Once a Stranger

Chapter 3: Earlier

Pov y/n

I hum to myself as I make my way out of the subway station. Since it's 1 pm on a Thursday, there aren't many people on the streets, most of them still have to work.

On the other side of the street, there's a park entrance through which I can see children play on a playground. The sight makes me smile. I like seeing children being happy and free.

I turn a corner and already see the barricades they put up around the film set. They're around two meters high and block the view of what's happening behind them. Usually, they don't put up barricades this tall but there were too many people disrupting the filming process. I walk up to the gate in the barricades and am faced with a tall, muscular man. His arms are crossed in front of his chest and his eyes hidden behind sunglasses.

"There's no passing." He tells me sternly. I open my bag and see his muscles twitch, so I slow down my movements and pull out my wallet.

"You can't bribe me." He says and clenches his jaw.

The urge to roll my eyes is big but he's just doing his job, so I ignore it. I pull out a card and hold it up to him. He studies it and looks between the little picture on it and me.

"Alright." He says and steps aside. I put the card away again and walk past him.

When Scarlett started shooting this movie, she gave me a card that allows me to get onto set. So far, I only went to the set in her company, so I didn't need it but it's good to know it works.

There are a lot of people running around, carrying props, make-up and cameras. They don't really acknowledge me and carry on with their jobs. I guess there are too many people around here to notice when there's someone who doesn't belong.

Following a guy who carries a camera turns out to be the right decision because he leads me to where the action is happening. Or well, supposed to happen. A lot of cameras are already set up and people in costumes are standing around, playing on their phones.
My eyes wander over the crowd but I can't find my fiancée. I do find a tent though, with stairs in front of it, facing towards where the cameras are set up. There are different names on the back of the chairs and all of them are empty, except for one.

On the one that reads 'Scarlett Johansson', is a girl sitting, watching what's happening around her while swinging her legs a little. I smile and approach her. If I was mean, I could scare her now but I'm not.
Instead, I walk around the chairs and the second her eyes detect me, she smiles widely.

"Mama!" Rose exclaims and as soon as I'm close enough, she stands up on the small wooden bar between the legs of the chair and jumps into my arms.

I catch her, with a silent 'uff' because of the impact, and spin her around, making her giggle. Then I set her down on the chair again.

"Hey, little dolphin." I greet her with a smile.

"I thought you were in Atlantic City?" She asks and tilts her head in confusion.

"I was until this morning, but we finished earlier, so I decided to surprise you." I tell her and bop her nose, making her smile widely.

"Did you find out more about the dolphins?" She asks with big eyes.

When I told Rose I have to go to Atlantic City to do research on dolphins, she begged me to take her with me. She was really excited and wanted to learn more about dolphins as well but I had to tell her that it's not possible.
Apart from the fact that my company only pays for my room and ticket, which isn't the main problem because Scarlett would easily pay Rose's costs, it wouldn't have been interesting for Rose.