Bruno adjusted his hat, rubbed his eyes and took a sip of the orange juice sitting next to him looking up at Nick Cannon. He smiled not sure what he was going to ask. These are always the hard ones. The ones that everyone is going to listen to. Take some deep breathes. You can do it. It’s not hard. He thought to himself replaying things Marla had always said to him, particularly during his previous albums.
”You ready bro?” Nick asked putting on the headset.
”Yeah. Let’s do this thing.” Bruno said hearing Nick start to introduce him.
”Bruno fucking Mars! Bro, it’s been ages….” Nick started.
”I know, I know. You can’t rush gold like this.” Bruno laughed.
”Well, that’s what we’ve been hearing, anyway. I mean, seriously, Brunz. Like everyone and their unborn child is waiting for this thing to drop. When does it officially come out?”
”You can pick it up on April 9th. Y’all just gotta hang in there a bit longer. Be patient!” he told Nick.
”So, this album..it’s called Come back to me. I’ve heard a few of the tracks..and we’ll play a few of them…but Bruno..this is a deep album. Like the girls are going to drop their panties the second they hear Back to me and the guys are going to want to dedicate Love this way to their girls and everyone is gonna jam out to Drop it. It’s got everything. And I mean everything.” Nick told him.
”Well…I think that’s what we were going for. There are some tracks that we’ve been sitting on for some time that just have been burning up the studio…and then there are some newer ones….like the single..that just hit deep. I think everyone is going to like it.”
”Now Bruno…this first one..Back to me…I don’t think there was a dry eye in the studio after hearing it the first time…was that on purpose?” Nick asked. ”I think even the twins were crying…”
”I think every song I write has some type of special meaning. This album is full of meaning. From like Drop it…it has a beat that was created for running. I was having a hard time finding a good beat when I was training for the marathon….and I was like hey let me just make one..and Love this way…man…that one is just about everything love can do to you. From the highest of highs to the lowest of lows. But like Back to me….that one…I was in the middle of writing about a year and a half ago when some pretty rough stuff happened. I wrote it in maybe like 10 minutes. It was just all right there.” Bruno explained.
”Well..let’s take a listen to that 10 minute moment of musical bliss…” Nick said starting the song for the listeners.
”Let’s do it!” Bruno answered in a happy excited tone. Nick turned off the mics looking at Bruno.
”How is she?” he asked her.
”She’s a lot better. A lot better. When was the last time we got together? I don’t even remember…” Bruno asked.
”Ummm…I think it was like Thanksgiving or something.” he said.
”Yeah..oh..I remember. Yeah dude. She’s way better than then. She even said she’s gonna get her license to be a therapist.” Bruno gushed over his wife’s accomplishments. ”And Rosie is just…out of control.” he laughed.
”Kids will do it to you.” Nick said mentioning his two children very briefly. ”Annnnnddd…we’ve got Bruno Mars in the studio talking about his new baby…his new album..his new tracks…but first..we’ve got a few questions for you from our fans online…you ready?”
”Yeah..let’s do it…” he said. ”I’m totally game. ”
”Okay dude…first one is from Lizzy…What turns you on?”
”Oh…you do, Lizzy!” He answered. ”Well…seriously though….my wife does this thing when she dances. She flips her hair like crazy. It’s the hottest thing in the world. Like..it’s my porn.” he laughed.
”Porn bro?” Nick asked.
”Straight up. All she’s gotta do is flip her hair.” he answered.
”Okay..next question…” Nick paused flipping through his notes. ”This is from Derek…The fiancé and I are deciding on a wedding song. She insist it be one of yours. Which one should we pick?”
”Grenade. End of story. Next question.” he answered.
”Well, there you have it Derek…play Grenade at your wedding and you’ll have a wife forever.” Nick answered. ”Okay…next one…this is from Fiona…Bruno…when are we going to see that beautiful hair of yours?”
”Ummm…well…I got my first grey hair the other day. So…never!” he replied.
”Oh…ouch….” Nick said running his fingers through his hair. ”I don’t got that problem yet bro.”
”You can borrow mine.” Bruno responded. They went back and forth with silly questions.
”Last one….” Nick said. ”Most romantic thing you have ever done?”
”Oh..dang..ummm…well…since I’m being honest today….I don’t want to put my host on blast or anything….I write my wife a love letter every night before I go to bed….” Bruno said.
”Oh my god. Bruno Mars…marry me.” Nick swooned.
**
Marla watched her daughter finish eating her dinner at the kitchen table while flipping through paperwork for a grant proposal. ”Mama…are you almost done?” she asked her daughter.
”No…” Rosalia answered getting up from her seat to the refrigerator. ”I want more…” she said pulling out the bowl of green beans her mother had made.
”Rosie?” she asked seeing her daughter’s eyes wander to the other side of the house. She grabbed the food before it fell catching her daughter in the other hand. She ran to the living room with her daughter placing her on the floor pushing the dog away from them. She rubbed her daughter’s arm seeing her start to wake up. Rosie let out a huge ear piercing scream making Marla cringe. ”Rosalia….” she held onto her daughter tightly reassuring her she was okay. She felt her daughter’s tense body against her. Oh…poor baby…”Rosie..let’s get you to bed. It will be okay.”
”Mommmaaaa….” she whined. ”I want to sleep with you.”
”Okay. You can.” she answered still holding onto her daughter. She grabbed a shirt from Rosie’s room putting it on her. ”Go to sleep….” she said watching her daughter close her eyes. She rubbed her daughter’s back for at least an hour feeling her eyes start to close at the same time. She looked at the clock to see that it was only 8 o clock at night. Screw it. I’ll clean it up tomorrow. She thought to herself changing into her own pajamas getting in the bed with her daughter after taking her own medication.
*
”Geronimo! What are you doing?” Bruno asked looking at the dog who had her nose buried in green beans. ”Oh my goodness…” he sighed picking up the food seeing the mess in the kitchen. ”Mar? Marla?” he called out looking into the bedroom seeing the two of them laying in the bed together. ”Shit.” he said to himself going back into the kitchen. She had to have had a seizure. He thought to himself seeing his daughter’s medicine sitting on the counter. He cleaned up the kitchen throwing pieces of food away placing the leftovers in containers in the fridge. ”Damn..what a way to be welcomed home….” he said watching the dog lick up the still wet floor. He grabbed the pen that was stuck to the counter that they used to write each other notes before everything changed. He took a piece of paper from the desk starting to write.
Mar,
I didn’t get to talk to you today, but I’m going to wake up next to you tomorrow. I love you.
Bru
YOU ARE READING
The Good Life
FanfictionThis is my first fanfic. SInce I've written several more, but this is my baby. It's been on tumblr for a good while now, but if you haven't read it, I think it's pretty fab. Bruno is just starting out when he takes the time to perform at one of his...
