The comedian

The carpet lightly crunched when she nervously paced up and down the room in her heels. She had done this so many times, had been on that stage every week for years, but tonight - tonight was different! It was the first time ever that someone she really cared about was in the audience. Up until tonight, her comedy had only been for strangers. Occasionally she would try some of her jokes out on her students, but they only laughed because they had to. Most of her material wasn’t suitable for teenagers anyway. They didn’t need to know about her terrible dating history but in front of a comedy audience on a Saturday night; her material was more than well received. She was one of the headliners of the small club and it made her proud to have people enjoy her work so much. It was a nice change from grading papers and writing curriculum's. It was also nice to know that even though she was mostly unlucky in love; her pain was able to make other people laugh.

Therein however, lay the problem. Her material was all about her past dating experiences and she wasn’t sure it was really that appropriate to tell him about them in this format. Sure, they had briefly discussed past relationships, but not to in depth and not the way it would be presented by a stand-up comedian. It was raw material, it said a lot about what kind of a person she was and it didn’t always paint her in the greatest light.

Nevertheless, it was too late now to change her set. She was almost up. She shook her head. She never should have mentioned it to him. For the last two months they had been going out and they had spent almost every night together. He had commitments on most weekends and since she was at the club every Saturday, it had worked out perfectly. Tonight however, he was free and he insisted in spending it with her. She tried excuses, but he came across a flyer with her name on it and she had had no other choice than to tell him. He was excited. He had come in early to make sure he was getting a seat in the front row. She had tried to convince him that he could just show up late. She was one of the last ones up, but no, he was going to be there for the entire show.

There really wasn’t a reason to be this nervous, she knew that. Friends and family had seen her stand-up; never in a club, but at family events and even just for fun. He was different though. He was someone she could see being a part of her life for a long time. They had been getting along famously and she developed feelings for him. The last thing she wanted was for this performance to change all that. She had half a mind to just improvise and was already thinking of new things in her head, when her phone chimed. The text message exchange that followed changed everything.

I’m starting to think you were right about me arriving later.

Why’s that?

These people are boring! An hour of my life I’m never getting back!

What makes you think I’m not going to be boring also?

You couldn’t if you tried!

That’s sweet, but I’m nervous.

Because of me?

Yes…

Don’t be. I know you’ll be great!

If you’re sure.

I am! Like I said, you couldn’t be boring if you tried. I believe in you!

Thanks. I better get ready now.

Knock’em dead.

It left her speechless and made her smile in a way that only he could. Suddenly, she knew that she was going to be fine and that it didn’t even really matter what her set was going to be about. He was there for her, to see her do what she loved and he would support her, no matter what. This was a new concept to her; she wasn’t used to someone – anyone – having that much faith in her.

The next few minutes she spent combing her hair and continues to pace up and down. Not with nerves this time, but with anticipation. All of a sudden she couldn’t wait to go out there and show him, that his faith wasn’t only appreciated but also not misplaced. She wanted to show him, that she was worth it and that he was right in assuming, that she wasn’t boring.

Her name was called and she stepped into the single spotlight. The audience was lit up, not too much so the light from there wasn’t to distracting to the comedians, but enough for her to see him! He really was there, right in the centre of the front row. He sat slightly perched up, as to make sure he wasn’t going to miss a thing. She smiled and looked down at him and he smiled back encouragingly. This was it! This was the moment she knew! This was the moment when everything changed. The moment she had always dreamed about, but never thought she would experience herself.

He was going to be there for as many of her shows as possible and he was going to be by her side no matter what. There weren’t going to be any more bad date stories from now on. Now it would all be different. He would feature in her stories a lot, she knew that and she also knew he would try to do funny things on purpose, so she would have material. Happy comics were bad comics, she had always been told; but she couldn’t image that at all, when she was looking at his face.

She knew his faith wasn’t misplaced and that as long as he was by her side, there was nothing she wasn’t going to be able to achieve. She just knew right there in that moment, the moment which seemed so insignificant, that her life had changed forever!