At present day, Andre had built his skills as a carpenter. Unfortunately his mother had passed, but the community was great and he felt as if they were his family now. He often helped who he could. And when the news spread that the Madrigal's were in need of help, he made his way there with the whole town. That is when he saw him, Bruno.
The small mousey man had come back after 10 years. Rumors spread that he had not really left at all. Andre nearly cried in happiness, but he felt uneasy. Just as quick as Bruno left and came back; he could leave again. More time would be ripped away from them. The carpenter could not stand the thought of that. He felt as miserable as his mother was to be away from his true love and he would not risk it for the rest of his life. He would not be miserable until the day he died.
After the Casa Madrigal was built, things appeared to return to normal and the family was back on a schedule. Andre took no time at all to keep track of each family member's comings and goings. He noticed Bruno hardly left the house, but the rest of the family would leave regularly. He had the perfect plan.
On one morning the whole family left the house apart from Bruno as usual. Andre made his way to the front door and knocked. It took a few minutes but the remaining family member finally answered the door. "Hi," he said awkwardly. The taller man was instantly charmed, as he had been when they first met.
"Hello," Andre began. "I was just walking in town and noticed not all the Madrigals were about. I had been wanting to talk to you for sometime."
Bruno was slightly perplexed by this and responded, "Oh, I didn't think anyone would want to see me. Most consider me bad luck."
"I've heard those rumors, but your family has reassured everyone that you only see the future. You don't cause it." Bruno chuckled nervously at this and Andre put on his best charming smile. "This might sound weird, but I consider everyone in town to be my family as I have no living relatives. And since I know everyone else in town, I want to get to know you too, since you are part of the town and therefore family."
The carpenter hoped he wasn't coming off as weird or needy, but the look on the shorter man's face was one of sympathy and understanding. "Would you take a walk with me?" Andre asked hopefully.
Bruno didn't like leaving the house, even if his reputation had gotten better. He was naturally anxious and preferred to avoid everything because anything could go wrong. He knocked on wood at this thought and Andre raised a brow but did not comment on the quirk. The small man supposed that the taller was nice enough and his family had been urging him to get out more. It was only one person and if anything went wrong he would run back home. "One moment," he utters to the visitor before turning around back into the house and instructing his rats to keep guard, just in case. He then stepped out into the sun and shut the door.
Andre had never seen Bruno in the sun; the smaller man looked more beautiful now than he did 10 years ago. He felt giddy and couldn't wait to spend the rest of his life together with this adorable small man.
When the family returned home that evening, Bruno was nowhere to be found. They called his name and looked everywhere but there was no sign of him. Eventually, after much panic, Antonio was able to relay the rats' message that their missing member was merely on a walk with one of the townies. Dolores could not confirm nor deny it because she could not hear her tio's voice. There was still much worry by the time bed time came around, but Abuela did not want anyone to blow this out of proportion. If he did not return by tomorrow they would search the town and the woods.