The Interview

For some time now I have an idea for a fiction in mind and since I thought of it to be in English it suits this week perfectly.

So here is a tiny fraction (just dialogue) of it in which a journalist is interviewing an actor about his relationship with a fameless, ordinary girl.

The relationship has been undetected by the public for quite some time.

Eventually the actor's fanbase happened to find out about it. While some of them were very supportive, there were others who freaked out on the matter and went offensive. The girl in question is now facing a wave of anger, incapable of dealing with it and without the slightest chance of stopping it.

Seeing his love suffer and in the desperate need of putting an end to this outrage, the mentioned actor is doing something he never did before, in fact something he always avoided: Talking about his private life.

In hope of calming the situation by presenting his partner in the proper light, he talks to a female TV presenter in a nationwide breakfast television show.

"How we met? Wow, that's kind of a long story. I'll try to keep it short.

Ahm...well, we met at work, so to speak. She was one of the Maidens on set..."

"Oh, Maidens? I've already heard this term. Lots of the actors are talking about those so-called maidens, but I couldn't figure out what exactly they are, yet."

"Well, that is not easy to explain. Let's put it this way: The Maidens were a bunch of ladies who happened to do everything around the household, you could say. They organised our rooms, they took care of our clothings, they saw to our health and took really good care of us.

Their service was 24 hours and they had a kind of 'night office' to make sure that you could have what ever you needed, by any time. So for example when we came home from location and it was already too late to get supper in the dining hall, you could call them and ask for a dish. They had a great store room so they could make sure you would have what ever you had appetite on. Since their office, which was like a big container including a kitchen, was only a few meters away from our quarters they would bring it like a room service. But actually we started very soon to just walk down to them. There was a big table and a little counter with two bar stools. So we went in there, took a seat and our food would be accompanied by a nice conversation. Those kind of late night meals somehow became daily routine very quickly. As for me, I can say I caught myself countless times, skipping dinner at the hall on purpose. I mean the catering was great but having a home-cooked meal together felt more familiar and relaxed."

"So Maidens are cleaners and cooks?"

"Well, no, not really. I mean that was part of what they were doing but it doesn't cover it completely. They were all very well-educated young ladies from different places all over the world who just wanted to be part of this project. And they were the kindest, loveliest, most thoughtful girls you could imagine. The took care of everything, always determined to keep everyone happy. They were very supportive and it was a blessing to have them around. Some of them would make great personal assistants, I have to say."

"And why did you choose to call them Maidens?"

"Well, I do not recall who brought it up first but I think while shooting a medieval film it somehow suited them. Coming 'home' after a long day of shooting sometimes felt like coming home from battlefield and they where the proverbial sisters or mothers who waited for the returning worriers and took care of them. It is kind of odd to speak it out loud but that was how it felt, to me at least. And 'Maidens' is sounding very poetic anyway."

"They really sound lovely, I have to admit. Must be strange to leave such caring, supportive people behind. Well, for your co-actors at least."

"Yes, it sure is. Since we all at least try to hold contact to each other, I know for a fact that some of them really miss our Maidens. I confess I can never stifle a smirk when one of the lads admits it."

"I can imagine. So you 're the one who decided to take one of the Maidens with you. How come?"

"Well, as I said. I'm convinced they make great personal assistants. I always was. But that was of course not the true reason. As it happens I really grew fond of her while our time on set. It just happened like that. When I came for late night dinner we talked a few words here and there. Especially when it was not so crowded I would ask her to sit down with me for a little chat. I got to know her little by little. She's such a wonderful person. So what else can I say? I formed an attachment...But there was always some kind of distance between us. It took a while before she finally became more eased with me around. I truly enjoyed our conversations and she was always so kind to me. But I was not sure if that was because of me. She was nice to anyone. And to some extend, it was part of her job. So I was never sure whether or not she had feelings for me as well. And I was too afraid to ask. I didn't want it to become awkward. Anyway! I felt it to be arrogant to simply assume she would like me. And even if it had been possible I couldn't know the intensity of her feelings. So I didn't dare to make the first move. I feared I could scare her off if I had pushed the issue. I preferred polite affection over the possibility of her avoiding me completely."

"But you still brought her with you, didn't you?"

"Indeed, I did. A managed to keep this certain distance between us by asking her to work for me. She is a highly intelligent woman. She has got an university degree. And she is very good in organising things. So I really did ask her to be my personal assistant. I made her a good offer and since I knew she loved London, I of course pointed out that I planed on moving back to my house there and that I intended to stay there for the time being. First she hesitated a little for she had originally planed on returning to her family after the year on set. But eventually she agreed."

"I hope you don't mind me asking but you never had any kind of romantic relationship before you returned to London?"

"No, we hadn't. Not that I didn't want to but as I said I didn't want so scare her off by approaching her. I felt the connection between us to be very delicate. By making her my employee I made sure everything would just stay the same. That was of course not what I wished for but it was better than nothing."

"How come you won her heart in the end?"

"Well, I think the proximity of our living spaces helped. There is a guest quarter in my house. It's a separate apartment but it is connected to the main building. I convinced her to move in with me, so to speak. Ahm....Putting it like this, it sounds like the plan of an evil mastermind. Surely you won't believe me but I really didn't plan anything. I just wanted her to be close by. That was all.

And since none of us wanted to spend the evenings alone or have a dinner for one it was convenient to meet in the kitchen, cook together or sometimes watch a film. Slow but steady it was no longer just working together but somehow living together as well. Soon it felt all natural. And after quite some time I found the courage to ask her out."

"You really took your time. I suppose your first date must have been very special to you."

"I tried not to think of it as a date. The thought still made me nervous. As you said, I took my time. And after all this time I didn't want to screw up in the end. But on the other hand I did set my mind on making it ….well, yes, a very special evening. I gave it a lot of thoughts. It became apparent that it was a good thing to know her for that amount of time, during whichI had already figured out a lot of things she was incredibly fond of. I knew she liked the opera quite a lot. So I ended up planing a very classic and ….admittedly a little cheesy evening. I even went trough the trouble of buying her a dress. I'm not very keen on shopping at all ...and for that matter, not good at it as well. But I think I did a decent job. I chose a long, elegant gown and she looked breathtaking in it."

"Well done! You must have been very proud of yourself. Not many men out there would mange so well on this matter."

"Thank you! Indeed, I was. She was a little perplexed when I gave it to her that evening and asked her to change. But of course she did me the favour."

"And did you go to the opera then?"

"Yes, we did. And she was truly delighted. She went completely excited when we arrived and was smiling brightly. Therefore I was very much relieved. Actually I could enjoy the opera performance myself since there was not the slightest doubt that she liked my little surprise. It turned out to be an extraordinary evening."

"That sounds wonderful. So...after this evening you were officially a couple?"

"That day changed our relationship, for sure. As for the status of it, as everything is going a little slow with us, it needed another two months and further dates before we finally took that step."