"IMELDA!"
All the Rivera's jumped from their places within the workshop.
The sound of stomping feet echoed throught the Rivera household. They all looked to each other in fright.
"Who was that!?" Rosita asked, holding her hand over her phantom heart.
Their answer appeared not more than a moment later, when the door swung open with a violent BANG!
Héctor stood in the door frame, panting, as if he had ran a long distance. His eyes flamed, as the scanned the room, looking for something.
Or someone.
When his eyes fell on Imelda, the fire in his eyes seemed to grow wilder, almost untamable.
"Who's is she?" He whispered. But it wasn't his usual joking whisper.
No, this was lethal, cutting the stunned silence like a knife cuts through butter.
Imelda only gived him a confused expression. This only served to anger him further.
He stormed towards his wife, violently pushing a confused Julio out of his path. "ANSWER ME!?" He screamed, once he reached her.
Imelda stood up, puzzled and annoyed. "What are you talking about?" She asked.
Yesterday Afternoon
"Lunch is ready!"
Coco smiled as the family gathered at her call.
Óscar and Felipe were the first to arrive. They literally jumped into their chairs, before grabbing the best food, and setting it on their plates. Coco rolled her eyes.
"Ay! You act like we don't feed you!" She laughed, as Julio and Victoria all came in to the room, watching the pile of food on the twins' plates grow steadily higher.
Victoria sighed at the pile of food on each of their plates. "We would like to eat as well, you know." She told them. As she passed to sit in her chair, she grabbed a tortilla from each of their plates, placing them in her own.
Rosita chuckled warmly, bringing with her another tray of food. "Don't worry, I made extra." She handed Coco a plate of the fresh food.
"Gracias."
Imelda and Héctor followed, laughing. The Rivera matriarch lightly slapped her husband, upside the head. "Don't be so loco."
"i can't help it. And it is your fault. You make me un poco loco!" As he sung the last sentence, he sunk into his chair. He now sat at the head of the table, Imelda telling him that it was his place as the Rivera patriarch. At first he felt uncomfortable, but when Imelda offered to swap with him every other meal, he began to get more comfortable. This way, he did not feel like he just took over the family his wife worked to raise.
"Óscar! Felipe!" Imelda scolded, glaring at them as she sat in the seat across from Héctor. "What have I told you about putting more in your plate than you can eat?"
Obediently, the boys replaced the food, leaving just enough for themselves.
It was all forgotten as the Rivera chatted happîly. Héctor began to recall stories of his courtship then marriage to Imelda. The rest of the family listened, adding in parts that the patriarch had forgotten.
"Do you know how loco your Mamá Imelda is?" Imelda rolled her eyes. She knew exactly what he was going to say. "As soon as she had Coco, she wanted to have more children!" Everyone laughed at his annoyance.
"I did always want un hermano menor." Coco claimed.
Imelda couldnt help but frown. "Well, after you were born we tried. We kept trying for the next 3 years or so. Unfortunately, I didn't become pregnant again."
Victoria scruched her nose. "A little too much information, Abuelita."
As the topic changed, Héctor found his mind was stuck on one part of the previous conversation.
"We kept trying for the next 3 years or so. Unfortunately, luck was not on our side."
Héctor decided it was time to pay a visit to an old friend.
An hour later, Héctor found himself knocking the office door of Dr. Alejandro Sánchez.
The elder skeleton opened the door, his expression lighting up, upon seeing Héctor.
"Mi amigo! It has been a while! Come in! Come in!" Héctor gave a nervous smile as he sat in the doctor's office, across from Dr. Sánchez. "What seems to be the problem?"
Héctor blinked, then grinned. "Do I need a reason to see such a good friend of mine?"
Dr. Sachez laughed. "Héctor, I know you well. If you were coming to just visit me, you wouldn't be so tense.
Héctor looked down and, indeed, his bones were basically stiff. He shook his bones loose and gave a sheepish grin. "Well, now that you mention it..."
He hesitated. Maybe this wasn't a good idea. He could still turn back. He didn't have to go through with this.
He did, anyway.
"I require a favour."
He spent the next half an hour explaining the situation and request to Dr. Sanchez.
"Of course, Héctor." The doctor scribbled down a note. "I can do the test now, and you'll get the results first thing tomorrow."
"Gracias. Just un problema." Héctor pulled out his wallet, grimicing at the small handful of pesos. "I don't think I have enough money."
"Don't worry, mi amigo." Dr. Sanchez told him. "I can give you the test for free. After all of your support, it's the least I can do."
The men stood, and shook hands. "Thank you so much, Dr. Sanchez."
"You are my friend. Call me by my name."
Héctor smiled. "I apologise, Alejandro."
They left the room, to fulfill Héctor's request.
The Next Morning
Héctor practically waltzed into the surgery, that morning. Molletes for breakfast, Coco excited about the large order of tap shoes the zapatería had received, and Victoria had started to refer to him as her abuelo.
Whereas before, he had been worrying about the results, he now was feeling a little bit more optomistic.
"I was just being silly." He muttered to himself, chuckling at his previous paranoia.
He walked into Alejandro's office, where he found the man looking somber.
Héctor immediantly felt his good mood vanish.
"What's wrong?"
The doctor somberly handed him an envelope, patted him on the shoulder and mumbled, "Take all the time you need."
He left the room, not noticing the confused look Héctor was giving him.
He sat in the chair he had sat in the day previously, and then carefully opened the envelope. With shaking hands, he unfolded the paper. His eyes darted over the writing.
He hardly registered the paper falling from his grip, as a rage so strong overpowered his senses.
He snatched the paper from the floor, shoved it roughly back into the envelope and stormed out.
His destination?
The Rivera Household.
Present
Imelda stood up, puzzled and annoyed. "What are you talking about?" She asked.
The answer froze her phantom blood. His answer was deathly quiet, but was heard by all the skeletons present.
"I went to get a test done. As a human, I was completely infertile. That means I couldn't have children."
"Coco is not my daughter."