"What do you mean, you didn't get the guitar?"
The former musician had never felt so angry, since the day Miguel humiliated him last Dia dos Muertos. "I gave you one job to do Chino! One job!"
"I'm telling you, Ernesto, I couldn't get it back!" Chino clarified. "His family kicked me out! Did you see his Abuela? Boy, she's like a lioness!" A shudder ran down his spine, feeling his face. He never wanted to come near her or her boot ever again!
"Never mind about the guitar!" Hilda snapped. "You were supposed to bring that boy here! That is what I really want!"
"As if his family would allow that!" Chino said so rudely.
"Any idea what are we going to do?" One of the members asked.
"We need a new plan," the leader suggested. "Something simple and straightforward."
"Sí, Senor Castillo," the evil skeleton lady agreed. "Let's go back to our original plan: Kill Miguel."
"No, let us not stoop so low to do that!" Chino protested. "I'll see if I can bring him to you. Please consider it, Hilda!"
"Fine!" Hilda snapped. She took deep breaths to control her frustration. "I will give you three more chances to bring Miguel to us. If by the third time, he refuses to come, then you will have to kill him. He must come to the Land of the Dead, so Ernesto and I can deal with him. Do you understand?"
("Why are you talking as if I am not here?" Ernesto grumbled).
"Sí comprehendo," Chino and other members agreed. Though they secretly, hoped that they would not have to take drastic measures. The police are more likely on the Rivera family's side than theirs. What would the police say if they caught them doing physical harm to one of the Riveras?
"While you skinsacks, try to talk to Imelda's brat, I will find a way to kill her and her toy boy. Then I can rid of him without worrying about them trying to stop me! Lasta Vista!"
"Wait!" Ernesto cried as soon as he and Hilda poofed out of the fireplace. They appeared back into their hideout in Shantytown.
The 42-year-old man turned his head to the old woman. His face reminded one of a toddler who cannot have a treat before dinner. "What about the guitar?"
"Forget the stupid instrument, you bonehead!" Hilda snapped. "They are never going to give it back-even if Castillo and the members try to do it by force! Besides, we are wasting time and you need to prioritize your needs."
"But-"
"Look, what's more important to you: fame or revenge?"
"Revenge," Ernesto said without hesitation. Once upon a time, he may have dreamed of fame. Now that Miguel took it away from him, revenge was his only goal.
"Correct, you brainless wart head," the old woman nodded. "You want revenge on Miguel, I want revenge on Imelda and Hector. We are just getting sidetracked from our goals. Just remember this: First, get rid of the family. And then, we can claim your guitar and the Rivera money." She chuckled as she rubbed her bony hands together. "Oh think of all what we could do with money! I'd have a ball and fool around!"
"May I ask you a question?" The former star, said raising his hand.
The woman growled, annoyed that he interrupted her train of thought.
"If it's about the guitar, forget it!"
"No, no," the former star chuckled. "I mean, what did you do that made Hector and Imelda ban you from the family ofrenda? I know Imelda is a shrew, but Hector is very easy to get along with. He loved everybody and everyone loved him-even when they were put off by his big nose and ears." He scowled. "Even when they questioned why he hangs out with me so much because he is better at music than me-"
"All right, all right, all right!" Hilda barked, feeling incredibly annoyed. "I will tell you why! All I did was throw Imelda off the roof, boo boo hoo! Hector caught me on a bad day!"
"You threw Imelda off the roof!?"
Ugh, you sound like her idiotic husband-always overreacting!" Hilda scoffed. "Anyway, I asked Imelda to do a household task-what was it again? Oh yeah, sweeping the courtyard. The courtyard was clean but not clean enough! And on top of that, she messed up on her other chores. So I found her on the rooftop..."
Imelda yelped as she fell to the ground. She held her cheek, trying to ease the pain. The young woman was used to being slapped in the face but this time, her aunt hit her harder than usual.
"Well, well, well! If it isn't my stupid niece!" Hilda sneered. She raised her voice. "YOU STUPID GIRL!" The woman grabbed her niece's head and forced her to look at the courtyard from the roof. "LOOK AT THIS! LOOK AT THIS! DOES THIS LOOK CLEAN TO YOU! NO, IT DOES NOT!"
"Please do not yell at me!" Imelda pleaded, her voice shaking. "The courtyard is clean. I did sweep it. I even checked it to make sure-"
"YOU DARE TO DEFY ME!? IT WAS NOT CLEAN ENOUGH YOU DUMBASS! BOY, YOU ARE DUMBER THAN SHIT!"
So consumed by her rage, Hilda took out her whip and began whipping Imelda! The poor girl felt as if she were being burned by flames.
"STOP!" Imelda screamed. "PLEASE STOP!"
But her pleas fell on deaf ears.
"TIA, POR FAVOR STOP!"
The young woman made an attempt to crawl away. But before she could, she felt her aunt lifting her up by the arms, and the next thing Imelda knew, she felt herself being pushed off the roof!
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH! HELP ME!"
Somewhere Imelda woke up gasping, with a cold sweat. She whipped her head around the room. All she saw was her lamp stand, vanity mirror, closet, and dresser, and a door. Although relieved that a certain relative is not here, the matriarch felt her bones still shaking and rattling. Tears cascaded from her cheeks. Imelda curled up in her body and put her head in her lap. "Why did did I dream of that awful memory?"
The door opened as Hector rushed into her bedroom.
"Imelda, que pasa? I heard you screaming!"
His wife quickly looked up and wiped away her tears. Even though she was touched by her husband's concern, Imelda felt embarrassed that he saw her cry. Actually she shouldn't be crying at all. Adult women do not cry over nightmares!
"Nada Hector. Just a bad dream."
"Do you want to talk about it?" Hector asked hesitantly.
"No!" Imelda said. "No, I do not."
"Are you sure?"
" Sí, I am fine!"
The patriarch sighed. How could he comfort his wife if she would not tell him, what's bothering her? But if being alone would make her feel better, then he will leave her alone. He was about to exit when he heard her calling out to him.
"Hector, wait! Please stay."
The musician was dumbfounded by her request. His wife, the woman who banned him from the family, nearly erased his existence, and rejected him many times, was asking him to stay? In her bedroom? This was all so new to Hector that it took him a long time to process that information. "Wait, what?"
"I am asking you to stay with me," the shoemaker repeated.
Hector gazed into Imelda's eyes. Realizing how much she needs him, he sat down on the bed, after Imelda scooted over. The musician got underneath the covers. His wife stood up from bed and fetched him a second pillow from the closet. Then she went back into bed.
As soon as Hector made himself comfortable, Imelda leaned close to him. "Hold me," she softly spoke. She gently, rested her phalanges on his clavicles. She nuzzled her head in her husband's cervical vertebrae.
Hector was startled at her touch. All those times that he tried to talk to her, she would do nothing more than slam the door in his face or run away from him. Then when they teamed up to get his photo back from Ernesto and get Miguel home, things began to change. They had agreed that there would be little to no physical contact, and he was not allowed to touch her. Only she could touch him. So far they had done nothing more than handshakes. Even though he remembered her hugging him at the Spectacular Sunset concert, it was still a surprise to be receiving hugs from her. At her command, Hector wrapped his arms around his wife's spine. He held her as if she were made of glass.
"Don't leave me," she whispered into his non existent ear. Her voice sent a pleasant shiver that traveled on Hector's spine.
"I won't," Hector whispered back. "I promise."
Then they fell asleep in each other's arms. This time, no bad dreams came upon Imelda. Only serenity.
NOTES: So in case you are confused, while Hilda was recalling the time she threw Imelda off the roof, Imelda was having a nightmare about it at the same time.
I want to give Hilda and Ernesto another villain song in this chapter but I ended up not doing it because it was stalling the plot. I will save it for a future chapter. I apologize for messing up the Spanish language, my keyboard does not have the accent marks when required. I had to go to google translate to type the correct word for the Spanish word "yes." I had no idea that I was accidentally having the character saying "if" all along when I meant for them to say "yes." I will have to check back on my chapters to correct my Spanish words.