Broken Descent (Bruno Mars)

Refocus

Early the next fall, Bruno was finished with the US tour, heading off to Europe. It was successful; nearly every date sold out. Early October, Phil began to notice a change in Bruno's demeanor.

"Hey man," Phil said one afternoon to Bruno as they sat in the dressing room. "What's up? You don't look okay."

"I'm good. I'm fine."

"Where's Charlotte?" Phil asked, looking around the room.

"With Dre and Ryan for the day..."

"Why?"

"Oh," Bruno hesitated. "Just to give me a break."

"Give you a break?"

"Yeah," Bruno snapped. "What's wrong with wanting some time to myself?"

"Nothing...nothing," Phil said, holding his hands up. "It's just not like you to not be with her for a whole day...and you've been doing it a lot lately."

Bruno's blood began to boil, very quickly. Phil was still shocked, despite the alcohol still sitting in his breath. "Get the hell out of here! Leave me alone."

The next day was Bruno's birthday. He asked Ryan to watch Charlotte again...for the whole morning and the earlier part of the afternoon. His mood hadn't changed too much.

"Charlotte," Ryan said. "Do you know what today is"

"Daddy's birthday!" She exclaimed.

"You got it," Ryan said.

Walking down the street of another block in London, Charlotte started pulling away. She almost slipped away from his hands but Bruno made it very clear to him that he not let go of her for a second. Ryan let her pull him to the side of a building where there was a little garden.

"Charlotte I don't think you're supposed to pick those."

"But..." she said, "Daddy's birthday?"

Ryan sighed and let her pick some flowers. Charlotte pulled a variety of flowers from the garden and stood up straight with a smile on her face.

"Perfect...he'll love them. Let's go."

Meanwhile, at the venue, Phil sat in the room next to Bruno's. Ryan called him.

"Hey Phil," Ryan said. "How's the birthday boy?"

"I don't know. He won't open the door. Hopefully he'll cheer up by tonight."

"Should I bring Charlotte back then? I'm running out of ideas for what to do with her."

"Yeah," Phil responded. "Bring her back. She'll cheer him up."

When Charlotte and Ryan got to Bruno's dressing room, he wasn't answering. Even Charlotte tried with her little knocks. Ryan pushed the door opened and Charlotte followed closely behind.

"Bruno?" Ryan asked. "Where are you?"

The room was filthy. There were liquor bottles everywhere. It reeked of alcohol, even from the far end of the room. Bruno stumbled out of the bathroom, barely able to walk and still holding a bottle. He hadn't been that drunk in a very long time.

"C'mon, man," Bruno raised his voice. "Get her out of here. I don't wanna see her right now."

"But Charlotte wanted to give you something..." Ryan mumbled as he looked down at her. She kept a persistent gaze on Bruno.

"GET HER OUTTA HERE!" Bruno screamed as he looked at her, taking a step forward.

Charlotte stood there. She didn't cry. She didn't even move. She was frozen. Her tight grip on the flowers loosened until she let them fall to the floor. Phil and Eric rushed in. Ryan and Phil took Charlotte out immediately. Phil had to pick her up because she couldn't find the strength to move her legs.

As soon as they shut the door behind them, Eric started.

"What the hell is up with you?"

"Nothing..." Bruno gritted his teeth.

"Fuckin' liar."

"No one," he began to sob. "No one is letting me grieve. No one is fucking grieving anymore. Why is it harder on me? After a week, everyone seemed so much better...like nothing happened...it's not fair. We didn't even know she was sick. We didn't have any time to prepare. I wasn't ready..."

"Bruno you were doing so good in the past couple of months...what happened?"

Bruno shrugged.

"Bruno I can't tell you what to do, but drinking is going to make you feel like shit. When Mom died, you know what I did? I spent time with my family. I talked to Cindia and played with Liam all day. We're all busy, and you don't have time to be with Charlotte every hour, and you should take breaks."

"Oh," Bruno said, his tears stinging his eyes. "So you want me to go on like everything's fine...like nothing ever happened?"

"No, Bruno, but taking it out on Charlotte's not going to help. You need to get your focus back. You need to get back into the routines with her. I mean, I love her. I love watching her and don't mind giving her a bath or putting her to bed every once in a while, but..."

"I know...I know" Bruno interrupted, sighing. He looked at the flowers on the floor. "Shit I can't believe I yelled like that in front of her..."

"She loves you, no matter what, but you should fix it right now."

Bruno picked up flower after flower alongside Eric.

"I'm never drinking again," Bruno said.

"Bruno you don't have to completely stop..."

"Yes," Bruno sniffled. "Yes I do."

Bruno was able to find a glass. He put the flowers in it and gave them some water. He joined Charlotte who had been sitting next to Phil on the couch. She appeared to be doing okay.

Bruno knelt in front of her. All his tears were gone but his eyes were still swollen. Charlotte had been crying too.

"Hey peanut," Bruno whispered with a smile.

"Hi Daddy."

Bruno grabbed one of her hands. "I'm sorry sweetheart."

Charlotte tightened her grip on his hand and looked at the flowers. "It's okay."

Bruno smiled, not expecting her to be so calm and forgiving. "I love my flowers."

Charlotte smiled a little bit back.

"Did you pick all these for me?"

Charlotte nodded. "Happy Birthday, Daddy."

Bruno embraced her and held a firm grip around her. He kissed her cheek. "I'm such a lucky Daddy."

Bruno looked at his watch. There were still hours left in the day until the show. Bruno stayed in that room so the other one could be cleaned up. The last bit of alcohol left his system as he pulled out two single serve boxes of Lucky Charms.

"Yay!" Charlotte said, clapping her hands.

Bruno poured milk into her little bowl and then into his. Charlotte finished her bowl first. Bruno put her bowl on the table and continued to eat his, until Charlotte put her spoon into his bowl.

"Hey," Bruno said, laughing a little. "What are you doin'?"

Charlotte began to crack up. Bruno put his bowl on top of Charlotte's and tickled her. She screamed in laughter.

"Huh?" he laughed. "Huh?"

Charlotte tried to scoot away from him on the couch. He grabbed her sides quickly as she laughed, trying to squirm away.

"Stop!" she squealed. "Daddy!"

"Stop?" he grinned, close to her face. "And not hear that little laugh? Never!"

When Bruno nuzzled his nose into her neck, felt her little fingers in his curly hair, and heard her high-pitched giggles in his ear, he felt better than he had felt all week. Eric hit the nail on the head. Charlotte refocused him, saved him from falling into the deep end.