Our Love is Torn (A Bruno Mars Fan Fiction)

Chapter 14

Bruno saw and felt the cold stare of death from Elizabeth. One he knew he would not recover from easily. Still holding his son, Bruno shakily asked, "Hey little man, aren't you supposed to be napping right now?" "Gramma's making cookies."

"Oh, right," Bruno answered, and under his breath mumbled, "Liz is gonna be baking cookies pretty soon too." Bruno adjusted his son to his lap as he sat in an overstuffed chair across from Elizabeth and Jeffrey asked, "What Daddy?" "Nothin' sweetie. How bout you and I walk the long way home and we'll see if grandma's finished those cookies? Maybe she'll let us eat some?"

"Yay! Can Lizzy come, too? She feels better now, I helped her." Jeffrey had Bruno's face between his two little hands and stared him in the eye. Bruno looked at Liz but she was still glaring, "No Jeff, Lizzy's not quite up for that walk, yet."

"Jeffrey, come here sweetie," Elizabeth summoned him with her arms out. The little boy slipped off his dad's lap and ran to Liz. She took his soft hands in hers and told him it would be better for he and his dad to walk to Grandma's without her. Liz let him know she was glad to have met him, that he was a good boy, and that she would see him later. Jeffrey seemed satisfied and took his daddy's hand to leave.

Bruno watched how Elizabeth treated his son. It was certainly more kind than the slap she had received from him today, learning of his son and dead wife with no buffer, no warning. He felt bad about what he had done in not telling her, but the time had just never been right. "Daddy?" "Coming, Jeff. I'm coming."

Before leaving the house, Jeffrey let go of his dad's hand and ran to Liz. While giving her a tight hug, he said, "Lizzy, my dad loves you so much, and I think you are pretty. If you are my mommy I would like that a lot!" Jeffrey turned his precious little head and left Liz with a sloppy wet kiss on the cheek, then plunked himself back to the floor and ran again to his dad and out the door they went.

Liz's mind reeled. She wanted to cry but couldn't, so she stood and watched the love of her life as he and this most intimate piece of him traipsed down the street together. Except for the obvious height difference and Bruno's curly versus Jeff's wavy hair, it was easy to see the resemblance in the two males making their way away from her. Their coloring, shoulders, and the way they walked were the same, and Liz had already seen Bruno in Jeffrey's telling eyes and bright smile. Elizabeth had no tears but could still not comprehend what mess she had landed in the middle of. Feeling her life was out of control, Liz instinctively grabbed a dust cloth and went to work looking for every piece of dust in every nook and cranny. Liz always cleaned when she was angry or feeling particularly unbalanced. Today, no dirt would feel safe in this house.

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"So Jeff, how's your day been?" "Good daddy! I saw you on Sesame Street again. I like to see you sing! Do I get to come to a concert again?" "Yes, honey, you do." "Yay! Gramma and Lizzy, too?" Bruno felt downcast and sighed, "Yeah, Gramma and Lizzy."

"Daddy, I think Lizzy got scared today." "Oh?" "She did like I do when there's bad rain, uhh," Jeffrey searched for the right words, "thunder and lights. Thunder and lights shoot down at our houses and I get scared," Jeffrey said, clapping his hands together nearly knocking himself off balance. "It's not like when you play your drums, Daddy. Thunder and lights wake me up! Then I want to hide under my blanket and I want to sleep with you and Gramma!" Jeffrey used his hands to show what it looked like to have a blanket over his head.

"So, did Liz wrap up in a blanket?" "No! Lizzy put her scared voice on and looked like she wanted to go somewhere, but didn't know where. Her gramma and her daddy don't live here so she couldn't be with them!" "Ooooh, I see. So Lizzy got scared and didn't have someone to help keep her safe." "Yes, Daddy!" Jeffrey was glad Bruno figured out what he was trying to say. Talking to these adults could be so exasperating sometimes.