The New Year's Wish by Sophia Greene Page A

locked my arms around her; she was shivering in her open coat. I tried to warm her up.
"I'll see you in a week, have a fun holiday and don't get into too much trouble while I'm away."
She gave me a final squeeze and let go, turning to the car.
"I'll do my very best Miss Simpson!"
My words formed vapors in the freezing air and I could feel the cold starting to sting my hands and cheeks.
She closed the door and started the car, waved at me as she drove back down the narrow road, fading into a tiny silver speck on the horizon. I tolerated the cold until her car was out of sight. Who was she meeting in Paris? It must be a romantic meeting or she could just as well have met them in Geneva or back home, right? I felt the jealousy creep up on me and I began moving up to the house, shaking the thoughts right out of my head again. I was looking forward to spending a week with my best friends Kevin, Jackson, Tom and Bobby.
As soon as I opened the door, Jackson came to greet me, his chin long brown curly hair bouncing enthusiastically around his head.
"Matt my man! So good to see you again!" he gave me a quick hug and a hard slap on my left shoulder. He pointed his finger at my new blonde buzz cut.
    "New movie?" he asked.
I nodded. "Who's here?"
"Me and Kevin so far but Tom just rang from Geneva so he should be here in about 3 hours. Come get some coffee." I followed Jackson through the spacious hall, past the big wooden staircase and into the kitchen. The chalet was just as impressive on the inside, all high ceilings and luxurious furniture, but somehow cozy still.
    Jackson poured himself a cup of coffee and pointed to a kitchen cabinet, I found a very expensive looking mug, pulled out a chair and sat down by the long oak table that ran the length of the kitchen. He was looking tired, drinking his coffee like a sugar addict eats chocolate.
"Kevin is working up a fire in the living room. This place is freezing so he better get it going before my feet fall off!" He directed his last sentence in the direction of where Kevin and the fireplace were having a conversation about who was boss.
I laughed. Oh how I'd missed the boys.
"You look tired, is Kayla working you hard?"
A grunt escaped my mouth. Jackson was onto me I knew.
"You know..."  I took a sip and scalded my tongue, all just to avoid answering him.
We were interrupted by the doorbell. Kevin shouted from the living room for us to get it and we put down our coffees.
    10 minutes later the hall was a mess with discarded luggage, winter boots and coats, all lying in a puddle of melted snow. We were all sitting in the two big brown leather couches by the fireplace. It was so good to have the whole day in front of me and my best friends around me. I felt the fatigue setting in. I couldn't remember when the last time was that I'd had two consecutive days off. Once Kayla had started as my PA I hadn't minded as much, especially because she took such good care of me. She was well-organized to the point where it was a little bit scary. Because she was so efficient, I had more time to rest between interviews, plane rides, shoots and the rest of all my crazy activities. She was always there with a drink, a cigarette, a deodorant, a foot rub, an open half hour to nap in and everything else I needed. She never allowed herself to relax or retire before she knew I was well-fed, well-dressed and happy. My manager Nick kept saying how hilarious it was that I'd bagged myself a new mum, but she was nothing like a mum to me.
"Let's jam!" Jackson dug out his harmonica from his pocket and everybody scrambled to their feet to find their instruments. This week was going to be amazing, how could it not when I was surrounded by these guys? I got up to retrieve my guitar from the pile in the hallway. As I opened it, my plane ticket fell out. I always put it with my guitar. I picked it up before it could get wet, to put it in my bag.
"SHIT!" I heard the living room chatter and music subside.