Chapter 51
”Ugghhhh…whhhhyyyy….” Evie whined turning off her phone early in the morning Monday.
”Stay….” Bruno said half awake.
”I can’t. I have to get Lucy to school. And me to work.” she said standing and stretching out near the foot of the bed. She looked at him and smiled falling on top of him. ”I’d like to stay, though. Later this week.” she said kissing him on the cheek going into the bathroom.
”Bruno?” he heard Lucy’s voice from the door.
”What baby doll?” he asked sitting up.
”I’m ready for school.” she said standing with her hair messed up in her pajamas holding her backpack that they brought to his house.
”You need to get dressed before you’re ready for school, Lu-lu.” he responded walking her to the bedroom past his sisters sprawled out on the couches.
”Damnit, Bruno…” he heard Presley yell at him from the other side of the room.
”Get up! It’s seven!” he yelled back. ”Okay, Lucy…what are you gonna wear today?” he asked.
”I’m gonna wear….my pink shirt and black shoes…” she pulled out the shoes he had bought her and a pink shirt with hearts on it. ”And this skirt.”
”You’re a hipster, you know that?” he said smiling helping her put on the shirt.
”Oh my goodness. You are just the cutest two people in the world.” Evie said leaning against the door frame.
”He was helping momma.” Lucy answered running to her mother.
”Are you ready to go?” she asked.
”Yeah…I’m gonna go to the car….” Lucy responded.
”Well..I guess we’re going now….” Evie laughed looking at Bruno.
”You are so beautiful.” he said wrapping his arms around her.
”Oh, thanks. But I’m too tired to even respond to that.” she answered him.
”Let me wake you up…” he said pushing her against the wall kissing her.
”Woah..woah…it’s too earlier for that hot of a kiss. Save it, mister.” she laughed wiggling out of his arms.
”Fine..you just wait…” he said watching her walk out the door quietly. She turned and winked at him closing the door. ”Shit, that girl does something to me.” he said to himself walking back to the bedroom.
**
”Eve…do you want me to come with you this afternoon?” Bruno asked Evie about Lucy’s visit with Sean later in the afternoon. Bruno sat on the couch playing with his phone while she typed on her laptop.
”No, I can do it. It’ll be okay.” she answered continuing to type.
”I don’t think you understood me, Eve. I want to go with you.” he told her.
”Bruno. You can’t. It’s too much drama for you to get involved with it.” Evie said through the taping on her laptop not flinching through their conversation.
”Evie…I still haven’t met the guy.” he told her.
”You don’t need to.” she told him.
”Please let me come with.” he begged.
”Fine. But you keep your sunglasses on and you wear a snapback. Not the fedora. You gotta blend in.” she sighed.
”You don’t think I blend in?” he asked pointing to bright blue plaid shirt.
”No, you don’t.” she answered smiling at him taking off his hat. ”Even your hair scream I’m a celebrity.”
”Okay fine..I have a hat in the car.” he replied.
A few hours later Evie picked Lucy up from her daycare not telling her that Bruno was with her. She got to the car seeing Bruno in the passenger seat. ”Lucy..don’t scream. I swear.”
”Brunooooo!” she opened the door jumping on him.
Evie grabbed her putting her in the backseat of the car hearing her go on and on about her day and how she loved singing with Bruno.
”Lucy…we’re gonna go see your dad, okay?” Evie said.
Bruno leaned over to talk to her. ”Why didn’t you tell her yet?”
”If I’ve learned anything as a law student working with families its that you don’t tell the kid they are going to a visit until the day of…in case they cancel.” Evie said.
”Oh… I guess that makes sense.” he answered seeing her turn toward the large building.
”Shit….” she said under her breath. ”He’s right there…” she said pointing to the front of the building.
”Wait for him to go inside…” Bruno told her.
”He’s waiting for us. He’s not supposed to do that.” she said grabbing her phone dialing Christina. ”Christina….he’s out there waiting for us…okay..yeah..thank you…” she said hanging up seeing the security guard guide him to the inside of the building. ”Okay..we can go in now.”
Lucy held onto her mother’s hand as they walked inside. ”Mommy..is he going to give me something like he did last time? He doesn’t give me as much stuff as Bruno. I don’t like it.”
”Lucy..he’s your dad. No matter how much stuff Bruno gives you..you gotta deal with it.” she said signing them in seeing Christina standing by the edge of the hallway. Lucy ran toward her seeing them walk toward the back where the visits were going on. ”Just keep your head down, Bruno.” Evie told him.
”Woah..you brought him with you? I guess I can bring Ashley here too…” Sean said leading Lucy into the room.
”Don’t say anything to him, Evie. You’re better than that. ” Bruno told her as she started to open her mouth.
”Shut up. You know it’s different.” Evie answered.
Bruno grabbed her arm leading her away from the room. ”Eve…why do you even give him the time of day? That’s what gets you in trouble…responding to him…”
”I can’t help it.” she told him. ”I just can’t. I also can’t take you seriously wearing your sunglasses inside.” she laughed taking them off.
”Eve..I’m serious. Don’t even give him the time of day…”
”Bruno…we have a child together. I will have to talk to him…” she answered.
”You have to be polite but you don’t have to talk to him. How do you think I respond to Tyler?” he asked her.
”You don’t.” she answered.
”Exactly. And that’s what you need to do…” he said following Desiree to her office. He continued to reassure her through the hour. Desiree got a text message standing up to lead them back downstairs.
They saw Lucy running toward them holding a doll in her hand. She grabbed onto her mom looking up at Bruno who held out his hand to Sean. ”I’m Bruno. Nice to meet you.” Sean gave him a dirty look shaking his head. ”Oh..okay.” Bruno said taking his hand back.
”We’ll see you in two weeks, Sean.” Evie said turning to walk out the door.
”You’re a whore, Eve.” Sean said loudly. Bruno grabbed onto her waist making sure she didn’t do anything she would regret. ”What, you didn’t hear me? I said you’re a dirty whore. I bet you’re just a fucking groupie, you slut.”
”Evie…take Lucy outside…” Bruno told her.
”Bruno..no….” she begged standing where she was.
”Sean, listen dude. You can’t keep doing this to Evie. You’re not just hurting her you’re hurting your daughter. Does she really need to see this?”
”What, you’re not even going to try to tell me she’s not your groupie? So she is….” Sean stated. Evie took Bruno’s hand pulling him away.
”Stop it. Just stop. This isn’t about who has the biggest dick, you two. It’s about Lucy. So stop. Sean, we’ll see you in two weeks and Bruno…I don’t know what I’m going to do with you.” she took his hand leading him outside grabbing Lucy who had been sitting with Christina in the waiting area. They drove home not saying a word to anyone.
”Lucy…go over to Bianca’s for a bit..she’s waiting for you…” Evie told her daughter.
”Okay…but Bruno will be here, right? When I come back?” she asked.
”He’ll be here…” she said watching her daughter run next door.
”Bruno! What the hell was that? Like oh my god. I told you not to come with me if you were going to be like that!”
“Geneva…I was being civil. He’s lucky I didn’t kick his ass.”
”Bruno! That was not civil! You told me not to yell at him and then you go and do that? Come on.”
”Evie…stop. Just stop. I just told him to cool his shit. That was it. Had I not been there he would have hit you today.”
”How do you know that?” she asked.
”I just know. I could see it in his eye…” Bruno answered.
”I’d rather been hit then you get involved.” she answered.
”Evie…no you don’t.” he told her touching her face.
”I’m still mad at you.” she said turning around.
”No, no you’re not.” he answered wrapping his arms around her running his fingers along her waist making her squirm.
”Stoppp!” she laughed turning around to face him looking at his dead in the eye. He smiled at her making her laugh again.
”Damnit. You’re right.” she responded feeling him push her against the sink to kiss her.