Broken Descent (Bruno Mars)

Some Heroes Don't Have Capes

Late one morning, Charlotte rummaged through the pantry, pulling out a box of Lucky Charms. She poured two bowls and set them on the table. She waited for a while before going to look for Bruno. When she peered into the twin's bedroom, Bruno and Kim were sitting in front of Jackson as he screamed. He kept hitting the both of them, and continued as they tried to sit him in the corner for a time-out. Taking a quick glance behind, Bruno saw Charlotte out of the corner of his eye, making him turn all the way around.

"I'll be right there," he said.

Charlotte went back to the kitchen, waiting and waiting. She went into the other room to go watch TV and pass the time. Bruno finally made it to the kitchen, seeing two bowls sitting there. He stood, pouting before grabbing them both. Charlotte smiled very brightly when Bruno came to join her.

"Sorry about that, Peanut," he said, sitting on the couch next to her, handing her a bowl.

"It's okay."

"The marshmallows might be a little soggy," he said.

"It's okay...the milk will taste really good now."

The two of them were fairly quiet as they ate. When she finished, Charlotte looked over at Bruno.

"I'm still hungry," she said.

"Me too," Bruno winked. "Let's go out to breakfast."

Bruno let Kim know they were stepping out for a bit. On the way to the diner, they listened to all kinds of music. When Charlotte started speaking, Bruno turned down the volume.

"Dad, do you miss doing music and going on tours and stuff?"

"Why?"

"Because I wanna know..."

"Alright...well sometimes I do...but I love what I'm doing now. When your brothers are a little older, I might record again and go on tour."

Charlotte smiled at him through the mirror. "Well I think you should."

Once they got to the diner, they sat in the car for a little bit, continuing to listen to the music.

"Come up here for a sec," Bruno said, waving her over, up to the front seat.

Charlotte climbed over the seat and into the passenger's side. She stared over at him, waiting for him to speak. When he didn't, she did.

"What are we doing?" she asked him.

"Enjoying the peace...Charlotte I just wanted to say that you've been so, so helpful with the boys...and that Kim and I really appreciate that you and Madison are hangin' in there."

"Oh," she said quietly. "You're welcome."

They got to the diner and took their time eating. They sat in silence for a while, smiling at each other.

"Anything new at school?"

"Well," she said, swallowing some food. "My teacher said we might have a new student in our class."

"Oh that's fun. Anything else goin on? Middle school can be tough sometimes."

"It was for you?"

Bruno grinned. "Yeah. It's tough for everyone. Everyone's just trying to fit in and be popular...trust me I remember those days."

"All these girls are wearing makeup and stuff, especially these three girls that sit at the table next to me and Madison during lunch. They always spend like half of their lunch time in the bathroom putting a lot of it back on."