Time to Laugh Romance Collection Read online

  Lois sighed. She didn’t feel much like going out, even though the sun was shining brightly on this pleasant summer day and the fresh air would probably do her some good. She preferred to stay at her desk and eat the bag lunch she’d brought, but she didn’t want to disappoint Tabby. She’d done plenty of that in the past. Now that Lois was trying to live her faith, she made every attempt to please rather than tease her sister.

  “Sure—what time?” Lois asked.

  “Donna’s taking her lunch break at noon, so how does one o’clock sound?”

  “Great. See you then.” Lois hung up the phone and grabbed that day’s mail. The first letter contained a flyer announcing a special service at another church in the north end of Tacoma. It listed all the people in the program, including Tabby and Seth. Lois noticed the program was a little over a week away, so she decided to make copies of the flyer and insert one into each bulletin to be handed out on Sunday.

  By twelve thirty, Lois had finished the bulletins and was stuffing the flyers inside each one when Sam Hanson, the senior pastor, stepped into her office. “Have you had lunch yet, Lois?” he asked. Sam and his wife Norma were always concerned about her.

  She shook her head but kept her eyes focused on the work she was doing. “I’m meeting Tabby at Garrison’s Deli in half an hour.”

  “That’s good to hear. I was afraid you planned to work through lunch again.”

  Lois looked up. “Not today.”

  The pastor smiled. “I’m glad you’re taking your position seriously, Lois, but we don’t want you to work too hard.”

  “I’m grateful for the opportunity to work here.” Lois smiled, too. “I love my new job, and sometimes it’s hard to tear myself away.”

  “Which is precisely why Norma and I think you should get out more,” he said. “A lovely young woman like you needs an active social life.”

  She shrugged. “I do get out. I drive to Olympia to visit my folks at least twice a month.”

  “That’s not quite what we meant.”

  “I know, but I’m okay, really.”

  Pastor Hanson nodded. “Anytime you need to talk, though, I’m a good listener. And so is Norma.” He winked. “Since my office is right next door, you won’t have far to go.”

  “Thanks, Pastor. I’ll keep that in mind.”

  Lois found Tabby waiting in a booth at the deli. “Sorry I’m a few minutes late,” she said, dropping into the seat across from her sister.

  Tabby smiled, her dark eyes gleaming. “No problem. I figured you probably had an important phone call or something. I’ve only been here a few minutes, but I took the liberty of ordering us each a veggie sandwich on whole-wheat bread, with cream cheese and lots of alfalfa sprouts.”

  Lois chuckled. “We may not look much like sisters, but we sure have the same taste in food.” She nodded toward the counter. “What did you order us to drink?”

  “Strawberry lemonade for you and an iced tea with a slice of lemon for me.”

  “Umm. Sounds good. An ice-cold lemonade on a hot day like this should hit the spot.”

  “It is pretty warm,” Tabby agreed. “Kind of unusual weather for Tacoma, even if it is still summer.”

  “I heard on the news that it might reach ninety by the weekend,” Lois commented.

  Tabby’s dark eyebrows raised. “Guess we’d better find a way to cool off, then.”

  Lois drew in a breath. Last year she’d been invited to use the Yehleys’ swimming pool on several occasions. It was heated, so even when the weather was cool, the pool was a great place to exercise or simply relax. Lois wouldn’t be swimming in Michael’s pool this year, though. She didn’t care. She could always go to one of the many fitness centers in town or, if she felt brave, take a dip in the chilly waters of Puget Sound Bay. Michael and his parents had no place in her life anymore, and neither did their pool!

  “Lois. Earth to Lois.”

  Lois’s eyelids fluttered. “Oh—you were talking to me, and I was daydreaming?”

  Tabby laughed. “Something like that.”

  “What were you saying?”

  “I was telling you about the special service Westside Community Church is having a week from Saturday night.”

  Lois nodded. “I already know. We received a flyer in the mail today.”

  Tabby frowned. “Kind of late notice, wouldn’t you say?”

  “That’s what I thought, but I made copies and inserted them in the bulletins for this Sunday.”

  “Seth and I are doing a ventriloquist routine,” Tabby said.

  “Yes, I saw your names on the flyer.”

  They heard their order being announced, and Tabby slid out of the booth. “I’ll be right back.”

  “Want some help?” Lois called after her.

  “No, thanks. I can manage.”

  When Tabby returned a few minutes later, Lois offered up a prayer, and they started eating their sandwiches.

  “I was hoping you would come to the service at Westside,” Tabby said between bites. “You don’t go out much anymore, and I thought—”

  Lois held up her hand. “You thought you’d apply a little pressure.” She clucked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. “You and the Hansons wouldn’t be in cahoots, would you?”

  Tabby flicked her shoulder-length chestnut-colored hair away from her face. “Whatever gave you such a notion?”

  Lois lifted her gaze toward the ceiling. “I can’t imagine.”

  “I really would like you to come,” Tabby said. “Seth and I will do our routine, they’ll have a gospel clown and an illusionist, and Donna’s going to do one of her beautiful chalk art drawings.” She leaned across the table and studied Lois intently. “If it weren’t for a creative illusionist’s testimony, you probably wouldn’t be where you are today.”

  Lois narrowed her eyes. “You mean sitting here at Garrison’s, drinking strawberry lemonade, and eating a delicious sandwich?”

  Tabby grinned. “I meant that you wouldn’t be working for our church. For that matter, if you hadn’t committed your life to Christ during a crusade, you probably wouldn’t be going to church.”

  “I know.”

  “So will you come to the program? I always feel better when I look out into the audience and see your beautiful face smiling back at me.”

  Lois grinned. How could she say no to the most wonderful sister in the world? “I’ll be there—right in the front row.”

  Chapter 2

  Joe stood in the small room near the main platform in the sanctuary of Westside Community Church, waiting his turn. He was dressed in a pair of baggy blue jeans, with a matching jacket, decorated with multicolored patches. He wore a bright orange shirt under his jacket, a polka-dot tie, and a bright red rubber nose. Attached to his hair was a red yarn wig, and a floppy blue hat perched on top. Black oversized shoes turning up at the toes completed his clown costume.

  Joe peeked through the stage door window and saw Seth and Tabby Beyers on stage with their two dummies. He had watched the young couple perform on other programs and knew audiences loved them. Their unusual ventriloquist routine would be hard to follow.

  I’m not doing this merely to entertain, Joe reminded himself. It isn’t important whom the audience likes best. What counts is whether we get across the message of salvation and Christian living. Entertain, but have a positive impact on people’s lives—that’s what he’d been taught at the gospel clowning school where he’d received his training several years ago.

  Joe reached inside the pocket of his clown suit, and his fingers curled around a stash of balloons. He knew one of the best things in his routine was the balloons he twisted into various animals. After every performance, a group of excited kids would surround him, wanting to talk to the goofy clown and to get a balloon animal.

  Joe heard his name being called and grabbed the multicolored duffel bag that held his props. For some reason he felt edgy tonight. He didn’t understand it because he had done hundreds of programs like th
is one. He figured it must be due to fatigue since he’d been on the road so much lately and needed a vacation.

  Then “Slow-Joe the Clown” stepped onto the stage. Opening his bag of tricks, he withdrew a huge plastic hammer with a shackle attached. He held the mallet over his head. “I’m all set now to open my own hamburger chain,” he announced.

  The audience laughed, and Joe moved to the edge of the platform, holding his props toward the spectators. “If my hamburger chain doesn’t work out, I’m thinking about raising rabbits.” He pursed his lips. “Of course, I’m gonna have to keep ’em indoors, so they’ll be ingrown hares.”

  Everyone laughed again, and Joe winked, dropped the hammer back into the bag, and pulled out a blue balloon. He blew into it, holding the end and stretching the latex as the balloon inflated. Tying a knot, he twisted two small bubbles in the center of the balloon and locked them together in one quick twist. Then he made five bubbles and formed the body of a baby seal. The lowest part of the balloon was the neck, and Joe added another bubble at the top, so the seal looked as if it were balancing a ball on the end of its nose.

  Gripping his floppy hat, Joe tipped his head back and balanced the balloon seal on the end of his rubber nose. The crowd roared as he moved slowly about the stage, waving one hand and trying to keep the seal in place. When the seal toppled off, Joe explained how some people try to balance their lives between church, home, and extracurricular activities but don’t always succeed.

  Then he twisted more balloons into a blue whale, a humpback camel, and a lion with a mane. After each creation, Joe told a Bible story, including one about Daniel in the lions’ den.

  Next, Joe grabbed five red balls from his bag, tossing them one at a time into the air and juggling them. As he did so, he faced the audience. “I often get busy with my clowning schedule and have to juggle my time a bit. But I always feel closer to God when I take time out to read the Bible and pray. Just like juggling balls, our lives can get crazy and out of line with God’s will.”

  Joe let one ball drop to the floor. “I took my eyes off the ball and messed up.” He caught the other four balls in his hands and bent down to pick up the one he’d dropped. “The nice thing about juggling is, I can always start over again whenever I’ve made a mistake. The same is true of my spiritual life. God is always there, waiting for me to trust Him and accept His love and forgiveness for me.”

  Joe concluded his routine by creating a vibrant balloon bouquet that resembled a bunch of tulips. “I’d like to recognize someone special in the audience,” he said, shading his eyes with his hand and staring out at the congregation. “Nope. I don’t recognize a soul!”

  Several people chuckled. Then he asked, “Has anyone recently had a birthday?”

  Murmurs drifted through the crowd, but no one spoke up.

  “Okay—let’s do this another way. Anyone have a birthday today?” Silence greeted him. He waved the bouquet in the air. “How about last week?” Still no response. “Come now, folks—don’t be shy. I’m sure at least one person in this group has had a birthday recently.”

  At last someone’s hand went up in the front row. Joe grinned. “Ah-ha—a pretty lady with long blond hair has finally responded.”

  Lois slid down in her seat. What in the world possessed me to raise my hand? She’d celebrated her twenty-second birthday two weeks ago, but she didn’t need the whole audience looking at her now, which was exactly what they were doing!

  The tall clown moved toward her. He wore a broad smile on his white-painted face, and his hand was outstretched. “A beautiful bouquet for the birthday gal,” he said with a deep chuckle.

  Lois forced herself to smile in return.

  “Do you know what flowers grow between your nose and chin?”

  She shook her head.

  “Tulips!”

  Everyone laughed, and the clown winked at Lois. “Would you like to tell us your name and when you celebrated your birthday?”

  “My name is Lois Johnson, and my birthday was two weeks ago.”

  Slow-Joe shuffled his feet, lifted his floppy hat, then plopped it back down on his head. “Ta-da!” He held out the bouquet to her.

  Suddenly, the young girl sitting beside Lois bounced up and down, crying, “I want a balloon! I want a balloon!” She leaped out of her seat and lunged forward, obviously hoping to grab a balloon out of Slow-Joe’s hands. Instead she tripped and tumbled against his knees. He wobbled back and forth, and the audience laughed loudly.

  Lois wondered if this were part of the act, but suddenly Joe fell forward and landed in her lap. She figured it had to be an accident and the child was just overexcited. Or was it? Hadn’t she told God that if He wanted her to have a man, He’d have to drop him into her lap? She swallowed hard and stared into the clown’s hazel eyes.

  “Sorry,” he mumbled. “Don’t know how that happened.” He handed Lois the balloon bouquet and stood up. He turned back to face the audience and wiggled his dark eyebrows. “Let’s sing the birthday song to Lois, shall we?”

  Lois felt the heat of embarrassment creep up her neck. This is what I get for being dumb enough to raise my hand.

  The young girl who had been sitting next to her now stood beside the clown. Before anyone could say anything, she started singing at the top of her lungs: “Happy Birthday to you …”

  The audience joined in, and Lois stared straight ahead, wishing she could make herself invisible. When the song was over, she leaned toward Slow-Joe and whispered, “Thanks for the flowers.”

  He nodded, took a bow, and dashed backstage.

  Lois sat through the rest of the program feeling as if she were in a daze. Why had the clown singled her out? Well, after all, I did raise my hand when he asked who’d had a birthday recently, she reminded herself. What else could he do?

  When the service was over, Lois made her way to the foyer, where she found Tabby and Seth standing by the front door. She tapped her sister on her shoulder. “You guys were great as usual.”

  Tabby turned and smiled. “Thanks. Your part of the program wasn’t bad, either.”

  “Yeah, we were watching from off stage,” Seth said, patting Lois on the back. “Maybe you should leave your secretarial job and become a clown. You had the audience in stitches.”

  Lois groaned. “It was that goofy clown who made everyone laugh.” She shook her head. “It was bad enough that he fell into my lap, but he only embarrassed me more by having everyone sing to me.”

  “Aw, it was all in fun,” Seth said with a chuckle.

  “We’re heading out for some pie and coffee. Want to join us?” Tabby asked, giving Lois a little nudge.

  She shrugged. “Sure—why not? At least there I won’t have any reason to hide my face.”

  Chapter 3

  The all-night coffee shop Seth picked was bustling with activity. Lois slipped into a booth by the window, and Tabby and Seth took the other side.

  “You ladies feel free to order anything you want,” Seth said, offering Lois a wide smile. “This is my treat, so you may as well go overboard and order something really fattening if you feel so inclined.”

  Tabby snickered. “Does my little sister look as if she ever goes overboard when it comes to eating?” She wagged a finger toward Lois. “What I wouldn’t give to have a figure like yours.”

  Lois shook her head. “My high metabolism and a half hour of aerobics every day might help keep me looking thin, but I have been known to indulge. Especially when chocolate is involved.”

  “Women and their addiction to chocolate!” Seth grabbed Tabby’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “I guess if that’s your worst sin, I can consider myself very blessed.”

  Tabby groaned. “You know I’m far from perfect, Seth.”

  “What’s this about someone being perfect?”

  The three young people turned toward the masculine voice. Even without his costume and clown makeup, Lois would have recognized that smile. Slow-Joe the Clown wiggled his eyebrows and gave her a cro
oked grin.

  “Good to see you, Joe. I was just telling my beautiful wife how lucky I am to have her.” Seth gestured toward the empty seat next to Lois. “Why don’t you take a load off those big clown feet and join us for pie and coffee?”

  “Don’t mind if I do.” Joe dropped down beside Lois. She squirmed uneasily and slid along the bench until her hip bumped the wall. “It’s good to see you again, birthday girl.” He extended his hand. “I don’t think we’ve been formally introduced. I’m Joe Richey.”

  “I–I’m Lois Johnson,” she said. “Tabby’s my sister, and Seth is my brother-in-law.”

  As they shook hands, Joe’s face broke into a broad smile. “Sure hope I didn’t embarrass you too much during my performance tonight.”

  “Well—”

  “So tell me, Seth—how’d you meet this perfect wife of yours?” Joe asked, changing the subject abruptly.

  Lois felt a sense of irritation, but at the same time she was relieved Joe had interrupted her and taken the conversation in another direction. At least she wasn’t the focus of their discussion anymore.

  “Tabby took one of my ventriloquist classes, and I was drawn to her like a moth heading straight for a flame.” Seth turned his head and gave Tabby a noisy kiss on her cheek.

  Joe chuckled. “Since I’m not married, I don’t consider myself an expert on the subject, but I recently heard about a man who met his wife at a travel bureau.”

  “Oh?” Seth said with obvious interest. “And what’s so unusual about that?”

  Joe grinned and turned to wink at Lois. “She was looking for a vacation, and he was the last resort.”

  Everyone laughed, and Lois felt herself begin to relax.

  “Adam and Eve had the only perfect marriage,” Joe continued, his eyes looking suddenly serious.

  “What makes you say that?” asked Tabby.

  Joe tapped his knuckles on the table. “Think about it. Adam didn’t have to hear about all the men Eve could have married, and Eve wasn’t forced to listen to a bunch of stories about the way Adam’s mother cooked.”