As Shane crossed the threshold of the Mailbox Grille, the energy and the atmosphere consumed her immediately. Rita and Norman in toe, the trio took a moment to appreciate the scene.
"Some Party," Norman commented, making room for some of his fellow co-workers to push past him and further into the festivities.
"I've never seen so many party hats or so much tinsel! This place spruces up nicely," Rita agreed, her eyes drawn to the colorful exposed rafters.
"Have I ever told you about the origins of tinsel?" Norman replied, posing the question to Rita.
"No-but I'm sure it's fascinating," she encouraged as she and Norman made their way towards the coat check.
During this time, Shane had taken in the New Year's Eve festivities. Yes, another year was coming to a close, and as she immersed herself in the excitement and delight of her fellow postal workers, an inexplicable wave of hope and anticipation washed over her, along with a smile.
"Confetti popper?!" Rita offered, reappearing in front of Shane, and handing her a noisemaker along with it.
Shane laughed, "Only 15 more minutes-and I still need to get rid of this coat!"
As she left Norman and Rita's side in her quest for the coat check, she found herself looking for Oliver. With the last letter safely delivered for the month, leaving an empty container ready to receive what next year would hold, she expected him to be somewhere among the crowd.
It had been quite a year for Oliver. With Holly's return last Christmas, much to Oliver's surprise-as the letter he had written was apparently a declaration of his intent to move on, as he revealed later to Shane-things as Oliver knew them had turned on their head. It had taken some time for Oliver to work through things with Holly, ultimately deciding that they should go their separate ways.
Shane had watched, waited, supported, but carefully kept her distance from the situation as much as she could. As much as she wanted to give Holly a piece of her mind, she managed to muster enough restraint to keep things to herself, and she was proud of that. It never stopped her from wanting to ask about the details, because, from time to time, it appeared that he and Holly might reconcile, and everything about his behavior and demeanor seemed to confirm that fact-until they didn't anymore.
She remembered the night Oliver revealed the news to her. Shane had stayed late at the DLO, engrossed in research into their latest lost letter.
Oliver entered as if he hadn't expected anyone to be there, and upon his discovery of Shane began sputtering pleasantries about how he had expected to be alone as he made his way to his desk, though it wasn't clear what for.
She as half afraid to ask, but his feelings were written all over his face, "Oliver, what's wrong?"
He turned to face her after hanging his coat gingerly on the rack, "Life is a series of choices, Miss McInerney. We must be prepared for how those choices affect not only us, but those around us. Some choices cannot be unmade, nor can their consequences be undone, and it is in those moments that we must realize that it is the next choice that will make all the difference. I chose to do the right thing, Miss McInerney."
Shane thought for a moment, "You always do."
While Oliver had not come right out and said he and Holly were going their separate ways, everything he said translated to Shane as just that. Now she could tell it was time to move their conversation in a different direction.
"So I have some new information to run by you about our latest letter, if you plan on staying a while," she offered with a small smile, attempting to distract him from whatever internal turmoil was potentially brewing and help him move forward.
"I would like that, Miss McInerney," he smiled.
Now, as the minute hand ticked closer to midnight, Shane wondered where that smile was. What were Oliver's hopes for the coming year? What were her hopes for the coming year? While these questions and Oliver's whereabouts continued to captivate her thoughts, so, too, was her growing concern of having lost sight of Norman and Rita. Would she find them with only four minutes to go until the New Year?
It had been a trying year. On Oliver, on his faith, on his relationships to the people around him.
After sending that letter a little more than a year ago, Holly had unexpectedly returned to Denver to confront Oliver face-to-face. Oliver had been sure his feelings towards Holly had changed permanently. But as he faced the alternative-mainly his evolving feelings towards Shane-he decided that the lesser of the two difficult things would be to try and work things out with Holly.
He knew he had changed since Holly left, and, Oliver believed, it was the conveyance of those changes in his letter to her, originally intended to signal his decision to move on with his life, that prompted Holly to return.
Yet where Holly had once been closely associated in Oliver's heart and mind with love, happiness and everything that ultimately led to his decision to marry her, it was clear they were now strangers, two years removed from one another and that Holly was now a deeper source of consternation and grief than she had been thousands of miles away.
Although it pained him to write it, he would now be forced to tell Holly, face-to-face, as it should have been done from the beginning, that now it was he who was unhappy. But, more than that, that he had changed-they both had-and it was time they acknowledged that fact and moved forward-for both their sakes.
"'For I know the plans I have for you,' says the Lord, 'Plans to prosper and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.'"
As the pastor gave this final blessing of his congregation's New Years Eve service, Oliver began to reflect on the fact that the new year was fast approaching, and with it a hope for a new future. And as his mind allowed itself to explore what that new year would look like, a recurring theme emerged-his thoughts included Norman and Rita and Miss McInerney-Shane.
Oliver suddenly felt the urge to check his watch. He had promised to meet them at the Mailbox Grille to join them in welcoming the new year. He had a little bit of time, but would be cutting it close if he didn't abandon his vehicle for the time being and make his way there on foot.
Despite the bitter cold, the sudden sense of purpose and determination that was rising up in him fueled his trajectory. It was a trajectory that placed him on a crash course with a decision he should have made a long time ago, one he was certain he could shoulder the consequences of when the time came and would accept whatever the outcome.
That was his final thought before opening the door to the bustling Grille, hanging his coat on the first thing capable of holding its weight. Oliver was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of people and tinsel and struggled to find his friends amidst all of it.
Yet as the clock ticked down to within a minute to midnight, all eyes were drawn to the flatscreens streaming the events in Times Square and he himself surrounded by several hundred happy strangers, acquaintances and co-workers.
And then he saw her, a lady lost in the crowd. He struggled to make his way towards her, crossing paths with Rita and Norman, as he would only find out later.
10, 9, 8...
She was beautiful, standing there, resigned to watch the festivities on television screens, counting down with everyone around her, that captivating smile and wonderful laugh escaping her lips.
7, 6, 5...
And then he finally reached her, as determined and at peace with himself and the world and everything else in a way that he hadn't been in a long time.
4, 3 ,2...
He grabbed her hand, immediately drawing her attention in his direction. Oliver knew the smile he had on his face and it was immediately reflected in hers.
"Oliver, you-"
1.
And at that moment Oliver O'Toole did something he had never done and likely never would do again, and pulled Shane McInerney into the kiss of a lifetime. It was unexpected, all consuming, but at the same time respectful and sweet.
Happy New Year!
As the Mailbox Grille erupted in celebration, and showered attendees in confetti, Shane and Oliver remained engulfed in their own moment for a only a few seconds more before Oliver pulled away.
He could see she was still processing, and watched her cheeks turn blush. His eyes never left hers.
"Happy New Year, Miss McInerney."
Shane only smiled, still struggling to form a sentence to respond to this unexpected thing that had happened-and to her!
Norman and Rita, who had watched Oliver pass them by but not what consequently transpired, arrived to with them each a Happy New Year. Shane and Oliver played it off to exchange hugs and handshakes with their co-workers.
"Shane, you didn't release your confetti!" Rita observed, slightly concerned the opportunity had been missed.
"Yes, well, I got caught up in the moment," Shane replied, finally able to speak, but unable to avoid a quick glance up at Oliver, noting his pink cheeks and sheepish smile.
But it wasn't one of a man embarrassed at the temporary lapse of judgment that rendered him completely out of character, it was the smile of someone who was confident, in the moment and, dare she say it, free.
Happy New Year, Mr. O'Toole.