Clowning Around

by Wanda E. Brunstetter

  Copyright

  ISBN 1-58660-770-7

  Copyright © 2003 by Wanda E. Brunstetter. All rights reserved. Exceptfor use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the permission of Truly Yours, an imprint of Barbour Publishing, Inc., PO Box 719, Uhrichsville, Ohio 44683.

  All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version ®. niv®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

  All of the characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual events is purely coincidental.

  One

  Lois Johnson slid her fingers across the polished surface of her desktop. I love this job, she told herself with a smile. She had been working as secretary for Bayview Christian Church only a few weeks, but she already felt at ease. She wasn’t making as much money now, she reminded herself, but she had a lot less pressure than when she’d worked as a legal secretary in downtown Tacoma.

  Lois hoped her job here would be a ministry, so she could do something meaningful while using her secretarial skills. She was a fairly new Christian, having accepted the Lord as her personal Savior during a recent evangelistic crusade. Now she had an opportunity to work in her home church where she felt comfortable.

  Her older sister, Tabby, had told her about the position. Tabby worked in the daycare center sponsored by Bayview Church and had heard that Mildred Thompson, the secretary then, was moving to California. Tabby had notified Lois right away, knowing she wasn’t happy in her old job.

  A vision of Tabby and her husband, Seth Beyers, performing their ventriloquist routine flashed into Lois’s mind. The young couple worked well together, shared a love for Christ and the church, and were so much in love.

  Lois stared at the blank computer screen in front of her then pushed the button to turn it on. I hope I can find an area of service as Tabby and Seth have. After attending the church for a year, she had signed up to teach a first-grade Sunday school class. She enjoyed working with children and felt she was helping to mold their young lives in some small way. But she wondered if she could be doing more.

  As Lois waited for the computer to boot up, she let her mind wander. She’d come a long way in the last few months. The pain of breaking up with her ex-fiancé had diminished considerably. Since she’d become a Christian and started reading her Bible every day and spending time in prayer, her attitude toward many things had changed. No longer was she consumed with a desire for wealth and prestige. She knew money in itself wasn’t a bad thing, but her yearning for more, simply for personal gain, had been wrong. Instead of being so self-centered and harsh—especially with her sister, who had been shy and had suffered with a problem of stuttering—with God’s help, Lois was learning to be more patient and kind.

  Thank You, Lord, for helping Tabby overcome her problems and for changing my heart. Show me the best way to serve You. She hesitated. And if You have a man out there for me, please let me know he’s the right one.

  Lois frowned and twirled her finger around a long, blond curl. She’d been wounded deeply when Michael Yehley postponed their wedding. Then he broke things off completely once she started inviting him to go with her to church. He’d made it clear he had no interest in religious things, didn’t need them, and could take care of himself.

  Lois knew Michael hadn’t been right for her. She also knew she could never love another man who wasn’t a Christian or whose only goal in life was climbing the ladder of success. Lord, if You have a man in mind for me, then he’ll have to fall into my lap because I’m not planning to look for anyone. The chances of that are slim to none, Lois told herself.

  ❧

  Joe Richey was exhausted. He’d been on the road six weeks, doing a series of family crusades, Bible schools, and church camp meetings. He’d even managed to squeeze in a couple of kids’ birthday parties. As much as he enjoyed clowning, he needed to rest. He’d just finished a five-day Bible school in Aberdeen, Washington, which had ended this morning at eleven o’clock. On his way home, he had stopped at the cemetery to visit his parents’ graves. When Joe was eight years old, his father was killed in an accident involving the tour bus he drove around the Pacific Northwest. His mother had passed away last summer from lung cancer.

  A knot formed in Joe’s stomach when he opened the front door of his modest, two-story home in Olympia. When his mother died, he hadn’t shed a single tear, and he wasn’t about to cry now. In fact, Joe hadn’t cried since his father’s death almost seventeen years ago. If today hadn’t been the anniversary of his mother’s death, he probably wouldn’t have stopped at the cemetery. It was a painful reminder of his past.

  Carrying his red-and-green-checkered clown costume in one hand and a battered suitcase in the other, Joe trudged up the steps to the second floor. He entered his bedroom and flung open the closet door. “Maybe I should take off for a few days and head to the beach,” he said aloud, setting the suitcase on the floor and hanging up his costume. “But right now, I guess I’ll settle for a hot bath and a long nap.”

  He yanked a red, rubber clown nose out of his shirt pocket and stuffed it into the drawer where all his clown makeup and props were kept. “I’ll be okay. Just need to keep a stiff upper lip and a smile plastered on my face.” Joe glanced in the mirror attached to his closet door and forced his mouth to curve upward.

  The phone rang sharply. He crossed the room and lifted the receiver from the nightstand by his bed. “Joe Richey here.”

  He listened to the woman on the other end of the line, nodding occasionally and writing the information she gave him on a notepad. “Uh-huh. Sure. My schedule’s been as tight as a jar of pickles all summer, but things are slowing down some now. I’m sure I can work it in. Okay, thanks.”

  Joe hung up the phone and sank onto the bed with a moan. “One more crusade, and then I’ll take a little vacation.” He glanced over the notes he’d jotted down. “It’s only a forty-five-minute drive from Olympia to Tacoma. It’ll be a piece of cake.”

  ❧

  After discussing the church bulletin with Richard Smith, the associate pastor, Lois returned to her desk, and the phone rang. She smiled when she heard her sister’s voice. “Hi, Tabby, what’s up?”

  “I was wondering if you could meet me for lunch today.”

  “Sure—sounds good. Should I come downstairs to the day care, or do you want to come up here?”

  “Neither. I’d like to take you out for lunch. You’ve been cooped up in that office so much since you started working here, even eating lunch at your desk sometimes. Today’s Friday, so I think we should celebrate. Let’s go to Garrison’s Deli.”

  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.”

  Two

  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 this 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 c
enter 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.”