The sun had been set for a couple hours now and Imelda pulled a wrap around herself. Tonight was colder than last night, but perhaps it had something to do with the fact that she was not surrounded by dozens of people and was not energetically dancing. Also she did not have Héctor's arms around her.

Imelda shivered at the thought. It was not a bad shiver, like a chill or an uncomfortable feeling, but the good kind, like when a powerful song is played and the singer hits all the notes just right.

She sighed as Héctor came into her mind. When had he become the center of her world? Didn't he used to be that annoying pest that she hated to even hear talking? The one she constantly threatened to hit with her boot? When did his stupid jokes start to become endearing to her? When did his gangly scruffiness turn into attractiveness? When did he become her perfect man?

Imelda began to braid her long dark hair into two thick plaits on either side of her head, still thinking it all over. Why did things have to go so wrong last night? Stupid Don Julián! Why couldn't he just leave her alone? She already told him no, so why couldn't he accept that and leave her be? And then, Héctor's songbook had to go missing. It wasn't that she didn't understand the urgency of his situation and didn't feel bad for him, but that wasn't to say she wasn't disappointed. She had helped him scour the entire plaza looking for it without success. It wasn't exactly how she had pictured the night panning out. Then, when they had no luck, he ended up leaving her, distraught. Barely a goodbye, much less a kiss or anything.

Imelda harrumphed. If that was the way he felt, a songbook was more important than anything, then maybe she didn't want to be with him after all. If he couldn't at least muster up a decent goodbye... Well! Who needed him anyway?

If he had at least called on her the next day with some sort of an update, let her know that he hadn't completely forgotten about her, she might have let it slide. But all day she waited and she didn't hear a peep. This time Imelda sighed, feeling a little downtrodden. Oh well. Who needed him anyway? At least they never really started anything, so she couldn't actually have her heart broken over it. Right?

"Imelda!"

Imelda tilted her head at the faint call of her name. Had she imagined it?

"Imelda!" it called again. This time it was followed by a tapping.

The tapping had come from one of the nearby windows. Imelda stood up and walked towards it. Someone was outside.

"Imelda! Are you awake?"

Imelda unlatched the wooden shutters and pushed them open. The window was raised off the ground, just above the flower garden. Through the dim light of the window, she spotted someone standing among the Morning Glories, holding a guitar. Even through the darkness, Imelda would recognize that shiny white guitar with the skull handle anywhere.

"Héctor?" she asked.

It was him in all his gangly glory. He tipped his straw hat at her and stepped closer. "Hi..."

Imelda placed her hands on her hips indignantly. "Is that all you've got to say for yourself?"

He looked taken aback. "What?"

"You leave me alone last night without explanation, then don't even bother coming by today, and all you can say is 'hi'?"

Héctor hung his head. "I'm sorry, Imelda."

Imelda crossed her arms. "You should be. I've never pined before and I don't like the feeling."

Héctor looked back up at her, wearing a half smile. "You pined for me?"

Imelda scoffed, pulling her wrap tighter around her shoulders. "Please!"

Héctor took another step closer towards her. "My songbook is still missing," he told her.

Imelda softened a little, biting her lip. "I'm sorry."

Héctor nodded regretfully. "Ernesto and I are leaving town tomorrow to start over. I'm going to rewrite some of my old songs, but mostly, I'm just going to write all new ones."

Imelda felt a pit forming in her stomach at these words. Leave? No! He couldn't! "What about Ernesto? Doesn't he have any songs?"

Héctor twisted his hands together. "Ernesto uh... songwriting isn't really his strong point."

Imelda raised an eyebrow at this. She watched him fidget for a moment; there was more behind that statement that he wasn't quite letting on. And then, she realized, "You write all the songs, don't you?"

Héctor nodded shamefully. "I'm sorry he lied to you."

Imelda pondered over this revelation for a moment. "I guess it makes sense," she finally said, "I don't know why I didn't see it earlier actually. Everything else he does is full of charm and glamor, but he lacks real conviction and hard work that goes into writing a song... and wooing a woman."

Héctor bit his lip. "He's just a little misguided sometimes. He gets blinded by what he wants and doesn't think about the consequences of his actions."

"He's lucky to have you to ground him," Imelda stated.

Héctor shuffled his foot. "Listen," he said, "There was one song left from my collection. Ernesto had it on him when my book was stolen, so it wasn't taken."

Imelda tilted her head curiously. Where was he going with this?

Héctor held up his guitar. "He asked me to write his love song for you, but well..." he positioned his guitar, "I ended up writing it for... myself. Well, for you, but from myself. I didn't write it for myself, obviously. That would be weird. It's for you."

He cut himself off. Imelda could sense him turning red even through the darkness. She couldn't help smiling at the sentiment and at his embarrassment. Smooth, he was not. Charming? A little. Sweet? Definitely.

Héctor cleared his throat and straightened up. "Would you like to hear it?" he asked.

Imelda giggled. "Well, since you came all this way..."

That was all he needed. He readied himself and then winked at her. "This is exactly how you make me feel," he explained, "I've been writing it for some time."

Imelda nodded and waited in anticipation. He looked to the sky for a moment, raised his hand, and then brought his fingers down to the strings in a fast riff. The abruptness surprised Imelda. Normally love songs were smooth and gentle, but Héctor entered into a very plucky and quirky melody. Imelda leaned forward on the window sill, fascinated.

Then he began to sing:

"What color is the sky?

¡Ay, mi amor! ¡Ay, mi amor!

You tell me that it's red

¡Ay, mi amor! ¡Ay, mi amor!

Where should I put my shoes?

¡Ay, mi amor! ¡Ay, mi amor!

You say put them on your head

¡Ay, mi amor! ¡Ay, mi amor!"

He riffed his guitar again. Imelda had to smile in amusement as she recalled all those things she had actually said to him. He continued to sing:

"You make me

Un poco loco

Un poquititito loco

The way you keep me guessing

I'm nodding and I'm yessing

I'll count it as a blessing

That I'm only

Un poco loco."

He broke into a guitar solo. He began to dance a little as he did so, his feet tapping to the beat. Imelda joined in and clapped along. He grinned widely at her and then finally began to sing again:

"The loco that you make me

It is just un poco crazy

The sense that you're not making

The liberties you're taking

Leaves my cabeza shaking

You are just

Un poco loco!"

He broke into another short solo, swaying as he did so. He winked at her again. Imelda was practically leaning out the window, captivated.

"Un poquititi-ti-ti-ti-ti-ti-ti-ti-ti-ti-ti-ti-to loco!"

He finished the song with a flourish and a grito. He posed in front of her with a hand in the air, breathing heavily. Imelda had never felt so much joy at hearing a song, she was positively elated. She began to clap, her smile stretching from ear to ear. He bowed for her proudly.

Then, overtaken by jubilation and excitement, Imelda climbed up on the windowsill and jumped right out of the window! Héctor watched in surprise as she clambered to her feet, covered in vines and dirt. She then charged towards him.

She leapt at him, flinging her arms around his neck. He managed to catch her, but stumbled over a protruding root and they both fell backwards into the Morning Glories. Imelda began laughing and although caught off guard, Héctor laughed along with her.

Imelda pushed herself up just enough to look at him. He offered her a small, amused smile and brushed some hair that had fallen loose from one of her braids behind her ear. Imelda smiled widely, then leaned forward and planted a huge kiss on his lips. She felt his surprise, but he quickly recovered and was soon kissing her back, wrapping his arms around her small frame. They held each other there, laying amongst the blue Morning Glories, reveling in the moment.

When Imelda finally released him, Héctor looked at her, a dazed expression on his face. She smiled at him again. "That was the most wonderful song," she told him.

"You liked it, eh?" he asked with a quirky smile.

"I loved it!" she declared and she kissed him again.

When they finally pulled back again, Imelda rested her head on his chest and wrapped her arms around him. "You cannot leave," she said quietly after a moment.

Héctor did not respond at first. She listened to him breathing and felt his chest rise and fall with every breath. "I cannot perform tomorrow," he stated finally, "We have no songs. Ernesto promised them−"

"Ernesto is full of hot air!" Imelda cried out in annoyance, propping herself up so that she could look into his eyes, "You do not need to perform to prove something."

Héctor rested a hand on her back. "Maybe not. But when a promise is made, I have to follow through. How could I face the people? And Ernesto?"

Imelda sighed and traced one of the buttons on his jacket with her finger. He just had to be so noble! But he didn't have to run himself out of town. That was just being melodramatic. She looked at him. "Use this one. Use 'Poco Loco'," she suggested.

Héctor shook his head. "Oh no. That song was written only for you. I couldn't−"

"And I'm telling you, it is too good to be heard by only me," Imelda said, "The people deserve to hear it too. And if you say you need a song, you've got a song!"

Héctor thought about this for a moment. Then he reached up and put a hand on her cheek. "It's not what I intended for it."

"Ohhh... stop being so sentimental!" Imelda cried, pushing him in the shoulder, "Just play the song! Then you will have something to perform and you won't have to leave town."

Héctor smiled at her. "Si, senorita!" he responded dutifully.

Then he moved his hand from her cheek to the back of her head, pulling her down to his level to kiss her once again.