Disclaimer: I do not own Encanto. This story is not for profit.


Chapter 28

November 7th

Afternoon and Evening

Julieta

Julieta was relieved to catch up to their other family members and to Agustín at the building site. Several men installed cupboards and tested the kitchen pump to make sure it drew water. She and Agustín worked on the walls, the last thing to go up, around the archways to and from the kitchen.

"So, what did Bruno want to talk about?" Agustín asked.

"Mirabel."

Julieta and Agustín looked up from putting butterfly-design inner wall tiles up and watched Mirabel work for a minute. Mirabel suddenly seemed so grown up, so independent and…distant. Envy pounded through Julieta's body at the fact that Pepa had another little one to dote on, and she didn't. She pushed the feeling of pressure in her body away with difficulty. Maybe it's not too late for another child?

Agustín hugged her, taking her out of her thoughts. "She takes after you."

Julieta smiled as she searched for hints of herself in Mirabel. Aside from a surface-level physical similarity, she couldn't see much of herself in her youngest daughter. Perhaps that is another problem. Julieta had always identified the most with Luisa.

Her smile faded into worry at the reminder of what Bruno had said. "Bruno thinks Mirabel is suffering."

"In a…we're all suffering all the time because suffering is part of the human experience, caused by Original Sin, kind of way, or in a more specific way?" Agustín asked, clearly somehow hoping it was the former.

Julieta hated the way he dodged and wove around subjects. I love you, but I don't love you. I love you, but I'm not in love with you? I love you, but this isn't working? I love you, but I need space? No matter how many variations of this speech she tried out in her head, none of them seemed to go where she wanted them to go when she imagined his reaction. Sometimes, she felt as if his being a good father for her daughters was enough, and other times she felt so barren and empty. Her desire to be touched by him at all came and went, and she couldn't pin down why she sometimes felt such horrible disgust for him. "Dolores…"

"What about Dolores?" Agustín asked, looking confused.

Dolores appeared suddenly, pushing Mirabel out of the way, and she made a love confession that Julieta could only partially overhear, begging Mariano to notice her. Mariano took her hands and looked deeply into her eyes, and Dolores melted, her face relaxing in a way Julieta had never seen before. Then they took off together. Pepa and Félix will have something to say about this…but it's none of my business. Except that I just lost my chance to talk to Dolores.

Agustín's mouth hung open. "Did she just – Mariano – It's too soon!"

Julieta wondered if Isabela had been aware the whole time that Dolores loved Mariano, and if that had contributed to her daughter's reluctance. On the other hand, Dolores was incredibly good at hiding things from people. She had certainly hidden Bruno. You always knew where Bruno was. Does that mean you made sure we never collided with him? "Amor, leave them be. If Mariano moves on quickly, it's all the better for Isabela. Isabela doesn't want the awkwardness. And Madre will be pleased that Mariano still wishes to marry a Madrigal."

"Yes, but –"

Julieta sighed and resumed laying the wall. "Focus, Agustín. I was trying to talk about Mirabel." Her hands traced the butterfly cutout of the next brick she held. I don't feel as if this is transforming into anything beautiful. I feel a storm brewing on the inside instead.

Agustín looked hurt. "Mirabel has had a good life, hasn't she?"

Julieta bit the inside of her lip and took a deep breath. "You would know better than I would. I have been…so busy."

"Mirabel is always laughing and singing," Agustín said. "She loves her life. She loves us. She loved Casita. It wasn't a punishment to stay home and take care of Casita. It was just…her place. And she was happy to have what she had."

Julieta bowed her head and stared at the butterfly brick in her hand. Then it crossed your mind that Madre was punishing Mirabel by making her join you and Félix in household chores instead of letting her help me in town.

Agustín looked more and more uneasy. "Mi amor, please, what did Bruno say about Mirabel? Specifically? How does he think she's suffering?"

Julieta took a deep breath. "Bruno said our baby confided in him that she felt she was always disappointing everybody, and that she worried she was hurting the family."

Agustín frowned and propped a hand on his hip. "That's ridiculous. I can't believe Miraboo would say any such thing."

Tears filled Julieta's eyes, and she pressed on. "And that…that…horrible things have been happening to Mirabel right under our nose, and Dolores knew all about it, and didn't say anything to us." She set down the butterfly brick quickly.

Agustín's frown deepened. "If that's true, Dolores is in a lot of trouble. A lot."

Julieta turned and pressed her hands against Agustín's chest. "Why would Dolores assume we didn't want to know? Why didn't she tell us? And what did she hear? Bruno wouldn't tell me any specifics. He said I had to talk to Dolores. But I'm scared to!"

Agustín hugged her to him tightly. "We don't have to deal with this now. We can wait until later. Wait until the house is rebuilt. Working together to finish our new home is what's important now. And I don't want you to worry so much."

"I don't think I can really comprehend it yet," Julieta said. "I have so much to think about that it's difficult to absorb all at once." As usual, Bruno opens his mouth and scares me. She played with the flower in Agustín's buttonhole. "Bruno thinks…" She met Agustín's gaze with difficulty. "Bruno thinks that Mirabel is going to run away. Again. And farther. If we don't do something. He thinks she won't wait for the house to be rebuilt."

"Why would she do a thing like that? And why did she run away from us in the first place? And why did she go after Bruno's vision plate? I don't understand," Agustín said. "I know that the cracks would have happened anyway, but why did Mirabel see them when the rest of us didn't? Why did she choose to interrupt Antonio's party? Why did Alma claim Mirabel was drunk?"

Julieta groaned at all the questions.

Agustín kissed her forehead. "Lo siento. We shouldn't take this too seriously, in my opinion. We know our daughter. Mirabel is happy. Bruno has a way of…projecting his anxieties. I'm sure that Bruno is worried about Mirabel. Bruno worries about everyone and everything. That makes him very well-meaning, but I'm sure that we're right and that Mirabel is fine. And she's doing an excellent job of helping us rebuild the house."

She felt worlds apart from him.

xxx

Early in the evening, everyone called it a day and prepared to eat supper. The weather was chilly, and a cold wind was blowing, so people gathered in clumps to get back to their homes. The day had been hot earlier, but now was rapidly cooling off. The difference between natural weather and Pepa's weather couldn't have been more obvious.

Julieta sidled up to her daughter carefully and put on her best motherly smile. "How are you feeling?"

Mirabel let out a laugh and touched her head. "Much better. You know, you may not have your Gift, but you can still work wonders." She dropped her hand, wide-eyed. "I mean, I'm not saying that I think it's alright to get drunk, just because you can make me feel better afterwards. I'm still going to be responsible." She waved her hands. "I wasn't paying attention. I didn't think I'd had that much to drink, and everyone was so happy, and I didn't realize I was drunk until Tio Bruno was already drunk, and then we were drunk…" She trailed off, seeming to notice Julieta's pained expression. "I'm really sorry. Really, really sorry. I know, I'm just 15, it's none of my business to be drinking, and women aren't supposed to drink anyway, it's really unattractive, and I'm not supposed to make a scene…" She deflated, sagging, and her voice cracked. "I'm sorry."

Julieta was at a loss. They were so far afield of what she had meant to ask that she didn't know how to get back. "Mirabel…I care about you."

"I know." Mirabel turned away and wiped her nose. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I did it. Can you just accept that I won't do it again? Please?"

Julieta touched her arm. "I'm not talking about the party."

Mirabel sighed. "Okay. I won't talk about it either, then."

Julieta had the bad feeling that Mirabel thought she'd banned discussing the party. "I meant…" She took Mirabel's hands in hers. "Mi vida, how are you?"

Mirabel took a deep breath and gave her a smile that looked real. "Right. Let's start over. I'm fine, Mamá. How are you? Try not to work too hard."

Now that Bruno had cast doubts in Julieta's mind, she couldn't help thinking that Mirabel's smile was a mask. Damn you, Bruno. She squeezed Mirabel's hands. "I could say the same to you. Don't work too hard."

Mirabel's smile became noticeably strained. "Right." She pulled her hands away. "We had a good talk the other day. I'm glad that you know now that you wished you had a different childhood. I know Abuela wishes she had been a different woman. She told me that."

"If I recall, that talk was also about how you have not been fine," Julieta said gently.

Mirabel cupped her hand to her ear. "Sorry, gotta go, someone's calling me. I think it's Antonio – or is it Isabela?" She ran ahead, catching up to Antonio, Bruno, and Camilo.

Julieta was stunned. She almost called out to her daughter, but she felt that Mirabel wouldn't come back, no matter how much she called out. Why did that go so poorly?

At supper in the Guzmán household, Julieta watched Mirabel, trying to see the signs of pain and suffering that Bruno had claimed to see. But Mirabel was passing dishes like normal, chatting loudly with Isabela and Luisa about their new rooms.

"I'm going to fill my room with pillows," Luisa said. "And I want a hammock."

"My room is going to be a greenhouse for me to plant all kinds of things, by hand," Isabela said. "There's something great about using my hands and really getting into the soil, and watching plants grow by their own will instead of mine. It's great to let go and let them be who they are."

Mirabel gestured with both hands. "I'm going to start making clothes for other people. I thought I wasn't good enough, but Señorita Torres says by making the rats' clothes, I've proved I'm ready."

"Those clothes are beautiful," Bruno said. "Thank you again. Really. All of you, thank you so much. All of your presents mean so much to me. I think that's the best birthday I've ever had." He took in the whole table with a kindly gaze and small smile.

Mirabel beamed at Bruno in return. "I can't wait to see your next telenovela."

Bruno chuckled. "Well, we'll have to see how quickly the house comes together, but I'm looking forward to it myself. The production values have really gone up."

Dolores and Mariano smiled at each other across the table as if the world had gone silent for them and the other people were supporting players on a stage. Julieta had never quite felt that way about Agustín, but she had witnessed Pepa and Félix have the same reaction to each other. Like mother, like daughter.

xxx

After supper, Julieta cornered Dolores. "I need to talk to you. Urgently."

Dolores reluctantly let go of Mariano's arm.

"It's okay," Mariano said. "We have the rest of our lives. And I don't want to get in between you and your family. Actually, we do need to talk about where we're going to live after we're married, don't we?"

"Hold on," Dolores said with fond exasperation. "We're not even close to needing to know what to do about that yet." She allowed Julieta to lead her outside into the courtyard. "Sorry. He's very excited."

"He has every right to be," Julieta said gently. "You are a wonderful person. Anyone would feel as excited and blessed as he does."

"What is the urgent discussion?" Dolores asked.

"We need to talk about Mirabel."

Dolores was suddenly slightly gray underneath her chocolate complexion.

Julieta struggled to breathe. "So it is bad."

Dolores squeaked and steepled her hands, pressing her fingertips against her brightly lipsticked mouth. "I don't think it's a good idea to discuss this where anyone can overhear us. Least of all Mirabel herself. I'm sure she would not want me to tell you."

"That is all the more reason I need to know." Julieta grabbed Dolores' wrist tightly. "I am her mother."

"It gets very ugly," Dolores warned her.

"I have to know."

Dolores sighed. "All right. I know a spot where no one will hear us. Let's go."

Julieta glanced around, but she didn't see anyone. They were all inside. "Where are we going?"

Dolores gave her a look. "We'll be safe." She went inside and came back out with a picnic blanket. "No one is asking any questions. I said I needed to talk to you by myself, and Tio Bruno told everyone to respect our space. Now, let's go. Unless you've changed your mind."

Julieta frowned. "No. I want to know the truth."

Dolores led Julieta outside the south side of the village and up onto the lush foothills. As they walked, the sun set, releasing fantastically bright colors into the sky. Dolores carried a picnic blanket. She unfolded it on the grass, and they sat side by side. The fiery colors in the sky had cooled to purples and blues. The stars were now just barely visible, and the moon was a pale mark, barely distinguishable.

"Now, please tell me about Mirabel," Julieta said. "Bruno said to ask you about Isabela and about your Abuela."

Dolores talked for a long time in her quiet, gentle voice.

By the time she was finished, Julieta had used up three handkerchiefs and scrounging in her apron pocket for another. When she didn't find one, she cried into her hands. Then, suddenly, she was angry. "You should have told me sooner." Her chest was on fire.

Dolores slanted a look at her. "The town already hates me. You want our family to hate me, too? Do you have any idea what it is like to be scorned by Isabela? Or to have her angry with you? To have her hate you? And one word from Isabela, and Abuela would have been angry with me, too. Besides, Abuela is the reason Isabela acted that way. And what were you going to do about it? You've never stood up to Abuela." She stood. "I'm going to leave you here to think about what you want to do, but you're not going to blame me. I had enough to deal with without trying to parent Mirabel for you." She started down the path back to town.

Julieta stayed seated on the picnic blanket, stung, and watched the night swallow up Dolores' silhouette. She was angry with herself for lashing out at Dolores, and humiliated that Dolores had lashed out at her in return. She prided herself on fixing disagreements in the family. She was the one who made people get along when they didn't want to get along.

Oh, is that so? A nasty voice in her mind retorted. Then how come you couldn't make Isabela and Mirabel get along? Do you really do anything to solve disputes, or is it a story you tell yourself to make yourself feel better? Pepa and Bruno still don't get along. If you're so great at fixing things, how come you didn't succeed in stopping Pepa from yelling at Bruno today? Face it. You have no control.

"I do have control." By speaking out loud, she could dominate this voice. Her spoken voice was stronger than the internal voice was.

The only control you have is control over yourself, a different-sounding, gentler voice whispered.

Julieta burst into fresh tears and resorted to wiping her face on her apron.