It was suddenly all hands on deck. Two weeks after we made our offer, we were the prospective owners. That meant we had two months to think it over. Deep down, we already knew we wanted it.

  The old neighbors were lovely people. They owned three houses but really only used one. When Lucas jokingly asked whether he could shoot his pilot in one of the others, they didn’t mind at all. The only thing they asked for was a thank-you credit and maybe a small part as extras.

  They showed us their second house. It stood in my old village. It had belonged to our neighbor’s mother. Everything was still there. It was a spacious villa — six bedrooms, a dining room, a kitchen you could get lost in, a large attic still full of old things, four bathrooms, and a big living room with a conservatory that opened onto a large balcony, which led down by stairs into the garden.

  It was the perfect home for a wealthy family.

  “You can use the whole house. All personal belongings have been removed,” our old neighbor said.

  “Yes, Stanza was a sweetheart, but she had quite the collection of things,” he added.

  Claire, our old neighbor, turned out to be the daughter of Constanza. I had known her nearly all my life. She had always been the odd one out in the area.

  She wasn’t religious which, of course, was unthinkable here but she came from immensely wealthy families. Her maternal grandfather owned a chocolate company, and her paternal grandfather was a major theater producer. People in the village used to say Andrew loyd Webber himself had wanted lessons from that man.

  Constanza herself – or *Stanza*, as family and neighborhood kids called her – had only one child after a bad marriage: Claire, our old neighbor. She hated that, because she loved children. The kids from the village and beyond were always welcome. She threw the best parties.

  Because of my strict upbringing, I was never allowed to go. But she often gave me treats for my lunch when I walked to school. She even remembered my birthday, so every year I got a little present. That’s why I found it difficult that we’d be filming our pilot episode in her house. It felt like a sacred place.

  Claire brushed my objection aside. “She would have loved this — life in her house again,” she said. “It’s been empty since Mother passed. She’d probably mind *that* more.

  ‘Claire, this house is only happy when laughter echoes from the cellar to the attic!’” she said, doing a playful imitation of her mother. “And yes, Sophia Johansdochter, I’m sure of it.”

  I hadn’t been called that in years. First, I was “Sister Sophia” for two years. Then, after marrying Lucas, I became “Sophia De Witte” almost three years ago now.

  “De Witte these days,” I said.

  “Oh, I know. Your mother hates it,” Claire said.

  “Do you come here often?” I asked.

  “Twice a year, maybe. But well, the gossip circuit here… You only need a day to catch up on everything. For instance, I know your little sister Adeline is being shunned,” she said.

  “Why’s that?” I asked, a bit worried. I had turned my back on that side of the family except for my half-brother Peter but Lientje was different. She had never done anything to me.

  “Oh, you know how it goes, Sophia. She’s... different. The Catholics here find her ‘too radical,’” she said, with a lofty tone. “She’s a bit like that devil’s child — that… that…” She cupped a hand around her mouth and mock-whispered, “...that Sophia.” She said it with an overdone air of disapproval.

  “No, Claire, your mother was eccentric, but she never harmed anyone. That Sophia? Oh, I swear, Esther from down the road claims she saw her *naked* flying! on a broomstick!”

  I couldn’t help but laugh.

  “And now your Adeline! Imagine… she wants to — oh no, it’s too terrible… Fine, since you insist — she wants to go to *school*! Just like that sister of hers. The scandal!”

  “Yeah, imagine that — a child who learns and can take care of herself,” Lucas shouted.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  He never cared for my strict upbringing. By now, neither did I. I still believed, but not nearly as rigidly.

  Lucas let me be free. in faith as in everything else it was wonderful.

  “The whole village knows about you two,” Claire said.

  “One of the reasons I brought her to mine,” Lucas replied.

  “Quite right, too. Mother always said you saved her just in time. First from that family that tried to stifle her sparkle, then from that convent…”

  We talked for hours about me, about how the village saw me, and about our plans for the series Lucas hoped to sell.

  I nodded. “My father thought what we have would fade away eventually.”

  Claire laughed. “Clearly not. He can’t take his eyes off you.”

  I looked at Lucas, who blushed.

  At the end of the day, we had a deal the house, for almost half the price. We could film the pilot whenever we wanted, and if we sold it, we just had to let them know. Then, as long as it was possible, we could shoot the entire series in Stanza’s house as long as we promised to stay friends.

  It took us another three months to plan it all. Asking people to join, finding camera crew, assistants, coordinating schedules. After three months, it finally came together, even if it meant less time for each other.

  During that period, I had gotten into the habit of secretly checking every month if I was pregnant but I never was.

  On the first day of filming, we had a colorful group gathered.

  Some children from my old primary school class wanted to play the two older kids. Alexander would play the youngest. According to Jonas, he didn’t need to *act* he *was* the role.

  He did struggle with being called Jannik. It took a few hours of explaining from Joyce and me before he finally accepted it. Victor, one of the school boys who found theater exciting, played the oldest. He was ten but didn’t mind pretending to be nine. Cara would be played by Emma, a six-year-old girl who wanted to act but only on TV, not on stage.

  The day before we filmed, we had a meet-and-greet and a final script reading. It was a beautifully warm summer day, so we sat in our garden.

  It was a lively group, with our family at its heart. Lucas introduced himself first, then the team behind him — like Niels, who would look after the children.

  “I’m Sophia De Witte, and I play Hannah,” I introduced myself.

  “Jonas De Witte — I’m James, the housekeeper.”

  The little girl playing Cara raised her hand. “Are you two a couple?” she asked. Jonas looked at me as if he had tasted something sour.

  “No,” he said. “Sophia’s married to my brother. Joyce here is my wife.”

  Joyce introduced herself and said she played Linda.

  “Hi, I’m Sam,” our good friend began.

  “Also De Witte?” the girl asked.

  “No, De Bakker. I play Jan Klein,” he explained. “And what’s your name?” he asked the girl.

  “My name’s Emma De Grote, and I play Cara.”

  Sam nodded.

  “I’m Victor Schroef. I play Mick.”

  Joyce knelt beside Alexander. “And you? What’s your name again?”

  “Alex!” he shouted.

  “Very good. This is Alex De Witte, my son, and he’ll play Jannik.” Alex nodded enthusiastically.

  “Well, I guess we all know each other now,” said Lucas. “Let’s start reading.”

  Emma raised her hand. “But how can Alex read, sir?” she asked.

  “Call me Lucas. And to answer your question, he can’t — we’ll help him learn his role differently.”

  Emma nodded solemnly.

  We read the entire script aloud together for nearly three hours. The next day, it was time to try it on camera. Lucas wanted to keep it relaxed, especially for the kids. He told them they could improvise if they wanted — he’d make it work in the edit.

  It took us two weeks to get the pilot filmed. That was mostly because of Alexander — he wasn’t allowed more than half an hour a day on camera.

  Lucas had asked a few friends to do the editing, which gave us some time together. I was lying on the couch in his arms. He gently massaged my temple.

  “If the series gets picked up, we’ll have months like this, you know,” he said.

  “We’ll just have to manage it better, plan our days. It’ll be fine. We just have to make time for each other,” I said.

  He kissed my temple and nodded. “You’re right. As long as we make time for us, we’ll stay strong.”

  I nodded. “And we’ll have breaks between filming. I’ve already talked to Teddy — I’ll teach when we’re not shooting, and you can always come along,” I said.

  “Teddy’s too good for this world,” he said. “Maybe he’ll try to steal you from me.”

  “Then you’ll have to hold on to me,” I teased.

  “Maybe I should start right now,” he said in a low, playful tone and kissed me.

  “Go ahead then,” I whispered, giggling as he lifted me in his arms.

  For a while, the world outside ceased to exist. This was our moment. No deadlines, no disappointment over another negative test. Just loving each other. all the rest, the worries and cares were for tomorrow and days behind that and those could wait.