The young woman walking alone down the dark street just before the start of the New Year paused often, her head turned toward the brightly lit house from which happy voices could be heard. As the midnight hour got closer her pace slowed almost to a halt, as she listened to the sounds of celebration from the houses around. Then, she began to hurry, trying to make her Kleenex last until she got home.
Something about holidays magnifies problems between couples, especially those who still hope that they will miraculously be able to find the secret for being happy together. But mistletoe and presents and determined gaiety can’t make them believe that things will really change enough, so they start fighting to stop the hope. And disappointment.
This is not the first party she’s walked home from alone. It may not be the last. But the observer looking out of her window only knows that she wants to run out and offer comfort. It’s hard to imagine how anyone could be mean to this pretty woman. But she doesn’t go, fearful that her sympathy would not be welcome. So two women start the new year alone. What kind of story might I have been able to tell if I had only had the courage to reach out and take a chance.
--Charlene Hurt, 28 January 2009
[retrospective #3 in a series on Charlene's writings]