A pic and a hat

By Gaby

Roma was seated on a couch so totally concentrated on her script that she never heard John’s muffled steps behind her, nor she saw Doris Robert smiling. Doris was working with them that week, playing the role of Rose in The bells of St. Peter’s, and she had seen John coming towards Roma with something hidden on his back and with a finger over his lips to ask her to keep silence. Carefully he pulled out a big violet hat full of paper flowers that looked almost ridiculous, and slowly he placed it over Roma’s head. He dropped the hat and ran away a little, just enough for her not to reach him and for him to take out his cell phone and take a picture of her with the hat.

"Hey!" she shouted at feeling the hat over her head and stood up immediately, giving him the perfect chance to get his pic. "You!!" she said threateningly. "Come here!"

John showed her the phone and smiled Then he ran away with her chasing him. Doris chuckled at seeing them playing like that, the hat on the floor now, Roma running behind John not caring about the high heel shoes. "Aren’t they cute?" Doris asked Della Reese, when the older "angel" went to take a seat beside her.

"Yes!" Della chuckled," and you’ve only seen them for three days!"

"Are you sure they aren’t dating, Della?" Doris asked. "By the way they act, one could think they are really in love..."

"I know, Doris..." the dark skinned actress replied but didn’t say more. Truth was that Roma and John were in fact dating, but it was a secret that none but their closest friends knew.

Meanwhile, Roma had chased John through all the set and until his room, passing by a surprised Valerie and some amused technicians. She closed the door behind her and finally cornered her boyfriend against a wall. "Give me that phone!" she ordered him catching her breath after the running. "You’re not letting anyone see me with that hat!"

"No, it’s mine!" he said, his arm up keeping the phone away from her. He felt his heart full of joy at the expression on her face, her cheeks pink for the effort and her eyes bright with joy. "Tell you what. I’ll trade the picture with you."

"What?!" she said wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Give me something I want and I’ll delete the pic," he said holding her by the waist too.

"That’s blackmailing!" she shouted surprised. "Dirty trick!"

"I can imagine everyone’s laughter!"

She looked at him suspiciously. "And what’s what you want, huh?"

"A kiss..." he replied pretending innocence.

"Delete it now..." she murmured leaning over to kiss him.

John responded to her kiss and lowered his arm, but a sudden idea came to her mind, so he outstretched his arm again and shoot: he took a picture of them middle kiss.

"John!" Roma shouted when she heard the click and punched him playfully on the stomach.

"Ouch! Hey, what do you want? I need a remainder for the times I can’t kiss you!" he argued.

"You’re resourceful, Mr. Dye!" she said amused, "and impossible!"

"And that’s why you love me!" he replied smartly pulling her for another kiss.

"John, you have five minutes! We start the scene with Monica and Rose!" one of the assistants shouted after knocking at his door.

The blond actor groaned still kissing Roma. "Ok, I’m going!"

"Oh, and do you know where Roma is? She’s not at her room".

Roma buried her face in his chest to muffle her laughter. "I don’t know," John answered hardly controlling himself too. "Maybe she went to her car."

"Ok, I’ll go check..." the assistant said walking away.

Five minutes later Roma joined Doris and John as if nothing had happened... though she was smiling and avoiding to look at him directly.

"You two are hiding something..." Doris said purposefully. "I’m old but I’m not blind. In fact I think I’m seeing something the others are missing..."

John and Roma looked at each other but the director’s voice saved them. "Ok, last rehearsal," he said. "Doris, let’s go to the part where you ask Monica id she knows Andrew... John, Roma, take your places, please."

"Oh, Monica, do you know him? ‘Cause I think he said he was an angel..."

"Andrew is an angel, Rose. An angel of death... And I am an angel too," Roma repeated her lines.

"And that’s why this is a match made in Heaven!" Doris exclaimed.

"Doris, that’s not on the script!" the director shouted.

"I know, honey, but it’s in the air..." she replied looking at Roma blushing. "And we don’t need more rehearsals! What we need is to finish this and give some people here some free time, so go on, let’s film this!"

Later in the afternoon, Roma went to her room to get changed and go home. She smiled when she saw a single red rose over her dressing table and an envelope at its side. She opened it and took out a picture: she and John kissing. She turned it and read the note on the back: "This is the remainder I needed though the original is a thousand times better, and I can’t wait to have it in my arms again... BTW, Doris, Della, Valerie and the guys at the staff had a good time with the other!"

"Oh, no!" she murmured and dig on the envelope to find the other picture. the enormous hat covering her head and she grabbing it as if the wind was going to take it out, her mouth and her eyes wide open. She couldn’t help but laughing at her own face. "He’s gonna get it!" she said aloud but then looked at the other picture and at the rose again. "Yeah... probably a thousand kisses," she murmured and took her purse and her jacket to get out and go meet him in her house.