366: Champagne 🥂🍾
Daily Image created using ChatGPT (Anime AI Art)
🥂 Happy New Year
The cork hit the ceiling with a satisfying thud. Daniel didn’t flinch. He was already inebriated, giggling playfully, one arm around Carol’s shoulder, the other holding the bottle like a trophy. Midnight had struck three minutes ago, but no one had bothered with a countdown. The playlist had glitched at 11:58, and someone’s phone buzzed with a group chat explosion.
Daniel tried to look her straight in the eyes and, imitating Anka, sang, “I love you, baby!” The champagne was cold, the flutes were clean, and the tree lights blinked like they were in on the joke. “Daniel! Stop it! Just pour it,” Carol said, holding out two crystal flutes. “And don’t skimp.” The bubbles surged, golden and fast.
The room smelled of pine, wax, and the faint trace of her mother’s perfume, which she always noticed first. Her father was already outside, lighting sparklers with the neighbor’s kids. Inside, the candles flickered against the windowpane, catching the reflection of the champagne like fire trapped in glass.
Daniel raised his glass. “To chaos.”
“To continuity,” Carol replied, clinking. They drank. The champagne was dry, sharp, and perfect. No speeches. No resolutions. Just the sound of laughter from the hallway, the distant pop of fireworks, the old gramophone now crackling through half the ABBA New Year tune.
Her uncle wandered in, wearing a paper crown from the crackers they’d pulled at dinner. He grabbed a cookie, toasted no one in particular, and drifted back out to join the others. Carol smiled. This was the unpolished rhythm she loved.
Outside, someone shouted “Happy New Year!” in three languages. Inside, Carol topped off her flute and leaned against the kitchen counter. Daniel was already texting someone, probably sending blurry photos of the champagne and the tree.
“So to another year?” he asked.
“Yep, let’s hope we are lucky,” she said, smiling.
The year had turned. The bubbles kept rising.
