Time to Laugh Romance Collection

by Wanda E. Brunstetter

  “You seem so naturally funny, Joe. I’m curious—did you get your humor from your dad or your mom?”

  Joe stood there and stared at her while she waited for him to answer her question. She hoped he would tell her more about his family. Instead, he bent his head toward her and puckered his lips.

  Lois held her breath then and closed her eyes. He was going to kiss her, and she was more than ready.

  “Thanks for a great day.” Joe gave her a quick peck on the cheek. “You were a good sport to ride that roller coaster with me.” He squeezed her arm gently then turned to go. “See you, Lois.”

  Disappointment flooded Lois’s soul as she watched him walk away. “So much for a perfect day,” she muttered. Had she said or done something to turn him off? Maybe Joe didn’t like her as much as she liked him. Would he call her again?

  Chapter 9

  Lois had given Joe her work phone number, hoping he might call during the day if he was busy doing programs at night. Four days had passed since their date to the fair, but still no word from him. The weekend would be here soon, and Lois was beginning to think she would have to spend it alone. Of course, she could make plans to visit her folks. They lived in Olympia, and so did Joe. Would that be a good enough excuse for her to drop by his house and say hello? Should she call first or stop by unannounced? What if that peck on the cheek and Joe’s “See you, Lois” had been his way of letting her know he wouldn’t be calling again? Even though he’d acted as if he enjoyed their day at the fair, he had made no promises to call.

  She didn’t want to scare him off. But if she didn’t let him know she was interested in a relationship, he could slip through her fingers. She saw it as a no-win situation, and she felt frustrated.

  As she prepared to leave the church after work on Friday afternoon, the pastor and his wife stopped her in the hallway. “Hi, Lois. How are things going?” Pastor Hanson asked.

  “Good. Is there something I can do for you before I go?”

  “No, but Norma just mentioned how you seemed a little down this week. We were wondering if you wanted to talk about anything before you head out for the weekend.”

  “Oh, well, I hate to bother you. You’ve both had a busy week.”

  “We’re not in a hurry, Lois,” the pastor’s wife assured her. “We don’t have any plans for the evening.”

  Lois studied the floral pattern in the carpet. Should she tell them why she was feeling so uptight? She felt sure they would hold in confidence whatever she told them. Besides, she knew they’d counseled several couples recently, some married and some about to be. No doubt they had good insights on men and dating and how to know God’s will for finding that special person. Maybe she should get their opinions about Joe.

  Lois looked up and smiled. “Actually, you might be able to help.”

  “Let’s go to the study, then,” Pastor Hanson suggested.

  Once they were in the office, Lois took a seat across from the Hansons. “I’ve recently met a clown,” she began.

  The pastor chuckled. “You’ve just met a guy and already labeled him as a clown?”

  Lois smiled. “No, he really is a clown.” She leaned forward in the chair. “Joe Richey is a gospel clown, and I met him at a crusade at Westside Community Church a few weeks ago. He sort of fell into my lap.”

  The pastor’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh?”

  “You see—I told God that if He wanted me to find a man, He’d have to drop him into my lap.” She paused then related the rest of the story, including the part about the little girl rolling into Joe and knocking him over.

  The pastor and his wife laughed.

  “That must have been quite a sight,” Norma Hanson said.

  “It was pretty embarrassing. Especially when Joe landed in my lap.”

  “I can imagine,” she agreed kindly.

  “After the program, Tabby and Seth invited me to join them for dessert at a nearby restaurant, and Joe showed up. I was wondering if Tabby planned the whole thing, but she said no when I asked her a few days later.”

  Pastor Hanson leaned forward on his desk. “Changing the subject for a minute—and we’ll get back to it—I was wondering if you’ve heard anything from Tabby and Seth since they went on tour.”

  “Only once. Tabby called to say their group was in Baker City, Oregon, and they were having successful revival services. She said they might stay on the road a few more weeks.”

  “That’s good news. I hope the rest of their trip goes as well,” Pastor Hanson said.

  “So do I.”

  “Now back to your clown. What’s troubling you about him?” he asked.

  Lois drew in a breath and let it out quickly. “Joe and I have gone out a few times since we met, and even though I don’t know him well yet, I really like him.”

  “Well, that’s good, Lois. You know we were hoping you would get out more. I’m sure you’re talking with the Lord about this.”

  She nodded. “Oh, yes. I’ve done nothing but pray. The trouble is that I haven’t received any answers, and I’m not sure whether Joe returns my feelings.”

  “What makes you think that?” Mrs. Hanson asked.

  “He dropped me off after our date last Saturday and, after a quick kiss on the cheek, said, ‘See you, Lois.’ ” She swallowed against the lump lodged in her throat. “He hasn’t called all week, and I’m worried he won’t.”

  “Because he didn’t say he’d call, or you’re just not sure he will?”

  “A little of both,” she admitted. “Anyway, I’m planning to drive to Olympia tomorrow, and since Joe lives in Olympia—”

  “You thought you’d try to see him,” the pastor said, finishing Lois’s sentence.

  She nodded.

  “I’m not sure I believe it’s always the man’s place to pursue a relationship, though that’s what worked best for Norma and me. And since I don’t know Joe personally, I can’t say how he would respond to your visiting him.” He looked at her. “Did you plan to call first?”

  “I don’t have his phone number or address, so I’ll need to get them from the Olympia phone book once I’m in town.” Lois shrugged. “I’m not sure I should drop by without calling first.” She looked down at her hands. “Besides, he may not want to see me anyway.”

  “Why do you think that, Lois?” Mrs. Hanson asked. “Didn’t he enjoy your dates?”

  “He seemed to, but then Joe always appears to be having a good time. He’s a goofy guy who likes to laugh and make wisecracks and do silly things.” Lois blinked against the burning at the back of her eyes. She didn’t want to break down in front of the pastor and his wife. “Joe makes me laugh and feel carefree. It’s something I’ve never felt with any other guy.”

  “Would you like our opinion, or do you feel better after talking about it?” the pastor asked.

  “I’d like your opinion, if you wouldn’t mind sharing it,” Lois said.

  “If it were me, I’d probably get Joe’s phone number and call him. Tell him you’re in town, and if he invites you to stop by, you’ll know he wants to see you again.”

  “And I agree with Sam, Lois,” Mrs. Hanson said. “I think that’s a good idea.”

  Lois sighed with relief. That’s what she had thought, too, but it helped hearing it from them. Calling first would be much better than barging in unannounced. If Joe didn’t want to see her, at least she would be spared the humiliation of looking him in the face when he told her so.

  Lois stood up, a smile on her face. “Thanks for taking the time to listen.”

  Pastor Hanson smiled. “We’ll be praying for you, Lois.”

  His wife gave her a hug. “Everything will work out fine. You can be sure of that.”

  Joe felt tired and out of sorts, although he never would have admitted it. On Monday he’d put on an hour-long program at a senior center, plus two kids’ birthday parties the following day. This morning he had another party to do.

  “Well, I’m glad people want me for my clowning and t
he balloon animals, especially for parties,” he said aloud. “But I don’t feel nearly as fulfilled as when I can present the gospel, too. Oh, well, it does help pay the bills,” he reminded himself.

  He zipped up his rainbow-colored clown suit, recalling the squeals of delight from the younger children when he’d worn it to a party. He put on a fuzzy wig with different shades of blue and a cone-shaped hat streaked with lots of colors. Joe had contrived many of his costumes, most of them from rummaging through thrift stores. A professional seamstress at his church had made the other ones, including the one he wore now.

  Joe remembered asking his mother to make his first costume. He knew she could sew and thought she might enjoy taking part in his ministry, but she’d refused and then scolded him for expecting her to work her “fingers to the bones” and get nothing in return.

  “Did your love always have to be conditional, Mom?” Joe murmured as he studied his reflection in the mirror on the back of his closet door. “Couldn’t you have supported me and offered your love freely?”

  Joe stuck out his tongue at the clown he saw staring back at him. At least he could hide behind the makeup, which had taken him nearly an hour to apply. His nonsensical costume took only five minutes to don, but it made him appear to be someone else. From the minute he dipped his finger into the jar of grease paint and slapped some of the goop onto his face, Joe was in character. Even though he knew deep inside that he would always be little Joey Richey, who could never please his mother, everyone seemed to love him when he was a clown.

  “Forget about Mom and how she made you feel,” Joe said, as if he were speaking to someone else. “She’s gone now, and it’s best for you to put on a happy face.” He smiled at the image in the mirror then turned to leave when he heard the phone ring.

  “Joe Richey here,” he said.

  “Hi, Joe. It’s Lois.”

  Joe felt his heart slam into his chest at the sound of Lois’s voice. He’d wanted to call her all week, but somehow he hadn’t found the time. “Hey, Lois. What’s up?”

  “I’m in Olympia. I came to see my folks and thought if you weren’t busy maybe we could get together while I’m here.”

  Joe frowned. He’d like nothing better than to be with Lois. If he’d had his way, they would find something fun to do and spend the whole day together. But he couldn’t. He had a birthday party to do, and afterward he was supposed to meet with someone at the hospital about doing a special program for some of the staff next week.

  “I’m busy today, Lois,” Joe said. Did she know how much it pained him to turn her down?

  “Oh, I see. Well, I thought it was worth a try. Guess I’ll let you go, then. ‘Bye, Joe.”

  “No, don’t hang—” It was too late. The phone went dead. Lois hadn’t given him a chance to explain. She probably thought he didn’t want to see her.

  “Oh, no! I can’t call her back—I don’t know where she was calling from.” Joe snapped off his bedroom light. “I’ll have to wait until next week when I can drive to Tacoma and try to straighten things out.” He hurried out of the door, still wishing he could have explained.

  Lois left the phone booth and climbed back into her car. Feeling the weight of Joe’s rejection, she let her head drop against the steering wheel. Each breath stung as she struggled to keep from dissolving into tears. It was exactly as she feared. Joe didn’t want to see her anymore, and he was too polite to come right out and say so. If only he’d been more direct the other night when he’d taken her home from the Puyallup Fair, she wouldn’t have called him at his home. He probably thought she was chasing after him.

  She’d been foolish to let Joe steal her heart so soon. The happy clown’s warm smile and carefree manner had captured her senses, but Lois knew she would have to be more careful from now on. She needed to guard her heart and her feelings.

  Chapter 10

  It was Monday morning, and Lois had been staring at her computer screen for the last five minutes, unable to type a single word. She needed to finish Pastor Hanson’s sermon, since he’d given her his notes when she first arrived at work. She also had a stack of mail to go through, but Lois wasn’t in the mood to do any of it. She was still feeling the pain of Joe’s rejection. If only they could have met for a few minutes on Saturday, to talk and maybe share a meal. Would it have made any difference if they had? Tossing the question around in her mind brought no relief from Lois’s frustrations. With sheer determination, she forced her thoughts off Joe and onto the work she needed to do.

  By noon Lois had managed to catch up, and she decided to go out to lunch, hoping it would brighten her day. The deli was close to the church, and she could order her favorite veggie sandwich. She’d be glad when Tabby came back so she wouldn’t have to eat alone.

  Joe hurried up the front steps of Bayview Christian Church. He hoped he wasn’t too late. It was noon, and Lois might have already left for lunch. He drew in a breath as he opened the door, suddenly colliding with someone.

  “Joe!”

  “Lois!”

  “What are you doing here?”

  “I came to see you.”

  She took a step backward. “You did?”

  He nodded. “I needed to explain about Saturday. You hung up before I had the chance to tell you why we couldn’t get together.” He looked at her. “Are you all right? I didn’t mean to bump into you like that. I guess I was rushing too much.”

  “I’m okay. I’m on my way to lunch now,” she said, turning away.

  He touched her arm. “Mind if I join you?”

  She shrugged. “I—I suppose we could talk at the deli down the street. That’s where I was planning to eat.”

  Joe’s stomach growled at the mention of lunch. He hadn’t eaten a decent breakfast that morning because he’d been in such a hurry to get to Tacoma and see Lois. “That sounds good to me.”

  Lois led the way, and soon they were seated in a booth at the deli. Joe ordered a hamburger, fries, and a cola, while Lois asked for her favorite sandwich and a glass of iced tea.

  They ate in silence for the first few minutes, and Joe used the time to study the young woman sitting across from him. A few pale freckles dappled her cute, upturned nose. Funny, he’d never noticed them before. Maybe I should pay more attention to details.

  Joe knew he couldn’t stall forever. It was time for him to explain about Saturday. If he didn’t, they might spend the rest of their lunch without talking. He had a feeling Lois was pretty miffed at him. “I was on my way out to do a kid’s birthday party when you called the other day. Later I had to see one of the men on the hospital board about doing a program at their staff meeting next week. That’s why I didn’t have time to get together with you when you were in Olympia.” He winked and offered Lois what he hoped was his best smile. “Am I forgiven for not explaining then and for not calling after our last date? I was really bogged down all week.”

  Was that a look of relief he saw on Lois’s face? She’d seemed so tense only a moment ago, but now she was smiling.

  “Thanks for explaining, Joe. I thought maybe you didn’t want to see me anymore or that you’d rather I not come to your house.” Her gaze dropped to the table. “I figured you might be afraid for me to meet your family.”

  He reached across the table and took her hand. “I live alone. I have ever since my mother died from lung cancer a year ago.”

  “I’m sorry about your mother. I should have remembered you said both of your parents were gone.”

  “Would you like to go out with me this Saturday?” he asked, abruptly changing the subject.

  “What did you have in mind?” Her forehead wrinkled. “I hope you weren’t planning to take me for another roller coaster ride.”

  He shook his head. “Not in the real sense of the word. Besides, I think our relationship has already had a few ups and downs.”

  He saw her throat constrict as she swallowed. “Does that mean we have a relationship?”

  “I hope so.” He grinned and
wagged his finger. “About our Saturday date—”

  “Yes?”

  “It’s a surprise, so you’ll have to wait and see where I’m taking you.”

  “At least tell me how I’m supposed to dress.”

  “Wear something casual. Maybe a pair of blue jeans and a sweatshirt.” He nodded toward the window. “As you can see by the falling leaves, autumn is here, so there’s a good chance the weather will be chilly and rainy.”

  “What time will you pick me up?”

  “How does eleven o’clock in the morning sound?”

  “I’ll be ready.”

  An hour later, Lois was seated in front of her desk, feeling satisfied. Not only had she eaten a terrific lunch, but things were okay with her and Joe, and they were going out again. So much for her plan to guard her heart.

  Lois tried to rein in her thoughts and concentrate on a list of names she needed to contact regarding church business, but an image of Joe’s smiling face kept bobbing in front of her. She realized they had little in common, with his being a clown and her being Miss Serious. But he made her laugh, and she thought he could probably charm the birds right out of the trees.

  Lois could feel the knots forming in her shoulders. She wondered if she’d be able to discard her fears and trust Joe not to hurt her. She hoped she could because she was beginning to care for him.

  The telephone rang, halting Lois’s thoughts. She needed to stay focused on her job. “Bayview Christian Church,” she answered.

  “Lois, is that you?”

  “Tabby?”

  “The one and only,” her sister answered. “How are you doing?”

  “Fine. How about you and Seth? Will you be coming back to Tacoma soon?”

  “That’s the reason I’m calling. We’ve decided to stay on tour awhile longer. I checked in with Donna earlier, and she says everything’s fine at the day care.”