The Good Life

Chapter 108

Bruno sat in the hospital parking lot for several minutes laying his head on the steering wheel trying to gather his thoughts and trying to figure out how he was going to walk into the hospital knowing that something horrible was going to happen. I have to be there. He repeated to himself walking down the familiar hallways. He walked past several emotional families trying not to think about the things they were going through. He kept on his sunglasses and baseball cap careful to fit in as the elevator landed on the radiology floor. He turned down the familiar corner seeing Marla sitting in the hard chair with her legs shaking and her arms crossed. She looked up at him with tears in her eyes holding onto him tightly.

"Bruno...I'm sorry about last night. I'm so scared. I don't know what to do." She said laying her head on his shoulder feeling his sunglasses fall on her. He took them off placing them on the small table holding onto her tightly.

"I'm here. I'm never going to leave you, Marla. Never." He whispered in her ear looking up at Sylvia who mouthed thank you to him. He pulled away from Marla wiping a small tear off her cheek.

"I don't know what's going on. They said I had to do this like right away." She unconsciously rubbed her arm touching the small marks from previous MRIs.

"But, Marley. You've got this. Look at your arm...you're a warrior...." He said running his fingers along her scar. "All you need is a tattoo to prove it." He smiled at her.

"I'll leave that for you to take care of." She smiled.

"No way. It's time for you to get number 2 anyway." He said moving his feet to her foot smiling.

"Okay. We'll talk about it later." She said kissing his cheek sitting down. They sat together with Bruno pushing her to get another tattoo for a few minutes until a nurse walked up to them.

"Mrs. Hernandez?" she asked the only group in the waiting room. "Are you ready?"

Marla nodded her head still holding onto Bruno's arm.

"He can come with." The nurse reassured her.

"Oh. Yeah." Marla smiled.

"I always go with you." Bruno told her.

"Oh. I guess I don't remember that." Marla answered looking down.

He leaned over to her still squeezing her hand. "It's okay." Bruno led Marla down the hallway sensing anxiety in her walk. She sat down where she was told looking down at her hand at her wedding ring. "If you leave it on you'll blow up." Bruno laughed.

"Blow up?" she asked him not catching onto his sense of humor. He took the ring from her watching her look at him.

"Don't lose it, okay?" she asked him. "It would break my heart." She told him.

He put it up to his chest looking at her. "Te prometo, mi amor." He kissed her head watching her lay down like the nurse had told her.

"You know, you two are ridiculously cute together." She said flipping through her paperwork. "Oh...I know why I said that. Gosh...that was a long time ago..." she said to herself. "2015...."Marla and Bruno ignored her watching her grab the needle to put in her arm. "Close your eyes...." She told them. Bruno held onto Marla's hand so tight that she thought he was going to break it as the needle with some type of thing to make her blood light went into her arm.

"Ouch." She mumbled looking over at Bruno trying not to laugh at his continued inability to handle needles. The nurse walked away leaving them alone for a few minutes.

"See. If you can do that you can get another tattoo." He told her.

"Okay, Brunz. Just calm down. I never said I wasn't going to." She answered him seeing the nurse again giving her instructions. Bruno kissed Marla lightly watching her disappear into the machine. The loud noises were muffled by a horrible CD of 5 songs that the hospital had. Oh god. Give me something good. She thought to herself through the second time around of the CD. During the second time hearing the second song the music suddenly stopped. A familiar piano started playing followed by Bruno's voice. Oh my god. He never stops. She thought to herself closing her eyes losing herself in his voice.

She came out of the machine rubbing her eyes. "I hate that shit." She smiled at him.

"It is pretty crappy." He said helping her get up handing her the ring he was holding.

"Marry me?" he smiled at her.

"Yes." She said leading him out of the room. A few feet away they were met by Marla's doctor holding a small USB device.

"Let's go talk. I have some things we need to discuss." He said in a firm and almost tense tone.

Marla leaned over to Bruno trying to calm him down now. "I think the tattoo is going to be easier than whatever he's going to tell us." She said squeezing his hand.