Set in Stone

Chapter 15

"Maybe I could have her for Boxing Day?" Grace heard Roman saying when she came out of the bathroom. Ahead of the dinner that Nikki Bella had invited them to, Grace had decided to put on some makeup. Roman had apparently made a phone call while she was in there.

"Yeah, it will be weird for her not seeing me on Christmas Day. It'll be weird for me, too. I'll tell her she gets to celebrate Christmas twice, that ought to help."

Grace realised that Roman was talking to Andrea, making plans for seeing Layla for Christmas. If all went well, filming of Poseidon's Secret would be over by then. Even if it wasn't, everyone on the project had been guaranteed a few days at home. Walking over to the bed, where Roman was sitting, she gave him a sympathetic smile. Christmas Day without seeing Layla would be tough on him, as he had just said.

"Okay, good," Roman said into the phone. "Yeah, if Lay is still up, put her on. Actually, can you get her to call me back on FaceTime? I miss her face."

Bless, Grace thought, sitting down on a nearby chair.

"Thanks," Roman said to Andrea. He ended the call and spoke to Grace. "I won't be long, just need to speak to Layla for a bit before we go."

"Take as long as you like. The meal can wait," Grace said easily.

Roman's phone rang. He answered the call, holding the phone in front of him so that he was looking into the front facing camera. "Layla! How are you, sweet pea?"

"Hi, daddy!" came Layla's excited reply, making Grace smile. "Are you making the movie?"

"I was, we've finished for today." They proceeded to talk about how Layla's day had been for a couple of minutes until Roman said, "Lay, I was talking to your mom about Christmas. I'm not going to be able to see you on the day, but you can come stay with me and Grace on Boxing Day. How does that sound?"

"Okay, I guess," Layla said uncertainly.

"Look at it this way, sweetie. You get to celebrate Christmas twice!"

"Oh! Two lots of presents!" Layla said excitedly, making Grace burst out laughing along with Roman.

"Yes, two lots of presents. And two lots of Christmas dinner."

"Two Christmas Days sounds good."

The Christmas discussion continued for a while. Suddenly, Layla changed the subject. "How is Grace's arm?"

"Oh bless," Grace mouthed to Roman. Layla was talking about the supposed injury that she had suffered at the hands of Charlotte Flair at Survivor Series.

"She's here with me. You can ask her if you like?" Roman said to Layla.

"Okay," Layla said.

Grace beamed at Roman as he handed the phone over, delighted that he wanted to involve her in a conversation with his daughter.

Taking the phone, Grace saw Layla on the screen. She was holding the phone quite close to her, but the wallpaper in the background definitely belonged to a child's bedroom. "Hi, Layla!" she said, smiling warmly.

"Hi, Grace! How's your arm?"

"It's still a bit banged up. That nasty Charlotte did a number on me, so I might not be wrestling until after Christmas."

"I hope you get her back when you return."

"Oh, trust me, I will," Grace said, loving the innocence of a kid with no earthly idea that kayfabe was a thing.

"Good. Can you put my dad back on, please?"

"Sure. I'll see you Boxing Day, Layla."

"Bye," Layla said happily.