Page 11 of Happily Ever Laughter

At the end of that comedian’s three minutes, Tanis watches in wonder as another of her clips pops up. This one is of orange juice splashing into a glass, then a bunch of plastic animals being lifted in to take a sip. Then each creature disappears in a rainbow sparkle explosion.

The background music of strange techno beats mixed with animals growling is completely wrong and completely right at the same time.

Tanis turns to me, wide-eyed. “Seriously, what is this?”

I pause the video, then slip my arm back to take her hands in mine.

“One of my clients needs music and video for some interstitials – the short connecting bits between performers on a new comedy show they’re creating. These aren’t the actual comedians on the show – I just grabbed old clips to show you how great your videos are going to look mixed with my music and sound effects.”

“They really want something that different between the performances?” she asks.

I absolutely adore that Tanis gets straight down to business. “Yes. Because all of the comedians are going to be recording with different gear in different places, it’s going to look mismatched anyway. In order to blur over the inconsistency, they want something wildly different between them. Like a palate cleanser but for your brain.”

“We’re making the fruit sorbet of videos?” Tanis bends forward, collapsing in a fit of laughter. Once she catches her breath, she holds up her hands. “It’s great. It’s just really bizarre.”

“But do you like it?” I ask anxiously.

“Yes! Absolutely.” Her teeth nip into her perfect bottom lip for a second. “I’m just surprised that you want to use my work.”

I squeeze her hands. “Tanis, your clips are absolutely beautiful. Lyrical and vibrant and energetic. Absolutely perfect for this project.”

“They really do come to life with your music,” she says with a grin. “It adds an entirely new dimension.”

“That’s the whole idea. So, are you into it?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, will you work on this project with me? Will you be the video content creator for Bite Sized Laughs?”

Her lovely eyes widen. “Really? I mean, yes. I’d love to.”

“It’s a rush, apparently, but you’ve done most of the work already. They’ll want a big background texture thing with their logo on it for the intro.”

Tanis blinks sharply, and I wonder if the dim light is bothering her eyes. Then I see that they’re glassy with tears.

“Oh my God – I’m so sorry. What did I do?”

“Nothing, you nut,” she laughs through her tears. “I’m just…overwhelmed.”

“Why?”

She shakes her head, making her glossy hair swing around her should

ers. “I’ve always really wanted to think of myself as a creative person. But I’ve never found my niche. Something I might someday be good at. Having a real creative job that’s going to be broadcast to others… it’s just incredible to think that it dropped into my lap like this.”

I slip an arm around her shoulders again, hugging her tight. “You’re amazingly talented. The world needs to see that. Even if it’s only little video sorbets at first.”

The excitement in her eyes makes my skin prickle. “And this is going to be on TV?”

“Yep. It’s a local station, and it will be online as well.”

“Wow.”

She stares out across the lookout, even though most of the hills and forest are so dark we can only make out waves and hints of blues and greens.

I love the sound of her giggle when she snaps back to attention. “The other gals in my Wednesday night book club have all had giant news lately. Promotions and projects and new boyfriends. Finally I’ll have something huge to share too.”

Leaning forward, I kiss her temple. “Tell me, sweetheart, which is the bigger news — the weird creative job, or the weird new boyfriend?”

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