Page 20 of No Pucks Given
I read the script until things were all reset for a new take. Knowing Stephanie would be okay until I was done, I focused a little bit better, and my lines were coming to me again.
But the moment Stephanie arrived on the set, I finally did work that I was proud of. Stephanie wasn’t too pleased to be sitting next to Duke doing her homework instead of hanging out in my trailer or visiting with some of her friends on set.
I had just finished the most intense take of today’s filming when Duke came up to me. “Carter Carmichael is at the gate, saying he’s here to pick you up today. Should we let him in?”
I nodded. I hated that they didn’t let him in since I had added him to my list this morning, but they must have upped their security checks instead of just waving him through.
If Mo, the director, hadn’t been giving me the stink eye, I would have questioned why they didn’t just let Carter onto the lot. I could understand not letting him onto the set, but he was on my list. Maybe they were just being extra careful.
“Come on. We need to get this done. Let’s start the next scene,” Mo shouted from his director’s chair.
I got up, went back to the hospital set, and took my position on the bed.
“We need another couple of minutes to move the lights. We’re almost done,” one of the lighting guys shouted, which only caused Mo to groan. But at least it wasn’t me delaying things.
After so many bad scenes earlier in the day, my script was now inside the hospital nightstand next to me. So I reached into the drawer to look over my lines to see what I had to do for this next scene. Thankfully, this was the scene where I had to just lie there and do nothing. Too bad we didn’t do this sooner.
Chapter 20
Carter
The set ofShady Oakswas massive. There really was a village.
A part of me would have loved to explore the town and see what doors actually opened up and how the sets were really constructed. But since I was being escorted by security to the set, there was no way to explore.
At least Shiv was absolutely safe when she was at work. I was glad they were escorting people around the set and didn’t just wave them through when their name was on the list.
They dropped me off at the video village, and I could watch Siobhan on the many screens. Stephanie came up to me. She opened up her arms to hug me, but then stopped. Instead, she tilted her head as she appraised me. “You’re not as clean as earlier.”
I smiled at the little girl who looked so much like her mom but didn’t have any of her mom’s curated politeness.
She wasn’t wrong with her assessment. I was definitely a little smellier than I would have liked. But I spent the whole afternoon getting their house back into top shape. At least we hadn’t been painting the house, so I didn’t have splotches all over my shirt.
“True, but your house is all cleaned up again," I told her.
That brought out a huge, toothy smile that made me beam. I liked knowing she was impressed.
The car ride back to my place didn’t go over well.
Despite being excited about the prospect this morning, Stephanie was now pissed about the idea of staying at my place since her home had been cleaned off.
This was where I disagreed with her mom. Siobhan decided we shouldn’t say anything about the additional package on the doorstep, so we played it off as if nothing had happened. But it was much harder to explain to a kid why we couldn’t go back to her home.
As Stephanie kept saying, “If it was nothing, then why can’t I sleep in my own bed?” and there was no real way to argue her point.
Siobhan turned around in the front seat and glared at her kid. “Because I said so."
At the end of the day, Stephanie wasn’t my kid. I didn’t get a say on the best ways to parent her. Instead, I just had to support Siobhan.
When we got to my house, I made sure to turn on the security alarm.
“Show me my bedroom,” Stephanie demanded, which only made her mother blanch. I found it oddly amusing. I wanted to wrap Siobhan in my arms and tell her not to worry. It was good that Stephanie was so brash and willing to say what she wanted.
“All right. A couple of things before we get there. I got you a few things to make you feel more at home. I didn’t know what bedspread you might like, so choose one of them, and we’ll make the bed for you.”
We went up the stairs. Her door was just off to the left and already open. I flicked on the overhead light. Stephanie immediately brushed past the different bedding and went straight for the Squishmellows. Her whole face lit up as she squeezed the narwhal. “This is so cool. Can I keep him?”
I chuckled at her unbridled happiness. It was so pure and innocent. “Yes, you can take all of them home or leave them here. Plus, look at the nightstand.”
