Page 16 of Happily Ever Laughter

Her dark eyes roll dramatically. “Arts funding. This company has a surplus, and has to use up every penny by the end of the month, which is next Wednesday night. That’s the night of the launch party, by the way. Invite as many people as you can. And of course, whoever made these videos.”

“Tanis Johnson.”

Gretchen’s eyes snap to mine on the screen. “Your video artist is a woman?”

“Yes.”

“Oh. Good.” She nods slowly. “Impressive. Yes. We need more women working in video. Excellent.”

Somehow I feel like I’ve scored an extra few points with her.

We quickly finish up the last of the details and end the call, as my head is left spinning. I don’t know if Tanis has ever done a collaborative project like this before, but she’s going to have to learn quickly. How funny that I’m not worried about my portion of the work at all, even though the hours of labor between now and tomorrow night are daunting.

My only concern is to make the first real media art project that Tanis works on as pleasant for her as possible.

Reaching for my phone, I wonder if I should call her at work. No, my girl deserves better. She deserves a celebration, even if it’s only what I can cobble together in the next hour or so.

Me: What’s your work address? And do you take lunch at 12 on the dot?

Tanis: 2036 Ciraco Avenue, and yes.

Me: See you out front at noon.

As I roll up in the van two minutes early, I’m delighted to see that Tanis is already standing out front. I rush around to help her in, and head for the nearest local park that has both a wooded area, and a parking lot.

On the way, I tell her the short version of the call with Gretchen, which seems to make her both excited and terrified.

“Your parts are mostly already done, so that’s awesome,” I explain, as I park the van so that the rear doors are facing a clearing at the edge of the small forest. “I’m going to churn out the music today and tonight, and all day tomorrow. As soon as you’re done at the office on Friday, if you could please come to my place, and help me decide which music goes with which clips, then we can send it all off and do a happy dance. What do you think?”

“I’d like to see your place,” she says, giving me a smile as I put the van in park.

That’s exactly what I want to hear.

Dashing around to help her out, she seems surprised when I lead her around to the back doors. I lock them into position so they stay wide open.

Tanis immediately begins to laugh, clapping her hands in delight. “A mobile picnic? You are amazing!”

The floor of the van is now a fort made of blankets and pillows.

She looks around the space as I stand behind her to wrap my arms around her stomach. I love the way she immediately presses back against me, her shoulders massaging my chest. My entire body seems to overreact to her proximity, making me feel revved up and frantic.

Kissing the top of her head, I reluctantly release her to reach in and turn on the small battery powered camping lamps. “Get in. We’re on the clock.”

Once we’re sitting comfortably and facing the trees, the parking lot fades away making this a real picnic. I pull a couple of turkey and Havarti sandwiches from the cooler, then pour strawberry sparkling water into red plastic cups.

“Talk about going above and beyond,” she smiles at me. “Thank you.”

“Thank you for saving the day with this project,” I say, tapping my cup against hers. “I honestly couldn’t have come up with an idea even half as good without your inspiration.”

I let her take a few bites of her sandwich before I ask the big question. “So, what did the book club girls say about me?”

I catch her while her mouth is full, leaving her to chew and swallow before she can answer. “They think you sound nice, but they’ll probably reserve all judgment until they meet you someday.”

“Wednesday.”

“What?”

“Next Wednesday. Gretchen says that we need to wrangle a bunch of people to show up at the launch party. Since it’s interrupting your book club night, why not just invite them?”

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