Page 1 of Happily Ever Laughter

CHAPTER ONE

~ Tanis ~

Thump.

I muffle a curse as my shin connects with the edge of the coffee table yet again. Normally I adore my cozy studio apartment, but not so much when I’m restless.

There’s really nowhere else to go on a Monday night, which is why Mondays are usually spent reading.

But I just don’t feel like it today. I need something different. Something new.

I could take my laptop to Henry’s coffee shop and edit some of my artsy video clips. But the coffee shop is always my go to.

If I want to be truly creative, shouldn’t I go somewhere else? Every article on creativity says to get out of your comfort zone and try something different.

The thought of that fills me with…not anxiety, exactly. Prickliness? No. Trepidation – that’s the word.

I shuffle across the green shag rug to find my shoulder bag, quickly packing my laptop, camera and phone. “Be good while I’m gone,” I call out to my plant babies, then I lock the apartment door behind me.

It’s a quiet neighborhood, with very little foot traffic at seven o’clock on a weeknight. I usually stroll north, so instead I decided to turn east, walking past a diner I try not to go to very often so that I don’t become addicted to their onion rings. More than once a month might become dangerous to my waistline.

Further down the street is a huge kitchenware store, a brightly lit juice shop with orange and neon pink accents, and a corner store.

I turn south, hoping to find a quiet restaurant where I can have a glass of wine and work in peace in a completely new environment.

To the left is a residential street, with big old houses. Yet there is a crisp red and white sign in front of one of them. Walking closer, it looks to be some sort of lounge: “The Bohemian’s Apartment.”

A tall blonde woman in a snug fitting black dress and plenty of dramatic make up is out front having a smoke. She waves for me to come closer. “Are you looking for the ladies night party?” she asks.

“Not really – I’m just out for a walk.”

She drops her cigarette and stomps it out under her pointy-toed boot. “Listen, the owner wants to start Monday ladies night specials, and there’s hardly anyone here. If you’re looking for somewhere to kill some time, drinks are on the house.”

A mostly empty bar and free drinks? That certainly sounds like a different environment where I could get a bit of work done.

“Sure, maybe just one.”

“Awesome,” she grins, grabbing the elaborate handle of the giant oversized door. “I’m Jenna.”

“Tanis. Thanks.”

As we go inside, I see that the entire main floor has been decorated as an upscale but at the same time down-at-heel lounge. It truly was a bohemian space: ornate antique sofas and far too many chandeliers mixed with kitschy nautical art and old-fashioned portraits of long-gone aristocrats.

It’s perfect. Exactly what I need – just strange enough, and at the same time completely comfortable.

I follow Jenna to the long old-fashioned wooden bar, where she hands me a short cocktail menu. “I can make you absolutely anything you want, but this is what I’m supposed to push,” she shrugs.

Skimming the list, I try to stick with my theme today of trying new things. “You know, I’ve never actually had a lemon drop.”

“Do you like them tangy or sweeter?” she asks with a huge smile that tests the strength of her vinyl finish lipstick.

“Sweet. Thanks.”

I could certainly use a bit of sweetness in my life. I would never have thought that even four or five months ago. But seeing how my book club friend Claire has blossomed from the sweetness of her new boyfriend Shane, I have to wonder whether that sort of thing would be good for me.

Diana, another one of our little Wednesday night reading group, has also found herself the perfect man, and Milo seems to adore her quiet, thoughtful nature. It could almost inspire a girl to think about what she’s looking for in a guy, if she were indeed looking at all.

Which I’m not.

But it certainly would be a new thing to try.

Pulling out my camera, I zoom in just before Jenna pours the contents of the shaker into the elegant martini glass.

She remains absolutely silent as the yellow liquid splashes and dances. Then she steps back with a flourish. Once I stop filming, she smiles. “I wasn’t sure if you were recording audio as well.”

I laugh slightly. “No, I’m just into the visuals.”

“You’re an artist, then?”

My head shakes swiftly. “Oh no. I just dabble.”

Her perfectly arched pierced eyebrow raises higher, lifting a slim ring of stainless steel. “If I knew you better, I’d give you hell for not talking yourself up.”

I return her enthusiastic grin. “Thanks. I’ll try to work on that. And thanks for the drink.”

I slide a five dollar tip onto the counter and she goes down to the other end of the bar where an older man is sitting with an empty beer glass.

Taking my drink, I settle into a huge green easy chair in a corner with a wide coffee table. Looking around, there are only eleven other people in the whole bar. It would take at least forty to make this large L-shaped space look remotely busy.

Strangely, I love it. The feeling of space in a place that’s usually crowded was fascinating. The music is mellow but funky, and not overly loud.

I boot up my laptop, then take a healthy swig of my drink. It’s absolutely incredible. Maybe it will make me mellow enough to experiment with my videos a bit more.

I load the clip of the martini pouring, along with over a dozen other clips I’ve

recorded today. Even though I’m not quite sure what I’m ever going to use these for, I can’t stop making them. It’s usually everyday things like slicing a bagel, or tying shoes.

But for some reason I focus a bit more on liquids. Coffee pouring. Pasta water bubbling. Waiting until the shower gets hot.

I’ve never worked with bright yellow liquid before. Starting with that clip, I edit it so that the start and end timing is clean, then speed it up so that it’s precisely fifteen seconds long. This gives it a bit more energy.

Duplicating the file to keep the original intact, I take another sip of my drink then find myself falling into the zone. It feels wonderful to completely space out and simply play with video effects and textures with no particular end goal in sight.

Most of my work is doodling over the existing footage, then exploding bits apart. Shatter or rainbow effects play up the linework, then things come back together as if nothing ever happened.

I’m not sure why I’ve always found that hilarious. As if the martini glass was off having a psychedelic acid trip adventure when nobody was looking and then slinking home again.

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