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“Mirabel? I swear, if she ran off again-” Julieta stood from where she’d been sifting through the rubble beside Agustín to scan the area for her daughter. Panic started to creep in until she heard her daughter laugh from farther away. It was such a joyous sound that Julieta couldn’t help but smile. Luisa came to stand beside her mother, Camilo following shortly after.
“She wandered off with some guy from the village. I think he works in his parents' goldsmith shop. Seems like a nice guy.” Camilo shrugged and looked uneasily to Luisa for support.
“I think I know the one. Short black hair and blue eyes? She’d hang out with him all the time. Dolores? What do you know about them?” Dolores had overheard the conversation, being only a few paces away, and joined the small group.
“They’re dating. That’s all I know. I didn’t want to intrude.” A small hum and Dolores went back to her previous task, unaware of the inner turmoil she had just created. Each of the three were uncomfortable with the idea for their own reasons. Julieta didn’t know this boy and had no way to know his intentions with her daughter. Luisa was afraid that Mirabel would get hurt if this boy decided he didn’t want to be with Mirabel anymore. Camilo couldn’t help but think of the worst situation, he was getting close to Mirabel as a ruse to hurt the family or use them.
“Tia, Maybe we should keep an eye on them? Just in case, you know?”
As much as she wanted to trust her daughter’s judgment, she just had to be sure. A quick, terse nod was all the permission the two needed.
“Tell Isabela too. She might be able to help. Thank you, both of you.” With that, the conversation ended and Luisa went to find Isabela while Camilo snuck to the source of the laughter. After all, he was an expert at acting. If something wasn’t right, he’d know.
“And the flowers explode? That’s amazing! I wish I could have seen them. I bet they were almost as amazing as you.” The soft sound of a playful smack to a clothed arm met Camilo’s ears.
“Arvin! Please! The point of the story was not to embarrass me!” Camilo crouched behind a bush, seeing his cousin and the stranger in question. Mirabel was blushing deeply while Arvin only chuckled and pulled Mirabel into a side hug.
“Sé que sé! Es tan divertido verlos a todos nerviosos. My precious little tomato.” Mirabel groaned and buried her face in her hands.
“I hate you.”
“No you don’t.” He flashed her a cheeky grin, a joke twinkling in his eyes.
“I hate it when you’re right.” Camilo backed away carefully, he’d seen enough. No one, no matter how good an actor, could fake the love Camilo had seen in his eyes. He really cares about Mirabel, family be damned. As soon as he made it back to his primas and hermana, he was bombarded with questions.
“Is she okay?”
“What were they doing?”
“Do we need to give anyone the shovel talk?”
That last one sent him into a fit of laughter.
“I think he may have already given himself that talk. Come see. Just be quiet and follow my lead.” He led them back to the spot he had hidden, directing them each to a place to hide.
“So what will you do when the house is rebuilt? It feels odd to just say the house but it won’t really… be Casita I guess? Does that make sense?” A sad sigh, Mirabel lay her head on his shoulder.
“Yeah. Casita was like a member of the family. Calling the new house Casita just feels like we’re replacing it. I don’t really know what we’ll do once the house is built though. Getting Tio Bruno healthy again will probably be a big priority. Bonding with everyone again and fixing everything.” Arvin furrowed his brow and turned to look at Mirabel.
“Do you think he’ll be okay? I hear the rumors occasionally but I don’t buy it. Looking into the future seems the same as reading a book. You start from the beginning and work your way forward. If you peek a few chapters ahead, it doesn’t change what happens when you get there and you’re certainly not the one who put the words there. You know what? I’m going to tell him that! In front of everyone! They were all horrible to him and they ought to know it!” He made to stand, determination setting his face when Mirabel grabbed his arm to pull him back down.
“Cariño, I appreciate you looking out for Bruno but maybe not right now? He only just came back and I don’t think you yelling at everyone on his behalf will help anyone.” He sighed and sat back down.
“I’d yell at everyone on behalf of all of you if I needed too. Especially you, mi sol. Your family was just as bad to you as they were to him. But I love you con o sin regalo. You hear me? You are perfect just the way you are.” The pair startled as Luisa sniffed, tears edging her eyes. The others couldn’t really blame her though, they were all in various stages of breakdown.
“Hello? Who’s there?” The quartet stood up, awkwardly avoiding eye contact with her. Various apologies spilled from them in a cacophony.
“Hey Mira. So uhh… welcome to the family Arvin, glad to meet you. Sorry we spied on you, we just… wanted to make sure you were ok.” Mirabel just gaped at them for a moment, then bent over, laughing hysterically. Arvin couldn’t hide his own amusement at the situation, smiling at them with not a hint of annoyance to be found.
“Looks like those plans to break it to them gently are out the window. What do you say we tell the rest of the family mi vida?” Mirabel finally got a hold of herself and wiped the tears from her eyes.
“Probably for the best. They’ll be wondering where everyone is by now. Do they know where you four are?” They all looked at each other, hoping one of the others would answer for them. Finally, Isabela came forward.
“I may or may not have told everyone else that you were sneaking off with your boyfriend. Sorry?” Despite the apology, she didn’t look the least bit the part.
Dolores made an attempt to speak but stopped, mulling over her words. Finally, she made to speak again.
“I'm glad that you two make each other happy. It’s nice to know someone was looking out for Mirabel when her own family wasn’t.” She hugged Arvin tenderly, the only way she knew to convey just how much she appreciated his caring for Mirabel. Isabela joined the hug, pulling Mirabel in with a laugh and gesturing Luisa and Camilo over. Camilo finally obeyed the silent command and wrapped himself up in the hug. Luisa pulled them all into a crushing hug, smiling through the tears at the bonding that had taken place in just a few minutes between everyone.
“Maybe we ought to get going. Make sure we don’t panic anybody.” Arvin smiled at the group and held his hand out to Mirabel, placing a kiss the the back of her hand.
“Shall we mi reina?” Mirabel smiled and looked to the company surrounding them. A fondness settled over her. They worried about her, enough to spy on her. While that may be upsetting to many, it was just one of the many quirks of this unique mash-up of people.
“I believe we shall.”