LITTLE SECRETS
(BY DEYSE)
Roma arrived at the Moon Water Studios carrying a large bag with baby’s clothes and other objects on one arm and a cute baby girl, aged one year and six months, on the other arm. She quickly rushed to the studio, where the cast and crew were already gathered together, and her two dearest friends, John and Della, immediately came to her and greeted their friend with a kiss.
“Hey baby, what happened?”
“We were worried about you!” they both said, and Della added, “Yes, Lovejuice here already phoned you twice in the last ten minutes!” that revelation caused the blond actor to blush a little.
“Oh I forgot to turn the cell phone on! I’m sorry I made you worry, but Julie is ill and I had nobody to stay with Reilly; besides this wee one here decided she was hungry at the moment I was getting ready to leave!” Roma replied, looking at them apologetically.
Noticing that the three adults were looking at her, Roma’s little daughter smiled, “Hi!” She greeted, with just a few teeth in her mouth.
“Hi baby! How is my little angel girl doing, huh?” Della replied; the trio enchanted with her cheerfulness. “Yes, we’ve seen this cute little angel hungry!”
Chuckling, John nodded his head turned to face little Reilly, who was already trying to call his attention by waving at him, and took the baby’s chubby little hand. “Hey little one! Not fair to interrupt your snack, huh?”
Roma and Della started laughing watching as a cute smile appeared on her meek face and she repeated, “Hi!”
Richard, the director of the episode, came closer to them and Roma was quick to apologise. “I’m sorry, Richard, I’m terribly sorry! I had nobody to be with Reilly and...”
“Roma it’s ok, it’s alright, we’ve already filmed other scenes, so it wasn’t a big problem.” He replied, perfectly aware of the hard times the actress was going through due to the end of her marriage, and not missing the hint of sadness that was visible in her brown eyes; sadness that only vanished when Reilly was in her arms. “You can go to your room and get changed, we’ll wait for you.”
“Hi!” the baby said, for the third time, and it was impossible not to love that cute little face. Richard played with her too and then turned to Della, “Della, I need you to set you position.”
“Ok, see you later, Roma.”
“See you, Della, thank you Richard!” the actress said, and before she could even consider who would take care of the little baby girl while she was filming, John placed his hand on her shoulder reassuringly, “I can stay with her,” he offered, with a warm smile on his face.
Gratefully, and always marvelled at his gentleness, she returned the smile, “Are you sure? I mean, isn’t she going to bother you or...”
“Roma, you must be kidding, right?” the blond actor replied, tickling the little girl’s belly and causing her to smile.
“It’s just that you always end up being her ‘nanny’ whenever I bring her with me...”
“And who in the world wouldn’t like to take care of that little princes?” The more he poked her belly, the more Reilly’s smile grew wider and, enchanted with the way she was so open to him, John went on talking, “Wouldn’t you like to spend some time with your uncle Johnny, my little angel?”
Reilly stretched her chubby arms and the blond actor took her in his arms and kissed her cheek, “Hey baby girl! How about you and I having some fun while your mom gets ready for work?”
“Hi!” she replied, grabbing his face and never stopping from smiling.
“I guess she said ‘yes’!”
“My wee one is rather talkative today!” Roma spoke, handing him the beg with Reilly’s things, “There’s a bottle with milk another one with water and some toys inside. I also...”
“Roma, sweetie, I know, I’ve done this before, remember?”
“Oh yes, I do remember; you did this many times, I must say!” she spoke, with all the gratitude in her heart evident in her eyes. Not missing that, and suddenly feeling like holding her tightly, John reigned himself to hold her hand and squeeze it, “So don’t worry! Go and get dressed cuz this little one and I will have a lot of fun here!”
“Ok, then! Thank you Johnny!” she said, placing a tender kiss on his cheek. With his eyes full of love and fierce protectiveness, he watched as she headed to her dressing room and whispered. “You’re more than welcome, Roma...”
*
John and Reilly stood in a room right next to the studio and he got some sheets of paper and crayons so that the little girl could ‘draw’, and so far she seemed to be doing a good job.
“That’s very beautiful, honey!” he spoke, as she showed him one of the papers with a confusing zigzag of different colours.
“Birdies...” she bounced, causing him to smile. “Yes, I can see them! And there are many!”
With a constant smile, she took another paper and repeated her drawings, now with different colours. When it was finally ready, she showed it to him, “Doggies!”
“Wow! And these are big dogs, aren’t they?”
“Yes!” the baby happily replied. Then, she placed the paper and the crayon on the carpeted floor, where they had been sitting for the last hour, and stood up grinning at him. “Daddy!”
Somewhat taken aback by those words and not managing to hide a smile, he took her tiny hand and kissed it, “No, baby, I’m your uncle Johnny.”
“Daddy!” she repeated, clearly enjoying to watch his reaction. Still smiling, he insisted on correcting her, “No my little princess, I’m your uncle Johnny... Repeat with me: uncle Johnny!”
“Daddy!” she spoke, louder than before and wrapping her chubby little arms around his neck. Defeated by her cheerfulness and with his heart practically melting, he returned that warm embrace and kissed the top of her head; “Oh baby... my little angel... I’m gonna tell you a little secret: I wish I were your daddy, you know... I wish you and your mom were my girls so that I could hold you tight like this everyday!” he sighed, with an inch of sadness in his voice and in his eyes. “It hurts to see her sad... I’d never do this to her... I swear to you, little one, that, if I had one chance, I’d live to make her happy...”
But the sad tone in his voice vanished completely as soon as he saw that meek face grinning at him and he smiled again, “And I’d love to have such a cute little daughter like you, baby!” He said, touching her nose with his. “I love you and your mom very much, you know?”
“Yes!”
“But no one is supposed to know that, it’s a secret ok? Can I trust you?”
Reilly grabbed his handsome face again and kissed his cheek, holding him tightly once again, “Daddy!”
(END OF JOHN’S FLASHBACK)
While many extras waited in the studio to film “The blue angel” John was sitting on his chair, next to the corridor that led to the cast dressing rooms, holding his part of the script, and those sweet memories caused a slight smile to appear on his face. Sighing, he checked his watch and when he looked at his text, the smile vanished and the actor shook his head in disapproval. But, suddenly, a little girl’s voice took him out of his reverie and the smile returned to his handsome face as he saw Reilly running towards him, “Uncle Johnny, do you like my dress?” she asked, turning around so that the could see her in a costume of the forties; which made the six year old girl look like a little doll.
“Like it? You’re kidding me, I love it! You’re very, very beautiful with this outfit, my little princess! The cutest little doll I’ve ever seen!”
Pleased to hear that compliment, she smiled and looked at him, “Thanks, uncle Johnny, your astronaut clothes are cool too!”
“Well, thanks... At least you liked it...” he spoke, now with some irony.
Reilly came closer to him and placed her tiny hands on his ear. “Mommy looks like a doll too!”
“Really?” the expression on his face changed again; now to a happier one.
“Yes! And I asked her if you could go there to see her and she said it was ok! But that’s a secret! I won’t tell anybody that you two are dating!”
Laughing, he held her and kissed her cheek, “Thanks sweetie, I know you’ll keep the secret!”
At that moment, they heard the director’s voice, “Where are the children?”
John took Reilly’s hand and took her to the place where they were filming. Then, before he left, he knelt right beside her and whispered into her ear, “I’ll tell you a little secret too: you’re my favourite actress... along with your mom!” Pleased to see her giggling, he kissed the top of her head, “Now stay here and obey to Richard’s orders, ok?”
“Okay!”
The blond actor left the studio followed the long corridor that led to the dressing rooms. Roma was fully dressed in a costume of the forties, like her daughter’s, and was finishing to straighten her hat when she heard a light knock on the door. “Come in,” she said, and John poked his head inside the room. “Excuse me, Ms Downey, may I come in?”
“You sure can, Mr Dye!” she replied, happy to see her co-worker and secret boyfriend so early. John and Roma had been secretly dating over the last weeks and, despite the rumours in the press about their relationship, no one really suspected that they were having a romance and they decided to keep it in secret at least for a while.
When John entered the room, she let out a small giggle to look at his astronaut suit, and the blond actor walked over up to her shooting her a mock threatening look. “Don’t!”
“Sorry Johnny... but...well... you look quite cute with that...”
“Well... at least you and Reilly like it...” the disappointment and slight dissatisfaction were evident on his face, and Roma was quick to wrap her arms around his neck and kiss his cheek, “Oh no, John, please, cheer up...”
“No, it’s ok, I... I was upset, to tell you the truth, but I remembered something that made me smile again.”
“Oh yes? What is it?”
“You and our little one!” Watching as her smile grew wider, he pulled her closer to him, “And coming here was definitely a great idea... There’s a cute lady here from the forties and I guess I’ll kidnap her and take her to my spaceship!”
Enjoying to hear her giggles, he gently lay a hand against her cheek and contemplated her beautiful face, as he always did when they were together. John bent his head and finally pressed his lips against hers, his hand tenderly stroking her cheek. The Irish actress fell limp in his arms, enjoying the way he held her – as if he was holding something precious, and, secretly she felt like remaining there forever. Only a long minute later did they pull away and John tenderly brushed this thumb against her lips. “You’re so beautiful... I wish I could share a scene with you... Imagine you, Reilly and me together in an episode!”
“Oh... that would be lovely!”
“Yes... But you know what? The best part is to share the scene with you both in real life! a dream that came true!”
Smiling, she was the one to stroke his cheek lovingly. “Yes... And that one is a permanent role!”
“I promise it is!” he touched her nose with his and lay soft kisses on her forehead, on the tip of her nose, and finally on her lips. But that loving caress was suddenly interrupted by a slight knock on the door.
“Roma, are you in there?”
It was Paula, a member of the staff. For a moment, John and Roma froze and stared at each other like two teenagers that had been caught dating in secret – and that wasn’t too far from the truth as nobody knew about their romance. Roma tried not to panic and took a deep breath before answering to that calling. “Yes, Paula?”
“Richard is waiting for you to film the story lady sequence... Are you having trouble with your dress? Do you need some help?”
“N-No! no... it’s ok, Paula... I’m almost ready... tell him I’ll be there in a minute...”
“Ok.”
The couple of actors remained in the most absolute silence until she was gone. Then, they looked at each other and couldn’t hold their laugher. “For a moment, our little secret was discovered...” he said, kissing her forehead.
“It would’ve been difficult to explain that we were revising our lines...”
“Uh yes, as much as Andrew is dying to kiss Monica... I don’t think this is gonna happen... at least not now,” he gently stroked her cheek, “Now go, my angel girl, I’ll be watching you and our little one from behind the cameras.”
“Okay... But... can ‘Monica’ have one more kiss? I promise she won’t tell anybody!”
“Ok... It’ll be one more of the many little secrets around these studio walls!”
The blond actor happily obliged her and a couple of minutes later, Roma came back to the set. “I’m here, I’m sorry I was doing some small adjustments in my dress...”
*
The story lady sequence was soon finished and when the director shouted ‘cut’, the extras who were taking part of the scene left their positions and Reilly was quick to run to her mother’s side. “How did I act, mommy?”
“You were wonderful, sweetheart!” Roma said, now placing her daughter in her lap and kissing her cheek.
“Really?” Reilly’s hazel eyes were shining with contentment.
“Yes! Absolutely wonderful!”
only then, John came closer to his ‘two favourite actresses’ and tenderly stroked Reilly’s meek face. “Hey little angel!”
“Oh uncle Johnny, did you see me?”
“Of course I saw you; I wouldn’t miss your debut for anything! You were adorable, baby!”
“Did I do it right?”
“Yes, little angel! You were just great!” he spoke, taking her tiny hand in his own and kissing it, while Roma watched him with tender eyes. And seeing the trio together, with such happy faces, Richard, the director, seemed to have an idea.
“You know something? You guys look really great together!” he said, coming closer to them. Not wanting to rise any suspicions but yet pleased to hear that, Roma smiled at him, “Thanks, Richard!”
“No need to thank, that’s the truth! In fact, I’ve just had an idea...”
“An idea?” John spoke, with curious eyes.
“I’ll film you three together in the same scene!”
“But... how? It’s not in the script...”
“Yes, but one day this show will be released in DVD and we’ll need extra scenes, won’t we?”
John and Roma were so happy to hear that that they couldn’t help looking at each other with tenderness and a broad smile on their faces. And, for a split second, Richard was under the impression that there was something else going on between the couple of actors. Shaking his head, thinking that he was imagining things, he turned to the crew and announced that, later, they would shoot an extra scene.
Gazing at Roma with all his love evident on his face, John whispered the words ‘I love you’ to her, and smiled when she whispered ‘I love you too’ back to him.
The end
PS. The extra scene filmed is in the fixed episode “The blue angel”