Chapter 6: Epilogue
Most of the Laff Factory troupe left a day later for their next stop in Singapore. The only exceptions were Gator who did some advance public relations work for the troupe in Australia, and Shawn who was given 2 additional days to spend with Mina. Eventually though he had to leave and rejoin the troupe.
The goodbyes were tough and very emotional but this time they were able to leave under must better circumstances than they had in England. In the end Shawn gave Mina his private e-mail address so they could keep in contact with a promise he would come back.
Every few days she got letter from Shawn via the internet letting her know how things were progressing with the tour. He talked about the good things and the bad with her. She also received a special surprise from him when on her birthday a package arrived for her. It was the same green kimono she had tried on during their little excursion to the mall. She found out later that he had saved the photo from his camera phone and had contacted the shop to purchase it, and then hold it until her special day arrived.
On Mina's side she made repeated visits to the construction site for the new Laff Factory building. It was quite common to see her in front of the location. She started becoming such a regular visitor to the site that the crew knew her by name. They would often wave hello to her and actually gave her a special hardhat with her name on it and the title 'honorary foreman'. With a little help from Ami and a digital camera she would take snapshots of the building when a new development took place such as a wall being completed or the painting of the exterior. She sent the pictures along with personal messages to Shawn in her responses to him.
A more important incident during this time was the elimination of the threat of the 4 sisters, Rubeus, and the Wiseman. One by one each of the sisters broke off their affiliation while their leaders were destroyed. Even with the victory Mina continued her daily pilgrimage to the construction site. In addition she would make several unauthorized trips inside the building under the guise of Sailor Venus. She would often stand on the stage, close her eyes and breathe deeply feeling the physical distance between her and Shawn lessening. She felt like she was breathing the same air that he experienced when he performed.
In late October the group's tour ended and he was back in England. While he expressed relief that the tour was over and seemed happy to be back with the complete group it didn't take long for the tone of his letters to start changing. After a year of working with the same four people he was finding it difficult readjusting to the styles of the new faces the group had hired and even some of the established entertainers made for many awkward moments. It appeared that he wasn't the only performer having difficulty in the transformation. She was shocked when he wrote that Gator had left the troupe to return home to Australia for good. Then it was Susan and Terri who ended their association. He would never say it openly in his letters but his mood seemed to indicate that part of him wanted to leave too. Only Brian Coe seemed to make the integration back into the fold easily.
There was a shriek of joy when she got an e-mail from him with the news that he was going to be coming back to Tokyo at the end of the year to be the master of ceremonies for the reopening of The Laff Factory. In the time leading up to his visit she spent lots of extra time with Artemis to combat any feelings of jealousy or bitterness over the arrival of his potential challenger.
Finally two days after Christmas came the big day. When his plane arrived Mina and her family were ushered at the airport by some officials to a nearby VIP room within the facility. When he arrived through a special door Mina ran up to him, throwing her arms around his neck and showering him with kisses. He did his best to return each kiss until he saw Mina's father giving him a look to stop.
During his stay the daily routine was basic. While Mina was in school, Shawn would be taking care of matters relating to the upcoming show. While he didn't know it Shawn was always under the watchful eyes of Artemis who followed him from a discrete distance to observe his behavior when Mina wasn't around. If the lad had any tendencies to have a wandering eye or a cheating heart he would make sure to discover it before he had the chance to break Mina's heart. Yet in every instance he proved himself to be trustworthy of her feelings. Eventually he gave up trying to find the chink in his armor and tried his best to simply be happy for Mina, even if it meant not being the cause.
After her day at school Shawn was always there at the school gates to greet her with a huge hug and soft kiss. She enjoyed the walks home with him where her family would be waiting with a hot, home cooked meal. The extra efforts by Mina's parents never went unnoticed or unappreciative. He was thankful for the home cooked meals which while normally simple fare made his taste buds dance.
The rest of the scouts all got a chance to meet the young man up close during this time. On the Saturday afternoon Lita prepared a special picnic lunch for the group and their various boyfriends while gazing at the cherry blossoms. They found him to be everything Mina had bragged about and more. Near the end of the picnic while Shawn went to get some more drinks Mina turned to Ami and thanked her fall all she had done to make these moments possible.
Finally came the night of the big show on New Years Eve. It was the only time during his visit that Shawn didn't meet Mina at the school. Not that she expected it to happen. She could sense that he would be getting into his performing mindset before then. Putting on her most beautiful dress and with her mothers assistance made her up to look absolutely ravishing. Before they left there was a knock at the door where a delivery boy brought a light pink corsage for Mina with a note from Shawn asking her to wear it. It added a breathtaking addition to the chiffon outfit. As promised a limo came by to pick Mina and her parents up and drive them to the gala affair.
At the Laff Factory Mina and her parents walked down the red carpet like any other VIP. She tried to stifle a giggle when she overheard a couple of people whispering among themselves who she could be. Inside the Factory they were given a program for the evening and were given a seat at one of the tables. Looking back and forth at the length of the new curtain she sought a glimpse of Shawn only succeeding when there were only a few minutes before show time. She almost didn't see him sticking his head out at the right end of the curtain but when she did she also saw the familiar pinky wave.
The debut show was a success in every sense. The crowd laughed in the right spots. The performers were energetic, and Shawn kept the pace moving at a fast clip so there would be little silent time between the routines. When the show ended there was little doubt that many of the people in the audience would want to come back again.
Mina and her parents stuck around for the 2nd part of the evening, the New Years Eve party. One by one the performers of the show made their way from the stage to mingle with the guests, dignitaries, and press. Some were interviewed and photographic flashes were everywhere. Within the sea of bodies though Mina couldn't find Shawn among them. At first she wasn't concerned but after 15 minutes had past and all the other performers were now among the guests she decided to see if anything was wrong.
Without anybody seeing her she went backstage and called out Shawn's name in a semi-whisper. It took only a brief amount of time before he acknowledged her. Taking his hands in hers she kissed him and congratulated him on the success of this first show. He graciously accepted her kudos but then asked if she would step outside with him for a few minutes. For a moment she wondered if he was scheming to get more romantic with her away from the prying eye's of her father but then she saw his eyes and realized from their tone that was on his mind was quite serious.
They stepped barely outside of the employee entrance. The weather was nice but very cold. The pair could see their breath coming out in the cold air. Shawn took the opportunity to wrap his tux jacket around the bare shoulders of his date. All the while seeking to explain what was on his mind.
"Mina, you know I'll be leaving in the next couple of day's right? How would you feel about my coming back in a couple of months for a longer stay?"
"I'd love that. How long would you be here?" she eagerly replied.
'Forever.', he deadpanned.
For a few moments Mina stood there in disbelief to what she had just heard.
"Cou…..could you say that again? I don't think I heard your right.'
Shawn bent over to Mina's ear and whispered softly into her ear.
"How would you feel if I came back here and lived here forever?'
"What's the punch line?' she finally asked expect this to be some sort of comic bit.
"No joke sweet cheeks. I am as serious as I've ever been in my left.'
Shawn went into the inner pocket of his tux that hung on Mina and pulled out a piece of paper that she never noticed while she wore the jacket. Unfolding it carefully he handed it to Mina to let her read its contents. It was a contract to work for 'K' on his show as a script writer.
"He apparently likes my work and wants me to work for him. If I accept his offer I'll be given a few months to get my affairs in order in England but then I could be back here for good.
'But…..what about performing/" ,she wanted to know
"I've been promised the chance to perform with these guys if I wanted to. To be honest though I think I've had enough of the performing for now. I don't feel about it the way I once did. I don't get those fears like I use to get. I've been making too many mistakes as of late. Plus I'm not feeling real about this anymore. I don't know if I simply need a break from the action or if this means I don't want it anymore but to be honest I haven't been that happy with things since the tour finished."
'Yes, I sort of sensed that in your e-mails.' ,she admitted.
"It's funny. I always dreamed of being a top dog in comedy, but it was like Gator use to tell me. Sometimes being top dog isn't everything its cracked up to be. If you're not the top dog the view never changes but when you're top dog there is always another dog trying to bite your backside."
The two stood in the cold and silence which felt as heavy as the words Shawn had just spoken. Mina could tell that these words were not easy to say but felt thankful that at least he could be so frank with her. It was obviously a difficult decision for him.
He continued to talk but it almost sounded like he was talking more to himself.
"I always thought if such a decision came my way and we could be together forever I'd be able to drop it all and come running. Now that the moment is here I find myself hesitant. When we were in England we both knew someday you'd be leaving. When I came to Japan we both knew the stay would be short. Mina, you know me better than anybody. Sometimes I think you know me better than I know myself. You are so incredible. Right now I could think of a thousand reasons to want to take the job and stay and you'd be #1 on the list. So why am I so hesitant to take the offer?
She looked into the eyes of the man she loved so much and knew he was speaking from his heart. She wanted to offer him words to make whatever decision easier for him to make.
"Do you want me to take this job?", he finally asked.
She answered the question without hesitation.
"If you ask me that question of course my answer will always be yes. However what I want you to be most is happy, whatever that would mean. If you stayed here that would make me happy. That I won't deny. The bottom line though is that whatever you decide I will support it. Somehow I sense you already know what your answer is"
She reached out her hands to his, holding them tightly. She didn't know which way her words were swaying his heart. The words she had spoken were honest. She did want him to be happy even if it meant a life that wouldn't include her. She gazed lovingly at his face and saw a smile beginning to form. Growing bigger and wider by the second.
"Thank you. I guess I did really know what I wanted to do. I guess I was simply looking for confirmation that I was doing the right thing. I guess after all this time some things haven't changed. I'm still a bit insecure, needing reassurance from time to time. Makes me wonder what someone like you ever saw in someone like me. Whatever it was I'm sure glad you did though."
Mina blushed at the compliment. Tilting her head slightly left she asked the big question.
"So what are you going to do?"
He paused for a moment looking almost surprise that she even needed to ask the question.
"Sometime Mina I think you know me better than anybody. Maybe even better than I know myself. You must know what I'm feeling right now.'
Without hesitation Mina understood and leaped into his arms holding him tightly. This time knowing that fate has made it possible for them to be together possibly for the rest of their lives. Bringing her lips to his she heard the voices in the auditorium going counting down the final seconds to the old year and the joyous celebration of…..
"HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!"
The new year was starting off well for Mina Aino. She had found her first love…..again.
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Final Authors Notes: First of all I hope you enjoy this story. It's been a labor of love for me that began way back in 1999. It saw a lot of changes in my life as I was writing it. For the record and in case any of you are wondering. The Laff Factory was based in general terms on some wonderful performers who I knew in real life. Back then they were called "Comedy Sports of Denver". Now they are known as Impulse Theatre. I found them quite influential. Through them I learned a lot about the art of improvisational comedy which helped me in the writing of the story. For that I would like to thank among other people John "T-Bone' Bowers, "Droolin' Sue Knudsen, Eric "Boom Boom / Mr. Voice" Clawson, Craig "Zero" Zablocki, Jane "Biker Babe" Gibson, DeShawn "Thunder Thigh" Jones, and all the other members whose names are currently eluding me. While the troupe in general was the basis for my Laff Factory I must add that the individual performers in this story are total fictional.