18. Chapter 18

A/N: Edited 6/24/22 for spelling and grammar.

Chapter 18

"Señora Moreno!"

Lucía paused, Josefina's hand in hers. Señora Díaz, who ran the music shop and tuned and repaired the instruments in the Encanto, ran up beside them. She was about ten years older than Lucía, and she was short and round with pale skin, short brown hair, and a perpetual smile on her face. Today, however, she looked worried. She clasped Lucía's free hand in hers.

"Señora Moreno, I just – lo siento. I'm so sorry about the murales. I thought – when Señora Valencia approached me about repairing the wall – well, she's just been at so many council meetings lately, I assumed that she'd already gotten approval and talked to everyone she needed to about it, and of course I shouldn't have assumed but it was looking like a sorry mess, you know, wasn't it? And so I said thank you, because it was so kind of her to offer to repair it – I only repair instruments, isn't that the truth! And since Papá passed away last year, God rest his soul, I've been running everything myself and I've had some trouble keeping up and I just can't tell you how sorry I am for not talking to you directly, first. I - "

Lucía blinked in surprise. Señora Díaz had a kind heart but it was always difficult to get a word in once she started talking. "Señora - "

"-wouldn't blame you if didn't want to talk to me again, not that we talk all that much to begin with, of course, but you're so nice and so is your daughter – hola, Josefina, how lovely you look today, you look like you're going somewhere special."

Josefina looked at her warily, still uncertain of how to react to the woman who'd had a part in removing her Papá's work. "We're -"

"-And again, I just can't tell you how sorry I am for causing you pain. It must have been such a shock, seeing the murales gone like that with no warning! How terrible. Can you ever forgive me?"

Lucía sighed and smiled, attempting to politely remove her hand from Señora Díaz's grip. "Señora Díaz, any pain you caused us was completely unintentional on your part. Of course I forgive you."

Relief broke over the woman's face and her sunny smile was back in place. "Oh, gracias! I won't make that mistake again, mark my words. I feel so terrible. But – anyway. I received notice that the new murales was supposed to be complete by La Feria de Las Flores. That's less than two weeks away! Has Señora Valencia approached you or la familia Madrigal with anything yet? Any ideas? Any plans?"

Lucía bit her lip. "Ah, well - "

"She hasn't said anything at all to us. She doesn't talk to us." Josefina announced. "And we don't talk to her."

Señora Díaz blinked and her smile faltered. "Oh? Well, that's – that's – ah - "

Lucía shifted uneasily on her feet. "It isn't that we're refusing to talk to her," she explained. "She just – ah – we haven't had an opportunity to – to reconcile."

"She didn't say she was sorry. And I think it's because – she is not sorry." Josefina leaned forward and wrinkled her nose.

Señora Díaz's mouth fell open into a little 'o'. "Well, qué pena! Who does she think she is? What are you going to do about that?" She looked to Lucía with an astonished expression.

Josefina shrugged and Lucía shook her head and spoke firmly. "Nothing. We're not going to do anything."

"But - "

"I have heard that the council gave her clear directions. If she truly wants to make amends, I'm open to it. But I'm not going to seek her out. We're not going to go looking for trouble. I - I have - I've collected Alejandro's sketches, if the artist she's spoken to wants to use them as reference. But - I don't know who she spoke with. No one has - well. Anyway - if she refuses the council's directions, that is between her and the council."

Señora Díaz finally released Lucía's hand. "Oh, of course, you're absolutely right. She should be seeking you out to apologize! After all that happened in town, too, what with her insinuations about - "

"Señora Díaz, I appreciate your concern and thank you for your apology. But we really do need to get going," Lucía interrupted apologetically.

"Oh, of course, of course!" Señora Díaz stepped back and waved with her hand. "I did say you looked like you were going someplace special tonight, wherever are you going?"

"We're going to Casita!" Josefina announced proudly.

"Oh, Casita? You've been over there quite a bit since the house was rebuilt, haven't you? How nice, you've become quite close with the Madrigals. They're a lovely family. Agustín and Mirabel are such talented musicians. Agustín – well, you've heard him on the piano. But Mirabel! The accordion is a challenge, and she's done very well for herself on it! And the rest of the family, too, of course, with their gifts – truly lovely. Do you like playing with little Antonio, Josefina? He's about your age, isn't he?"

Josefina nodded. "I like playing with Antonio and with Pablo."

Señora Díaz blinked in confusion. "Who is Pablo?"

"He's one of Don Bruno's rats!"

Señora Díaz blinked again. "Oh. Is that so." She looked slightly concerned, and looked to Lucía. "Is that wise?"

Something sharp bristled inside Lucía at the other woman's expression. "I've been working very closely with Bruno these past few weeks in preparation for a performance at La Feria de Las Flores. He's - " a treasure. Lucía's cheek twitched and she continued. "- a kind, gentle man and a good friend who has been seriously maligned in this village, so I'm going to assume you're referring to the rats."

"Oh, I'm so sorry - of course I was referring to the rats!"

Lucía relaxed slightly and her voice softened. "I'm sorry. I was a bit hesitant with them at first myself. But they're actually very intelligent, very clean, and very soft little creatures. We've learned to love them. Well – I've learned to love them."

Josefina nodded seriously. "I've always loved them."

Señora Díaz smiled again, a great happy beaming smile that made the corners of her eyes crinkle slightly, and stepped back. "Oh, well, that's so lovely and sweet. I hope you have a wonderful evening. I'm sorry again. And thank you again. Buenas noches!"

"Buenas noches, Señora."

Lucía adjusted her mochila as they walked away toward the market. She intended to meet up with her father at the Pezmuerto's food stall to pick up some food for dinner before they all went to the Madrigals for the first full read-through of the script with the rats. They'd offered to bring dinner, because Julieta and the rest of la familia Madrigal had already been hosting Lucía and Josefina every evening for the past few days while Bruno and Lucía rehearsed for the upcoming festival. Only ten days remained before their debut at La Feria de Las Flores.

Antonio had already worked with Bruno, Lucía, and the rats every day after school the past week, and had communicated several of Lareina's demands on costuming to Mirabel and Alma. The rats were smart and quick to catch on, especially when lavished with praise and treats.

Lucía sighed and adjusted her grip on Josefina's hand. She really shouldn't have assumed Señora Díaz was speaking negatively about Bruno. She'd always been a cheerful woman and rarely said a negative word about anyone. And she'd obviously been anxious about apologizing and the circumstances that had led to it; it was no wonder she'd tripped over her words more than usual.

But the thought of anyone thinking badly of Bruno made her heart ache, and apparently – made her very defensive as well. She cared deeply about him. She'd meant every word she'd told him when they'd spoken over coffee the other day; he was a powerful yet humble man, he was worth knowing, and she was proud of him for opening himself up and attempting to use his gift again. So far, he'd been met with tentative success. He'd offered several visions for people leaving the Encanto on business and so far, every vision had had two outcomes. The outcomes rarely had the severe consequences that Señora Ruiz's vision had, but they were still helpful. He'd saved the school a lot of money; in one vision, the head teacher for the older students - Señor Garcia – had spent hundreds of pesos at one store to purchase new materials at one particular shop. The other outcome showed him spending significantly less for similar materials elsewhere. The reputation of his new visions was slowly spreading, but the contract the Madrigal family had created had not yet been made official with the council, so his visions, for the moment, were by invitation or recommendation only.

So far, he seemed to be coping well with the change, though he'd confided in her that he still struggled when he saw hard things – he still felt nervous about how others would react. He knew that at some point, someone would react badly to a vision and attempt to blame him. He was hopeful that things would be better this time – that his family would support him, that having two outcomes would place some measure of control into the hands of those seeking the visions and protect him from blame – but he knew it wouldn't last forever. And he dreaded having to go through the hard process of banning someone from seeking a vision or worse – banning them from seeking help from the rest of his family.

He was still anxious. She knew she couldn't change the circumstances that made him feel that way, but she wanted to help in whatever small way she could. One of those ways was by giving him leave to 'inspect' the vision he'd had of her as many times as he liked, if he wanted to. If he wanted to practice focusing in on certain aspects of it, he had her full permission.

Still, that didn't feel like much. She patted the mochila at her side and felt the reassuring weight of the gift she'd put together for him, and she hoped he would like it.

"Hola, Casita! Hola, Antonio! Hola Señora Madrigal! Hola, Don Bruno! Hola, hola, hola!" Josefina tossed out greetings while waving and spinning through the doorway of La Casa Madrigal like she was tossing favors in a parade. She was so excited she attempted a cartwheel, which fell a little flat, but Casita caught her with an uplifted floor tile and lowered her gently to the ground. Antonio stood on the balcony above the courtyard, giving some quiet instructions to the rats. She blinked and laughed off her mother's warnings to calm herself, and then ran up the stairs as fast as she could, asking Antonio if he was excited about the rehearsal tonight. Several of the rats squeaked in greeting, clambered up her legs, and settled on her shoulders. They nuzzled her cheeks and she giggled with delight. She didn't need Antonio to tell her they were happy to see her.

Lucía and Señor Hernandez entered Casita behind her, carrying the lechona, rice, and arepas they'd picked up from the Pezmuerto's food stall in town. Mariano was already there and sprang up from his seat beside Dolores, greeting the family warmly. His voice carried across the courtyard, but he'd been working on moderating his volume to avoid causing any pain to Dolores - though that wasn't as much of a problem now as it had been in the past. Everyone exchanged greetings, calling and laughing and scolding, and then began to move to the kitchen for dinner. Isabela and Luisa took the containers of food from Lucía and her father, and Mariano began a lively discussion with Señor Hernandez on a book of poetry he'd borrowed the past week. Lucía hung back to greet Bruno.

"Hey."

"Hey, you." She smiled at him. "Oh! I have something for you."

His brows drew together. "Oh?"

"Yes. The other day, after our conversation, I was thinking – about prophecies, and - you know the prophets, from the Bible?"

He blinked and nodded.

"Well, I thought – I might not know exactly how you feel, not having a gift like that myself, even though I can empathize. But they – the prophets in the Bible - they struggled with delivering bad news and seeing hard things, too. I can't pretend to know exactly how you feel, but they do. They did. You're not alone, Bruno, in your struggle. Moses, Deborah, Samuel, David, Huldah, Isaiah, Jeremiah – you - you probably - know this, already - but - you have an entire Holy Book of people who both struggled with and found comfort in their God-given purpose."

She rifled through her mochila and presented him with a thick book, several ribbons and pieces of paper stuck apparently at random throughout.

He took the worn book, his fingers brushing over the engraving on the front cover that identified it as a Bible. He looked at it, and then at her.

"I took one of the Bibles from the - our little - library and marked passages I thought might help." She felt her cheeks grow warm. She wasn't sure why she felt so nervous about this. It was Bruno. He was usually the nervous one, not her. She just – really wanted him to like it. Or at least – to not be offended by it. He'd worked so hard and come so far and she just wanted to encourage him. "You know. With – whatever you're feeling. About your gift. Papá helped, of course. He's – he's like a walking, talking Bible himself. Some of them – ah – some of the passages, like Job, like Jeremiah, are laments – they're – they're mourning what they see because it's hard. And some of them – they're joyful, and happy, because – people responded well, or there's – there's hope, for the future."

Bruno flipped open to one marker. "He pierced my heart with arrows from his quiver," he murmured, skimming through the verse. "I became the laughingstock of all my people; they mock me with song all day long..." (1) He looked up at Lucía, who was nervously biting her lip. "Heh. That…sounds familiar."

"Maybe not the best one to turn to, to start with - " she grimaced apologetically.

He shrugged. "No, you're right. It's accurate. It is – it is nice. Not nice, but – comforting. To know he felt the same way." He skimmed a bit farther. "I have been deprived of peace, I have forgotten what prosperity is…"

"So yes – that's - definitely a lament. " She moved around beside him, leaning over his shoulder and flipping to another marker. "But there's also good, too. See?" She pointed and looked at him, so close she could see every detail of his dark green eyes. She blinked and refocused on the text. "One of my favorites – Isaiah 61. 'The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from the darkness for prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, to provide for all who grieve in Zion – to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes; the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.' (2) Isn't that beautiful?"

Her face was so close to his, and he swallowed. "Uh – yeah. It is. Beautiful. The – the verses. Beautiful."

She stepped back and looked away, smoothing her hands on her skirts. He closed the book, tapping his palm against the spine. "Thanks, Lucía," he murmured. "It's – that was really – that was great of you. And – your father! Gracias."

She felt her shoulders release the tension they'd been holding and she smiled. "De nada. It was nothing." She pressed a hand to her cheek. She wondered why her face felt so warm. "I'm glad you like it."

"Mamá!" Josefina called as she slid down Casita's stairs with Antonio, "Your face looks all funny and blotchy! Tienes tante hambre que te cortaste con eso filo? (3) It's dinnertime! Let's eat! And then it's time for the shooooowwww!"

Bruno laughed as the kids ran past, and then stepped to the side and inclined his head. "Well, she's right. After you…Imelda," he said, bowing slightly and extending his arm with a flourish.

Lucía smiled and gave a mini-curtsy. "Gracias, Ramón."

Bruno followed closely behind Lucía as she made her way into the kitchen.

He hadn't noticed Dolores and Mirabel there before, just out of sight behind the wall. But as he approached, he realized that they had had a perfect line of sight to everything that had just occurred between himself and Lucía. They both kept eyeing each other, big, close-lipped smirks on their faces. Mirabel was bouncing on her toes.

Bruno noticed. He leaned forward and looked between them with a stern expression on his face. "Not a single word out of either of you alborotadoras. Comprenden?" (4) He knocked on the walls and threw some salt and sugar over his shoulders, just in case.

Mirabel mimed locking her mouth with a key, and Dolores nodded, though the smile never left her face.

Mirabel followed her tío to the table, but Dolores glanced at the balcony, narrowed her eyes, and made her way in that direction.

Camilo and Pepa had been unintentionally eavesdropping from the balcony above. As soon as Lucía had pulled Bruno aside to greet him, Pepa had gripped her son's ruana and stopped him from descending the stairs and interrupting the two adults. But it hadn't stopped the two of them from looking at each other conspiratorially, eyes wide, and leaning slightly over the railing to get a better view.

Once Bruno and Lucía walked out of view, Pepa finally released Camilo's ruana.

"What – was that?" Camilo exclaimed, gesturing toward the empty courtyard. "What the heck did we just watch?"

"She was so flustered!" Pepa sighed, putting a hand over her heart. "And she gave him a present."

"It was definitely a thing. A thing that happened. Right there. Before my eyes. Has Tío always been this awkward with the ladies?"

"They were flirting! Weren't they flirting? It was definite flirting. Just a tiny bit, at least." Pepa looked to her son, with an expression that suggested it would be in his best interests to agree with her.

"It was definitely some subtle flirting." Dolores spoke quietly, appearing at Pepa's side.

"I knew it!" Little rainbows appeared over her head.

" – but he's nervous - "

"Awwww," Pepa crooned.

"- and he doesn't even want to admit to himself that he likes her. He doesn't want to 'mess things up' and I don't think he'll be making any moves anytime soon."

"But she gave him a present! And she was so...so..." Pepa's smile suddenly faded into a frown. "Dolores, mi amor - she's not toying with him, is she?" A tiny thundercloud popped into existence above her head at the thought. "I don't think she's that kind of person, and I don't think she would purposely, but if she breaks his heart - "

Dolores' eyes went wide and she shook her head. "No! No." She'd heard her tío and Lucía talking plenty of times in town - not that she tried to eavesdrop specifically on them... okay. Fine. She'd definitely caught a few conversations and zeroed right in on them. Like Mariano, they were safe and easy to listen to. If she focused in on them from time to time when she was scanning the town for problems, who could blame her? Based on the conversation she'd overheard Señora Moreno having with Señora Díaz, earlier, Lucía obviously cared about Bruno. A lot. And if there was something else sparking between them, Dolores felt like it should have the chance to grow into something strong enough to withstand her familia's antics before being smothered by teasing. She hadn't heard Lucía admit out loud how she felt about Bruno, but Dolores was not-so-secretly rooting for them, and she was still feeling protective of her tío after everything he'd gone through. He just - might still need a nudge in the right direction. She knew from experience Camilo's teasing often provided that nudge. There was just a time and a place - and her hermanito could still be an idiot sometimes.

"Right now, they are 'friends'. So we can't say anything obvious and embarrass him - " Dolores warned sternly, and both Pepa and Camilo frowned.

"-while she's here."

The three of them gave each other knowing smiles.

"Hey, Tío. Trade me seats? Let me sit by my future cuñado." (5) Camilo sauntered into the kitchen and promptly began to harangue Bruno into moving.

Mariano immediately flushed, though he looked pleased, and Dolores sputtered as she sat on the other side of Mariano and directed her sternest 'I-am-your-big-sister-do-not-mess-with-me' look at her hermano. He shrugged and gave her an impish smile. "You didn't say anything about not embarrassing you." He muttered to her under his breath.

Bruno looked uncertainly at him. "Ah - "

"Sí, sí, let Camilo have some bonding time," Pepa agreed airly, pulling Bruno out of the chair.

He went to sit in the next seat, but Pepa slid into it before he was able. The last empty chair was beside Lucía. (Which he did not mind in the slightest, but felt that something was a bit off at his family's little display.)

He sat down. At the moment, Lucía was preoccupied with putting food on a plate for Josefina. He leaned back slightly to peer around Isabela, who sat on the other side of him. He narrowed his eyes at Dolores, who gave him a deer-in-the-headlights look and promptly refocused on spooning rice onto her plate. He leaned forward and raised an eyebrow at his hermana, but Pepa just gave him a smug smile and fluttered her eyelashes at him. His face went slack and he stifled a groan as he stared at his sobrino.

When Camilo looked meaningfully toward Lucía and then gave him a subtle thumbs up across the table, Bruno wanted to melt into the floorboards.

"Lady Imelda – did – did we just become – pirates?" Luisa asked, projecting her voice through the room, her tone incredulous with just the right touch of excitement.

"Annnnd – end Act One."

The rats swarmed off the mini ships on the stage they'd set up in the courtyard after dinner and crowded around Antonio and Josefina. Josefina immediately began passing out little treats to them as a reward for a job well done, and Bruno and Lucía joined them after giving Luisa an encouraging hug and complimenting her storytelling ability. She was obviously nervous, but was really improving with each reading. They then gave little pointers to Antonio to relay to the rats about their acting. Antonio nodded and passed along the information, and the rats paid close attention to his quiet, serious voice.

Mariano and Camilo immediately began adjusting the set for the next scene, Camilo shifting into Mariano as needed to adjust the backdrop and keep any props level and even. They took off the mini ships, made from bark, leaves, and a roughly carved base courtesy of Félix, and changed the backdrop from the painting of a city by the sea to one of the open ocean. Isabela had painted all of the backdrops with her own pollen-dye-paints, and Lucía had given her high praise for her work. Then, they adjusted several other props, including one long branch cut to look like a mast that went up the center of the stage, so that it appeared Act Two would take place on a close up of a pirate ship.

A line of rats sat a few feet before the stage, having expressed a desire – through both Antonio and Bruno – to see their friends and family perform. Behind them lounged another line of smaller animals from Antonio's room who had also desired to witness the play. And finally, behind them, the rest of the Madrigal family sat to watch the performance. Occasionally a larger animal would plop down along the edges of the room to watch before wandering off again in search of food.

Alma sat comfortably between Mirabel and Pepa. Julieta and Agustín sat beside their youngest daughter, with Isabela beside them, and Félixand Dolores sat on the opposite side beside Pepa. They all passed a plate of sliced fruit back and forth, munching as they watched the performance.

Camilo sauntered over after the set was prepared for Act Two, while Bruno, Lucía, and Antonio prepared the rats for the next scene. He skirted around the animals in the front rows and came around to lean against Dolores' seat.

"So," he said. "Enjoying the show? I hear it's two for the price of one." He nodded toward Bruno and Lucía, who were demonstrating to Lareina and Lorenzo the key sword fight that would happen between Imelda and Ramón in the next scene. At the moment, they each had a stick, and Lucía-as-Imelda had blocked Bruno-as-Ramón's swing; their 'swords' locked. They both had fierce looks on their faces, which were only inches away from each other. Suddenly, the tension in their shoulders relaxed as the two 'recognized' each other.

"Imelda?" Bruno breathed, leaning forward slightly.

"Ramón?" Lucía responded, shocked, and stepped back, allowing their swords to fall.

They held each other's gaze for another moment, heat flooding their faces, and then nearly simultaneously looked away. "Uh – so – yeah," Bruno said, scratching the back of his neck and turning to address the rats. "That's – ah – that's the scene. It's – uh – it's important to – um – to maintain that tension until you hear – that – ah – Imelda and Ramón recognize each other."

The rats looked at each other, and then turned back to Bruno, nodding. Suddenly, a loud squeaking could be heard from the front row of the audience, and Señora Rata stood up on her hind legs – or attempted to, as well as she could.

Beside the stage, Antonio frowned. "She wants to see it again."

Bruno looked at him in disbelief. "What? What do you mean, she wants to see it again? She's half blind! She can barely see anything!"

Antonio shrugged, listening intently as Señora Rata, and then Lareina, continued their squeaking. "Sorry, Tío," he said softly. "They both want to see it again. Before Lareina and Lorenzo act it out."

From the corner of his eye, Bruno saw Camilo, Dolores, and Pepa nudging each other and whispering. On the other end of the row, Isabela flicked her hair behind her shoulder and raised an eyebrow at him, clearly amused. Mirabel was biting her lip and shrugging apologetically as Julieta's brows drew together. Caught in the middle, his madre looked confused, but when Pepa leaned over to talk to her - her mouth dropped open before quickly snapping closed again. When she met his gaze, she had a gentle, warm, questioning look on her face. He closed his eyes, frustration seeping into his bones. He did not want them messing up his relationship with Lucía with their teasing, or worse - with their well-intentioned meddling. He didn't want things to become awkward between them. He liked the way things were now. He liked seeing her almost every day, he liked the easy way they talked, he liked the way her eyes lit up when he said something clever or sarcastic, he liked the way she laughed, he liked the way it felt when she threw her arms around him –

His eyes flew open and his cheeks felt warm.

Okay. Time to derail that train of thought. His family was rubbing off on him. Obviously.

"…Bruno?" Lucía asked.

He jerked his head toward her voice, blinking back into focus.

She parried her stick and swayed her hips side to side, shifting her weight on her feet. "Take two?" She asked, grinning and inclining her head toward Lareina and Lorenzo.

He sighed, shook out his arms, and smiled, bringing his stick-sword up in front of him as well. "Okay," he replied. "Take two."

If it weren't for his worries about his family's teasing, he'd do a million takes with her.

He stubbornly ignored the implications of that thought.

"Of all people, I thought Imelda incapable of…" Bruno's voice, as Ramón's, was tinged with bitterness and awe.

Luisa responded as Viviana, her voice as clear and as strong as her gift, and filled with scorn. "Incapable of what, sir? Incapable of courage? Incapable of leadership? Or perhaps incapable of capturing any man's attention long enough to induce such traits in himself? I assure you, sir, that Lady Imelda is quite capable, in every way."

Lucía watched Bruno and Luisa project their voices from the side of the room, watching the rats act their parts. From where she stood, she could see both the little animal actors and the people voicing the story behind them. Her heart swelled as she watched them both, little butterflies swirling in her stomach as Ramón gasped at Viviana's barbs.

She really could listen to him all day.

Because he was talented.

Of course.

Papá nudged her. "He's very good, mi amor," he muttered. "He seems especially animated tonight."

"He does, doesn't he? He's very – he – he feels, what the characters feel, doesn't he?"

"Mmmm." Papá hummed in agreement. "He does seem to feel very deeply."

She was so focused on the story she completely missed the thoughtful expression on her father's face as he looked between her and Bruno.

"I meant it, Imelda," Bruno-as-Ramón said, his voice husky. "Every word."

Lucía-as-Imelda's breath hitched. "You said, that you had hoped…?" She laughed softly, after a moment. Her voice was thick and uncertain. "But of course, you've said it before - there is no 'hope.' There is only - "

"-you. You, Lady Imelda Morales, Captain of this ship and more hearts than I care to count. You – you have taught me to hope, as I have scarcely hoped before."

"And what, sir, is it that you hope for?"

Lucía and Bruno stood facing each other, demonstrating, once again, the proper body language for the rats at this pivotal moment in the story. They'd memorized their lines for this short scene, and Bruno grasped Lucía's arms, just below her shoulders. He had been shy to do so the first time they'd practiced, and it felt awkward at first – especially considering the teasing he hadn't heard directly but knew was coming – but now, tonight - they'd gotten lost in the scene and it did not feel unnatural at all. Her fingers were splayed lightly across his chest, and she hung on his every word, her eyes large and dark and earnest.

He licked his lips, and her eyes darted from them back up to his eyes; her cheeks darkened appealingly.

She was a good actress.

"I hoped," he began – but his voice was too breathy, and he cleared his throat and tried again. "I had hoped, and still, I desire - to live out the rest of my days with you by my side. In adventure, in mystery, in mess and chaos, in calm, in peace, in contentment, in love – with you. Always." He released her shoulders and clasped his hands over hers, on his chest. "Marry me, Imelda." His voice was strong and clear and almost brash, and his lips quirked up in a teasing smile. "I will get down on one knee if you desire."

She laughed. "If you are proposing marriage to me, sir, you had best keep both feet solidly beneath you."

He leaned forward slightly. "Is that so? And why - "

In the span of a second, she gripped the fabric of his ruana near his collar with both hands and pulled him toward her, lifting her chin and tilting her face just so, stopping when their lips were a mere breath away. They were frozen like that, heartbeats pounding in their ears, hyper-aware of how close they were – he could see every eyelash, the laugh lines in the corners of her eyes – his eyes fluttered closed from the intensity of her expression -

"And then they kiss!" Josefina shouted from the audience.

Apparently, they'd been frozen just a bit too long.

Bruno's eyes flew open again. Lucía looked as flustered as Bruno felt, but she took a deep breath in through her nose and stepped away, smoothing out the fabric of his ruana as she did so. "Ah – yes, gracias, Josefina. And then – then Imelda and Ramón kiss. And – and he proposes again – 'marry me, Imelda,' and she says 'yes.'"

She studiously avoided Bruno's gaze and squared her shoulders, directing her attention toward Lareina and Lorenzo. "Does that – does that answer your questions?" She looked to Antonio, who listened attentively and then reassured her that yep, they'd gotten all they needed, thanks.

"Okay, wonderful, thank you. Ah – shall we – shall we read through that, with the rats acting, then?"

Bruno sprang back into action again, as well. If it was nothing to her, it was nothing to him. They were both acting. They were both acting, right? Right. "Right!" He said. "Lareina, Lorenzo, take it from the top."

They both moved behind the stage to take their places as the voice actors. Luisa, who'd been watching from the side beside Camilo, blinked.

She looked down at Camilo, her eyes darting between her primo and the two people she had just watched put on the performance of a lifetime. "Ah…did I just…was that…?"

Camilo smirked and waggled his eyebrows at her. "Somebody call Julieta. Those two are catching feelings."

There were no further issues with any other scenes for the rest of the evening, which relieved Bruno and Lucía but disappointed almost everyone else.

Except Agustín.

The poor, oblivious man jumped up at the conclusion of the play, clapping loudly and exclaiming what excellent actors the two of them were.

"Hermano, I knew you were good – and Lucía, I knew you were a great storyteller, but that! I really believed the two of you were in love!"

Behind him, Julieta smacked her palm to her forehead in exasperation and muttered something about wishing she could cure that kind of blindness.

Bruno froze for just a moment, and then he laughed a little too loudly. "Oh! Ha! Heh! Yeah. Yep. Thanks. We were – both definitely acting, there. Really well. You - " he turned to Lucía, "-were really great. You act good. Uh – nice job." He patted her on the shoulder and then tucked his hands beneath his crossed arms.

Lucía looked just as flustered. "Um – yes. Thank you. You too."

Later that evening, Bruno could not sleep.

He kept seeing Lucía every time he closed his eyes, and he couldn't stop thinking about his family's teasing. Thankfully they'd kept it subtle while Lucía was in the house – but there was nothing subtle about Camilo asking who was gonna get to be in their wedding after she left.

He groaned and sat upright in bed, running his fingers through his hair.

Well, if he couldn't sleep, he might as well do something productive.

Lucía sighed as she leaned against the sill of her open bedroom window, looking into the night sky. Her face still felt warm from the events of the evening, even though she'd checked in the mirror once she'd gotten home and her complexion had looked normal to her. The cool evening air was soothing, and she breathed deeply. She'd even asked Julieta before they'd left for the evening for a spare arepa or one of her honey-lemon drops. Julieta always kept some in a jar for emergencies, and had given her a sympathetic smile and handed her two. But then – Julieta had said softly that she didn't think they would help.

The confusion must have shown on her face, because Julieta said that her food didn't cure nerves, anxiety, or afflictions of the heart.

Lucía wondered – was she really that nervous about the performance? Was it truly that obvious? What on earth had tonight been about?

The more she thought about it, the less sense it made. The less sense she made, all evening.

She'd been so defensive when she'd thought Señora Díaz had been insinuating she was unwise to allow Josefina to spend time with Bruno. Then, she'd been so nervous when giving him the verses she'd bookmarked for him. She'd felt so warm all evening and she had obviously made Bruno uncomfortable. Every time she got too close to him, he would tense up and freeze - and during that proposal scene, he'd even closed his eyes.

Her heart dropped. She hadn't meant to make him feel uncomfortable. She'd just – watch herself more, this coming week. She'd make sure she didn't cross any of his personal boundaries.

If the thought of limiting physical contact with Bruno Madrigal made her stomach clench, she chalked it up to her embarrassment at misreading his comfort level and completely ignored any other possibilities that her reaction might reveal. She'd closed the lid on romance when her husband died, and the possibility that she might be falling for Bruno Madrigal didn't even cross her mind.

She climbed into bed and blew out the candle on her nightstand.

Bruno's vision room was dark, the only light coming from the stars and a small sliver of moon in the sky. The slight spray from the waterfall felt cool enough to give him goosebumps as he stepped into the vision circle. He'd made sure the door was soundly closed to prevent Dolores from listening in on anything she shouldn't be, although he was fairly certain she'd be in bed. She'd been so content lately, she didn't wander restlessly as much as she used to. He had an involuntary vision a few days ago that Mariano would propose. He didn't know exactly when, but it would happen. He was thankful that the 'man of her dreams' was turning out to be everything she'd thought he'd be. She had already been well aware of his imperfections, and it seemed as though he'd already accepted hers. They were a sweet couple.

He prepared the leaves and sat cross-legged on the ground, accessing his power and allowing the vision to come to life in the sand around him. He could still see the blank wall of the former murales, which was both slightly concerning and slightly helpful. If the blank wall was a time-marker for the vision, it meant the wall would still be blank when the remainder of the vision came to pass…and since Tatiana Valencia had been ordered to have the murales complete by the festival, and she had only ten days to do so, she'd have to get started on it very soon. Like – any day soon. Unless she shirked her responsibilities, that meant the rest of the vision would also come to pass before the festival.

Bruno focused on moving forward little bits at a time, but nothing clear came through the grains of sand. Made sense. That was the past, and he couldn't see the past. He soon gave up on that and skipped forward to Lucía on the bench, and tried to move backward from the outcome where he held her hand and helped her. A golden butterfly burst to life and flew against the sands of time, to before Lucía sat down.

A bridge by a stream, with a crew of villagers working on the road beside it. Luisa was among them.

A young boy, perhaps ten years old – he looked familiar; he was one of the village kids but Bruno couldn't place him - biting his lip and pointing toward something.

Bruno startled slightly at the next part of the vision, because he'd seen it before.

A child ran past him – through him – into the art studio at la Casa Hernandez, as vague green swirls solidified into images of papers and books and crayons and paint strewn about the room. The child – a boy – met up with a group of child-like shapes, which slowly solidified into children he did recognize – Josefina, Antonio, Juancho, Cecilia, Alejandra – all sitting or laying on the floor, working on - something.

A school project, perhaps?

Josefina pointed behind her to the cabinet, and Cecilia sprang up and opened it, pulling a pile of papers down to hand out so the rest of the kids could keep working.

And finally:

A teacher at school, writing something on the board about La Feria de Las Flores and then turning around, gesturing to the class with a big smile on her face.

He stared at the images for a few minutes more, attempting to sift through them to see anything else that might help him discover what, exactly, was going to happen - but he had to sigh in frustration and accept that this vision would not be as simple to decipher as a trip to San Cristobál. This vision was more on par with Mirabel's than anything else he'd seen – in that was confusing as all get out. Thankfully this one, at least, seemed a little less ominous.

He allowed the sands to drop back into place and rubbed his face, finally feeling tired enough to sleep.

A/N: Ah, marking passages in a book for your crush. The original mix tape. XD

1) A Bible verse from the book of Lamentations Chapter 3 verses 13, 14, and 17. Written by the prophet Jeremiah

2) A Bible verse from Isaiah 61:1-3a. Written by the prophet Isaiah

3) Tienes tante hambre que te cortaste con eso filo? – Are you so hungry that you cut yourself on that blade? From a Colombian expression "tengo un filo, que si me agacho me corto" – Literally - I have a blade, if I bend over I cut myself, but figuratively – I'm so hungry I'm starving and my stomach is in pain. Josefina was basically saying – are you hangry?

4) alborotadoras – troublemakers

Comprenden? – Understand?

5) cuñado – brother in law

Congrats to ChipmunkfanNo.1, who predicted that rehearsal scene ages ago.

As always, thank you so much for your messages, reviews, and general support. You make writing this story a million times more fun. God bless you all and have a great week!