Broken Descent (Bruno Mars)

Guiding and Watching

Bruno sat Charlotte in the seat of the shopping cart, hoping he wouldn't get noticed too much. His fame was beginning to really get crazy. He just wanted to be a normal guy sometimes and take his little girl to the grocery store. Luckily, this day he didn't get bothered too bad and was able to navigate the aisles freely, without much hassle. There had been a lot of press about him because of his mother's passing, making it all the more difficult. The tour was only in a couple of days.

Bruno put a little pink hat on Charlotte and sunglasses to disguise her as much as he could. She held onto her blue macaw that she never left the house without.

"Charlotte I want you to start thinking about what you wanna have to eat on the bus."

"Okay," she replied, before pointing to the cereal aisle. "Daddy!"

Bruno pushed the cart down the aisle.

"Daddy look!" she said, pointing to the Lucky Charms. "Please?"

Her eyes and her little face were hard to resist, but of course he had to watch out for her, and guide her.

"I don't know, peanut. Lucky Charms aren't really good for you. They have a lot of sugar...they might make you a little crazy."

"Please?" she pouted.

Bruno smiled and sighed.

"Okay," he said, grabbing the box off the shelf.

Just as he was about to put it in the cart, Charlotte grabbed the box instead. Her face lit up and her jaw even dropped as she looked at all the shapes and colors on the box.

Taking his gaze away from her for a second, he noticed a dark figure from the corner his eye. He assumed it was just another photographer looking to snap yet another picture. When he turned his head, the figure was gone.

Bruno went down the aisle and onto the next, checking out the chips and cookies aisle. The same figure wearing all black with a hoodie stood at the other end, but disappeared before Bruno reached it. He let his curiosity leave him by the time he reached the checkout counter.

The next morning, Bruno poured two bowls of Lucky Charms and placed them on the kitchen table. He then put away the cereal and the milk. Charlotte sat still, looking at him as he sat down next to her.

"Aww," he said. "Were you waiting for me?"

Charlotte nodded.

"You're so sweet," Bruno said, kissing the side of her head.

Bruno ate slowly as he watched Charlotte meticulously eat all the marshmallows first. She devoured them.

"You really like the marshmallows huh?"

"Yes!" Charlotte giggled. "Eat them every morning?"

"Well we'll have to wait and see."

The day before leaving for the tour was a bit hectic. Bruno zipped up his bags before setting them in the front hallway. When he went into Charlotte's room, she was digging through her toy box at the foot of her bed. She then ran to her piles of clothes on her bed, throwing them across the room.

"Peanut how are you doing? Do you have everything together?"

"I can't...find..." she stuttered. "I can't find my blue birdie."

"Okay, okay. Calm down," he knelt beside her, grabbing her arm. "When was the last time you had him?"

"I...I..." she cried a bit, "the grocery store."

"Alright. Don't cry, sweetheart. I'm going to call the store and you just keep looking, okay?"

"Okay," she replied shakily.

Bruno called the store, and they hadn't seen it. It wasn't a wallet or something of importance, so they didn't care too much. Charlotte looked up at him with hopeful eyes when he returned.

"Charlotte they couldn't find it...but we can keep looking after you're done packing. It'll turn up," Bruno smiled.

She smiled back a little and then proceeded to pick up all the clothes she'd thrown. Bruno folded them all up and placed them gently into her bags. Charlotte stared at him wearily.

"C'mere," Bruno said, waving her over.

Charlotte walked slowly toward his arms. "I'm sorry, Daddy."

"Aww Charlotte it's okay. I'll get cha another one if we don't find it."

She looked down a little.

"I know it's not the same, but..." Bruno stopped, noticing she wasn't moving her eyes from the floor. Bruno tilted her chin up with his finger. "Maybe I can show you the store I got it...it's far away but they got a lotta cool stuff there...all kinds of birdies."

"Okay," she smirked a little.

As Bruno was about to close up her last bag, Charlotte stopped him. She ran over to the table where the books Bernie had bought for them lay. She had the biggest smile on her face. Bruno took four out of the five, placing them in a side pocket. He handed the last one back to her. It was the dog one the he read to her every night for the past couple of months.

"You want me to read it tonight, don't cha?" Bruno winked. "We don't need to pack it yet?"

"Don't forget, Daddy."

"Charlotte, I always remember. I read this to you every single, night."

"But don't forget it."

Bruno smiled widely, so happy that Charlotte loved it so much. He looked forward to the day he could read some of the more "advanced" books about adoption, particularly the one with her name customized in it. It was called "I Wished for Charlotte." Bruno was waiting for the right moment to read it to her, the moment when her questions would become deeper. It'd be the moment when Bruno wouldn't know how to explain to her that she was born to one set of parents that she'd never meet and never be loved by. Nevertheless, she'd be raised by another parent that loved her more than anything.

"We won't forget it. I promise," Bruno assured.

That night, Charlotte's last night in her bed for a while, Bruno read the book to her as usual. She pointed at the pictures in the same way she always had. Bruno shut the light off when she drifted off to sleep, giving her a kiss on her forehead. He held onto the book for a second, smiling as he looked at the cover. Bruno made sure to put it directly in her bag so he wouldn't forget, imaging how upset she would be without it. He was so ecstatic that the book was so important to her, so important that she wanted to have it, anywhere in the world.