‘Stand by me’, covered by the Searchers is playing in the dining room. A dining room they only used on New Year’s eve. Bruno says: ‘That dragging click clack is pre-punk.’ She hugs him tight. At 53 he’s still strong. Former bodybuilder. Bruno even means strong as a bear. Nomen est omen. ‘Over the edge’, by the Wipers starts. Paola knows he’s over the edge. She wanted to call the doctor. But he’s sure he’ll end up in a psychiatric ward. Ever since undergoing open heart surgery at 6 he’s terrified of hospitals. He’s also deeply repulsed by loss of freedom. Bruno even hates hotels. She doesn’t want to do that to him.
‘When a man loves a woman’, by Percy Sledge comes on. Their wedding dance 31 years ago.
They’re cooking beans from the garden. From the freezer.
Soon Bruno will go upstairs and tie a plastic bag round his head.

‘We were never very lucky, were we?’, he asks. Paola thinks they did relatively ok. But she knows there is a massive gap between what Bruno considers a great life and what he had. And yes, there was a good share of plain dumb bad luck.

Bruno had intelligent, curious, talkative, but bat shit crazy, chaotic, disorganized parents with more than just a flair for the decadent and theatrical, for example.

They eat beans in milk sauce with eggs, boiled potatoes and steak. It’s early for such a heavy meal.

‘Immigrant song’, by Led Zeppelin makes the windows rattle.

Followed by ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash’ and ‘Paint it black’ by The Rolling Stones.

After the meal they make love one last time. That’s a blessing Bruno apparently takes for granted. Having a rather active sex life. This is before the word incel existed, so maybe in the 2000s the idea of touch starved men wasn’t around to make touch spoilt men see what they did have.

‘Leader of the pack’, by the Shangri-las is playing.

‘When our son was 4 our son insisted I play this song over and over again, explaining what it was about.’

A guy drives straight into a fatal accident because his girlfriend breaks up with him and tears blur his vision.

‘I don’t know why he’s always had such a fatalistic streak’, he adds and doesn’t mean it as a joke. It’s a genuine sadness.

‘There will be no next time’, by Belgian punk band The Kids plays.

‘A hard day’s night’ by The Beatles.

‘I call your name’, also by The Beatles.

‘You’d think Lennon is calling out for his girlfriend, but he’s really calling out for his mother.’

‘What I like about you’, by The Romantics hits.

Energetic and optimistic.

Jefferson Airplane hauntingly screams:

‘Don’t you need somebody to love?’

It’s an extra loud live version.

Then ‘Have you ever been experienced?’, Jimmy Hendrix. ‘Well, I have.’

Chinese Rock (heroin) by Ramones.

Then a song that would be banned today.

‘I can see that you’re 15 years old
No, I don’t want your I.D
And I can see that you’re so far from home
But, it’s no hanging matter
It’s no capital crime
Oh, yeah, you’re a strange stray cat
Oh, yeah, don’cha scratch like that
Oh, yeah, you’re a strange stray cat
I bet, bet your mama don’t know you scream like that
I bet your mother don’t know you can spit like that’

‘Stray Cat Blues’, Rolling Stones again.

Bruno: ‘And to think the radio did bang their song ‘Stoned.’

Then the song they first kissed to:

‘Have I ever told you
How good it feels to hold you?
It isn’t easy to explain
And though I’m really trying
I think I may start crying
My heart can’t wait another day’
The Ronettes.
And because Bruno dies of having too much life in a moribund, stifling world he suffocates to La Bamba.

‘Para bailar La Bamba
Se necesita una poca de gracia
Una poca de gracia
Pa’ mí, pa’ ti, ay arriba, ay arriba.’

Their son will only not experience music as a dagger to his chest in rare moments of passion with the right woman or when – somewhat – when dancing with his son, also named Bruno and still very much exhilarated by heavy beats.