The Gregorian Calendar, with all of its modifications, is still inaccurate. I prefer the Persian Calendar which acknowledges that our rotation has nothing to do with our revolution. Silly system if you ask me. It's like calculating the speed of a truck by counting the number of times a ballerina spins in the cab. Still, it cannot be ignored. The people are out in droves tonight, despite the weather, and it makes it all the better to observe and feed. Thousands, desperate for a midnight kiss, each one willing to forsake the ignorance of strangers in order to, just for a moment, feel loved.
I walked her home. She and I had been at the bar for hours, playing her little game of coy resistance to my gentlemanly aggression. I bought her drinks. She batted her eyes and stood close when we went outside to smoke. I told her my name and that seemed to comfort her, it's a boring name after all, not the name of a monster.
Her apartment was warm. Her cat looked at me suspiciously, but I kept my distance. I knew it knew, but I also knew it had no way of warning her mother.
She offered me a drink, a 12-year old Scotch that she kept on hand for men like me. This wasn't her first time, and it wasn't mine.
After the drink, I told it her it was time for me to be going. She was equal parts confused and relieved. She thought she knew what I wanted, and it surprised her that I never made a move.
"Are you sure? The weather is getting worse..." As I slid my arms into my coat and situated my hat I smiled.
"And it will only get worse if I don't leave now."
The walk home was bitter and justified. The long night was ending soon and the temperature was dropping rapidly. I could feel my joints seizing up at the cold, unaided by body temperature or fluids.
A cab pulled over, "Jon, it's too cold to be walking tonight. Get in." It was Alonzo. We rode in silence the last few miles until just before the turn off to my neighborhood. "Well, this is it, boss. Hope you had a good night and Happy New Year." I paid him more than I should, but he deserved it. He was there when I needed him and didn't ask questions.
As I shook off the cold, I lit a cigarette and turned on the news. A quite night all around. Only a few incidents to add to the record. The city was freezing in the cold. All activity stopping. Stasis. Equilibrium. God help us when it starts to thaw.
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