3. Chapter 3

A/N: Edited 6/24/22 for spelling, grammar, and minor timeline adjustments that do not affect the plot but do affect my sanity.

Chapter 3

The town worked together to remove the rubble from Casita's foundation, lining up and passing it piece by piece, brick by brick, to be sorted. Any salvaged materials were either placed in piles to be reused in building the new Casa Madrigal, or carted off with the help of donkeys. Anytime they came across personal items that belonged to the family – a piece of clothing, a plate, a toy, the portrait of Pedro that had been proudly displayed on the wall – they carefully laid it out on the grass, out of the way, for the family to sort through on their own.

Bruno had been working for what felt like days, but in reality, it was more like two and half hours. Originally, Bruno had been situated comfortably between Julieta and Pepa in the line of workers, but now, he was in between two other people from town. Pepa had left first, squeezing his shoulder in apology before leaving to comfort a sobbing Antonio, upset because the stuffed jaguar someone had found was missing one of its legs. While he probably was truly upset about it, Bruno knew it wasn't really just about the stuffed animal. He'd had a traumatic day and night, lost his house, and the poor kid had just gotten his gift – a gift he'd loved and already grown attached to – and now it was gone, most likely forever.

Julieta had been called away next, as they found some of her spices and herbs in what used to be the kitchen. "I'm sorry, Bruno. I need to see if there is anything I can salvage. Maybe - " she cut herself off. He'd smiled in understanding and told her he'd be fine. She'd nodded, squeezing his hand, her eyes searching his for the truth. "Please don't go anywhere, hermano," she'd whispered, pleading with her expression for him not to disappear again.

It had suddenly become harder to swallow, and he'd nodded in agreement.

And for the following hour, he'd kept his head down and passed bricks and planks and unidentifiable pieces of detritus from one side to the next, pausing only to mutter greetings to the people who'd taken his sisters' places.

Now, his arms were burning, and he was really regretting not exercising more these past ten years. "I really gotta get out more now," he muttered to himself, pausing for just a moment to stretch his arms and rub some feeling back into his palms. Unfortunately, a particularly awkward-shaped piece of debris, long and flat, was coming down the line at that moment, and the person in front of him could not see around it to know he wasn't paying attention. So when Bruno looked back up, it was to see a large piece of stone and plaster coming straight for his face.

He let out a strange, garbled yelp and managed to get his hands around the bottom of it, but it was still falling towards him. He jerked his head to the side and winced, expecting it to crash into his face at any moment –

When a full second had passed and his face still hadn't been crushed, he opened his eyes. There was the chunk of stone and plaster, inches from his face, and two hands holding it, pulling it away, so that it tilted toward them instead of him. He blinked as the debris shifted so that the load was shared between them, one end in his hands, and the other end in the hands of the person beside him in line. He looked from her hands to her face and stared at her for a moment, blinking, his mind recalling -

"Hola, Bruno," she said, adjusting her hands to more comfortably hold the load between them. She gave him a small half-smile.

"Huh." He said.

And then realized he should probably be saying a whole lot more.

He went to step forward on instinct, and belatedly realized that there was a reason they were standing that particular distance apart – and he accidentally nudged the chunk of stone and plaster into her abdomen.

She gasped in surprise and he nearly dropped his end in dismay. He scrambled for a moment, and then - "Sorry! Sorry sorry sorry – I didn't mean – I mean – are you okay? And thank you! For – you know. For that. Just now. And for - " his eyes widened as he realized he had forgotten all about –

"The horse!" He exclaimed, a bit too loudly. The person beside Lucía in line, a young man who appeared to be in his late twenties, raised an eyebrow at them.

Lucía shifted slightly. "You're welcome. Can we – can we possibly move this somewhere else?"

"Oh! Uh, of course. Let's - " He shifted forward.

"I meant – well I meant to talk, and get Itziar, but also – to take this to the carts? It's really too big to go down the line, anyway." She waited for him to nod his assent, and then called to the person in front of him in line to wait on passing things for a moment while they moved the chunk of stone and plaster away.

"Right, okay -"

"So we'll just - "

They both stepped in opposite directions and stopped short.

"Heh," he grimaced apologetically.

She shook her head and bit down a smile. "It's okay. We'll go your way - " she tilted her head in the direction he'd gone. " – on three. Ready?" He nodded. "One, two, three!"

They stepped out of line, and as soon as they were away, two more people filled their places so the work could continue.

Bruno and Lucía made their way to the pile of rubble that was unusable or too large to safely move by hand. It was awkward and slow going, and the slab kept shifting between them – bouncing off of her hip, off of his thigh, they would stumble - and she began laughing quietly half way there.

Bruno tensed for a moment, ready to apologize, but before he could, she looked at him and said, "We'd be a terrible team in a three-legged race."

He stared at her grin and the corner of his mouth slowly pulled up into a half-grin itself. "Huh – yeah." He was silent for a moment, and her comment made him recall a memory from his childhood. "I could always manage with Julieta, but Pepa and I? Heh." He grimaced to himself. "I'd always start off with the wrong foot, and then even as kids I was shorter than her, and our strides weren't very – in sync, and before you know it, woosh, we'd be in a drizzle and pfffttt," he inclined his head, "down we'd go."

He felt his cheeks warm as he spoke the memory aloud. He wasn't sure if it was because of the memory itself, the fact he was sharing it with this near – stranger and was unsure of how she'd react, or - maybe - because he was just hot from working so hard.

Lucía laughed again. "My sister and I were never the winning team, but I will say we managed to cross the finish line. Oh! Here we are." Once again, they counted to three before setting it down. They both stretched their arms for a moment, and gratefully took the water one of the children offered, running around and trying to be helpful.

Once they were sufficiently refreshed, Lucía looked at Bruno expectantly.

He swallowed nervously. "Uh – come with me?"

They meandered through the well-organized, hard-working crowd, Lucía following closely behind Bruno. They reached the tree Bruno had left Itziar under, but it was now occupied by tables being set up buffet-style for lunch. Some of the older men and women who were not able to help with heavy physical labor were instead focused on providing food and drink for the town. Someone was cooking what looked and smelled like posta sudada - the scent of beef, tomatoes, and an assortment of vegetables and spices in the air. The tables were beginning to fill with arepas con queso and sancocho, as well as rice, beans, various fruits and vegetables, coffee, tea, and juices.

Bruno's stomach dropped and his heart began to race as he realized the horse he had borrowed and promised to return was nowhere to be found. "Uh – see - " His hand automatically clenched beside him, and his breathing becoming short and shallow. "I - "

Lucía placed a tentative hand on his arm, and he flinched. She pulled her hand away immediately. "Hey," she said softly, and the gentleness of her tone made him look up at her. "Did you find her?"

His eyes darted away, searching the area around them once again. "No – I left her right here, but - "

"No, no – I meant -" she closed her eyes for a moment and took a breath. "That was a poor choice of words on my part, I'm sorry. Did you find Mirabel?"

He blinked in confusion. "…yeeees." He drew out the word slowly.

She smiled at him, obviously worried, but attempting to communicate something he just wasn't picking up on right now. "Then it will be okay. Sofia will understand. And I think she - Itziar, I mean - might have found her way back home by now anyway. Maybe – we can check?"

"Okay."

The short walk to the stables was silent, Bruno's fingers tapping anxiously against his thighs as they walked. Lucía kept looking at him out of the corner of her eye, attempting to discern if he was all right. She'd seen him standing with his family during Señora Madrigal's apology speech. He'd seemed relieved, if slightly uncomfortable, and honestly – she was relieved as well. It seemed that he had been the one to bring Mirabel home, and she couldn't fault him for his reunion with his family taking precedence over returning the horse. Once the crowd had begun to organize to clear the rubble, she'd attempted to discretely find Itziar, but was unable to spot her. She'd set Josefina to work with some of the other children, under the watchful eye of her nine-year-old cousin Gabriela, carefully picking up nails around the casita and placing them in a bucket to be bent back into shape and used again.

She had originally been helping in another line of workers and had spotted Bruno with his sisters across the way. She'd taken a break to check on Josefina and then hopped into place beside Bruno when she saw Julieta leave, intending to ask him about Itziar. But when she'd greeted him, he'd mumbled something incoherent in reply and barely looked at her. She'd attempted to speak to him once more, but he was obviously focused on the task at hand and lost in thought. She'd decided it could wait and focused on moving the debris as well, until Bruno had nearly smacked himself in the face with a particularly large piece and then finally recognized her.

And now, here they were, walking to the stables, and he looked absolutely miserable. She had no idea where he'd been for the past ten years, but she imagined it had taken its toll on him. She supposed she couldn't form any judgments off of their limited interactions so far, especially considering the stress of the past few days, but he seemed - to her - to be eternally awkward, in an endearing sort of way. He fumbled over his words, occasionally sharing too much, and then other times being very vague. He seemed uncertain of how to – interact in the village again. Not just with his words, with people, but physically – all his movements were small, measured, and quiet – and he seemed to be having difficulty adjusting to making larger ones when attempting to do things like ride a horse and carry a large load. She attempted to stealthily rub her hip, where it was tender from the consistent bumping into the chunk of debris, but he noticed and sighed.

"I'm sorry about that. It's – well, I'm just - sorry."

She smiled at him, attempting to reassure him she wasn't angry. "It's all right, I'm sure you're just as bruised. It's nothing. We'll all be sore tonight."

He held her gaze for a moment – perhaps to gauge her authenticity? – and nodded, and then she looked up and breathed a sigh of relief. "Itzi!"

She took a moment to flash him a reassuring smile and then ran towards the mare, who was stretching her neck in an attempt to reach some produce off of a fruit tree near her sister's house.

"There you are! You - " Lucía paused as she reached Itziar and gently moved the reigns over the horse's head to make it easier to lead her to the barn. Itziar snorted in mild protest, but allowed her to guide her away from the fruit tree. "Well, I suppose I shouldn't call you a naughty girl. You did bring Mirabel back, didn't you? You helped Bruno. You're a good girl, Itzi. But now you need to go have a rest."

When she turned around, Bruno was standing by the barn, shifting from foot to foot, his hands fidgeting as well. "Do you need help?" He asked as she approached.

"Well – if you don't mind – could you get the door? If I drop the reigns she'll probably start making her way to the tree again." The barn was still unusually empty, as all the animals that had been found last night had been put to work today helping rebuild the Casa Madrigal.

He nodded and knocked on it six times, throwing salt over his shoulders, and then – was he holding his breath? - he carefully shouldered open the door, holding it open as she led Itziar in. Lucía grabbed a halter from the tack on the wall and removed the reigns, slipping the more comfortable halter over Itziar's nose and ears, and then stroked her velvety muzzle affectionately. "You are a such a good girl, Itzi. You deserve a good brushing, a wash, and lots of treats. But unfortunately, you'll have to wait on the wash and the treats." She looked over at Bruno, who was still holding the door, and thankfully, apparently, breathing.

"You can leave it open for now," she called. "I'm going to give her a quick check over and make sure she's comfortable, and then I'm going to go back to helping. Thank you for making sure she came back."

Using some rope, Lucía attached one side of the halter to one stall, and the other side to another, to keep Itziar from moving around too much while she gave her a quick brushing and checked her hooves. She took a few moments to run her fingers through Itziar's mane, plucking a few stray leaves and twigs from it, and did a quick check of her tail as well. She retrieved a curry comb and began rubbing the horse's shoulders, flank, and hindquarters with it, loosening the sweat and dust of the journey from her coat. After a moment, she heard a low voice muttering, and she looked up in surprise to see Bruno patting Itziar's nose. "Bruno?"

He ducked his head for a moment and then moved so that they could make eye contact. "I just – wanted to say thank you. To Itziar, and – to you. She did help find Mirabel – I mean, I found her, I knew where to look, but – she brought us all back - "

"Us all?"

"Yeah, uh – me, Mirabel, and my mother."

"She carried all three of you?" Lucía blinked in surprise.

Bruno looked mildly affronted. "I mean - we're not that heavy." His brow furrowed, as though contemplating whether or not they had been too heavy a load for Itziar.

"No!" Lucía felt her face flush in embarrassment. "No, that's not what I meant! I just meant – Itziar, as much as I love her, has very strong opinions on the amount of work that she tolerates. After riding all night, I'm just…surprised she was so accommodating. I thought you'd have trouble convincing her to bring you and Mirabel home, let alone a third person."

"Ooooh. Yeah. Well, she seemed to respond pretty well to Mirabel telling her to go 'home'." He shrugged.

Lucía smiled. "I see. I suppose we should be thankful for small miracles, eh?"

He blinked at her for a moment, and Itziar nuzzled him in the shoulder, nickering for a treat. "Small…miracles." He murmured as he brushed Itziar off good-naturedly. "Huh. Yeah. I – I think I've gotten quite a lot of those today."

Lucía smiled again, about to tell Bruno he could return to his family, that she would take care of everything from here, when she was interrupted.

"Lucía! Are you in there?" Her sister called loudly. Bruno froze, his eyes wide. "Mateo said he thought he saw you walking this way with Bruno Madrigal, but I know that is non- " she stopped short as she entered the barn and saw him next to her missing horse – " -sense." Her expression was completely blank with shock. "Itziar?"

Lucía sighed as she ducked under the rope and stepped in front of Bruno. "Sofia!" She smiled at her sister. "So, obviously, Mateo was being truthful. Very honest young man you have, hermana. You're raising him well."

Sofia blinked and then narrowed her eyes at her. "Quit trying to flatter me and explain."

Lucía exhaled slowly. "I loaned Br – uh, Señor Madrigal here your Itziar last night to find Mirabel. He was just - returning her."

Sofia's brow puckered in equal parts confusion and suspicion. "Mateo didn't mention Itziar."

"Well - you know how Itziar is," Lucía answered, a beat too late to relieve that suspicion – but realizing that it was the truth, and nothing to hide. "She was at the Casa Madrigal, and she wandered off. Señor Madrigal was very apologetic, but I thought she might be here, and he came with me to make sure she was where she was supposed to be. So – he borrowed her, he returned her."

Sofia's expression relaxed. "Oh. Why didn't you just tell me?" She appeared slightly hurt, but shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Greedy old thing," she said softly, stepping forward to stroke Itziar's nose. "You can never resist searching out more food, can you?"

Lucía sighed. "I'm sorry, Sofia. I know I shouldn't have lent her out to anyone without asking you or Lorenzo first, but it was an emergency, and you were already asleep. And then this morning - "

"Tío Bruno!" Dolores Madrigal appeared in the barn door as well, breathing as though she had been running. "You're here. Mamá was afraid -" she cut herself off, and Bruno's tense shoulders drooped.

Dolores noticed, and looked between the three other people in the barn. "Señora Rojas, Señora Moreno, do you mind if I borrow my tío? We're going to be sitting down for lunch soon. You should join us as well. We appreciate everyone's help so much."

"Of course," Sofia replied, smiling at Dolores, and then focusing her gaze on her older sister. "We'll just be a moment. I'm going to help my sister with my horse, and then we'll join everyone. Thank you."

Bruno exhaled in relief, making his way to the door. Just before exiting, he knocked on the nearest stall, threw the very last of his salt stash over his shoulder, crossed his fingers, and held his breath as he crossed the threshold.

An awkward silence descended between Bruno and his sobrina. She kept inhaling as though to start a conversation, but when he looked at her – her eyes would drop to the ground and she'd exhale all at once. Once, he even heard a soft 'eep'.

Just before they reached the crowd, she caught his eye and finally spoke what was on her mind in one long rush. "I'm sorry, Tío Bruno, that I heard you every day and didn't try harder to find you or get Mamá to find you and that I stopped talking about you but I did listen for you, every day, and - "

She cut herself off abruptly. "Mamá! Abuela! Tía Julieta!" Dolores called, waving to the family as they approached. She was obviously done with their one-sided conversation, but Bruno made a mental note to continue it at a later time. She was a kid when he left, for crying out loud! He didn't blame her at all. She shouldn't be walking around with all that weighing on her.

He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly as he waved back to his sisters, seeing the relief clearly written on their faces. He felt guilty he had caused them any stress in disappearing, however temporary it had been this time. He'd have to get used to communicating his whereabouts again.

"Bruno!" Pepa finished smoothing out the blankets one of the families from town had loaned them for lunch. "Just in time for lunch!"

Pepa and Julieta embraced him warmly as he reached the family again. Camilo, Félix, Agustín, Isabela, and Luisa were already putting out plates piled high with food from town, and Mirabel was sitting to the side of one of the blankets, cross-legged, her tongue poking out as she finished the final stitch repairing Antonio's stuffed jaguar. They had found one of Mirabel's sewing baskets in the rubble and while the basket itself was in rough shape, its contents were sound. She held the stuffed jaguar out to Antonio and he took it, holding it close to his chest. Pepa ruffled her son's hair affectionately and sat beside him.

"Hey," Bruno said, as Julieta released him from her hug. "Sorry, I wasn't – I wasn't - you know. I was just – I was returning the horse."

"The horse?"

"Uh, yes? The horse - "

"He used one of the Rojas' horses to come find me. That's how we got home so quickly." Mirabel supplied helpfully, scooting over and taking one of the plates Luisa handed her. "Mmmm, smells good. Thanks Luisa." Luisa gave her a thumbs up and a smile and sat down beside her.

The family sat down together, spreading out on the three large blankets, and looked to Abuela. She raised her cup, and they followed suit. "To our family, and being together again, all of us. Salud!"

"Salud!" They agreed, and began to dig in.

As they ate, Pepa continued the conversation. "I heard they were still missing two of their donkeys. Did you find the horse in the jungle, Bruno?"

"Uh - "

"You brought Mirabel back?" Julieta asked quietly, as it finally sank in that it was him who'd brought her youngest daughter home.

"Yes, I - "

"I thought Señora Moreno was talking about loaning you the horse?" Dolores asked.

Bruno lowered the arepa he was about to take a bite out of and sighed. "Well, see, I never actually said - "

"Señora Moreno? I thought Mirabel said it was the Rojas - " Pepa interjected.

"I like Señora Moreno. She tells good stories," Antonio added softly, playing with his rice.

"Familia! Gente gente gente! Let Brunito talk." Abuela admonished them all.

There was silence for split second, and then a garble of apologies as everyone tried to speak over one another again, and then they slowly tapered off, and allowed Bruno to explain about the horse and finding Mirabel.

When he was finished, Julieta reached over to pull him close in a one-armed hug. "Thank you," she whispered, eyes full of tears again.

He shrugged sheepishly, but his heart was so full he was afraid it would leak out his eyes, and crying in front of his family was something he hadn't done in a really, really long time. He wasn't sure if he wanted to start now, right out in the open.

Camilo sat cross-legged, his elbow on his leg, his cheek propped up with his hand, eyebrows drawn together as he thought it through. He suddenly sat back. "Wait, wait wait," he said slowly. "Hold on a minute, here."

Everyone looked at him.

"So, let me get this straight. You're telling me you borrowed a horse from the village and then went to get Mirabel outside of the Encanto and brought her back this morning?" He gestured with his hands, moving them back and forth as he accentuated each place in his tío's route the past day.

Bruno blinked. "Uh – yeah."

"Camilo," Félix warned under his breath, obviously unsure of where his son's skepticism was leading.

"I mean, I don't know exactly how your visions worked, because you were gone for like – my whole life, so maybe you had one and it gave you specific instructions or something - but – how?" He held up his hands in the universal symbol for 'what is going on?' and narrowed his eyes. "I thought you were gone, how'd you, you know, borrow a horse from town?" His eyes widened and he turned to Dolores. "Were you not joking when you said you heard him every day? He was in town the whole time?"

"Uh - " Dolores looked particularly guilty, darting glances between her tío, her tía, and her madre.

"What?!" Julieta and Pepa exclaimed in unison.

There was silent for a split second, and then, once again, everyone was talking over each other.

"You never left?!"

"Where were you?"

"Were you in the jungle?"

"But he's so pale, how could he have been in the jungle - "

"Dolores, why didn't you say something?"

"I tried!"

"How come you never came home?"

"Tío!"

"Bruno!"

"Hermano!"

"Mijo!"

Bruno's eyes darted around, and his mouth suddenly felt extremely dry. His hand shook as he picked up his cup of juice, but it was too sweet on his tongue and he began to cough.

"Guys!" Mirabel shouted, and then there was silence.

Except for Bruno's coughing.

Julieta quickly handed him a cup of water, leaving her hand on his shoulder until his throat cleared and his breathing calmed. He stared at the ground, painfully aware of stares of his family.

Someone took his hand, and he looked up into the eyes of his youngest niece.

"Tío," Mirabel said softly. "You should tell them."

He slowly looked up, and there, surrounding him, was his family – faces ranging from confused and concerned to sad and hurt – but no one looked angry. They all looked like they wanted to understand. He cleared his throat, and squeezed Mirabel's hand thankfully.

He took a deep breath and began.

Lucía's stomach rumbled as she sat down on the blanket they had spread on the ground and breathed in the steam from her sancocho. Josefina sat beside her, happily eating some beans, rice, arepas con queso, and papaya, and drinking her juice. Lucía tried to take only a small amount of food to make sure there was plenty for everyone, but if there were leftovers after finishing her soup and arepas, she would try to get some of that posta sudada with some rice, and some fruit as well. She stifled a yawn. And some coffee. Definitely some coffee too.

Papá sat beside her, sipping his coffee. He had gotten tired moving debris and had begun working on the blueprints for a new house with Señor Martínez, the town's most skilled builder and architect. He retrieved the paper and other supplies from his shop and had assisted in computing measurements and making estimates for what they could reuse from the rubble and what new supplies they would need to gather. They were over halfway done sorting the rubble, and it looked like they would most likely finish cleaning up by the end of the day. Surprisingly, a large, carefully organized pile of the Madrigal's possessions had grown under a nearby tree. It seemed that their casita, that special living house, had done its best not only to protect the humans as it fell – but what it could of their belongings as well. There had even been reports of rats that had survived, leaping out of the rubble and causing shrieks of surprise from the people nearby. "How did it go with your sister?" Papá asked.

"It went as it usually does," Lucía sighed. Papá raised an eyebrow, and Lucía snorted. "She grilled me mercilessly and I told her everything."

He smiled. "So we are all good now? No secrets?"

"No secrets," Lucía agreed, relieved and happy. Her heart overflowed with hope for the town and for the Madrigal family, and she breathed deeply, tilting her head back to take in the sunshine on her face.

"What secrets?" Josefina asked innocently, licking the surface of her sliced papaya to make sure it met her standards before sinking her teeth into it.

Lucía laughed and reached out, wiping a drop of juice from her daughter's chin with her thumb. "Enjoying that papaya, are we?"

"Mmmm mmmm. 's gu." Josefina attempted to say with her mouth full.

"Don't talk with your mouth full, Sefinita. And I'm glad you're enjoying it. Food always tastes better when you've been working hard."

Josefina swallowed and went to wipe her mouth with her arm, and then thought better of it and wiped it with her handkerchief, smirking at her mother's expression. "What secrets?" She asked again, bright eyes watching her mother carefully.

Lucía's eyes darted to her father's, and then back to her daughter. "Last night, when Mirabel was missing, Señor Madrigal came to Tía Sofia's stables and asked to borrow a horse. He knew where to look for Mirabel, but he needed a horse to get there quickly. Now," Lucía continued, leaning forward, holding her daughter's attention, "normally, I would ask Sofia and Lorenzo before loaning out any of their animals, but Tía Sofia was asleep with Diego and Tío Lorenzo was out searching for Mirabel and the rest of the lost animals, and it was an emergency. I let him borrow Itziar and then had to tell Sofia this morning, and so as your Abuelo said – no more secrets now."

"Oh." Josefina seemed disappointed that the secret wasn't more exciting. "Okay."

They spent the rest of the picnic eating and talking about the work they'd done and the work still left to do, until Lucía decided to go get some coffee and see if there was any posta sudada left.

Bruno looked up as he finished his tale, beginning with Mamá asking him to look into Mirabel's future all the way to Mamá's apology, convincing him to come home and try again. The faces around him were a healthy mix of heartbreak and shock (Mamá, his siblings and their husbands), wide-eyed disbelief (Camilo, Luisa, and Isabela), guilt mixed with relief, (Dolores), and hesitant happiness (Mirabel and Antonio, who, of course, had found out all about him yesterday).

Mirabel looked around at the family, biting her lip. "Ooooo-kay. That was obviously a lot to take in, and we've still got a lot to unpack here. I think- "

"Qué pena (1), Señora Madrigal," Padre Tomás appeared, looking genuinely apologetic for interrupting the family meeting. "I wanted to speak with you about the arrangements for tonight?"

It took her a moment, but eventually Mamá tore her gaze away from her son and focused on the priest beside her. She slowly stood and brushed out her dress. "Arrangements, Padre? Arrangements for what?"

Padre Tomás darted a glance at the rest of the family, still sitting on the blankets, settled back slightly into a copse of palms, a short way from the buffet, where there were now just a few people from town getting seconds or some fruit and coffee to finish off their meal.

"Well," he said, "Arrangements for tonight, of course. For your family."

When she looked blankly at him, her brows drawn together, he swallowed. "Well, Señora, you'll all need a place to sleep. The town has offered their homes to you. Unfortunately, there is not quite room enough for all of you in one home, but Señor Rodríguez has offered to house Julieta and her family," he nodded to them, "and Señora Alvarez has offered to house Pepa and her family. You, Señora," Padre Tomás nodded to the matriarch of the family, "are welcome with either family, or Señora Guzmán has offered you a room in her home until your house is complete." Everyone stared at him – unwilling to voice their desire to stay together and appear ungrateful. Antonio, especially, had voiced earlier in no uncertain terms that he wanted to be close to Mirabel, and Pepa was unwilling to be separated from him. The priest shifted nervously. "I do apologize. Señor Martínez estimates that barring any unforeseen setbacks, it will only take two or three weeks to complete your house, but until then, it is the best we can do. We only wish we could do more."

"But what about Tío Bruno?!" Antonio exclaimed, gesturing to his tío with a look that said he was personally insulted on his uncle's behalf.

Bruno just sighed and shrunk in on himself. "It's fine, really. I'll just – sleep - "

"-with us, Brunito. You shall sleep with us." Mamá said fiercely.

"Of course, Señora," Padre Tomás intervened, attempting not to be intimidated by her severe expression. "I apologize, again. It was – it was not my intention to neglect Bruno, but these offers were made this morning before we arrived, before any of us knew he was back."

When Mamá simply raised her eyebrow in expectation for him to continue, he stumbled slightly over his words. "I – uh – I cannot, of course, offer on others' behalf without their – agreement, but I can – offer my home. Bruno, you are – welcome to stay with me, or, of course – you are all welcome to stay at the church, though there is – not much in the way of privacy there."

"Qué pena, Padre. Excuse us, please, we must discuss as a family what we wish to do, tonight."

Lucía arrived back to her family's picnic blanket with a cup of coffee and a plate of fruit, her brow furrowed. When Josefina begged her mama for the papaya and pineapple on it, Lucía passed it to her without a word.

"What's wrong, mi querida?" Papá asked after a moment. He had stretched out on the blanket and placed his hat over his face to rest, but when he'd heard not a word from his daughter when she returned, he lifted his hat and took note of the frown on her face.

"Huh?" She turned to him, her face still wearing that same concerned expression. "Nothing's wrong, Papá."

He chuckled and sat up, gentle pressing his finger to the space between her eyebrows.

Lucía realized they had been drawn together and smiled, her face relaxing immediately. "It's just – I – overheard Padre Tomás speaking with the Madrigals. I didn't mean to," she said quickly, "but – I think they forgot about Bruno."

Papá adjusted his hat on his head and straightened. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I heard something about – 'arrangements' – for tonight, and – then Señora Madrigal was upset, and insisted Bruno would be sleeping with them. I know the village just found out about Bruno, and – I think – they forgot about him. We forgot about him."

"Hmmmm." Papá frowned, pressing his lips into a thin line. Lucía knew that look. It was her father's look of disapproval and disappointment, and may the Lord help anyone it was directed at. She could infer what he was thinking – that while it was true the village was not aware Bruno was back until this morning, neither had anyone thought since then about where he would stay. Including them.

"Well, Félix's madre Señora Alvarez lives with her sister and her familia, and they have almost as many people as the Madrigals themselves. I suppose they don't have enough room for the whole of the Madrigal family to stay with them," Papá thought out slowly. "And while la familia Rodriguez took Agustín in when he came over the mountains, their home above their shop is rather small...Lucía?" He asked her after a moment. "How would you feel about having guests for the next few weeks?"

As they approached the Madrigal family, they could tell the discussion was heated. The heads of several picnicking villagers closest to them had turned toward the family, quickly turning away when anyone else noticed their interest, becoming intently preoccupied with finishing whatever was on their plates or in their cups.

Lucía and Papá had explained their idea to Josefina and asked for her input, and, as expected, she was not only okay with the idea, but excited about it. They'd had to remind her the Madrigals might not even take them up on the offer. The three of them had cleaned up their plates and cups and folded up their blanket, and then made their way to where the Madrigal family was intensely discussing their sleeping arrangements for the evening.

"Ma, it's okay! It's fine, really, I'm used to sleeping on the floor, the church or even the barn is fine - " Bruno held up his hands, attempting to placate Alma Madrigal.

"My baby will not sleep with donkeys!" Señora Madrigal's voice wavered with emotion.

"It's not like he didn't sleep with rats before," Camilo muttered, before being elbowed by his father.

"What?" the teen held up his hands. "I'm not saying he should sleep in the barn, but it's better than sleeping outside! I'll sleep in the barn - !"

"You will not - " Pepa warned, voice low.

"It looks to be a nice evening," Agustín said, looking at the sky. "Maybe a campout for all of us would be fun?"

Dolores and Luisa looked at each other and grimaced.

Julieta noticed. "Perhaps still a bit wet with the dew, though, mi amor," she said, placing her hand on her husband's arm. He covered her hand with his and nodded at her point.

"Being a little wet never hurt anyone," Pepa said defensively.

Félix looked at his wife in surprise. "Mi vida, you want to campout?"

She sighed and rolled her eyes. "No - no I do not, unless there is no other option for us all to stay together. I am simply pointing out being a little wet never hurt anyone."

Luisa and Mirabel looked at each other, and then looked at their tía uncertainly.

"I was rained on literally every day of my life since I was five years old!" Pepa wiggled her fingers by her face for effect. "And look, I'm fine!"

Padre Tomás cleared his throat. "Qué pena, again, Señoras, Señors, but there is another option. You can all stay in the separate homes I mentioned - " the glares he received from the majority of the family caused him to quickly move on to the next options – "or, you can all sleep in the church. We can bring in - "

"Qué pena," Lucía's Papá announced quietly, causing everyone to stop talking and look at him. He adjusted his glasses and stepped forward. Lucía stayed behind, holding Josefina's hand and listening intently.

"We have space," he said slowly. "My granddaughter and I can move into my daughter's room for now, and we will have two bedrooms available. I am sure we can borrow enough blankets and even spare mattresses from our neighbors. I know it may be tight," he continued, making eye contact with every triplet and finally, Alma Madrigal - "but every Madrigal is welcome to share our home."

The family was quiet for a moment, and then Señora Madrigal spoke. "Thank you, Señor Hernandez. That is a very generous offer. Please excuse us while we discuss what we wish to do."

Papá nodded and stepped back.

The Madrigals formed a tight circle, their discussion quiet and energetic. Small pieces floated over to Papá and Lucía, and occasionally Alma Madrigal or Bruno or Julieta would turn to look at them before returning to the discussion.

Papá sighed. "I don't think two rooms will be enough, mi querida." He whispered.

Lucía looked to the ground and tightened her grip on Josefina's hand. She took a deep breath before looking up. "We have three."

Her papá blinked at her. "Luci - "

She nodded resolutely. "I'll clean up Alejandro's studio."

Papá placed his hand on her shoulder. "Are you certain, mi amorita? If we offer, you cannot back out."

Lucía took another fortifying breath. "I am certain." She nodded decisively, and her father squeezed her shoulder, pride and affection on his face.

"Señora!" He called, and stepped forward once again. "My loving daughter has just reminded me that we actually have three rooms available. One was - an art studio, but it can easily be cleaned and made into a bedroom. I wanted to let you know in case it affects your decision. Either way, you are all welcome at any time."

"Gracias, Señor Hernandez, Señora Moreno. We truly appreciate your offer," Alma Madrigal turned slightly to address Lucía, her eyes darting to Josefina beside her. "And," she added softly, "the generosity of heart it took to make it."

Lucía tensed, surprised at the address, but she nodded in response.

Alma Madrigal turned back to her family, but it only took them a few moments to decide. She stepped forward to address Padre Tomás and Papá.

"Thank you again, for your generous offers. We will stay with Señor Hernandez and his family, at least for tonight."

Papá nodded and stepped away, only to be stopped by the priest.

Padre Tomás looked relieved. "Thank you, Señor Hernandez. They will all be much more comfortable with you."

Papá nodded again and answered quietly. "Thank God for giving us what we have, that we can offer it to those in need. As you know – 'Greater love has no one than this: that a man lay down his life for his friends. (2).' What is a bedroom to a life? It is so small in comparison."

The priest blinked and nodded. "I should no longer be surprised by your words of wisdom, Señor Hernandez." He smiled, clapped his shoulder, and stepped away.

Papá placed a hand on Lucía's shoulder, guiding her away from the Madrigals. "Come, mija. We have much to prepare at home."

A/N:

(1) Qué pena – a Colombian expression that literally translates to 'what a shame' but is used as an expression meaning 'excuse me', 'pardon me', or 'sorry (for intruding or interrupting)'

(2) John 15:13

Two Other Things:

1. I realize there's lots of headcanons about how long it took to rebuild Casita, and I'm open to all of them. For the purpose of my story, it takes 2-3 weeks to rebuild. (Originally I wrote 1 week but my brain refused to accept that and so now here I am editing all references to that amount of time it took and it's killing me slowly.) I know that may /seem/ unrealistic but I've seen Amish communities by me raise an entire barn in one day, and along with several other things (such as Mariano's nose still being broken and Isabela's hair still being dyed) I feel like it would be possible, with the entire community working together, to rebuild in two weeks. Again, I'll read stories where it takes one day because * magic * of community teamwork and I'll read stories where it takes a year because that's how it usually is nowadays, but - just felt the desire to clarify the timeline here for my story.

2. I began writing this story before I discovered Jared Bush and His Tweets (TM). (I don't have twitter. I've only recently acquired a tumblr. I'm 33 years old and I'm already ancient.) Apparently, Agustín and Félix's families are both alive and well in the Encanto? So please excuse me while I bury myself in my own plot hole. Just leave me here to wallow in it. Because of course the most logical place for the Madrigals to stay while rebuilding the Casita would be with their in-laws. But in my head, I'd decided that Agustín somehow came through the mountains n one day as a teenager, following the group that traveled outside the Encanto to get things like pianos and cameras and such, and that Felix's mother (Señora Alvarez) lives with his aunt and cousins and there wasn't room for the whole family to stay with them. So...there it is.

Your favorites, follows, and reviews are very encouraging and I appreciate them. Thank you for reading!