And there's a hand my trusty friend!
And give me a hand o' thine!
And we'll take a right good-will draught,
for auld lang syne.
"Auld Lang Syne"
Written by Robert Burns
The day after Christmas, Ben and I cuddled together on the sofa, as we sipped muscadine juice from champagne flutes and rifled through the memories. We had journeyed backward across the last twelve months as we flipped through the calendar, reviewing the resolutions from last year. Four trips to the emergency room, five front-quarter panels to Ben's truck, thrown out of three businesses, two disastrous camping trips, more quarrels than I could count and more making up than was appropriate for people our age.
Sam had graduated obedience school, my bone doctor had been proud to announce that my bone loss had been reversed due, in large part, to the weight-bearing exercises, and Ben was a brand-new yogi. Katie Lee and I were helping to plan a reunion with the 62 new relatives we had discovered. She and our daughters were touched with their Christmas gifts, lasting monuments of one of the successes of our resolutions.
I raised my head from its resting place on Ben's shoulder.
"You wanna do it all over again?"
There was that crinkle; the smile that started in his eyes and lazily drifted to his mouth. I loved that smile.
"I was thinking about fishing," he said.
"Fishing?"
"Yeah, I think you'd like it."
"I REFUSE to bait a hook." I snuggled back into Ben's shoulder.
"You HAVE to bait a hook..."
"'Sides, I've fished before."
"Not with me."
"I think you could use a facial."
"...if you want to catch a...wait, what?"
"Help you with those pores."
"What's wrong with my..."
"And a Doris Day film festival could be fun..."
"Now Lou..."
"I have a better idea! A Die Hard movie marathon!"
"Lou, I absolutely refuse..."
"I need to call Katie Lee back. See where we can get you a tux."
"I don't want to..."
"'One new thing, once a month...' This year I'll go first and I have never been to a fancy-dress ball on New Year's Eve."
"Maybe we can compromise..."
"I wonder where I can get a dress?"
"So, you've made up your mind?"
"Yep."
"So, I'll have to rent a tux..."
"You won't get a good fit that way. Maybe you'd better buy one."
"But tuxedos cost..."
"I've never been scuba diving in the Bahamas either..."
"Maybe we should institute a price limit..."
"Ben?"
"Yeah?"
"I love being married to you."
"And I love being married to you."
"I can't wait for next year, Ben."
He laughed and shook his head. He seemed resigned to his fate: "It'll be a great year, Lou."