New Year, New Chances

“Happy New Year!”

The 17” television echoed against the walls of the small trailer, rattling pots and pans in the kitchen. Kris Howerton sighed as he watched thousands of excited party-goers celebrating the dropping of the ball, sipping champagne and kissing some loved one next to them.

He got up from the couch and grabbed another beer from the fridge. A picture still hung there from Valentine’s Day, the last date he and Lauren ever had. It was one of those novelty photo booths that had been set up at the Valentine’s office party. They had been so happy and in love that day.

“Make a wish on New Year’s and it’s bound to come true this year,” the inebriated host was saying.

Kris laughed to himself.

“Right,” he yelled sarcastically at the TV. “I wish this year would be better than the last one. How about that?”

He returned to the couch with his beer and finished off the last of the frozen dinner he had warmed up. He glanced at the stack of bills and “past due” notices on the coffee table and groaned.

“Okay,” he added. “How about I wish for a much better year than the last?”

The host continued to drone on as the different cameramen took shots from all angles of the crowd. Hundreds of drunk twenty and thirty-somethings lined the streets and shouted at the top of their lungs because the clocked had turned to midnight.

“Just another day on the calendar,” Kris muttered, shaking his head.

He sat back and began to think of all of the resolutions he had come up with and how he was possibly going to make his New Year’s “wish” come true.

Lauren had left him after the office party, and he had lost his job soon after. The past ten months of unemployment had downsized him from a corner office, a lush apartment in the heart of the city and a sports car to a beat-up, one bedroom trailer and all of the frozen bachelor meals he could handle.

He had been such an idiot that night. One too many bottles and loose lips had destroyed his amazing relationship and landed him in jeopardy with the Board of Directors. What he wouldn’t give to take those words back.

It basically had boiled down to jealousy. Kris had been so sure that Lauren was in love with Mark from Accounting that he had made an incredibly big scene about it at the party. This led to a confrontation with the CEO, who happened to be his boss and Lauren’s father.

Kris then jumped into a tirade about his “fat-cat” CEO boss who sat on his ass while his underlings made him enough money to buy a small island. He packed up his office the next day, and hadn’t heard from Lauren since.

“All right, lady,” he slurred once again at the television host, “make that the best damn year ever, and that’s my final answer.”

He sat back on the sofa, grabbed the employment ads from the newspaper, and began to circle jobs that sounded halfway interesting. At 45, there weren’t too many trades he could do at entry level unless they involved serving food while wearing a name badge. But, in this economy, money was money.

He noticed an unusual listing calling for immunologists to help develop a COVID vaccine with a large pharmaceutical company.

That’s interesting, he thought. They must finally be developing one for toddlers.

“Okay, everyone,” the host continued, “that’s all for this year’s show. You all have a great, rockin’ 2021!”

Kris put down his newspaper and stared at the screen. The lady was more drunk than he had given her credit for.

“It’s 2022, dear,” he said, returning to his job search.

Suddenly, his phone vibrated on the table. He grabbed it to see a New Year’s text and stared at it in amazement.

It was from Lauren.

“Happy New Year, sweets!” it read.

Kris was all at once excited and confused. He hadn’t spoken to her in months, and was pretty sure she was currently engaged to Mark. Was the New Year simply a time to bury old hatchets and make amends, or was there possibly something to the wish he had made only minutes ago?

“Happy New Year,” he replied. “R u still mad at me?”

He watched his phone as the … waved around and “Lauren is typing” was displayed on the screen.

“For not coming over?” she texted. “I told u it was fine. But someday ur gonna move outta that trailer and into a nice apartment. Have you heard anything about ur promotion yet?”

Kris was completely baffled. Lauren was referring to his promotion to partner at the company last year. He had been living in this trailer while doing grunt work for the corporation. He got noticed for his potential from one of the higher-ups, who had then offered him a position as an executive and full partner. He had gone from a nobody to a six-figure somebody almost literally overnight.

But that was last year.

“Haven’t heard anything,” he messaged back, not completely lying.

Just then, another text came through, this one from his former boss.

“Happy New Year, Kris. Talked to Marketing about the position and it looks like he’s giving the green light, pending a pitch from you and subsequent decision by the board. Can’t wait to bring you on.”

Kris was now floored as he began to put two and two together. The wish he had made, the job posting for making a vaccine, the sweetheart text from Lauren, the pending promotion - the host announcing 2021.

“I’ve started the year over,” he muttered aloud. “Holy Christ, I turned back the hands of time!”

He quickly grabbed the phone and dialed Lauren.

“Honey,” he began excitedly, “I love you. Will you go to the office party with me next month?...yeah, just don’t let me drink…oh, hell, let’s not even go…no, we’ll make our own date…speaking of dates, don’t get engaged to Mark…well, he’s no good for you…how many have I had?...I don’t see how that’s relev…look, I’m just saying that…only two…yes, I’m fine…okay, I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

Kris smiled as he hung up the phone.

“Happy New Year,” he said to himself. “Happy New Year, indeed.”