Page 93 of Make Me Laugh

“Do you want to order something in for dinner?” I ask, returning to my spot on the couch.

Joey has finally settled in, realizing the huge sectional is big enough for the two of us, and she doesn’t need to hang off the edge like I’m waiting to bite.

“Whatcha thinking?” she asks, pulling one side of her headphones off her ear.

“Let’s see what’s around,” I offer, looking through the options on my phone. I name off a few locations, snickering before I land a joke Joey’s gonna scold me for. “I’m guessing pizza’s out of the question?”

A decorative pillow flies at my head.

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

THE ONE WITH THE OUTRO

Comment: So what? No one’s posting pictures and videos from @WestParkerComedy’s shows anymore? We want more Hex banter!!!!

Comment reply: I was at one of the NYC shows last week, and I never even saw Hex…

Comment reply: They were spotted at Hamilton together last week!

Comment reply: Yeah, but that was before his weekend of shows.

Comment reply: If they broke up I SWEAR

Comment: We don’t even know if they’re together to break up!

We eventually settle on tacos from a local place with high ratings. I order enough for Enzo and Kell and am coming back from my room with cash for a tip when I hear my recorded voice. “Hey, you sexy motherfuckers, listen to me.”

I pause at the top of the stairs, visible to Joey if she looks up from her computer. She’s editing a video of my outro, the same goodbye I’ve given since my very first show. I address the crowd differently, usually trying to incorporate some kind of joke from that night’s show at the end.

It rolls through a couple more variations, but the last part never changes. “Wear your seatbelt, don’t drink and drive, and tell your mom I said hi.”

Joey looks up finally, like she felt me staring. “Sorry, my headphones died, but I wanted to show you this anyway. I noticed you say it every night and thought—” She stills when I don’t move. “What?”

No one’s ever addressed my never-changing goodbye before. Everyone in my life just knows… People Google me and they know… Joey doesn’t know.

She pauses the video and pushes her laptop to the side. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Joey chuckles tightly, and I’m not sure if she realizes it, but I do.

I know her real laugh like my favorite song.

Aimlessly, I close the distance between me and Joey. “Hmm,” I hum a laugh at the irony. “I’d love to see a ghost.” My therapist’s going to be proud. Taking a deep breath, I decide to talk about it with someone who doesn’t know. “Remember when I said I tore my ACL twice?” My muscles fight to relax when I sit on the edge of the couch, a cushion away from her.

I can almost see the question marks floating above Joey’s head. She’s confused, but she scoots closer to me. “Yeah?”

“After the first time, I went home for the rest of my junior semester. There were only a few weeks left, and I was cleared to take my exams online since I’d be in the middle of recovery from surgery.” I remember focusing on one thing and one thing only… Getting back on the ice for my senior season. I didn’t play hockey for almost twenty years to let an overall minor ACL tear stop me from going all the way. “I recovered well. My coaches and the university medical team were happy with my progression. NHL scouts seemed to still be interested in giving me a chance, depending on how I came back and played.”

Joey’s hand hovers over my leg, like she’s debating what I need.

I reach out and gently take it in mine, lowering it to my thigh. The tattoos scattered across the delicate skin on the back of her hand give me something to focus on. I run my thumb over the dainty faded sparkles, hoping it’ll distract me enough to disconnect from what I’m doing and just tell the story. “I was going back to school in August but wouldn’t be cleared to start playing until around October, which meant I’d already be behind for the season, plus coming off an injury, but I was bound and determined.”

I pause, stealing a look at Joey. She looks like she expects something bad, but how bad is she thinking? Her soft eyes make me swallow my fear.

It’s just Joey.

Joey’s a safe place to land.

“A bunch of my friends got together for an end of summer party the weekend before we all left to go back to school. By then I was walking fine, starting to skate with heavy restrictions. I was a young athlete in peak physical condition fighting for the only dream I’d ever had.” It felt like there was nothing standing in my way. “Kell and his best friend tagged along. They weren’t old enough to drink, but Micah didn’t drink anyway. He never liked it.” Micah wasn’t just Kell’s best friend—he’d been mine too.

Joey’s a smart girl. I see the moment the clues click, and then look back down at her hand, focusing on the ivy trailing her wrist. “Kell was in the middle-backseat on our way home, because he always got carsick while riding through the dark country roads, but Micah was driving my car, so I wouldn’t let him sit up front.” I’d been turned around talking to Kell… I never saw the headlights of the pickup truck.