Turning Tables Chapter 10

Warning: minor bad language in Spanish up ahead.

As the song slowly came to a halt, Elena did a double take, holding up the photo (which had been repaired while the children were at school and refitted with a temporary frame) and comparing it to other members of the living family. Sure enough, there were several physical similarities between Héctor, Miguel, and even Enrique.

No doubt about it, this Héctor was her grandfather through and through.

"You play just like him mijo," Coco said softly as she ran her fingers through Miguel's hair. "Mi papá always loved to play that guitar. I always hoped that I would hear it being played again."

Sniffling as tears came to his eyes, Miguel said quietly "I'm sorry that he couldn't come home for you, Mamá Coco. He shouldn't have been prevented from coming home just because he missed you and Mamá Imelda."

At that point, Coco reached up to wipe away Miguel's tears and quietly turned her head to address the rest of the family. "It's okay, mijo. I'm not upset with him for not coming home—somehow I always knew that something bad happened to him and that he tried his best to come home but couldn't."

Suddenly, a loud knock at the door sounded, jolting everyone out of the touching moment as Enrique went to go answer it. Loud arguing was soon heard, causing everyone to look towards the doorway in concern.

When Enrique came back fifteen minutes later, he looked distracted and worried, clearly something on his mind. Luisa caught his eye, but Enrique subtly shook his head, indicating that this was something that would need to be talked about later.

"Estas bien, Papá?" Miguel asked as he watched his father take his seat at the table again.

"Sí, mijo." Enrique answered as he squeezed his wife's shoulder. "It was just a customer complaining about the fact that we were closed."

Judging by Enrique's behavior, Elena knew that this was no customer but decided against asking about it, knowing that whoever it was, it shouldn't be discussed in front of Miguel.

After waiting a minute to let everyone get settled down, Miguel began talking again, clearly focused on finishing the story, albeit a bit worried.

"Héctor told me that he was a sorry excuse for a relative, but I told him no and told him I liked having him as a great-great-grandfather," Miguel said, holding in the temptation to let out an excited grito due to the fact that Manny and Benny were both asleep in the next room.

"My papá siempre se preocupó por su familia." Coco murmured softly as she watched her great-grandson tell his story with excitement in her warm brown eyes. Going over to stand next to her mother, Elena gestured for her grandson to continue the story, curious about what had happened.

"Eventually, Dante and Mamá Imelda arrived with Pepita to get us out of the cenote. But Mamá Imelda wasn't very happy to see Héctor at all and made him ride on Pepita's tail when she flew us out."

Taking a breath to go put away the guitar in a nearby corner, Miguel continued with the story, feeling embolden by his family's acceptance of Héctor.

"We arrived back at a rooftop of a nearby building and we met up with everyone else. At first, Mamá Imelda thought that Héctor was the reason that I was stuck in the cenote," Miguel said quietly. Turning to look at Coco, Miguel went over to her. "But I told her about what happened and that Héctor had tried to come home but couldn't because of that maldito bastardo."

At those words, Coco nodded slowly, accepting that what had happened to her father was out of his control. Enrique and Elena had both gone pale by that point, not even bothering to scold Miguel for his bad language.

"When Héctor began shimmering again, Mamá Imelda agreed to help him get to de la Cruz, so we could get the photo back and help Mamá Coco remember her papá. We wound up going back to the Arts District and we met up with Frida Kahlo."

Choking on the water he was drinking, Abel began coughing as he spoke "Frida Kahlo? As in the artist?"

Miguel affirmed his primo's words with a nod as he continued his narrative, albeit holding back an exhausted yawn "Sí, primo. Héctor and I had met her earlier while she was preparing for the Sunrise Spectacular, so she automatically agreed to help us sneak into the show disguised as dancers for her number. Apparently, she and de la Cruz had worked together before and she didn't know about who he really was. Nor did anyone else."

Looking over to his parents, Miguel quietly asked if he could continue the story later. Nodding, Elena walked over and peppered him with kisses before sending him off to bed. The rest of the family sat around at the table, in shock about what they had learned that night. Luisa looked over to her husband, who had gone quiet.

"It wasn't a customer, was it?" Luisa asked, suspicion growing. "Who was at the door earlier?"

Sighing, Enrique knew that there was no sense in beating about the bush when it came to his wife. Especially when it came to Miguel. Pushing back any frustrated tears, he flatly answered "Apparently, the owner of de la Cruz's crypt found out about the guitar going missing. They want to press charges against Miguel for theft and vandalism unless he gives the guitar back."

Standing up in anger, Elena slammed her hands on the table, causing everyone to jump. "Our Miguelito is 12-years old! He is no vandal! We have the letters as well as the photo with the guitar in it! What more proof could they need to show that guitar belongs to us!"

"Mamá! Por favor calmate! We don't want to wake up Miguel and alarm him!" Berto said, trying to calm his mother down as she raged. Eventually she sat down, frustrated.

"We need to find proof that these letters are actually from Papá Héctor, Lena." Said Franco, as he tried to understand the situation. "None of us have any trouble believing that they are. I'm not saying that I don't believe Miguel at all, but we need to find proof that the letters are authentic as well as prove that the guitar is Papá Héctor's."

"The town knows us as the Rivera family who hates music," Luisa said softly as she took in the situation. "To have a priceless heirloom guitar that belongs to a famous músico show up here at the home of a known music-hating family? We need to prove to the town that the ban is over."