New Year's Eve Read Online Free Page A

Year’s Eve dinner and dance. She was home alone.
    She picked it up.
    â€œBeth Rose?” a peculiar voice said.
    She didn’t recognize the voice. “Yes?” she said.
    â€œIt’s me,” the voice said.
    Her mouth went dry. The voice was freakily high pitched. Somebody—somebody weird—disgusting—was this a—
    â€œBeth Rose?” the voice said.
    She tried to swallow. I should hang up, she thought. I’m alone. Somebody knows I’m alone.
    Her hands grew slippery, and the telephone almost fell to the floor.
    â€œBeth Rose, do you like dinosaurs?”
    Well, it was not your typical obscene phone call, at least. “Oh, some of them,” she said. “Stegosaurus, he’s kind of cute. Tyrannosaurus was never my favorite.”
    â€œOh, good. Kevin and Pete and I were just checking. Because Kip said if George really sent you a bouquet she’d shoot him, and we said that he could send it to us, we’d love to have a bouquet of dinosaurs. I guess he’s sending it to you, though,” said the very high voice sadly.
    â€œJamie!” she exclaimed. “Jamie Elliott. You scared me.”
    â€œI did?” Jamie said, thrilled at this compliment. “Wow.” And, totally satisfied by the conversation he hung up.
    A bouquet of dinosaurs? Beth Rose thought. What word could he have misunderstood? She tried to think of flowers that sounded like dinosaurs: Orchids? Camellias? Red roses?
    At last the doorbell rang. She ran down to get it, relieved to be away from her mirror, glad not to be alone in the house anymore. The phone call had spooked her. I won’t tell Kip that Jamie called, she thought. Sometimes Kip gets awfully tired of four brothers, and she’s as nervous as I am over how George is going to behave.
    Beth Rose flung open the door to greet George and Kip and Mike.
    A huge gorilla stood on her front steps.
    Beth Rose screamed and tried to slam the door shut.
    The gorilla put his foot in the door. “Get out, get away, go home!” Beth screamed.
    â€œNo, no, no! It’s okay! I’m in a costume. I deliver balloon bouquets. I’m just making sure this is the right house! I’m not really a gorilla!”
    Beth said, “Well, I am really having a heart attack. Why can’t you deliver balloon bouquets like a normal person?”
    â€œOh, it’s kind of an abnormal job, that’s all. Sorry I shook you. Most people are half expecting these things, see.”
    Beth Rose opened the door. It was quite odd to chat with a gorilla, and it was also cold. The snow drifted over the gorilla’s shoulders. “Be right back with the bouquet,” the gorilla said, and he jogged out over the snow, doubtless starting a Big Foot legend in Beth’s neighborhood, and came back from his van bearing a bouquet of Mylar balloons.
    They were dinosaurs.
    â€œLike it?” the gorilla asked anxiously. “It’s a new one. I haven’t delivered many yet. Your young man was very excited about it.”
    Beth Rose took ten strings in her hand, and ten dinosaurs in silver, blue, scarlet, and gold bumped into her ceiling. “I was expecting flowers.”
    â€œOh. Well, you could pretend it’s a wrist corsage. Here. I’ll tie them to your wrist,” the gorilla said. His ordinary hands stuck out from the ends of his gorilla costume.
    â€œI’m not sure I want them permanently attached, thank you,” Beth Rose said. So this was what Kip was going to shoot George for. A reasonable decision. She almost hoped Kip would. She said, “Thank you so much. And on New Year’s Eve, too. You have quite a job.”
    â€œYup. Nine to go.”
    â€œNine more dinosaur bouquets in that van?” Beth Rose said.
    â€œOh, no. Nobody but you is getting a dinosaur bouquet tonight,” the gorilla said, as if this was an honor. “Everybody else is getting boring old hearts and