The Good Life

Chapter 76

Marla grabbed her phone on her way out of the counseling center she was getting supervision hours for her counseling license to call Bruno who was at home with Rosie.

”Heeey…did y’all eat yet?” she asked him.

”Yeah…but guess what?” he answered.

”What?” she wondered out loud starting the car turning down the music that was playing in the back of the car.

”There’s leftovers, just for you.” he said sweetly.

”Oh. Leftover McDonald’s?” she asked him. ”That’s gross, Bru.”

”You underestimate me sometimes. Now I’m not gonna tell you what I made you.” he replied half hurt by what she had said.

”What did you make me? Brunnnooooo…” she whined.

”Well, I might tell you before you get here if you say you love me.” he laughed at her.

”Bruno! I love you, I love you, I love you Now tell me what you made me for dinner!” he laughed at him as she sat at a red light.

”I made you chicken adobo.” he told her defeated in his ability to keep a secret.

”I knew there was a reason I married you.” she responded. ”I’ll be home in like 30 minutes..traffic is really icky.” she told him.

”Okay, Mar. I love you. I’ll see you soon.” he said hanging up the phone. Marla smiled as she made the turn onto the highway thinking about what she was going to do while she sat in ridiculously busy Los Angles traffic for 7:30 in the evening.

”Hi mommmm…” she dialed her mother.

”Hi, sweetheart. How are you?” her mother asked. ”You’re not driving are?”

”Umm..yeah I am. But I’m okay. I just wanted to talk to you.” she told her mother.

”How are you two, are you getting better?” her mother asked. Marla had told her about everything that had happened helping her remember exactly what was going on in their lives at the time making the whole sequence of events make more sense to her…but they also made her angrier because he was right. They were just repeating themselves.

”I guess we’re okay. We haven’t yelled at each other the past few days. And he’s been here so saying that we haven’t but knowing that he’s gone isn’t an excuse.” Marla told her mother. ”But then there’s times where I just look at him and get grossed out…knowing that he did that to me and kept it from me.”

”Mija…do you need to talk to Abby again?” her mother asked about their therapist from after her memory loss.

”I asked him if he would go…not like long term but just to get a completely valid third party opinion on everything and he just ignored me. I don’t want to force him and I have plenty of people to talk to about it. Shoot. I just talked to Angie about it this afternoon.” Marla said.

”Mama…he’ll come around. I know it. Have you told him what it would mean to you if he did it?” Sylvia asked.

”Mom…then he’ll say he’s doing it to make me happy. I want him to talk to someone else because he wants to. Not because it will make me feel better.” Marla told her mother.

”Well, I guess you’re right. You don’t want to then go down that road.” Sylvia responded.

”I’ll talk about it with him tonight…after the baby goes to bed.” she told her mother.

”Okay…and you’re still calling her the baby?” Sylvia laughed.

”She’s always going to be the baby, mom. We could have ten more kids and she would still be the baby.” Marla laughed.