Disclaimer: The Characters Of the Stephanie Plum series belong to Janet Evanovich and are used here without permission. No copyright infringement is intended.
Note: For the Perfectly Plum 1/2/08 Epiphany challenge option 1 “That’s your New Year’s resolution? What are you thinking?” Used in slightly altered versions in the past and present sections.
Young Carlos Makes A Reslution
By TT
Carlos stared at the clock across the room. He knew he was supposed to be asleep, but everyone always made such a big deal about New Year’s Eve and midnight that he was determined to find out what was so special about it.
His parents were down stairs, watching television, waiting for midnight. His siblings were all in their rooms.
When the clock read 11:55, he carefully got up from his bed, crept across his room and made his way downstairs, being very, very careful to miss the squeaky steps.
As he reached the bottom stair, he paused and listened to make sure he hadn’t given himself away. Satisfied that his parents hadn’t heard him, he continued to sneak toward the sound of the television.
Peering around the corner into the room, he could see the television screen and the party scene that it was showing. There was a small clock showing the time in the bottom corner of the picture. It had taken him three minutes to get downstairs. There were only two minutes to midnight.
The sound of his parent’s voices drew his attention.
“That’s your New Year’s resolution?” his father said, sounding shocked.
“What were you thinking? I’d resolve to lose weight? Exercise more?” his mother replied, sounding slightly offended.
“No, no, querida,” his father hastily assured. “I whole-heartedly approve of your resolution. What husband wouldn’t?”
“I’m glad you like it. Do you have one as well?” Carlos’ mother asked.
Carlos watched as his father wrapped his arms around his mother and drew her closer. “Well, now that I’ve heard yours, I might just have to change mine to line up with it.”
Carlos’ mother laughed. It sounded different than it normally did, lower, huskier. “I think mine will be good enough for both of us,” she said, leaning forward and capturing her husband’s lips in a kiss.
Carlos made a face at the action. Girls were gross and kissing was the worst. Glancing at the television he saw there was less than a minute left until midnight.
“I resolve to spend more time with the children,” his father said, drawing Carlos’ attention back to his parents. “But I still like yours better. It’s definitely one I’ll enjoy helping you keep,” he told his wife, his hand sliding under her sweater, eliciting a moan of pleasure from her.
Carlos had no clue what his parents were doing, but didn’t want to watch, so he turned his eyes back to the television. Seeing the clock tick down the last seconds, he watched a bright, sparkly ball fall and then a big sign light up welcoming the new year.
His face contorted in disgust as he watched men and women kissing on the screen. Right then he knew what he was going to promise.
Ignoring his parents, Carlos turned around and went back upstairs to his room.
As he settled into his bed, he stared at the ceiling. “I’m never, ever going to kiss a girl on New Year’s Eve,” he promised himself, shuddering slightly as the image of his parents kissing and touching flashed in his mind. It was just too disgusting to think about. Besides, there was snow on the ground outside and, with no school tomorrow, he could probably build a snow fort.
Present
“That’s your first New Year’s resolution?” Stephanie asked in disbelief.
Ragner nodded. “I promised that I would never, ever kiss a girl on New Year’s Eve and I never have,” he replied.
“So, you’ve never kissed anyone at midnight?” Stephanie inquired, trying to clarify her understanding.
“Nope,” Ranger replied, not sounding the least disturbed by the fact. Many years before, when he first joined the army, he had decided that if you couldn’t keep a promise you made to yourself, then you couldn’t keep a promise you made to someone else and your word had no value. So, he had fastidiously avoided ever having a date on New Years Eve. It had been easy when he was in the service. Most years when he had been serving, he was overseas and in situations where celebration was the furthest thing from his mind. The fact that this year he had Stephanie beside him and he really, really wanted to kiss her made him rethink his resolution, but he always came back to the fact he had to keep his promise to himself.
He watched as Stephanie slumped back against the back of the couch. After several moments she straightened and a sly smile crept across her face. He knew that smile and worried about its meaning. It could mean something very good or something very bad for him. “What are you thinking?” he asked cautiously.
Stephanie’s smile grew more Cheshire Cat-like as she asked, “What was the exact wording of that resolution again?”
Carlos sighed. “I promised that I would never, ever kiss a girl on New Year’s Eve.”
Stephanie’s smile grew into a brilliant, true smile. “Well,” she said, moving over to him and straddling his lap. “You’re in luck,” she said. Leaning forward, she placed her mouth right next to his ear as she whispered, “I’m not a girl; I’m a woman.”
A smile spread across Carlos’ face as, in the background, the television announced the last seconds of the old year.
When they reached zero Stephanie whispered, “Happy New Year,” before kissing him with tenderness and fire.
End
P. S. For those who are curious, Mrs. Manoso’s (Ranger’s Mom’s) resolution was to have more intimate moments with her husband.