You 're the only one who can make her laugh . [ WP ]

It's been years, doing this. I go out, entertain, back offstage. It's the three steps that make it what it is. Going out would n't mean a damn thing if I did n't come back. That bein said, never had to worry about returning *to* the stage, it was returning *from* the stage I get so worked up about. 
 
 I do n't really know much about comedy, or I did n't when I started. Other blokes tell me it's about makin people think one thing, and lettin em hang for a moment before coming in with the punchline. I did n't like that so much. I was out of work, dirty, but when I went up there, there were sparks. People laughed. She laughed. 
 
 They tell me she did n't laugh before me. Never. Not one laugh. She would always seek comedy, finding some new jester. I became a... addiction of hers since then. Wheeled out almost daily. 
 
 It was only later that I learned what she did with the previous ones. A woman who always wanted to laugh - Sorry, a Queen who desperately sought humor, but was humorless. She'd kill'em. Every court Jester died, seeking laughter from her. 
 
 The tone of it all changed since then, and she has n't been laughing as much. They see I'm nervous, jittery. I'm losin whatever it is I had. Constantly, I wonder if I was ever funny, or just lucky. Maybe unlucky now. 
 
 I think about the joke, hangin. I go out again later. I return to the stage. I have to wonder if I'll come back. It's not a joke, it's my life hanging, waiting. 
 
 And I know the punchline.
