All but Dolores were dragged down for a family dinner. Mariano was sure he wasn't the only one feeling sick to his stomach as he met the eyes of Isabela, Felix and Pepa Madrigal across the table. Dinner was tense, and he could see Felix battling against Pepa's emotions, batting at rain clouds and attempting to be discreet while rubbing her arms in soothing motions, hoping to calm her down enough to pass Abuela's scrutiny. Unfortunately, even Felix could see he was fighting a losing battle. Alma had already noticed Pepa's unruly mood and had sent her a harsh look.
There was no conversation, only the sounds of nervous people clearing their throats and forks gently scraping food from plates to mouths. He could hardly stomach the small bites he was managing to take, only as he kept meeting Isabela's insistent gaze, urging him to keep eating. Just about the only one acting normally were Luisa and Antonio who were laughing at a childish story Antonio was trying to share. It was something funny his animal friends had done with him, Mariano thought he had heard.
It was clear Alma was displeased with the lack of camaraderie and pleasant conversation at the table. Once dinner finished, she sent a look and Mirabel scrambled hastily to her feet, sweeping plates into her arms with what seemed like a genuine smile. Isabela's eyes looked heartbroken to watch her sister almost falling over her own feet in her hurry to be seen as useful to their Abuela. It hurt to see the genuine hope in the fifteen-year old's eyes, hope that if only she could help with as much as possible, then maybe, just maybe Abuela would show her the grandmotherly affection and approval she desperately wanted. It was nothing more than an illusion, the approval and love she sought after, and Isabela knew this best of all.
As Mirabel stumbled her way to the kitchen to clean, with the help of Casita to keep dishes from falling from her tall stack, Alma turned her gaze on Mariano. Her smile seemed sharper than before, like sharks teeth glinting at him. "Mariano, would you play a song for us before dessert?" her voice was sweet, but he knew better than to believe this was a question. No, with Alma Madrigal, even something that sounded like a question was actually an order.
"Luisa? A piano, please." her false pleasantry didn't seem to faze Luisa who simply got to her feet. A glint in Luisa's eyes told him she knew something more than she was acting. "Come with me to choose one, Mariano." she smiled invitingly as she offered him a break from the table, "We have a few, and I just don't know which one you'd like best." she shrugged, playing on her supposed foolishness. Being strong had never made Luisa dumb as many had assumed it would, though she never tried to prove them wrong either. There was a benefit to having people assume you were fool hearted, and that was they rarely filtered their words around you as much as they should, under the assumption you didn't truly understand what they were saying.
The pair walked quietly and swiftly through the halls to find a piano suitable for him to play. The silence was comfortable, which was only mildly surprising to the both of them. "Won't take us long to pick a piano - we don't actually have that many of them." it is Luisa who speaks first. "So, uh, hey-" she rubs the back of her neck while she speaks, "I'm not real good with emotions and stuff, but I just wanted to say that if you need my help for anything," she stressed the word to make sure he caught what her explicit offer of anything was referring to, "you just gotta ask. Okay?" her eyes shifted nervously as she hoisted the beautiful piano in the air.
"Thank you." he murmured back earnestly, it was nice to know they would have more allies. He didn't know quite yet what they would do to fix this, but he knew surely one of them would come up with a good idea. It was just a matter of getting themselves out from Alma Madrigal's sight long enough to share what they could.
Easily she set the piano back down, grimacing when it made a small thudding knew Abuela wouldn't be happy about that. She was always stressing that Luisa practice being gentle when she moved things. Even though Luisa knew she had not harmed the piano upon setting it down, all Alma would see, or rather hear, was the soft thudding sound setting it back down had produced. No matter how gently she had done it, it still wouldn't be quite gentle enough.
"Ah, there you are." she was clearly also not happy with how long they had taken to get the piano. "Well? Don't keep us waiting even more, play for us Mariano!" she urged and Mariano swallowed thickly as he sat on the bench. Softly, he began to play a melody he had composed specifically for Dolores. It mostly had soft notes and melodies that were calming and lovely to her delicate ears. Although, he knew it would be much the same for those present as well. Quietly, in a low voice he began to sing the words for them, knowing Dolores would hear his love song for her. Even in the words, it was clear who this song was truly for. If he were to watch, he may have seen Alma twitch in annoyance, having caught on to whom the lyrics were dedicated to quite fast. But he steadfastly ignored those around him while he engrossed himself in playing for Dolores, this at least something he could give her even from a distance.