Rusty, Janie, and a Family’s New Years Eve: (A fictionalized
story inspired by actual events.)
A Short story
by
Rosemary
(The original version of this story was registered by
the author at the U.S. Copyright Office in 2023, in
"The Adventures of Rusty and Janie," Chapter 7.)
As the year was coming to an end, Rusty and her two sisters were geared
up to prepare for the parties they had been invited to for New Year's Eve.
The twins, Rusty, and Janie were both sophomores in high school. The twins
excitedly packed their small cloth suitcases for the slumber party that had
both been invited to.
Their cousin who was staying with the family for a short visit, was preparing
to attend a more grown-up party that was being hosted by one of her friends
who lived in a mansion by the lake.
She was older than the twins and had just turned twenty-one. Unlike her two
younger relatives, she was more sophisticated.
As the early hours of New Years Eve continued, the snow outside became
heavier. It had become obvious that their evening plans may need to be
cancelled.
"Kids your big sister just phoned to let us know that some of the roads are closed
because of the heavy snow accumulation. Irene will be staying over at her friend's
house, and warned that we should all stay home, which was very thoughtful of her,"
their dad gratefully acknowledged.
"I do not think the weather is that bad, and I still plan on going to the New Year's Eve
bash," their cousin stated defiantly.
The twins were still undecided.
Suddenly, as the snow continued to fall during the early evening hours, the phone rang.
All three young ladies ran towards the telephone while they were each struggling to
grab hold of it.
"Girls, stop this at once," their mother demanded as she entered the room.
The middle-aged woman then added, "I will answer this call," she declared with authority.
"Hey, what if it's for me," Mary asked politely.
"Then I will hand the receiver over to you" the twins' mother tactfully answered.
"Hello, this is the Margaret," their mom stated courteously.
"Yes, the twins are right here, which one would you prefer to speak with?"
she inquired kindly. She then placed her hand over the receiver and began
to whisper to the twins.
"Girls, it's Susan, due to the weather, she and her parents have decided to cancel
her sleepover tonight. Which one of you would like to talk with her?" she asked
in a soft tone.
"I will!" Janie volunteered, as she grabbed the handset.
"Hi, this is Janie. Huh, huh, I see, okay thanks for letting us know, and
happy New Year's," the teen uttered politely.
"Well. I guess you two will need to stay home tonight." their mom stated
with a sigh of relief.
She then turned towards all three individuals to speak with urgency.
"I do not want any of you to start making a bunch of calls.
I would like to keep the phone line open should Irene need to
contact us," she requested.
She then turned towards Mary and suggested, "Why don't you stay here
as well. This is not a night for traveling."
'Sorry, I can’t. I promised everyone I will be there,” she answered.
She then stated snidely, “the twins have friends, who are babies and are
afraid of a little snow. Mine are way too cool to allow a few snowflakes to
ruin their New Years Eve," Mary boasted.
"I realize that you are much older than the twins and considered an adult,
but I surely wish you would reconsider your choice to go out tonight,"
Margaret pleaded.
"I appreciate your concern, but I am going to that party. I cannot go back on
my word. It is only a few blocks away, and I plan to walk there. If need be,
I can sleep over. My friend has an extra bed in her room,” their cousin rationalized.
"I think you are making a mistake. Her address is at least two miles from here,
and we cannot drive you because the roads conditions are too treacherous. Most
likely, we would not even be able to get out of the driveway. We have already
placed our name on several lists with the snowplowing companies, but it will
still probably be a while before they are able to get out here to help us since they
are all booked," Margaret explained.
"Don't worry, I told you I can walk to her house from here, " Mary stated with
overconfidence.
"I give up! " The twins' mother replied in disbelief, as she threw her hands in the air,
and marched into the kitchen.
Rusty and Janie had promptly adapted to the situation. They had already changed
into their new pajamas they had received as gifts recently.
As Mary was preparing to leave for the upcoming fun filled events, the twins
were sipping hot cocoa and watching television.
Their extended relative was dressed in her new silver beaded sweater, and stylish
black designer jeans. She was wearing her snow boots, while carrying her
small evening purse and high heeled shoes in a plastic bag.
“Mary, I wish you would change your decision and stay here," Rusty begged.
"Thanks,” but as I said before, I already promised that I will be
attending the party.
"Rusty, your cousin has made her choice. You are wasting your efforts.
I am preparing spaghetti, why don't you help me in the kitchen," their
mom requested realistically.
"Well goodbye have fun!" Rusty shouted, as she veered into the next room
to help in preparing supper.
An hour or so later, as the twins were nearly finished assisting with the dinner
preparations, they suddenly heard pounding at the front door.
"Open up, my hands are freezing, the young female voice pleaded from the
exterior of their large wooden door.
"Hey, it sounds like Mary," Janie determined as they quickly unlocked
the latch.
The young woman fell inside and landed on the floor. She was shivering and
her lips looked blue. Her hands looked red.
The articles in her sack flew out and landed in different directions. Rusty
quickly picked everything up and placed them on the small sofa by the front
entrance.
Her clothes stretched from dampness over her slim frame, as they stuck to
her body from the moisture of the snowfall. Her usually thick curly
auburn hair was wet and hung in individual clumps.
The twins' parents came running down the stairs with blankets.
"What happened?" Al asked.
I could not go past two blocks. The snow is so horrible that I could barely
see in front of me," she explained as she was trembling. Her lips quivered
as she spoke.
"Thankfully, it appears you do not have any frost bite," Margaret determined
as she was looking at the young woman's limbs.
“Girls why don't the two of you take Mary upstairs and help her get into
nightclothes. I will bring some hot tea for her immediately," their mom
gently offered.
Their mother began to discuss Mary's condition over the phone with her
physician, as he was unable to make a house call due to the weather.
He assured her that it did not sound like she needed to go to the hospital.
She just needed to be cared for and looked after in the warmth of their home.
As Mary was warming up in her bed, under her thick quilt, the twins barged
in her room as they usually did.
"Hi guys what’s up?" she inquired as she remained cuddled up in her bed.
"We thought you might want to come to our room and watch some shows with us,”
Janie offered.
"No thanks, I appreciate the invitation, but I do not feel up to it right now. Besides
I am still a bit upset that I am missing a great party with cute guys, catered food
and stuff, " Mary replied.
How do you know?" Rusty challenged as she stood at the foot of her bed with
her hands on her hips.
Her younger cousin then added, "Maybe the other people invited to the party
decided to be smart and not to go out tonight," she emphasized astutely.
"Besides in this area we are used to bad weather. Even in March, it is
unpredictable, this is why we usually watch the St Paddy's Day parade
together on TV," Janie mentioned, as she was trying to cheer her cousin up.
The twins had begun to realize that attempting to persuade Mary was useless.
In the meantime, there was a pot of their favorite meal, homemade spaghetti
and hot dogs' downstairs. The twin siblings decided to eat first before
getting started on their upcoming itinerary.
"Why get started on an empty stomach," Rusty reasoned.
The sisters and their parents were truly enjoying this special cuisine.
Because of the holiday, their mom decided to serve it in the living room,
which was usually off limits.
Suddenly, they heard a voice.
"Is there anything left for me?" Mary inquired in a plea motivated by
a sudden urge of hunger.
"Of course, there is plenty for everyone," Al stated.
Mary was still weak and bundled up in her nightgown and robe. She had napped
for a little while and was feeling better. She immediately took her seat at the round
table, as the twins' dad delved out an ample portion on her plate.
"You know Mary, if it is easier for you, you can go back upstairs where it is
warmer and we can bring your meal to you," Margaret offered.
"No thanks, I am bundled up and feeling comfortable right now," their cousin
answered graciously.
"Mary, do you want the last pieces of garlic bread," Rusty teased as she was
pretending to get ready to eat them.
"Please give your cousin those pieces of bread right now, you already had
three portions of it, her father ordered.
"I was just kidding," the teenager replied in a playful tone.
Mary grabbed the crunchy pieces of buttered and seasoned bread, and began
to devour them.
"Everything is really good," Mary stated in a complementary manner, as
it appeared she was attempting to create a more pleasant atmosphere.
"After dinner why don't we play some of those board games we used to enjoy,
and listen to the new records we received for Christmas," Janie cheerfully
suggested to her sister and cousin.
"Okay why not," Mary replied less enthusiastically. She really did not want
to participate, but since there was nothing else to do, she warily said yes.
"What a boring night this will be," Mary thought quietly to herself. She was
grateful that none of her friends were present to witness this situation.
Otherwise, she would never be able to live this down.
"Rusty and Janie, I expect you both to help me clean up before you start anything.
I want Mary to go back upstairs and just relax since she was not feeling well earlier,"
Margaret instructed.
After the two teenagers finished their tasks in the kitchen, they ran upstairs to hang
out with their guest and get the activities started.
The dice hit the cardboard decorated with colorful illustrations, as the music
played in the background.
"Common Rusty, it's your move," they shouted in a lighthearted manner.
"Okay, I am deciding which way I want to move my peg," Rusty replied in her
usual immature style. She was intentionally delaying her efforts to annoy the
other players. She was relishing this moment, as she continued to
irritate them.
The snowstorm outside continued to gain momentum. They spent the remainder
of the evening having fun watching the New Year's entertainment and the
countdowns develop on tv.
At the end of the evening, Mary apologized to the family for the manner in
which she behaved.
“Sorry about what happened tonight,” she stated sincerely.
“It’s okay, besides the only person you really hurt was yourself,” the twins'
father replied.
“What do you mean?” she asked with puzzlement.
“Well, you were so busy worrying about not disappointing the friends you have
made here, that the person you let down the most was yourself, by placing your
personal safety and health in jeopardy,” he pointed out.
“Everything turned out to be okay,” she answered.
“Yes, luckily you seem fine now. However, going out in this type of wintery mess
in the dark was foolish. You could have slipped on a piece of ice and injured yourself,
gotten frost bite, or perhaps acquired some other bad medical condition," Al stated.
“Yeah, I guess so, anyway I apologize,” she repeated, before going back upstairs
to hang out with her two younger cousins.
As the evening prolonged, the three of them were trying to get along without
any petty squabbles.
This was a pleasant relief to the twins' parents, who were getting tired and
decided to retire just after 12:00 a.m.
Their mother turned off the lights before departing from the kitchen.
A while later, the three girls were getting hungry and decided to go downstairs
and visit the refrigerator.
To their surprise, the table in the kitchen was beautifully decorated with a white
tablecloth and silver trim. It was set for three people, complete with elegant
champagne glasses.
They ran over to the modern icebox and noticed there were several trays of fancy
small sandwiches and cold appetizers, along with several chilled bottles of
a non-alcoholic white sparkling drink. The beverages were packaged in glass
containers which were artfully designed to look like champagne bottles.
There were also three dessert dishes stored on the top shelf each containing
generous portions of chocolate pudding, and a large can of whipped
cream nearby to be used for the topping.
"Wow, look at all of this food they prepared for us," Rusty stated cheerfully, as
she began to remove the plates of delicacies and place them onto the beautifully
decorated tabletop.
They also noticed a large bowl of dip in the frig, and several bags of unopened
potato chips placed on the counter beside it.
"Hey, what is that package for on the top shelf?" Mary asked.
"Oh, that's probably some of the food our mom set aside for Irene when
she comes home tomorrow hopefully after the storm clears," Janie stated
assumingly.
They then took their seats at the table and turned on the small television set
positioned conveniently on the flat surface.
The three of them began to continue to view the televised celebrations.
They held their filled glasses in the air and toasted the new year, as they started
to consume all of the goodies thoughtfully prepared for them.
The holiday blizzard turned out to be a very meaningful memory for this family,
and how they came to treasure it over the years.
Author's note:
This fictionalized story, which was inspired by actual events, is dedicated
in loving memory of the author’s parents, and big sister, (named Irene for the story).
It is based on a snowstorm in the Chicago area, which occurred on New Year's Eve
1978 / 1979.
Unfortunately, an even worst storm developed that year i