The First Part of Chapter 19: New Year's

On New Year’s Eve, as promised, Eunice and Mario took Clarissa to see a comedy show. The show was in a theatre unimaginatively named The Performing Arts Centre, and it featured Peter Charles Ku, billed on the board outside as P.C. Ku. There had just been a snowstorm on the Wednesday, which meant the sidewalks were buried, invisible beneath tramped-down snow, and the war memorial on the square opposite the theatre was partially obscured by high snow banks; little of the snow had melted since November, and thus this was additional accumulation over the previous snowstorms, whose snow had compressed and hardened to ice on the sidewalks. The three were thus very careful on their way to the theatre not to slip, but Clarissa almost did so when they passed the Natural History Museum on McLeod Street. Eunice found the show funny enough, but she noted that Clarissa’s manner was subdued; where Eunice was gasping for breath, Clarissa was barely giggling. The nature of the jokes were conventionally thought of as funny: mother-in-laws, various sexual practices––Ku was known for his sex jokes, particularly an elaborate one involving a woman sleeping with her best friend’s boyfriend, and her best friend doing the same, while both of them thought they were with their own boyfriends. The walk home after the show was sombre, due to two circumstances: the weather was cold and cloudy, threatening but not delivering snow, and Clarissa’s mood, which was melancholic and contagious.

“What’s wrong, Clarie?” asked Eunice as they stepped over a snow bank and crossed MacLaren Street.

“Oh, I don’t know; do I seem unhappy?”

“Yes; you didn’t find Ku’s jokes funny?”

“Some of them were,”

“If you want, you can welcome the New Year at our place.”

“We have sprite, if you want,” said Mario. Eunice, being pregnant, would not be drinking, and he joined her pregnancy-enforced abstention from alcohol; thus, it would be a dry New Year’s.

“Thank you. It will be very nice to spend the night in the company of friends,” said Clarissa.

“How are you holding up with the pregnancy?” inquired Eunice.

“Well enough,” said Clarissa. “You’re supposed to always feel sort of sick, but I’m not
getting that so much. Perhaps it’s luck.”

“I’m starting to get woozy,” said Eunice. “I also get tired quicker,”

“She’s also starting to get an upset stomach,” said Mario.

The remainder of the walk home passed in silence, and instead of going home, Clarissa simply went straight to Mario and Eunice’s house for merrymaking and partying. Laura, Christine and Zachary had also been invited over, and they came, making New Year’s Eve a cheerful occasion.


At the start of the party, when there were just the three of them, Eunice turned to Clarissa and asked, “Mario and I have been discussing––since Christmas, really––about our ski trips and we were wondering if you would like to come along,”

“To Mont Tremblant?”

“Well, in March, when the weather’s more agreeable; today, I wouldn’t fancy skiing, considering it was minus fifteen today and God knows how cold in the Laurentians.”

“I don’t really know how to ski, though,”

“That’s fine; we can teach you,” said Mario.

“All right then; it shall be some time in March?”

“Yes, and we also usually go there around this time of year, but this particular year, we decided not to; we wanted to spend time with you, honey,”

“That’s very sweet of both of you,” said Clarissa. “Oh look, Christine and Zack are here,”

“So, let’s get the party started,” said Eunice emphatically; the five people spent a pleasant night together; there was an upside to having a dry party: nobody would have any hangovers afterward.

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