The Good Life

Chapter 88

A month and a half later Marla looked in her daughter’s closet pulling out clothes for her first day of Kindergarten. She held onto a bright purple shirt trying not to cry. Oh my god. She’s so big. I don’t even know what to do anymore. Babies were so easy….she’s going to be 18 in a blink of an eye….She heard a bang on the other side of the house jolting her out of her thoughts. She heard Rosie’s cries causing her to drop everything running toward her daughter who was sitting next to Bruno who was holding her arm.

”She dropped one of your books on her…..” he said pointing to a pile of Marla’s textbooks now laying on the floor. ”We were going to move it to the babies’ room…” he told her.

”Oh…Rosieeee….are you okay?” Marla asked sitting on the floor next to her.

”Mommaaa…it hurts.” she cried. Bruno let go of her going to the kitchen getting an ice pack for her handing it to Evie who held onto Rosie who slowly started to calm down.

”Go with your dad, mama…” Marla pushed her daughter off her lap after a few minutes of crying. ”Are you gonna be okay?”

”I’m better mommy.” she told her running toward Bruno who was in the babies bedroom with the book shelf.

”Oh god. I can’t get uppppp….” she whined. ”Brunnnnooooo.” her cries went unanswered so she turned to the side of the floor closing her eyes. I am tired…..she thought to herself trying to fall asleep while the two of them were in the bedroom. A few minutes later she was awaken by their front door opening with a huge group of people coming in the house- his brother and family and Phil’s family came in the house in a rush full of things they had bought and stored in the kitchen.

”Mar! What are you doing on the floor?” Urbana asked.

”I got stuck.” she laughed while Eric helped her get up. ”Thank you. You’re brother was no help at all.” she told them taking a handful of small clothes placing them in the pile with other clothes holding onto a small ball throwing it toward Bruno in the other room. ”That’s for leaving me on the floor. Jerk.” she told him.

”What are you talking about?” he asked her.

”Oh god….Bruno…she was asleep on the floor because she couldn’t get up with all these babies in her!” Cindia told him.

”Oh…oh…Mar….sorry.” he answered.

She rolled her eyes helping to set up the bedroom with everyone else.

**

A few days later Marla laid stretched out in the bed turning to see her alarm go off at 5:30 in the morning. She struggled to get out of the bed finally getting up after almost falling on top of Bruno. She walked out of the bedroom headed toward her daughter’s bedroom running into Rosie who was running her way. ”Ouch.” Marla said feeling her daughter run into her hugging her.

”Mom! I go to school today!” she exclaimed.

”I know, baby. It’s exciting!” she told her taking her daughter’s hand leading her to the living room to watch tv. ”Let me get you breakfast. What do you want?”

”I wanntttttt……pancakes! The chocolate ones!” Rosie said going to the pantry picking up the mix they use.

”Baby..that takes too long. This smaller.” Marla said taking the pancake mix from her daughter who was about to cry. Not today. Marla thought to herself seeing her daughter’s face change from a sleepy happy face to a faux temper tantrum face where she wrinkled her nose and pouted starting to cry. It was cute for a while because she looked exactly like Presley – or at least that’s what Bruno said but it slowly got to a point where she was getting everything she wanted with the face. ”Go sit down and I’ll get you cereal.” Marla said pointing to the table as Rosie cried.

”Wait…wait…wait a minnutteee!” Bruno came running into the kitchen in his pajamas going to the fridge. Rosie and Marla turned around giving him the same confused face. ”Look what I have!” he sang to them pulling off the foil of prepared chocolate pancakes. Their jaws dropped as he put the pancakes in the microwave warming them up for Rosie. Marla poured their daughter some orange juice putting it next to her daughter coming up behind Bruno whispering in his ear.

”How did you do that?” she asked him.

”Magic.” he told her taking the pancakes out kissing Marla on the cheek. ”Here Rosalia. But only today. Tomorrow you get the cereal…okay?”

”Okayyyy…” she said with a mouthful of pancakes in her mouth making Marla and Bruno laugh. Bruno sat down with Rosie as they finished eating breakfast while Marla went to Rosie’s bedroom picking up clothes for her to put on. Ouch. Geez you two…that hurt…she thought to herself as she left the bedroom walking toward the bathroom where they were singing while brushing their teeth. She better get his voice. She thought to herself watching them.

”Ready, Rosalia?” Bruno asked after they finished.

”I’m ready for schoooolll!” she sang taking the clothes from her mother.

”How many contractions have you had today, Marley?” he asked her as they walked toward Rosie.

”Like three….but remember last week it was like constant…” she told him.

”Yeah…I guess…the doctor said it could be really soon….” he told her.

”I’m fine.” she answered kissing him lightly walking over to Rosie helping her tie her shoes.

They got in the car driving to the swanky private school with equally swanky parents, nannies and children running around. They walked toward the classroom they had visited a few weeks ago to see Rosie’s teacher Ms. Ortiz standing at the door to welcome them. Rosie let go of her parents’ hands running toward one of her friends. ”Well…she certainly has no attachment issues.” Marla told him getting him to laugh. Even if he was a musician he had caught on to some of the things she did at work. He took his hand taking hers squeezing it knowing she was about to cry. ”How did we get here, Bruno? I feel like…well….like I just held her in my arms for the first time.”

”It doesn’t get any easier.” another mother leaned over to tell her.

”I didn’t think it would…” she answered. Ms. Ortiz handed Bruno some papers for them to sign and turn in and then said she had everything under control after that. As they started to walk out the door Bruno felt Rosie pulling on him.

”Don’t leave me, daddy….mommaaaa…pleasseeee…don’t leave me again.” she started to cry.

”Rosie…I’ll be back to get you at 3. Start counting. It won’t be long.” Bruno told her.

”Listen to your dad, mi Corazon.” Marla leaned down to kiss her on the head seeing her tears dry up as Ms. Ortiz came up to them.

”Come on Rosalia..your friends want to see you…” the teacher said sweetly pointing to the children sitting in a circle.

”Please don’t hesitate to call me if she starts getting moody.” Marla told the teacher who smiled at her waving at them as they left the room for the final time.

They walked toward the car in the middle of the parking lot filled with equally expensive and ridiculous cars like the one Bruno was driving. He walked toward her wrapping his arm around her opening the door for her. As he pulled away from her he felt her gasp. ”Oh…” she said looking down.

”Really?” he asked her.

”Yeah….I think so….” she told him.