"Is everything ready?" my tío Joaquín hurriedly asked.
"No, my Lechona is still in the oven!" my tía Estrella answered, rushing to set the table perfectly.
"Well get it out of the oven!" came the voice of my cousin Diego.
"Rosa doesn't like Lechona though…" muttered the tiniest voice of my little sister Gloria next to me.
I couldn't help but smile at her comment as I ruffled her curly brown hair. I bent over the railing of the stairs, watching as months (and for some years) of preparation was finally coming to the test. What test you may be asking? Well today is my engagement. Not just any engagement I may add, but my engagement into a very special family. The family Madrigal. This is a very special family in my village of Encanto as each member of this family (save for those like me who marry into it) holds special powers that help everyone in the village.
Pepa can control the weather with her emotions, perfect for farmers and planning special events. Her daughter Dolores can hear anything and anyone and her son Camilo will get his gift in a couple months. Julieta is the healer of the village and can make anyone better with a simple meal. Her daughter Isabela is a beautiful girl that can make beautiful flowers appear everywhere while her other daughter, Luisa, has the strength of a thousand and more men and is very well appreciated by the builders of the village. Her youngest daughter Mirabel is also expected to get her powers in the coming months.
And then there's Bruno, the fortune teller. Or the guy that makes bad things happen, depending on how you look at it. It's become a common theme when he tells people their future, they blame him when it comes true. Even though they came to him first.
But I've always never seen him as the bad guy. Mostly because he's been my best friend since I can remember. We practically grew up together so when it came time for my papa to choose a husband for me, Bruno was the top of the list. As soon as my family got the ok from Bruno's mother Alma, the matriarch of the Madrigal family, they immediately set out to plan the perfect proposal night. AKA, this night.
That's also why I was told to stay away from the kitchen ("You'll splash soup on your dress, Rosa!"), not to lift a single chair ("You'll kick up the dirt and ruin your shoes, Rosa!"), and to frankly just sit back and look pretty. Possibly the hardest task of all.
I looked over at the clock beside the kitchen door and saw we all had 15 minutes to spare before the Madrigals would be at our door. "My family is making great time," I thought "Maybe we should make every dinner a proposal so we'll be on time more often."
"Rosa!" I heard my mother call out to me and I quickly hurried down the stairs. I greeted her in front of our dining room table and smiled at her. She quickly returned one too and started picking at my dress to remove any loose threads or fly away hairs.
"Look at you," she grinned. And if I wasn't mistaken, I swore I saw a tear or two form in her eye. "Your grandmother's dress fit you perfectly, exactly as she would have wanted. Now, exactly what are you going to say when the Madrigals arrive?"
"Good evening everyone. May I take your coat Augustin? And your hat Felix? Thank you, and may I offer you a glass of water Mrs. Alma? And-"
"And if she refuses the water?" my mother quickly asked.
"Of course, would you like another drink?" I simulated taking Alma's arm and leading her to our dining table.
"Perfect!" my mother said, clapping her hands. "And where will everyone be sitting?"
"Papa and Alma will be sitting at the ends of the table," I responded, pointing at each of the chairs as more of my family members began to fill the table with food. "You will be next to papa, and I'll be next to you. Bruno will be sitting across from me. Alma's family will fill up the side Bruno sits on, and our family will be on ours. Keep…tío Joaquín furthest from the wine and place tía Maria closest to it as she can better control who gets how much."
"Fantastic Rosa!" my mother yelled, quickly grabbing my shoulders and pulling me into a hug. "This night is going to be perfect!" I couldn't help but beam right back at her as the hour for the Madrigals came. My papa quickly rushed from upstairs to the table and straightened his clothes.
"Everyone, take a deep breath, the Madrigals will be arriving any minute." He said and all of us took in a deep breath in and let it right back out. All of us went to the couches and chairs in the front room in anticipation for the magical family's arrival. I could feel the butterflies quickly start to make an appearance in my stomach and my need for food grew.
30 minutes pass and everyone sat in their spots, twiddling their thumbs and waiting for a knock on the door. I looked at my papa and he had his hand grasped tight to the chair I was sitting in. "Probably got held up with someone in the village. Wouldn't blame them, the work of a Madrigal is never done." He chuckled, glancing at the clock. I nodded my head and went back to looking out the window, waiting for any sign of movement.
A whole hour and a half pass, and now everyone began to move from their spots. The door remained silent and there didn't appear to be any sign of anyone coming to knock on it anytime soon. I gave my mother a worried look and she just looked at papa. "Were they expecting us at their house?" she asked quietly.
"I was told they would be here." tío Joaquín replied.
"That was my impression." Papa muttered, walking over to the door. "I'm going to go see if everything is alright." He grabbed his coat and walked out the door, shutting the door with a very noticeable slam.
I kept my spot on the couch as a million thoughts started to go through my head. Was Bruno and his family alright? Was he just nervous about the proposal? He was a naturally nervous person, I've come to know that. But just last month he seemed so excited for this night. We both knew it would happen, it wasn't a surprise to either of us. Had we accidentally scheduled the proposal on the night Mirabel or Camilo would get their powers? No…if that was the case we would have known about it and been invited. And if we hadn't been told about it, there's no doubt the whole town would be talking about it so there's no way to hide it…was Bruno alright?
I looked over at Gloria and watched her short legs swing in her little chair with little care in the world. "At least now you don't have to eat the Lechona." She giggled. That gave me a smile I didn't know I needed.
Some time passed before my father walked back through the door, shutting it again with a loud slam and throwing his coat in a violent manner.
"Mi Amor, is-" my mother started but was quickly cut off.
"He's gone." Papa said.
"Gone?!" I immediately thought as I stood up. "What do you mean gone?!"
"I talked to Alma, and Bruno has just gone and disappeared." Papa responded, grabbing a bottle of wine from the table. "Apparently he saw something in a vision, and it drove him to the edge of his sanity so he disappeared."
I scrunched my eyebrows together and started shaking my head. "No…no he wouldn't do that…"
My uncles, aunts, and cousins started looking at each other in dismay. "You mean this little punk stood up my niece on her night?!" tío Samuel shouted.
"Stood her up," tía Esmerelda interjected "I doubt he even planned to be here at all! This was probably Alma's idea anyway, I never liked the way she looked at Rosa. Not everyone can be 'perfect' like her family!"
Everyone started talking and shouting over each other, cursing Bruno's and the Madrigal name and the shame they brought to our family on this night. But I slowly sank back into my chair, trying to drown them out. Bruno was supposed to be my best friend. We did everything together. Did he not see us together? Did he have a vision and were we not in each other's future? Was this night the reason he left? I don't understand. Not in the slightest.
"All I know," papa shouted over everyone "I will never, as long as I live, so much as look at a Madrigal. This town has become lazy since they began relying on a single family to fix their problems. From this day, I am never going to ask a Madrigal for any help. They want to reject a proposal to my daughter; I'll see to I'll never ask them for anything again!" This brought about agreements and cheers from uncles and aunts. I wanted to tell myself it was just the wine and drinks doing all the talking, but even something inside me was fighting to agree with what my papa was saying.