The Good Life

Chapter 60

Marla smacked her phone throwing it halfway across the room at 5 in the morning a month later .Damnit. She thought to herself. Now I can’t snooze it. She got out of the bed picking up the phone turning it off holding it in her hand to snooze it. Nine minutes later the phone went off again. She snoozed it again trying to sleep longer.

”Mar…just get up. I’ll get up too.” Bruno responded to her third attempt to snooze the alarm.

”Fine…” she turned around facing him to see if he was being honest. ”You’re not even going to get up…”

”I’m going to! Geez.” he told her standing up handing her his arm to get out of bed. She grabbed his hand feeling him pull her standing up on the mattress on their low lying bed. He stepped on his tip toes kissing her lightly. ”You’re going to kick so much ass today, Mar.” She hopped off the bed onto his back directing him toward the kitchen.

”Let’s make pancakes..” she told him.

”No..you get eggs just like me.” he said placing her on the counter cooking them breakfast. She watched him dance around cracking the eggs and flipping them. She laughed at him feeling the memories of their first few mornings together as a couple.

”Don’t burn them, Bruno.” she told him.

”I won’t. But you need to go change…your distracting me in that t-shirt and nothing else. I just might burn them…” he smirked at her.

”Wait what?” she jumped off the counter confused by his comment.

”Nothing, Marla..here…they’re perfect for you…” he said handing her the plate of eggs cooked perfectly.

”I’m sorry.” she answered him. ”I guess I still forget things.” she looked at him with a sad face. Damnit. They both thought.

**

Marla sat on the curb tying her shoes tightly watching all the other competitors doing exactly the same. ”Mar…come tie my shoes extra tight…” Bruno called for her.

”I’m coming…give me a sec…” she answered turning around to see him sitting on the ground stretching. ”And help me stretch my legs…” She looked at him surrounded by serious participants laughing at him. She laid her chest against his leg stretching it the way he needed it to.

”That’s not sexy at all…” Ryan said walking over to them, also running the marathon with Marla.

”I know it’s not..but if I want to be able to find my legs by Thursday morning I’m going to need my wife to not be so sexy…” Bruno answered. ”I just need her to stretch my legs…”

”Oh..so that’s all I am to you now? Your leg stretcher?” she asked stepping away.

”Yeah..for today…” he answered her.

”Fine…Ryan..come stretch my legs…I don’t need Bruno to do it..” she took his hand walking him over to her spot on the ground. Bruno followed them pushing his friend out of the way.

”No way..I’m the only one that gets to stretch your legs.” he answered lifting his eyebrows as she closed her eyes feeling a slight pain through the stretch bringing back memories of other smaller races she had done, including the one she did the day after they met the first time.

They checked in, put in their race trackers, their numbers and drank an extra bottle of water lining up to start the race. Marla stepped back to join Bruno’s start time making sure he didn’t

”I’ll see you at the finish, baby…” he said running ahead of her as they were signaled to start the race. She started to laugh at him running next to her teammates who included other epilepsy runners, Ryan and Kameron. She lost herself in the music she had programmed onto her playlist finally catching up to Bruno at mile 5.