The Good Life

Chapter 123

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Marla walked into the house the next day watching Bruno from behind. He held onto Rosie carrying her to the bedroom pushing the books she was playing with earlier the day before off the bed to place her in the bed.

"Bruno..." Marla stopped him as he began to place her in the bed. "Can she sleep in our bed? There's more space and less of a chance of her falling...." Bruno kissed Marla on the cheek walking over the piles of toys that had accumulated in between Rosie's and the twins' rooms. Marla continued to follow behind him watching him lay her down in the middle of their bed on top of the giant duvet cover. She handed him her giant frog and a blanket for her to sleep with. "I can't do anything right, Bruno." Marla told him as he turned to look at her crying. "Nothing is ever right."

"Marla!" he exclaimed quietly laying his head on hers. "I cannot even count how many times I have told you that you are the most amazing mother in the world. You have to believe me."

"I try to. But I always mess up something." She said continuing to cry. "And I can't be as good as you. They all love you so much more than me...." She said.

"What are you even talking about?" he asked her utterly confused.

"She wanted to go with you when she got out of the hospital. The babies like you more..." she told him.

"Marla. I was the closet to her. She would have been fine if you had held onto her. And you're full of crap about the twins. Hope is attached to you and I can't touch Angelo without him crying." He tried to reason with her watching her shake her head.

"And what am I going to do when you go out and tour again after their birthday? What am I going to do when she doesn't listen to me because I'm not her father and the little ones are running all over the place and falling and crying and swallowing things they shouldn't be? Brunnnnoooo...." She whined through her tears. She felt his arms around her holding her tightly.

"Marla, stop. You're going to stress yourself out. Calm down, baby. Calm down." He sang to her. "You'll be okay when I'm gone. I promise. You are every time I leave."

"I just don't know...." She said to him sniffing away her tears.

"You just lost your confidence. You'll find it again." He told her pulling away from their embrace wiping her hair off of her face. "Remember when I was recording Unorthodox Jukebox?"

"What about it?" she tried to remember. "When was that one?"

"The second one. When Rosie was their age...." He told her walking to the couch sitting down with her. "I started working on it before she was born. And I wasn't sure what it was going to sound like. I didn't know if it was going to be about how you turn me on and how fucking hot our sex was or if it was going to be about having a baby. I had no idea, Marla. It scared me and I had no idea what I was doing, even though everyone told me I could do whatever I wanted to do. I was so scared. And I lost all my confidence. But like...it just came back after a while. I was able to do it and it was one of my favorite albums. You're where I was right now..." he told her.

"What are you talking about?" she asked him still confused.

"You just need to find the confidence, Marley. You are still the best mother ever....you just need to see it..." he told her. "Wait...." He paused jumping up to get some DVDs.

"What are you doing?" she questioned him again.

"Let's watch this..." he told her putting the DVD in the DVD player reaching for the remote leaning into her wrapping his arms around her.

"What are we watching?" she asked him watching the DVD start flashing small pictures of when Rosie was younger. "Oh..." They sat and watched the short DVD which showed a compeletion of all the small videos they had taken of themselves with Rosie when she was small. The day she came home, the first time she crawled, their reaction when she started walking, her second birthday and Marla recording Bruno making pancakes for her birthday...it was all there. But what stuck out to her was the fact that so many of the videos were of her holding onto Rosie and Rosie smiling back at her. There was one point where her brother had caught them at the beach playing in the sand. Rosie jumped onto her mother giving her a kiss. "Aww." She responded.

"See. You're the best mom ever." He told her still holding her tightly hearing Hope start to cry. She felt Bruno move his arms to get up to get the baby. "Come with me, Mar..." he told her helping her stand up feeling her heavy tired body from the busy past two days. They walked into the dimly lit room to see Hope laying on her back crying loudly. Marla picked her up wiping off the tears the same way Bruno would wipe her tears away. Hope continued to cry as Marla bounced her lightly in her arms.

"Her teeth..." she told Bruno running her fingers along her daughter's gums pausing at one spot that made her daughter instantly stop crying. She turned to see Bruno walking away from her.

"I'll be right back." He said to her as she trailed behind him.

"Where are you going?" she followed behind him.

"To get this...." He held out his finger covered in gooey baby orajel. She moved Hope over to his arms watching him place the lotion on her gums. "Let's go to sleep, mi amor." He whispered to his youngest daughter bouncing her the same way Marla had without the same calming effect. Marla walked up behind him holding out her hands to take their 7 month old baby. She took the baby glancing at the clock to see that it was almost 11 in the evening. She sat down in the rocking chair in the babies' room. She looked up at Bruno who who checking on Angelo who was laying in his crib with his butt in the air and his head wrapped around a bright yellow blanket Bruno's mother had made him. "Good night, baby boy." He said running his fingers along his son's face turning to look at Marla who held Hope in her hands looking at her closed eyes ensuring that she was asleep before moving from her spot in the rocking chair.

"She's going to wake up again..." she told Bruno standing up slowly hearing Hope's heavy deep breathing indicating that she was asleep.

"Then I'll get her. Let's go to bed, mama." Bruno responded as Marla placed the baby in the bed moving her a little to wake her and then have her fall back asleep, something her mother had told her to do to make sure the babies didn't shock themselves when they woke up in the middle of the night. Bruno smiled at her reaching out for her hand. "Let's go to bed."

"I need to change. Give me a second..." Marla told him taking her pajamas from the drawer taking off her shirt putting on a t-shirt and cotton shorts. When she turned around she saw Bruno moving Rosie over a little so all three of them, plus the dog could sleep in the same place. Marla laid down in the same spot she always did curling her body around Rosie so she didn't wake her up. "Are you coming?" she asked him hearing his footsteps in the dark room.

"I'll be there in a few minutes." He told her sitting down in the room to write Marla a note. He stretched and yawned putting the pen down on the piece of green paper he was using.

**

Dear Marla,

Rosie has been sick again. The doctors fixed her medicine. It should help. I know you're scared and so am I. I know you're scared about me leaving in a few months, too. I'll be gone for a while. I hate even thinking about it, though. I hate it. And you're worried that you won't be able to take care of everything by yourself. Baby, you can do it. You know exactly what each of them needs before they even know what they need. Don't forget that you knew exactly where Hope was hurting tonight and made her better, or that Rosie was going to fall and you caught her, or that when Angelo is about to puke up his pumpkin baby food that you know it's going to happen and you have a napkin in your hand to clean it up. Mar, you drive me insane because you are so perfect. You have the most beautiful eyes and the most crazy hair and you make me laugh uncontrollably. And to put a cherry on top you're the best mother ever. Don't forget that. I love you, so so much.

Bruno