Written By Brad Harness
I stood in the spotlight, looking out at the audience, waiting, and grinned. I was poised to deliver the punch line. And I’d done so dozens of times already with my latest stand-up comedy routine.
“Take my wife…Please!”
The audience cracked up, laughing at my closing line. Just what I was hoping they’d do.
There was applause, plenty of smiles,and one fellow who came up and gave me a beer.
“Hey, thanks for that,” he said.
“No, thank you, for this,” I said, taking the cool drink. “It’s hot up here under the lights”, wiping my brow with a towel that I always brought with me when I perform on stage. Here on the cruise ship I found it was usually on the cooler side in many parts of the ship, but here in Club Fusion, it was hot.
The man held out his hand and I shook it.
“Henri,” he said. “Foubert.”
“Bobby,” I replied. “Jackson.”
The man was about my height, so about 5’ 10” tall. He was heavier than me. I weigh in at 200lbs even. I’d guess Henri tipped the scales at 220lbs. Muscular guy. Nationality?
He was dressed like many of the passengers, casually. He wore navy shorts and a white golf shirt with a crocodile logo. He pointed to my chest and said, “Look, we have the same shirt on.”
I looked down at my shirt, tugging it away from my body so I could see the logo, albeit upside down.
“Well, will ya look at that!”
I laughed, at this point more a laugh of courtesy than feeling. I was tired after my set. The others were on holiday here aboard the Caribbean Empress, while I was hard at work, even as we sailed through the beautiful blue waters of the Bahamas.
I lifted up the glass of lager and sipped deeply. “Ahh…”
“That’s good, eh?” Henri asked.
“Sure is. In two hours I have another 45-minute set to do.”
“They keep you entertainers busy by the looks of things. You’re all so…Talented.”
“Thanks, buddy.”
“Join me for a drink?,” he continued, motioning for me to sit down at his nearby table. The lights were now up again and people were streaming out of the Club, which was in the forward part of the ship, on Deck 7, one of the main inside routes from bow to stern.
“Bobby, this is Francine. She’s with me,” he winked.
Next Week: Part 2
