Page 39 of Happily Ever Laughter

“Everyone who has seen them is delighted. So, yes.”

The prickles of tension zipping around every part of me unlock a new level of nerves that I didn’t even know were possible.

“It’s okay,” Felix says, running his palm up and down my back. “Your only job now is to enjoy the show, then meet the clients afterward. Come on, let’s get a seat up near the front.”

My knees lock into place. “Is that where the clients and performers are going to be sitting?”

“Yes. Why?”

“Um, I don’t know if I can handle overhearing what they say. Do you mind if my friends and I sit somewhere in the middle? A bit more hidden? “

“Anything you want, baby.” His head dips to kiss my temple, then he whispers, “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you were this nervous.”

“I didn’t know either, until just now.”

“Last minute stage fright, sort of. I get it.” I love that he just takes over, waving to my friends, “Come this way, ladies. Let’s get you seated right in the middle where the sound is perfect.”

Elizabeth shoots me a wink as she grabs my other arm on the way by. “Breathe,” she whispers. “It’s just one show. You’re going to have hundreds.”

“Thanks.”

Felix settles us in the very center of the space, with me directly in the middle of the row. He gives me a wave as he leaves us to go sit with his friends in the second row, directly behind a woman who already has a yellow legal pad and a pen out.

She must be the client, so I resign myself to the fact that I’ll have to meet her afterward, even though the way she seems to be examining every detail of the people around her is a bit much.

First there is a brief introduction by a man and a woman who apparently run this comedy collective. Then the director of programming at MicroCity TV Network thanks the Arts Council, and an impossibly long list of donors and volunteers before finally sitting down.

In the moment of silence before it begins, I realize I’m barely breathing. Diana elbows me. “I know it’s hard, but try to relax.”

“Thanks. I’m trying.”

The blackness of the screen dissolves into dark green waves, then it eventually focuses on my strange arrangement of moving plants that truly do look like a jungle on the big screen.

Felix’s music swells, and the off-kilter sound of a hurdy-gurdy mixed with a techno beat is absolutely deranged. People are already chuckling before the logo pops up, the letters quickly dissolving into my sparkle animations around the plant leaves.

The editors have blended their style and mine perfectly, and I hope I get a chance to thank them later.

The first comedian’s three and a half minutes about car washes in the winter has everyone in absolute stitches. I’ve never heard Elizabeth laugh so hard, and notice that Dan actually spins around to grin at her in the dark.

As the first of my interstitials pops up, I’m both shocked and relieved when everyone laughs out loud. The leaf pattern at the top of my latte turns into waves around my finger as the voiceover states that coffee and tea are the exact same thing. The voice has been tweaked to sound like some sort of helium breathing fairy.

“Where did you guys find that bizarre voice ?” Claire whispers.

“That’s me,” I giggle.

“No way,” Becca laughs.

I’m finally able to unclench and enjoy the rest of the show. Now that I see how differently the comedians have been filmed, it completely makes sense to have something totally different in between them. My videos really are a palate cleanser for the eyes.

When the show ends with an echo of my green leaf video, the credits pop up on the screen and hold in place while everyone b

ursts into applause. I can clearly hear the people two rows ahead saying it’s about time this network aired something truly fresh and original.

We all stand and shuffle out to the aisle so my friends can hug me.

Pulling out my phone, I take a panoramic video of the theatre now that the lights are halfway up, pausing on the screen.

Then I stop, actually reading the text.

---