Broken Descent (Bruno Mars)

What's in a Name?

A few days before Christmas, Charlotte and Madison sat on the living room floor, working on a picture together. Once they finished, Charlotte picked it up and brought it over to Bruno who'd been playing around on the keyboard while watching them.

"Daddy can we have a dance party now?"

"Of course," he said. "Pick everything up off the floor so you two have enough room."

Charlotte and Madison picked their art supplies off of the floor, along with their bowls from their ice cream sundaes. When they returned to the living room, Bruno brought the microphone attached to the keyboard closer to his mouth. Dimming the overhead lights, Bruno used an announcer's voice.

"DJ Mars is in the HOUSE!" Bruno exclaimed, starting to play the music.

Both of the girls laughed, cheered, and danced. The dance party lasted for a few hours until Bruno turned off the keyboard.

"Awwww..." Charlotte whined a little at the same time as Madison.

"Time for bed," he said, standing up.

Standing at Charlotte's door, he watched both girls set up sleeping bags on her floor, making sure they were actually going to bed.

"Alright," he said, flipping the light switch. "Good night girls."

"Good night," Madison said.

"Night Daddy."

On his way back to the kitchen, Bruno smiled. He watched a bit of TV before heading off to sleep himself. A few hours later, in the middle of the night, he heard giggling. Rubbing his eyes, he slowly got out of bed and headed down the hallway. Cracking the door open, the light was off and both girls were under the covers, seemingly quiet. That was, until Charlotte started cracking up.

Trying not to laugh, Bruno kept a serious tone. "Charlotte."

"Yes Daddy?" She laughed.

"You both need to go to sleep.'

"Okay."

As soon as Bruno shut the door, he heard laughing and whispering again. This time, he just knocked on the door.

"Charlotte I'm serious."

"Okay. I'm sorry."

The next morning, Charlotte nearly slept her way through eating her Lucky Charms. Madison was a bit out of it as well. Bruno shook his head, taking another bite.

"See," Bruno said, feeling a bit sleepy himself. "This is why you two should have gone to bed when I told you to."

"But I'm not gonna see Madison until after Christmas..."

"I know. It's going to be a little bit of time."

Later that morning, Kimberly came to pick up Madison.

"How was she?" Kimberly said, looking down at her daughter.

"Good...I have to say though for a "sleep" over they didn't do a whole lot of sleeping."

Kimberly smiled. "Yeah they're like that at my house too. It's just how sleepovers go. Wait until they're teenagers; they'll be sleeping all the time."

"Yeah."

As soon as Madison left, Charlotte still stood next to Bruno. He reached his hand down to rub her back a little.

"Alright peanut. You should probably start packing for Hawaii."

"Okay."

On Christmas Eve, the whole family spent time together in Hawaii. All of the kids sat on the floor singing, as Bruno played Christmas songs on piano. After a while, most of the kids got tired and went to do other things. Only Charlotte remained, standing beside him with an especially smiling face.

Bruno smiled back at her, helping her climb up on the seat beside him.

"Getting sleepy?"

"No," Charlotte said, shaking her head, just before yawning.

Bruno laughed a little, and Charlotte did too.

"I think you're a bit tired, huh?"

Charlotte nodded her head. "I'm wanna go to bed."

"Alright, Char. I'll be in there in about an hour, okay?"

Charlotte nodded, giving him a kiss.

"Love you," Bruno said.

"Love you, Daddy."

Charlotte walked away, giving Eric a little wave while passing him.

"Love that kid," Eric said.

"I can't wait for tomorrow."

"Christmas is so much better when you have kids. You spoiling Charlotte?"

"No," Bruno grinned. "She's going to be so excited though...especially when we get back home for the surprise."

The next morning, each family celebrated separately before going to the beach later that day. Charlotte opened her drawing kit and smiled. Bruno lowered his head to get a better look at her bright face, hoping he picked the right one.

"Do you like it?" Bruno asked. "Daddy picked it out."

Holding it tight in her arms, she nodded. "I thought this was for my birthday."

"Well, sweetheart," he said, "it was...but then I got an idea for your birthday and I know you're going to love it."

"What is it?"

"It's a surprise. You need to wait a few months when you turn six."

"Okay," she said, putting the kit in the pile of her other presents.

That afternoon, the family spent the whole afternoon at the beach, as the adults had done when they were kids. Charlotte and Liam played in the water for the most part. After a while, Bruno waved her in and she came running in toward him.

"What?" she asked, squinting.

Bruno took out sunscreen and started reapplying to it her back and shoulders. He also gave her a bottle of water. "It's hot. I don't want you to get burned or dehydrated."

Charlotte turned around to face him once he'd finished.

"Are you hungry? I brought some sandwiches."

"No," she said, giving Bruno a hug and then kiss on his cheek. "Thanks Dad. I love you."

Charlotte skipped back toward the water, leaving Bruno with a slight pout on his face. Eric looked over and laughed.

"What's wrong with you?"

"She called me Dad."

Eric shook his head, remaining quiet.

"Am I ever going to hear Daddy again? Last night I was Daddy and now I'm Dad? I thought I had some years left."

"You're so dramatic," Eric said, laying back down flat on his towel. "It's not like she called you mom."

Bruno watched the water for a long time, before running in himself. He ran in and picked up Charlotte, throwing her into the water. Letting a high-pitched scream, she disappeared, and then came back up laughing hysterically. Naturally, Liam wanted a turn too, so Bruno alternated until he got tired and out of breath. Later on, Bruno helped them dig a hole as deep as he could. Both of the kids stepped inside and let Bruno fill it. They laughed and screamed when they could no longer move their legs. Liam was able to get out first, without help. Charlotte stood there, cracking up.

"Do you need help?" Bruno asked, chuckling a bit too.

Charlotte couldn't stop laughing and Bruno had no idea why she was laughing in the first place.

"Charlotte?" Bruno grinned.

Her giggles were infectious. They reminded him from when she was a little younger, when that was her main form of communication when she was all laughs and smiles all day long. At that moment, Bruno didn't care whether he was Dad or Daddy, because it didn't matter. She'd always be the little baby he picked up from near garbage cans. She'd always be the little girl that looked up at him with admiration. As she'd grow older, she'd go to Dad for a guarantee for the advice and unconditional love that wasn't always so certain.