Turning Tables Chapter 14
Hope you all had a good Thanksgiving! Wow, wow, wow! Can't believe I made it to 14 chapters! Hope you guys enjoy!
Oscar and Felipe walked back downstairs, feeling concerned. Ever since their parents had disowned Imelda for marrying Héctor, they had been the ones to help their older sister. And to a certain extent, protect her. When Héctor first tried approaching the twins and their sister in the Land of the Dead, the twins had coldly rebuffed him while Imelda screamed at him to stay away.
But now, as Héctor slept upstairs in the guest room, Oscar and Felipe quickly realized that they would have to try everything they could to put this family on the healing path. Despite all the bad things that Imelda had said about her husband, it was evident she still loved him.
"We should go—" Felipe said quietly looking at his twin.
"And check on Imelda." Oscar finished, sharing the same look of concern. "She's probably-."
"Exhausted." They finished as they headed into the sitting room where the rest of the family waited on pins and needles. Imelda was pacing around the room, anxious as she waited for her brothers to sit down. Rosita and Victoria sat nearby, concerned.
"Hermana," Felipe said softly. At those words Imelda turned around, stunning everyone. Her normally neat plaited bun had strands of hair falling out and her dress was wrinkled. If she had been a living woman, there was no doubt that there would have been bags under her eyes.
Ever since Héctor nearly went through the Final Death, Imelda had taken over his care, not sleeping or eating for days or letting anyone else take care of him. At one point, Julio and the twins had offered to help in order to give Imelda some respite, but they had been chased out of the room.
As Victoria attempted to help Imelda sit down in her designated chair, she waved her hand away. "I'm fine, Victoria," she said firmly. "I'm fine." But her eyes said otherwise as they shone with fatigue and tears.
Although no one would ever tell her, Imelda had cried more over the past two weeks than she ever had while she was alive. There was no doubt that she was deeply shaken by what had happened on Dia de los Muertos and what could have happened to her husband and grandson.
"You need to sleep, Mamá Imelda." Julio said as he gingerly walked over to his mother-in-law, clearly afraid of setting off her temper. But Imelda, clearly very tired, said nothing as he squeezed her hands.
"Julio's right, Mamá Imelda," Rosita said as she sat next to Imelda. You haven't had a break in over two weeks. Please rest and let us help you take care of Héctor. Miguel's a smart boy and I know that he won't let Héctor be forgotten by anyone."
At those words, Imelda sighed softly while glancing upstairs. Rosita was right in more ways than one and from the looks of things, Héctor wasn't going to be forgotten anytime soon. Miguel had made it back to the Land of the Living just in time and he would ensure that Héctor would be remembered for generations to come.
"Lo sé, Rosita," Imelda said in an unusually soft voice as everyone looked up in shock. "But I turned him away for nearly ninety years. That's never going to happen again."
"And we won't let that happen again, Mamá Imelda," Julio murmured. "We will work as a family to make it up to him."
With that, Imelda quietly left the room, her eyes shining with tears. Rosita and Victoria made to get up, but Julio stopped them, hearing the sounds of crying coming from the study. "I think we need to let her have some space right now. Rosita, can you check on her in a bit? I'll go and check in on Papá Héctor."
"We'll still go ahead-" added Oscar
"And send Miguel the message." Felipe said.
"To let him know that Héctor's going to be okay—." Oscar added.
"But that's all we can do." the twins finished in sync, standing up as they looked towards the rest of the family.
Nodding, everyone stood up to head off to bed, Julio and Rosita making a slight detour as they went to the study to check on Imelda. The family matriarch was fast asleep at her desk, her skull dangerously close to falling off and covered with watermarks. She looks even more exhausted than Héctor does. Rosita thought as she took in Imelda's haggard appearance.
Sighing softly, Rosita gently picked up the sleeping matriarch and carried her up to her bedroom, Julio following along to help.
"There has to be more we can do to help Miguel and Héctor, hermano." Rosita whispered as they got to Imelda's bedroom door.
Shaking his head, Julio replied "There's nothing more than we can do since we can't go to the Land of the Living ourselves. I hope this papel message works."
As soon as they put Imelda down on the bed, Rosita shooed Julio out of the room to check on Héctor as she exchanged Imelda's purple dress for a white nightdress and undid her long black hair, letting it tumble down her back. Afterwards, Rosita stood back and covered Imelda with a blanket, heading for the balcony as she looked out at the bright lights of the city. There was a moment of contemplation before she spoke.
"Por favor Dios. Please help Miguel and keep him safe. Get our message to him. He needs our support now more than ever. It's going to be tough, but he needs his family right now."