In what ways do you communicate online?
Before you read my continuing story, there are 3 forms of communication in this section.
Enjoy 🎉
Happy New Year
Oscar knocked on Esther’s door.
“Who is it?” She sang.
“Baby, it’s cold outside.” She open the door with that smile he loved. “Got plans tonight?”
“Yes,” he grinned holding up a two liter of ginger ale and two champagne flutes.
She giggled, “oh I got plans for you.”
He blushed, “really?”
“If this doesn’t work, I have a back up plan.”
“Well now I’m curious.”
“When do you eat black-eyed peas?”
He looked confused, “I don’t.”
“I have a pot simmering for tomorrow. You have to eat black-eyed peas on New Years or you won’t have any money.” She giggled. “I’m gonna eat the whole pot.”
“No money for me,” he pouted.
“I might share.”
He followed her outside to the porch.
A fire was burning in a tin can setting on her little bistro table. “S’more for your thought.” She giggled. The New Years ball drop party was playing on her laptop.
“This is cute.” He grinned.
“Just cute.” She faked a pout.
As they made s’mores he asked, “have you seen the ball drop?”
“Once.”
“What was it like?”
“Freezing cold but electrifying at the same time. Snot is freezing in your nasal cavities but your heart is warm with anticipation.”
“That’s kinda gross.”
“Which part?” She teased.
“Frozen snot.” He sank his teeth into his freshly made s’more. “You know the last time I ate a s’more was at your family get to – gether.”
“Why?” She asked in amazement.
“They just.” He thought , “weren’t around.”
“What could be better than a burnt marshmallow, slightly melted chocolate and graham crackers?”
“Someone to eat them with,” he replied without hesitation as marshmallow oozed from the graham crackers.
“Here’s to sharin’.” She held up her s’more in a toast.
“To sharin’.”
“5 minutes.” Rang out from the laptop.
“If this doesn’t work, the laptop is the back up plan.”
What did she have in store? She danced off the porch to the big tree in the back yard and plugged in a cord. A ball shape glowed from the tree. He noticed a length of rope tied around the banister.
“I’ve got this down to 10 seconds.”
He just stood in his spot, numb. “When did you do this?”
She glowed in the dim light. “I’ve kept it hidden. Savin’ it.”
He poured ginger ale into the two flutes.
One minute.
She held her flute with one hand and the rope in the other.
They shouted together as the ball slid in jerks down the tree. The laptop sounding off in the background. “10!
9!
8!
7!
6!
5!
4!
3!
2!
1!
Happy New Year!”
“Sorry, I didn’t get any fireworks.”
He sat his flute down, “I brought those.” He hugged her up and kissed her with THAT KISS. Suddenly, she was warm from her head to her toes. “You are something else,” he hissed.
“Happy New Year Mr. Patterson.”
“Happy New Year Ms. Morrison.”
His phone vibrated in his pocket. It was a message from Chet and Belle wishing them both a Happy New Year.
He couldn’t stop smiling as he looked at Esther.
Poetry & More 
Love the ball drop! We might have to try that. We always have black eyed peas on New Year’s (my wife taught me that) and the two of us have a longstanding battle about whether it’s pronounced Smores or Some-mores. You are welcome to weigh in, though my mind will never change🥸!
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Thank you 💕 My bestie is the one that turned me on to eating blacked peas on New Years. I say s-more. I knew someone that said s-mor-ray
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Now that’s just crazy.🤪
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On a strange note, for the past month all the WordPress sites with your theme (and many others that I follow) had the notifications sidebar locked open every time I tried to go into them, so that half the page was covered. It made it so I could only read and reply through the reader. I thought it might be a WordPress software bug of some kind, related to plug-ins, or else a problem with my iPad. None of the help topics fixed it, and it was very frustrating. You will be happy to know it’s working properly again! I’m always concerned with how my site looks to other readers. Thanks for being one of my readers, by the way!
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You are welcome. Thank you for being one of my readers. I use the app. Right before WordPress/Jetpack did the last update, nothing I liked would stay. Say I liked for story, clicked the star. When I went back to read something else you did, my like was gone.
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I notice that on some sites too. I guess it’s just a very complicated system, and doesn’t always work seamlessly. We should just be grateful for what it does give us, which is a place to write and be read without expectation, for example the expectation of earning money. That allows us a strange sort of freedom. Your likes are always noted and appreciated! 😜
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Thank you. I enjoy our chats and reading your work. Keep’em coming. Yeah, some extra money would be nice. But I enjoy writing. ✍️
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That was a wild ride
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Thanks 💕
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