The Good Life

Chapter 124

About 5 months later

Marla glanced at the clock across the kitchen to see the clock to see that it was almost 7:30 in the evening. Bruno, if you're going to call you better hurry. The babies have to go to sleep. Over the noise of the water Marla heard Rosie laughing along with the twins as they danced in the living room to a random children's movie she had put in before they went to bed. "Rosie! It's too late to be that loud!" Marla said turning off the water cleaning up dinner.

"But mommm...we're practicing for dad. I'm going to show him when he calls." Rosie explained. "For his birthday."

"Rosalia...his birthday was last week." Marla told her daughter taking hold of Angelo who was squirming to get out of her arms. She held onto him hearing him whine ignoring it.

"But he has a birthday month like I do. All of October." Rosie said in a determined voice.

"Okay, Rosie. If you say so. Keep on practicing while I give the babies a bath...okay?" she asked her daughter turning up the music for her daughter motioning for Hope to take her hand. "Are you ready for a bath?" Marla asked. "Come on." She drug Hope across the room with her. "Look at what you get to wear!" she said excitedly showing her daughter a bright towel that also acted as a hoodie with a cute little pig on the top. "And look, Angelo!" she said showing him the same thing, but as a teddy bear.

She watched them get excited as she put them in the bathtub that was already filled with lukewarm water for them. She quickly moved her hands around washing their messy mats of hair and bodies glancing into the living room to see that Bruno had called and that Rosie was sitting on the couch with the iPad talking to him loudly with the same animated voice she always used with him. "Hurry up, babies..." she said to them picking them up with the towels holding one in each arm as she dried them off. "Okay...." She said holding them both struggling as Angelo kicked his legs to get down. "Fine...go see your dad..." she said watching him wobble to the living room where Rosie was sitting. "It's a good thing that your dad doesn't know he's walking yet...." She said responding to her son's small steps toward the living room. He had started walking the night before; off faster than Hope was a month prior. Marla lagged behind watching her 14 month old twins running as fast as they could to their older sister.

"Rosalia, is your brother walking behind you?" he asked her interrupting her story about one of her friends falling on the playground at school.

"Yeah. He started yesterday. And then Natalie was all, 'owwwww.....'" Rosie continued her story.

"Rosie...I want you to tell me the rest of your story..." Bruno started.

"No you don't. You want to see Angelo and Hope. Whatever." Rosie said dramatically throwing the Ipad on the couch.

"Rosalia!" Bruno exclaimed. "Come back, please..." he said to the empty room suddenly watching the camera move around catching a glimpse of Hope's pink hoodie and her curls. "Hope..baby girl....it's daddy..." he said in a soft voice not to scare her as the tablet continued to move around. He then saw the green blur of Angelo pushing Hope around to get to the tablet. Oh God, Marla..hurry up. He said to himself knowing that the only way to salvage the night was to have her return to the living room.

"Give me that, you little monsters..." she laughed setting it on the couch. "Hi." She said with a smile on her face grabbing the babies to hold them. "Why is Rosie crying?"

"I asked her about Angelo. She got upset I wasn't just paying attention to her." He told her.

"Well, maybe she'll fall asleep faster...she's in her room crying." Marla told him. "Bruno...." She paused kissing Hope on the top of her head. "Can I call you after I get all this fixed?"