CHARADES

(by Deyse)

The van transporting the cast of Touched by an angel parked in front of the hotel in California, where they would film the episode Charades. The show was on its 4^th season and that would be one of the rare occasions it was filmed outside Utah.

A tall, blond actor got out of the vehicle and immediately reached out to take a cute baby girl from her mother’s arms so that she could leave the van.

"Here we are, little one! Did you like the trip? I bet you did!" John spoke, smiling as the 2-year-old baby girl grinned at him. Then, he offered his hand to his colleague and she too got out of the vehicle. Roma was smiling at him, just like her daughter, and, for a few hours, he was happy to have their company just for him. Della wouldn’t be in the scene they were filming, nor Martha would be there to watch it. The only people of the cast would be the two of them, playing the roles of Monica and Andrew, the others were all from the crew.

And in times like these John used to thank God for joining that show. Roma was the love of his life, that was the truth. The way she talked, her smile, her face, her kindness and everything else about her caused his heart to feel something wonderful, which he had never experienced before. The only sadness in his life was to think that she was going through difficult times with the end of her marriage.

Lately, she had been sad and, once, he was under the impression that she had been crying. He wanted to ask her what was happening, he wanted to hold her tight and tell her he wouldn’t let her cry again. Had he met her before, he would be the one marrying her – and that would be forever. But John had decided that, at least for the whole day, he would be the one taking care of his two favourite girls, as if they were a real family. Besides, right now, he wanted to make his beloved friend forget about what was causing her sorrow.

"Yes, here we are. I thought the ride would be long, but with you both in the van, time seemed to fly, right Julie?" she said, smiling at him and making his heart melt for the hundredth time.

"Oh yes, definitely, Ms Downey!" the young nanny replied, enjoying to see how well Roma felt whenever she was with John.

"Ah, so we’re quite a duet, right, my little princess?"

They laughed as the little girl looked at them both and shot, "I love you!"

"Oh baby, we love you too, right Johnny?" the Irish actress said, tickling her daughter’s belly and causing her to giggle.

"Of course we do, she’s our precious little angel!" he kissed Reilly’s cheek and handed her to her mother. As Roma caught the girl in her arms, Reilly turned to John and spoke once again, "Daddy!"

Still smiling, the couple of actors looked at each other; since Reilly had started to talk, she used to make curious observations about the world around her. This time, it wasn’t different: although John had already heard her calling him daddy (and had insisted that she shouldn’t say that, although he himself loved hearing it), it was the first time Roma heard it. And the blond actor feared her reaction.

"Oh baby, he is your uncle Johnny..."

"Daddy!" the girl insisted, smiling broadly at him – as if finding his slight embarrassment really funny.

"I... I guess she... she can’t say ‘uncle Johnny’ yet, you know... it’s a bit difficult for her..." he spoke.

"Yes... I guess you may be right..." the Irish actress said, looking at her daughter with a smiling but pensive expression on her face. And then, she too surprised him with what she said later, "But I don’t blame her, ya know. You’re practically a daddy to her!"

The way she had said that and the smile she gave him caused his heart to skip a bit. "Well... who wouldn’t love to have a cute little baby like this one, huh?" he stroked Reilly’s cheek, "And... in a way... you’re both like my family too, Roma."

"I know, Johnny. So are you to us."

The two exchanged a loving glance that lasted for a few seconds, when the bellboy came from inside the hotel to take their small luggage. Roma saw in him a kind, compassionate friend; someone she never wanted to be away from her and her daughter. She was facing a lot of problems with the end of her marriage and the only times she seemed to be entirely happy again were exactly when she was with her little daughter and with her two dearest friends, John and Della. And secretly (and maybe even unconsciously), the actress was glad she would spend the day with him.

*

Once they were settled, John, Roma and the crew headed to the filming locations to shoot a scene where Monica and Andrew would be sitting on the top of the Hollywood letters. Julie stood with the baby at the hotel in this meantime.

Right before they started filming, the director decided to make a little rehearsal with the actors, such as their position, lines and the scene in which Andrew would put sunscreen on Monica’s nose. "... you’ll say your lines and then you’ll put the sunscreen on her nose with your right arm, John..."

"Alright..." the actor replied, looking at Roma and winking at her. "Andrew is very considerate about his angel girl; he doesn’t want her cute nose to get burned!" there was a hint of irony in his voice, which the Irish actress didn’t miss.

"Well, I agree that Andrew is a very considerate angel and cares about his friend!" she replied, matter-of-factly and also with a beautiful smile.

"Sure!!! About his friend!" John was even more ironic when he said that, emphasising the last word, which caused Roma and the director to laugh.

"You are hopeless!" the actress spoke, playfully punching his arm.

"Hey! Did I say anything wrong?" he protested, secretly enjoying that.

Both actors took their positions and the first shooting started. After they said their lines, John, now performing Andrew, put the sunscreen lotion on Roma’s nose. But as he spread a great amount of it, her nose was soon covered with white cream and they couldn’t keep a serious face.

"... Johnny!" the actress started giggling.

"Sorry!" he spoke.

And they heard the director say ‘cut’. "Okay, let’s try once again!"

"Wait a minute, Victor..." John spoke. He was trying to wipe away the lotion from her nose but only managed to spread it even more all over the place.

They shot the same scene many other times and John soon realised that it was one of the best scenes they had shared together – Roma was so close to him, smiling at him and he was even glad for wearing sunglasses so that it would disguise the look in his eyes and all the love he felt for her, as well as allow him to commit to memory each trace of her meek features. For many times on that morning, he touched her nose and, in a way, caressed her soft skin.

If only he had the chance to tell her about his love, if only he could hold her in his arms and kiss her...

"I guess your cute nose won’t need any protection for weeks, honey!" John spoke, now playfully touching her nose.

"Yes, and thanks to you!" she replied, accusingly, but smiling at the same time.

They still filmed some more scenes and time seemed to fly on that day and, at about 1 PM, they were granted a break for lunch. Roma changed her clothes in her trailer and then headed to the van when John came towards her, "Hey, we’re going to a restaurant near the hotel, don’t you wanna join us?" he asked, hoping that she would accept her invitation.

But, as much as she wanted to go, the actress shook her head, "I’m sorry, Johnny, but I need to go back to the hotel, you know. I need to check on Reilly..." That was a fair excuse. "I’ll eat something at the hotel room..."

He wished he could make her some company but, at the same time, he didn’t want to be an intruder. "Oh, yes, sure, you can go with us then. We’ll leave you at the hotel."

"Yes, that’ll be lovely."

The van stopped at the entrance of the hotel and Roma headed to her room, where an excited little girl had been waiting for her.

*

A few hours later, when the Irish actress and Julie were playing with Reilly, there was a knock on the door and Roma went to see who it was.

"Hey sweetie!" John greeted, with the usual smile on his handsome face.

"Oh my! I’m late, right? I didn’t realise it was time to ..."

"No, you’re not late, Mrs Downey! I have good news for you: Victor said the scenes were perfect and that he won’t shoot anymore. He gave us the rest of the day off!"

"Really?"

"Daddy!"

A little girl’s voice interrupted the conversation and Reilly ran towards John with her little arms wide open, "Hey sweetie!" he took her in his arms and raised her high, making her yell with excitement.

"Come in, Johnny, please!" Roma invited, as he now was ticking Reilly’s belly. "I’m sorry it’s a bit messy!" she apologised as the girl’s toys were spread everywhere on the floor.

"Oh, that’s okay, no problem..." he turned to the little girl and smiled mischievously, "So you mom and Julie made such a mess in the room, right? Shame on them!"

As Reilly giggled at his words, the blond actor received a punch on his arm, while Julie secretly laughed at the wonderful relationship he and Roma had.

"Ouch!!!" he had a totally mock painful face, "You see, little angel? The truth hurts! Literally!" he spoke, as Reilly continued to grin at him with her chubby little arms wrapped around his neck. Then, he showed her the package he was carrying with him, "But as I know you’re a well behaved little angel, I bought you something..."

The girl took the package and examined it with curious eyes.

"Johnny, you didn’t have to..."

"Of course I did! I’m sure that she’ll like it..." he placed the little girl on the floor and he and Roma helped her to unwrap the paper around it.

"The Jungle Book!" Roma exclaimed, as excited as her daughter. "I used to love that book when I was a child!"

"Really? Me too!" John was happy to have one more thing in common with her, "I found this special edition for very young children. You see, the pictures and the letters are big and colourful and she could even start to learn the alphabet with these..."

"Oh Johnny, thank you so much..." the grateful look in her eyes was like a prize for him. "Aren’t you gonna thank him, sweetie?"

Reilly examined the colourful pages with interest and shot him a cute smile, "Thanks, daddy!"

"You’re more than welcome, my little angel!" he said, kissing her cheek. Then he turned to Roma again, "Wanna go out for an ice cream?"

"Oh, I’d love to, Johnny, but..."

"Of course our little one and Julie are also invited!"

"Ice cweam..." little Reilly repeated, paying attention to the conversation as well as to the book.

"Okay then, you both won!" her mother agreed, smiling broadly.

*

Roma gave Julie the rest of the day off, as the young nanny had so kindly accepted to do that little trip even having a slight flu. And Julie felt grateful for two reasons: besides her indisposition, she didn’t want to be an intruder. Personally and secretly, she liked to see the blond actor and Roma together and thought that he was the right man for her, not David.

While she remained at the hotel, John and his ‘two favourite girls’ went to a small restaurant where they had a milk shake, and then they went to the beach to admire the beautiful afternoon scenery. The sun was setting behind the ocean and the sky was turning from blue to orange. Strolling along the sand, with their shoes off, the trio looked like a happy family.

"I never thought she would have so much fun because of this shooting!" Roma said, giggling when Reilly run ahead of them unsuccessfully trying to grab a seagull perched on the sand.

"Yeah, she’s having a great time today!" John was carrying the book he had given her, as Reilly had insisted on taking it with her, and was twice happy to see that Roma was smiling – making his beloved friend (and secret love) happy was like a priority in his life now and he wouldn’t give up on this for anything in the world.

"And it’s thanks to you!"

"Nah!"

"Yes, mister! I wish I could do it more often!"

"Anytime you need me, I’m here, sweetie. And you know I mean it, right? Anytime!"

"I do, Johnny... I couldn’t even begin to thank you enough!" she held his hand for a moment, as they kept on walking, and he grabbed it tightly, "I don’t want you to thank me. All I want is to see this broad smile on your face!" he kissed the back of her hand and kept on talking, "Besides, you’re both a lot of fun!"

Smiling, they walked for a little more time and then sat down on the sand to observe the ocean. Reilly came to join them and soon started to exam the Jungle book again so John placed her on his lap and patiently showed her picture by picture, "This is Mowgli, the little boy who lives in the jungle..."

"Mowgli..." she repeated, paying attention to the picture.

"Yes, that’s it. And this is Baloo..."

"Baloo..."

"Baloo is Mowgli’s Papa Bear!"

Now John showed her a picture of Baloo, the big bear, raising the little boy in his arms and making him laugh with excitement.

"Papa Bear..." Reilly repeated, in a low voice, as if reflecting about the image on the book.

"Yes, he’s his Papa Bear!"

"Papa Bear..." she said, one more time. Roma stood in the most absolute silence, as if admiring the kind and gentle friend she had at her side. John was truly a gentleman and had a beautiful loving soul. The way he treated all his co-workers and everybody else around him, such as the fans, was the greatest evidence of his good character. And the way he had with children – with all children, not only with her daughter, just fascinated her.

"Papa Bear!" Reilly spoke, for the third time, but now with a loud voice and grinning at John with sparkling hazel eyes, "Papa Bear!"

John and Roma exchanged a surprised look and smiled, "Is she calling you ‘Papa Bear’?"

"Well, I guess yes!"

"Papa Bear!" the little girl soon noticed that they were have fun with those two magical words, which, once pronounced, caused her mommy and her ‘daddy’ to be so happy.

(End of John’s flashback)

Smiling, the blond actor looked at the Jungle book left on the sofa of Roma and Reilly’s suite at the same hotel, in California, 4 years later, with all those happy memories came back to his mind. The cast of Touched by an angel was visiting the state to make some special appearances on some tv shows and on a charity event and he was suddenly grateful that present was even better than he could have ever imagined.

Suddenly, a little girl’s voice took him out of his reverie, "Mommy is almost ready, uncle Johnny!"

Reilly came out of Roma’s bedroom wearing a cute flowered dress and pretty white sandals. Her curly hair was tied up in a ponytail and she had a beautiful and anxious smile upon her face.

"She’s getting pretty just because of you!" the 6-year-old girl informed, sitting right next to him.

"Oh really?"

"Yes! But... she’s pretty already, why does she have to put lipstick and comb her hair that much?"

"Well, I couldn’t agree more, little angel. Your mom is very, very, very beautiful and of course she doesn’t need anything to make her that beautiful!"

Roma came out of the room at that moment and John stood up just to gaze at her: she was wearing casual clothes, blue jeans and a white T-shirt, but for him, it was as if she was dressed like a princess. He also noticed that the earrings and necklace she had with her were his presents. As they didn’t have anything scheduled for that afternoon, John had invited mother and daughter to go for some ice cream and take a walk on the beach.

"Uncle Johnny said you’re very, very, very beautiful, mommy!" Reilly informed, eyeing carefully the two adults with a mischievous smile.

"Oh, really? He said that, huh?" Roma shot him a secret loving glance which he returned with the same intensity, "Well, I’m not the only one, you’re quite a cute lady, isn’t she, Johnny?"

"Of course she is, you’re both two princesses!" he said, chuckling at the way Roma’s eyes grew wide as a warning sign and at the pleased smile on the girl’s face. "Shall we go?" he said, offering his hands to both of them.

*

"It seems that someone finally got tired of chasing the poor seagulls..." John spoke, sitting right next to Roma. They were on the beach now, watching the sunset away from the other people (which were very few now) and Reilly was sound asleep on the towel they had bought on the way back from the restaurant.

"Yeah, not to mention that it’ll take like 3 days to wipe away all the icecream on that once pretty dress!" her mother added, stroking the little girl’s hair.

"Yeah, but she had a lot of fun!"

"She always have a lot of fun when she’s with you, silly!"

"Oh really? Okay, believe that... And... what about her mom?"

"Hum... Well, her mom thinks that, now that this cute little angel is sound asleep and that there are very few people on the beach... she can tell you what she’s been really thinking since from the moment she got here..."

"And what would it be, angel?" John had his arm wrapped around her shoulder but now he tightened his hold on her a little bit more, making her feel butterflies in her stomach, which was becoming quite frequent lately. Roma turned to face him – her own face just a few inches from his. Then, she inched closer and whispered into his ear, "I love you..."

Grinning from ear to ear, John reached up and caressed her cheek with tenderness and the most complete love for her, committing to memory every little detail of her meek face.

"Then, I guess I can show you what I’ve been really wanting to do since from the moment I came to your life..."

Then, his eyes searched for her lips and it took him only a second to bend his head and kiss her mouth, in a long, loving kiss, full of affection and devotion. He entangled his fingers through her hair and pressed his mouth more firmly against hers as she wrapped her arms around his neck; both feeling their hearts beating in the same accelerated beat.

"... and I’ll keep on doing this for the rest of your life, honey..." the blond actor whispered, a long minute later, while delivering tiny kisses on her forehead and on the tip of her nose.

"... then I’ll keep saying ‘I love you’ for the rest of your life, mister..."

They exchanged another sweet kiss and didn’t even noticed that Reilly stirred in her sleep and opened her hazel eyes. But, as soon as she saw the two adults, the little girl put her hands on her mouth, holding a giggle, and turned to the other side, happy to see that cute scene – which she had been dreaming of for a long time.

The end