“The guy’s married and has a college degree, but he’s too poor to buy new clothes,” a young man in the audience called out.
“Could be,” Joe said with a nod. “Anybody else have an idea?”
“The gentleman could be an educated, hard worker who likes to putter around the house,” the older woman sitting beside Lois suggested.
Joe smiled. “You may be right. The point is, we can’t always judge someone by the clothes he wears. His actions play a major role in defining who he is.” Joe turned to the board and wrote, “Your character’s appearance and personality must be consistent to seem real.” He pivoted back to the audience. “If you dress in black, the audience will expect you to be an elegant or somber character, because clothing conveys a meaning. If you wear a baggy, torn costume, people will get the idea you’re a hobo clown.” He winked at the audience. “Since most clowns don’t make a lot of money, this particular costume would be kind of appropriate.”
Lois laughed along with everyone else. The concept of clowning was more complicated than she’d imagined it to be. If she was going to become a gospel clown, she’d have to come up with the kind of character she wanted to be. Next, she would need to find or make a suitable costume—one that would affirm the personality of her clown character. And that was only the beginning. She would still need to find a gimmick like balloon twisting or juggling—and be humorous.
Lois turned and glanced at the clock on the back wall. In fifteen minutes the class would be dismissed for a break. She wondered if she should head back to Tacoma or force herself to sit through the rest of Joe’s class, hoping she might find some sense of direction.
“The more outrageous your personality, the more outlandish your costume should be,” Joe said. “Contrary to popular belief, a good clown outfit is not a mixture of mismatched, odd-sized clothes. A costume you design, using your own choice of colors and prints, becomes your trademark.”
Joe moved to the front of the room. “Here’s an example of what I mean.” He withdrew several balloons from his pocket, quickly blew up each one, and twisted them until he’d made something that resembled a hat. He then proceeded to add several curled balloons, sticking them straight up. He placed the hat on his head. The audience laughed, and Joe looked at the end of his nose so his eyes were crossed. “I’m so thankful I’m not bald anymore. Now I can change my name from Joe to Harry.”
Joe Richey was not only a clown by profession, but he was also the funniest man Lois had ever known. Not that she knew him all that well, she reminded herself. In the short time they’d been dating, he’d told her very little about himself. She wondered why.
When the class was dismissed at the break, several people surrounded Joe, pelting him with questions. Lois knew this was her chance to escape. Joe wouldn’t know she was gone until the next session began. She left the room, headed for the front door of the church then stopped. Did she want to leave? How would she know if she had the ability to become a clown if she didn’t stay and learn more?
She turned and headed for the snack bar. She would grab a cup of tea and a cookie and march back into that classroom and soak up all the information she could.
The class was over at five o’clock, and Lois was tempted to linger. She wanted to spend a few minutes alone with Joe, but he was busy answering more questions and demonstrating some of his balloon techniques. She decided to head for home, knowing it would take almost an hour to get back to Tacoma. Tomorrow was Sunday, and she still had a little preparing to do for her Sunday school class craft. She would have to talk to Joe some other time.
❧
Joe thought Lois would wait after class, but when he finished talking to the last student he discovered she was gone. Had she been in such a hurry to get back to Tacoma that she couldn’t even say good-bye?
He shrugged and grabbed up his notes. Maybe it’s my fault. I should have told her earlier that I wanted to take her to dinner.
Joe was fairly certain Lois had enjoyed his class; he’d caught her laughing whenever he looked her way. He’d also seen her taking notes. Was she interested in pursuing a career in gospel clowning, or had she taken the class only out of curiosity?
Maybe she did it for a lark. Could be Lois has no more interest in clowning than she does me. Joe slapped the side of his hand with his palm. “Oh, man! You shouldn’t have made any reference to clowns being poor. That’s probably what turned her off.”
Joe pulled himself to his full height and plastered a smile on his face. Get a grip. It’s not like Lois said she doesn’t want to see you anymore. Besides, I’m supposed to be happy, not sad. Isn’t that what clowns do best?
Sixteen
For the next two weeks, Lois studied her notes from Joe’s clowning class, in hopes of doing a short skit for her Sunday school class. Joe had called her a few times, but he hadn’t asked her out; he said he was swamped with gospel programs and kids’ birthday parties.
Lois missed not seeing him, but she kept busy practicing her clowning routine and had even made a simple costume to wear. The outfit consisted of a pair of baggy overalls, a straw hat with a torn edge, a bright red blouse, and a pair of black rubber boots, all of which gave her a hillbilly look.
Finally, Sunday morning arrived, and Lois stood in the first-grade classroom, dressed in her costume, waiting for the children and her helper to arrive. She’d worn her hair in two ponytails with red ribbons tied at the ends, and had pencilled in a cluster of dark freckles on her cheeks and nose. In an attempt to make her mouth appear larger, she had taken bright red lipstick and filled in her lips then gone an inch outside with color. She also wore a red rubber clown nose.
Lois’s main concern was the skit she’d prepared. Had she memorized it well enough? Could she ad lib if necessary? Would the kids think it was funny, yet still grasp the gospel message?
Feeling a trickle of sweat roll down her forehead, she reached into her back pocket and withdrew a man-sized handkerchief. She wiped the perspiration away and was stuffing the cloth into her pocket when the children started pouring into the room. “Look! Miss Lois is dressed like a clown!” one girl squealed.
“Yeah! A clown is here!” another child called out.
“Are you gonna make us a balloon animal?”
“Can you juggle any balls?”
“How about some tricks?”
The questions came faster than Lois could answer. She held up her hand to silence the group, looking around frantically for Carla Sweeney, the teenager who had promised to help. “If you’ll all take a seat, I’ll answer each of your questions one at a time.”
The children clambered to the tables, and as soon as they were seated, their little hands shot up. Lois answered each child, letting them know she couldn’t juggle, didn’t know how to make balloon animals, and had no tricks up her sleeve. She did, however, have a skit to present. Relief flooded her when Carla slipped into the room, and before the children could fire more questions at her, Lois launched into her routine.
Using an artificial flower and a child’s doctor kit, she did a pantomime, showing how the flower was sick and needed healing. She then explained out loud how the idea was compared to people who have things in their lives that make them sin-sick. “Jesus is the great physician,” she said. “He will take away our sins if we ask Him to forgive us.”
The children seemed to grasp the message, but they weren’t spellbound, as the audience was when she’d seen Joe perform.
After class Lois washed her face, changed out of her costume, and slipped into a dress to wear to church. Maybe I need to take another clowning class. I could learn how to juggle or maybe do some tricks. . .anything to leave a better impression.
❧
After church, Lois went with Tabby and Seth to dinner at a restaurant along the waterfront. As soon as they were seated, Seth informed Lois that this was the place he and Tabby had eaten after returning from their first date in Seattle.
Sitting at the table overlooking the beautiful
bay, Lois couldn’t help but feel a little jealous of her sister. She was married to her soul mate and glowed like a sunbeam. Lois knew she was still young and had plenty of time to find the right guy, but she didn’t want to wait. She’d met a Christian man—one who made her laugh and feel accepted and who didn’t seem to care about wealth, power, or prestige. She saw only one problem: Joe kidded around so much that she didn’t think he’d ever take their relationship seriously.
“Lois, did you hear what I said?”
Tabby’s pleasant voice halted Lois’s disconcerting thoughts. She turned away from the window and offered her sister a half-hearted smile. “Sorry. I guess I was deep in thought.”
“Tabby and I have an announcement to make,” Seth declared.
Lois lifted her eyebrows. “I hope you’re not leaving on another trip. I really missed you guys while you were gone.”
Tabby shook her head. “I think we’ll be sticking close to home for the next several months.”
“Yeah—seven to be exact,” Seth put in. He slipped his arm around Tabby and drew her close.
Lois narrowed her eyes. “I don’t get it. Why will you be staying close to home for the next seven months?”
Before Tabby could reply, the light suddenly dawned. “Are you expecting a baby?”
Her sister nodded, and tears welled up in her eyes. “The baby’s due in the spring.”
With mixed emotions, Lois reached across the table and grasped Tabby’s hand. “Congratulations!” She glanced over at Seth. “I’m happy for both of you.”
Lois was delighted to hear her sister’s good news. It meant she would soon be an aunt, and Tabby deserved the opportunity to be a mother. But somewhere inside was her own desire to be married and have a family. She only hoped it would happen someday. “You’ll both make good parents,” she said sincerely.
“Sure hope so, ’cause we’re really excited about this,” Tabby said.
The waitress came to take their order, interrupting the conversation.
“I put on a little clowning skit for my Sunday school class this morning,” Lois said, after the waitress left the table.
Tabby’s eyebrows shot up. “Really? What prompted that?”
“I took one of Joe’s clowning classes a few weeks ago.”
“You never said a word about it,” Tabby said, shaking her finger at her sister.
“I wanted to see if I could do it before saying anything.”
“So how’d it go?” Seth asked.
Lois shrugged. “Okay, I guess. The kids seemed to get the message, but I think they were disappointed because I didn’t do anything exciting, like balloon twisting, juggling, or some kind of trick.”
“If you think clowning is something you want to pursue, maybe you should take another class or two,” Tabby suggested.
“I hear there’s going to be a workshop in Portland next weekend,” Seth said. “A clown from Salem will be teaching the class. He has a bubble-blowing specialty he’s added to his routines. Should be interesting.”
Lois leaned forward, smiling. “I might look into that one. I think blowing bubbles would be a whole lot easier than creating balloon animals.”
Tabby snickered. “As I recall, you always did enjoy waving your wand around the backyard and seeing how many bubbles you could make at one time.”
Lois laughed. “And you liked to see how many you could pop!”
❧
Joe hung up the phone and sank to the couch. Still no answer at Lois’s place. She should have been home from church by now.
Just then the phone rang, causing Joe to jump. He grabbed the receiver. “Joe Richey here.”
“Hey, big brother! Long time no talk to.”
Joe’s mouth fell open. He hadn’t heard from Brian in nearly a year. Not since he’d called asking to borrow money to pay his overdue rent.
“Joe. You still there, Buddy?”
Joe inhaled sharply and reached up to rub the back of his neck. He could almost see his brother’s baby face, long scraggly blond hair and pale blue eyes. “Yeah, I’m here, Brian. What have you been up to?”
“Keepin’ busy. And you?”
“Oh, about six feet two.” Joe chuckled at his own wisecrack, but Brian’s silence proved he wasn’t impressed. “You still living in Boise?”
“Not anymore. I needed a new start.”
Joe shook his head. A new start, or are you leaving another string of bad debts? He could only imagine how much his kid brother had probably messed up this time.
“I call Seattle my home these days, so we’re practically neighbors.”
“Seattle? How long have you been living there?”
“A couple of months.” Brian cleared his throat. “I’m driving a taxi cab.”
Joe wrinkled his brows. “You’re a taxi driver? What happened to the sporting goods store you were managing in Boise?”
“I, uh, got tired of it.”
Joe flexed his fingers. He thought his brother’s voice sounded strained. No doubt Brian’s previous employer had asked him to leave. It had happened before, and unless Brian learned to control his tongue it would no doubt happen again.
“If you’ve been in Seattle for awhile, why is this the first time I’ve heard from you? I was in that neck of the woods a couple of weeks ago and could have looked you up.”
“Well, I’ve—”
“Been busy?”
“Yeah. Seattle’s a jungle, you know.”
“I can’t argue with that.” Joe’s thoughts took him back to the date he’d had with Lois at the Seattle Center. He’d seen more cars on the road that day than he had for a long time, and people milled about the center like cattle in a pen. He didn’t envy Brian’s having to weave his way in and out of traffic all day, transporting irate customers to their destination.
“Listen, Joe. The reason I’m calling is, well, I was wanting to—”
“I don’t have any extra money, Brian,” Joe interrupted. “I can barely manage to pay my own bills these days.”
“What bills?” Brian shouted. “Mom left you the house and the money from her insurance policy, so I would think you’d be pretty well set.”
Joe felt a trail of heat creep up the back of his neck. If Brian hadn’t run off to do his own thing, leaving Joe to deal with their mother’s emotional problems, maybe he would have inherited more from the will. As it was, Mom was crushed when her youngest son left home and seldom called or visited them.
Forcing his ragged breathing to return to normal, Joe plastered a smile on his face. He didn’t know why, since his brother couldn’t see him through the phone. Whenever Joe was riled, putting on a happy face seemed to help. It was the only way he knew how to handle stress. Besides, he wasn’t about to let Brian push his buttons. One emotional son in the family was enough. Joe would keep his cool no matter how hard his brother tried to goad him. “Let’s change the subject, shall we, Brian?”
“Did you ever stop to think I might have called for some other reason than to ask for money?” Brian’s tone had a definite edge.
Joe snorted. “You never have before.”
“You know what they say—there’s a first time for everything.”
Joe’s patience was waning, and he knew if he didn’t end this conversation soon, he might lose control. He couldn’t let that happen. It would be a sign of weakness. He drew in a breath and let it out slowly. “Why did you call, Brian?”
“To wish you a happy birthday.”
Joe leaned his head against the sofa cushion and chuckled. “My birthday’s almost two weeks away, little brother. It’s next Friday, to be exact.”
“Next Friday, huh? Guess I forgot.”
“It’s no big deal.” Mom used to make a big deal out of her birthday, Joe thought ruefully. But she usually ignored Brian’s and my birthdays.
“Doin’ anything special to celebrate?”
“Well, I’m hoping Lois and I might—”
“Lois? Who’s she?”
“A friend.” A very special friend. But I’m not about to tell you that.
“Where’s the party going to be? Maybe I’ll drive down to Olympia and join you.”
“I’m not planning any big wing-ding to celebrate my twenty-fifth birthday. If I do anything at all, it’ll just be a quiet dinner someplace nice.”
“Okay. I get the picture. You don’t want your loud-mouthed, hot-tempered little brother crashing your party. I can live with that. After all, it’s nothing new for you to give me the brush off.”
Joe opened his mouth to refute his brother’s last statement, but he heard a click, and the phone went dead. “Now what I have done?” he moaned.
With a firm resolve not to dwell on the unpleasant encounter he’d had with Brian, Joe dialed Lois’s number again. Her answering machine came on, and this time he left a message.
“Lois, this is Joe. I’m still pretty busy this week. I have two more birthday parties to do, not to mention a visit to a nursing home and a spot on a local kids’ TV show. Things are looking better for the following week, though, and next Friday is my twenty-fifth birthday.” He paused. “I, uh, was hoping you might be free to help me celebrate. Please give me a call when you get in—okay? Talk to you soon. ’Bye.”
Seventeen
It was close to six o’clock when Lois returned to her apartment Sunday evening. After dinner with Tabby and Seth, she had driven through Point Defiance Park, then stayed for a little while at Owen’s Beach.
Dropping her purse on the coffee table, she noticed her answering machine was blinking. She clicked the button then smiled when she heard Joe’s message asking her to help him celebrate his birthday. “I wonder what I can do to make it special,” she murmured.
She reached for the phone and dialed Joe’s number. She was relieved when he answered on the second ring. “Hi, Joe. It’s Lois.”
“Hey, it’s good to hear your voice. Did you get my message?”
“Yes, I did. I just got in.”
“What do you think about next Friday night?”
“So you need someone to help you celebrate your birthday?”
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