andy, this is Mary Catherine. Em, meet my roommate Andrew Michaels." Mary looks up and shyly says, "Hi." He drops to his knees and puts out his hand to shake hers as he says, "Hi there Sport." Looking over his shoulder he says, "Patrick, you never told me your sister was such a cute little girl." Mary starts to frown at Andy . . . "HEY! Only Patrick gets to call me Sport . . . and I am NOT a little girl, I'll be six next month!!!"

Andy starts to laugh, he can't help himself she looks so mad he can practically see steam rising from her tiny ears. She may be small, but boy that voice sounded just like the freshmen girls at Saint Francis their sister school across the lake. "Ooops, sorry. Almost six, huh? I didn't realize you were so grown up. Now, what should I call you?" Mary looks him over, then looks at Patrick and back again. Deciding he looks ok she says with a smile, "Em". Andy looks confused. "Em? I thought your name was Mary Catherine. Where's the Em?" Mary begins to giggle. "Em, you know, Mary Catherine starts with an M." God, he thinks, what a precocious little imp. Patrick had warned him that she was a little terror, but he really didn't think Patrick was serious. "Em it is then and you can call me Andy. Now," he whispers in her ear, "how come you're standing at attention?" She whispers back peeking over at Patrick, "Uniform inspection." She looks down blushing, "I don't think I'm gonna pass though and then Patrick won't give me my present."

She looks disheartened and even though he know nothing would stop Patrick from giving his sister the present he spent an entire afternoon picking out especially for her, he decides to play along. "That doesn't look like a uniform Em." She rolls her eyes . . . "Of course not! It's Christmas vacation!!! That's just what WE call it . . . Patrick comes home from school and he looks to see if I'm dressed properly . . . he says that's what they do where you go to school and someday I'm gonna go to Saint Francis so I gotta practice!" She looks over at Patrick frowning and adds, "But he WASN'T supposed to be home so I'm not ready and that means I'm not gonna get my present. It’s just not fair!"

Andy takes a good look at her and she's right. If she were at Saint Francis she'd wrack up enough demerits to be sent down to the Dean's office for sure. He stands giving her a wink. Turning to Patrick he whispers, "Give us five minutes, ok?" Patrick looks confused, but he nods and says, "I'm gonna put our bags upstairs in my room Sport and then I'll be back to hand out my report so don't go anywhere!" Grabbing the duffel bags he turns and goes up the stairs. Andy waits until he hears a door close then turns back to Mary Catherine. He takes her hand in his and says, "Come on, Em let's see if we can't fix you up before he gets back."

Andy leads her over to the stairs and sits down as Mary stands in front of him. "Ok, about face," he says. Mary Catherine turns around and feels Andy unfasten her ponytail. He pulls her hair back neatly and he ties the blue ribbon in a big bow. He tucks the tail of her shirt into the waist of her skirt and gives her a small swat on the bottom. Ok Em, face front. Now, that's looking more like it, but lets see what else needs help. Hmm . . . socks up . . . Mary bends over and pulls her knee socks up, cuffing them unevenly. Andy shakes his head and evens out the cuffs . . . "Details are real important Em . . . you gotta make sure they're the same height. They take points off for that at Saint Francis you know."

He ties the lace on her right shoe and straightens her sweater. Oops, one more thing . . . " Reaching up he buttons the collar of her oxford shirt. "There, Em, perfect! Now, back in place, I think I hear your brother coming. By the time Patrick reaches the bottom of the stairs Mary Catherine is standing at attention beaming innocently and Andy is leaning casually against the banister.

"Well Sport, let's see, good, good," he says as he circles her. Stopping in front of her he gives her a hug, "Ok brat, you pass . . . there's a box for you waiting on my bed, let's go open it." Mary starts to race up the stairs and Patrick tears after her, scooping her up and carrying her on his back the rest of the way, her arms around his neck. In his room he drops her on the bed and hands her the box. "Here you go."

Mary Catherine tears open the paper, biting her lip in anticipation . . . Patrick always gives the best presents . . . lifting the lid off the box she burrows down into the paper. Her hand closes around something soft and she pulls a small teddy bear out by the ear. She gives the bear a hug then turns to hug Patrick, the bear squished between them. "I LOVE him Patrick!!!! She gives him a big smacking kiss on the cheek. "Now Sport, his name is Simon and I'm counting on you to take care of him and love him and look out for him, ok?" "Mary nods seriously. "I promise!"

"Hey," Patrick asks, suddenly realizing that the house seems empty, "Why is the house so quiet? Mom and Dad not home Em?" "Nope, just me and Marta. Mommy and Daddy went to a party for Christmas." Patrick looks confused, "You mean for New Year's?" Mary Catherine shakes her head. "No, they went to a Christmas party for Daddy's work. It's in some place called Bermuda. Daddy said it was REAL far away so they wouldn't be home until this weekend."

Patrick feels his temper rise and his throat close. How could they just leave her like this, and on the holidays?! Mary doesn't know any better, but there wasn't any party for work. That was Mom and Dad's way of dumping her with the housekeeper while they went to spend a couple of weeks on the beach. Some things never change. They'd been pulling this stunt as long as he could remember. He couldn't even begin to count how many times he'd spent holidays alone in the brownstone with their housekeeper Marta. But he wasn't about to let Em know that their parents cared more about having fun than spending time with her. If he would’ve known that they were going to pull a stunt like that he never would’ve gone skiing.

"I know they feel real bad about not being here Em, but we're gonna have the best New Year's ever ok?" he asks holding out his pinky. "Can I stay up till midnight?" she asks as she links her pinky with his. "You bet! Tell you what though, midnight's VERY late for you to be up, so, how about you and Simon take a nap for a while? That way you'll be able to stay awake and see 1987. Ok?" Mary nods her head and Patrick carries her on his back into her room. Dropping her on the bed he unties her shoes and takes them off. Placing a blanket over her he says, "Ok, Em, sweet dreams. I want my girl to be well rested for our special date tonight."

Mary closes her eyes and she's soon fast asleep. Meanwhile Patrick and Andy are making their way downstairs. As they walk down the hall toward the kitchen Patrick makes a fist and slams it into the wall. "How could they do that to her?! She's just a little girl. God, it makes me so mad. If only . . ." his voice dies out and he gives Andy a rueful smile. "Guess my secret's out. The infamous Mr. & Mrs. Whitney, my 'Perfect" parents . . . hey, I'm sorry, I hope you don't mind. I know I said I'd we'd go to Heather Mallory's New Year's party and I'd introduce you to all the hot girls I know, but I really can't stand the thought of leaving Em alone on another holiday. I swear Andy, when we get out of school and begin making a pile of money I'm gonna take her out of here and make sure she has a real home. Anyway, I'll call Heather and have her bring some friends over tomorrow and we can impress them with our skating ability down by the lake."

Andy agrees, stunned that Patrick's family is so much like his. He had no idea, whereas Andy let everything out about his parents, Patrick until now had been very closed-mouthed. He always thought they had some picture perfect all-American holiday with everyone around the tree. Changing the subject, he says, "That little sister of yours really is something, Patrick. I swear I could close my eyes and picture her as a girl at Saint Francis." Patrick laughs, "I know, five going on 15! She's a little terror, always looking for adventure. I can hardly wait to see her matched up against the nuns at school in another 10 years. I wish she didn't have to go there at times, but at the rate she's going it's going to take a lot to keep her focused. She's smart, but let me tell you she has a real knack for finding trouble. She needs someone looking out for her."

The boys walk into the kitchen. At the sound of their footsteps, Marta turns around . . . Oh, Patrick! You about scared me half to death! She gives him a big hug. You weren't supposed to be home over the break I thought. Now, let me get a good look at you . . . Hmmmmphh, don't they ever feed you in that place? Sit down, let me get you something . . . and where are your manners? Who's your friend?" Patrick blushes; Marta is much more like a mom than his own mother. "Marta, this is my roommate Andy. Andy, this is Marta, she runs the place. We'd love something to eat, we're starved, but I can get it . . . " Marta puts a hand on each boy's shoulder. "Ha! Not in MY kitchen young man, you know better . . . now SIT!"

The boys sit sheepishly and Marta quickly has sandwiches, sodas and cookies out on the table. "Seen the whirlwind yet Patrick?" she asks as she points upstairs. "Uh huh, I convinced her to take a nap so things should be quiet for at least an hour." He looks up, asking, "Did mom and dad really leave her alone over Christmas?" Marta looks at him sadly, nodding. "Yes, afraid so. Luckily she hasn't caught on yet just what a work party means, but as smart as she is I doubt it will be much longer before she figures it out. We had a real nice day though, she opened her presents, I can't tell you how much she loved that new pair of riding boots you sent, I couldn't get her to take them off for two whole days! Then I drove her out to the stables to ride her pony."

She looks at Patrick, "I know your parents would kill me if they knew, but I took her with me to my daughter's for Christmas dinner so she could eat dinner with a family and play with my grandkids. I know they have a thing about that, but if they weren't going to be here at least she didn't have to sit in that big old dining room alone." Marta's eyes sparkle . . . "We pinky swore on that, just like you taught Mary Catherine so I know it'll go to the grave with her."

Anger flashes across his face again, he can't believe his parents sometimes. It's as if they're the children, not him and Em. "Thanks, I'm sure she had a great time Marta, she writes me at school telling me how much she likes playing with them. Now, I don't know what you had planned for tonight, but Andy and I are going to stay here, so why don't you take the night off and let us keep Mary entertained?"

Marta starts to protest, but she sees how much it means to Patrick so she agrees. "My bridge club is having a little party tonight, I think I'll call them and tell them I can make it after all." As she gathers up her coat and purse she says, "Now I know you already know this, but don't let her eat too much junk . . . the number of the pizza place is on the fridge, your folks still have a house account there so you won't need cash. Just be sure you get salad for Mary Catherine to eat with it. Oh, and there's peppermint ice cream in the freezer. One scoop is plenty no matter what she says and make sure she doesn't drink too much soda or she'll be bouncing off the walls. Have fun, Happy New Year!" With that, she's out the door and headed down the walk.

New Year's Eve is a quiet night for the three of them, but fun. Patrick and Andy tell a lot of stories about Saint Sebastian's and teach Mary how to play Scrabble. Andy's surprised that such a little girl knows so many big words. While Mary Catherine is dozing on the rug in front of the fire long before midnight, Patrick is true to his word and wakes her just before 12:00 to ring in the New Year. At midnight they blow the horns and rattle the noisemakers that Marta had bought for Mary.

Leaving Andy downstairs he carries Mary Catherine to bed. As he tucks her in for the night she tells him that this had to be the best New Year's ever. He agrees, and then lets her in on a little secret. "Some day you'll have an even better New Year's Eve Sport."

"Really Patrick? How could it be better?" Leaning in he whispers, "Someday Em, you'll be kissed on New Year's by someone you love." She looks at him confused, "But I love you Patrick and you kissed me at midnight. Doesn't that count?" Smiling he says, "Of course that counts! What I meant was that some day you'll be kissed at midnight on New Year's Eve by someone who's IN LOVE with you . . . and when a kiss comes on New Year's Eve it means you'll be in love with them forever and ever. So save that kiss for a really important guy, ok?" Mary nods even as she falls asleep . . .

31 Dec 98

The scene shifts to a cabin in Vermont. Mary Catherine and Andy are lying on a rug in front of a roaring fire a Scrabble board between them. Mary has a faraway look in her eyes as she focuses on her tiles. "Mary, it's your turn . . . you still awake over there?" She snaps out of her daze and looks up at him. "I guess I have to pass." Andy nods and takes his remaining two tiles an S and a blank tile and places them on the board on either end of the word PAN. "The blank one's a K" he says. Not even looking at the board which now sports the word SPANK (albeit it says SPAN with a blank tile filling in the K), she says, "It looks like you win."

In the distance the bells of a church start to chime midnight . . . it's a new year. Andy helps Mary Catherine to her feet and she looks at him expectantly . . . the room is dark except for the light of the fire . . . behind them is the Scrabble board. True to form there are a lot of big words spelled out there, but the tiles resting on Mary's holder out of view spell out something very simple. Six letters are neatly arranged. They spell out a word, well two words to be exact, "KISS ME". As the bells ring in the New Year, she wonders what 1999 will bring . . .

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