"This is fine, this is fine," Dolores whispered softly to herself as she walked into town with her family. Today would be busy, busy was good! Busy was distracting. And if she was distracted there was no way she would accidentally confess her love for Mariano the day before he was supposed to propose to her prima, right? Not to mention, this was Antonio's day! There was enough pressure on him; she could hear him nervously fiddling with the buttons of his coat, taking deep breaths to calm himself. She remembered that nervous feeling and knew her attention needed to be with him today,

She didn't need her gift to know things were tense in the family, with the last gift ceremony not going as planned. Dolores wished that they would not make such a fuss for her brother; she knew how close he and Mirabel were and although he wasn't there he knew how her ceremony had affected her. Dolores could not bare to hear him cry as Mirabel had, she still wouldn't know what to say. There was so much pressure on him, Dolores had asked Abuela if they could maybe skip the elaborate ceremony and have a private one with just the familia, to make sure it… worked. But Abuela either didn't hear her or didn't want to hear her because all week people from town were buzzing around Casita helping prepare.

"I won't tell mama where you're hiding," Dolores said outside the nursery door. "But I can sneak you something from the kitchen, just let me know what you want. Camilo said he'll fill in for you when Abueala's friends come and want to pinch your cheeks."

"Thank you, Dolores," she heard him whisper.

"No problem, Tonito," she smiled. "Just don't wrinkle your suit."

Normally, when things were this chaotic, she would escape to her room to avoid the collections of overlapping sounds, but she was willing to endure it for her brother. Amidst the chaos, she noticed a familiar footstep sneaking in with the crowd. Bruno either moved when the halls were completely empty or completely full, donning a cloak he blended in with the crowd to feel apart of the excitement again. Dolores had spent years helping him avoid being seen, but eventually he had developed his own system and she overheard his daily habits with the rest of the town's. Sometimes, to prevent herself from repeating it to the wrong person, she would write down gossip she heard in the town and he would incorporate it into his rat telenovelas. He was fairly good at the voices and it was another welcome distraction. '

Distractions, yes. Focusing on Bruno, on her brother, there was no room in her mind for-

"Mariano!" she heard Isabela say brightly. Dolores turned and saw him walking in as Isabela was finishing up a row of roses on the entrance. "You're early."

"Yes, I came to see if I could help, and maybe spend some time-."

"Oh, you know I would love that but I am just so busy," she laughed, her voice verging the high pitch. "I have to finish the flowers here, and I haven't started on the outside, and my tia wanted to see about a topiary for Antonio, I need to make sure everything is perfect."

"Everything you do is always perfect," he aid with pure admiration. "Is there anything I can help with?"

"Oh, I'm sure there's something," she laughed, her eyes searching the room. "Dolores! You can help Dolores!"

Her heart stopped at the mention of her name as they both tuned to look at her, as she realized she was not hiding, as she so often did when Mariano was over. Isa practically pushed Marino into her. "She can find something for you to do, she'll know who needs help, right Dolores? Thank bye!"

Mariano smiled at Dolores as she took extreme measures to avoid his gaze. This was the opposite of what she intended to do today.

"So uh, what can I do to help?" he asked.

Stop standing so close to me, for one, Dollars thought to herself. "Uh, let me see," she said, her mind fluttering around the room searching for buzz words or anyone calling to her directly. "Uh, Sofia needs help outside. I'll take you to her."

She darted forward and Mariano followed suit, despite her pace being fast and frantic he did not ask her to slow down, he was far too polite for that.

"Dolores! You heard me!" laughed Senora Sofia as she and Mariano entered the backyard. "Perfect timing! And you've brought me the perfect assistant!"

"Anything to help the Madrigals," said Mariano and Dolores blushed for some reason. Mariano had a magnetic presence and even though he wasn't hers, she still felt pride when others recognized it. "What can I help with?"

"I'm getting the fireworks ready," she said excitedly.

"Fireworks?" grimaced Dolores, shuddering at the word.

"Yeah!" continued Sofia, not noticing Dolores' displeasure. "Gonna set these bad boys off when Antonio gets his door. Gotta make sure they're timed right, can't set them off too early in case what happens last time-."

"-why don't we focus on making sure they're safe?" said Mariano, who had spent enough time with Mirabel to know the topic was sensitive. "Are they too close to the house? I can help you move them, I'm no Luisa but I'm sure I can manage."

"They should be good here, we're just gonna launch a few test ones to get the timing down," said Senora. "If you can help move the baskets out of the way, that'd be great."

"Yes of course," said Mariano taking a few in his arms.

"Okay, well I'd better be getting back inside, I can tell Isa-."

BOOM!

Without warning, the first firework was set off and hit the sky. Everyone else around cheered at the spectacle preview but Dolores closed her eyes and winced in pain. She went to cover her ears but was surprised when her hands landed on a pair already there. She opened her eyes and looked up to see that Mariano had dropped the basket and was protecting her ears against the noise. It didn't eliminate the noise all together, but the sight of him so close with the light color of a firework shooting the background behind him as the sun began to set was enough to distract her from the usual pain. But it brought up a different usual pain.

The second one went off and Mariano saw her looking him, her eyes wide which he assumed was from the sudden shock of the sound. He looked embarrassed, realizing he had acted on impulse.

"I'm so sorry," he said removing his hands from her ears. "I shouldn't have... without asking... uh, I just know you're sensitive to the sounds and it's so close, they should've said something, I'm gonna say something."

"It's okay, I'm used to it," she said, holding back a chirp. "They have to set the rest off anyway, I can just-."

BOOM! CRASH! SIZZLE!

She covered her ears and tried to force a smile so Mariano could finish his task and she could escape inside peacefully and alone. But she watched as he ran over to Sofia and and politely asked her to stop until Dolores was a safe distance away, even with the fireworks she was able to hear him somewhat but she was so caught up in just watching him speak that she wasn't really listening. Mariano turned to her, and wasn't sure if she could hear him above the noise and her covering her ears, so when the fireworks stopped he put his hands into fists, made an X shape across his chest and quickly uncrossed it. Dolores recognized it as the sign for 'safe' and uncovered her ears to reveal just the normal amount of overwhelming sounds.

"Are you okay?" asked Mariano.

"Uh, yeah," said Dolores. "I uh, better head inside so they can finish without me, ya know? So bye!"

"Wait, did you understand what I said? What I signed?"

"Oh? Oh yeah," she said with a light laugh. "My dad learned it and taught me because sometimes I needed a break from hearing so much. It's nice."

"Wow," breathe Mariano, impressed. "I never knew. I learned it as a child after my father lost his hearing, I've been teaching it at the school."

"I heard,"
"I bet," he laughed, and she smiled. "Oh I meant, not because of your gift, but Antonio is in my class. So maybe from him, I mean, you'd still hear it but I-."

"I know what you meant," she signed. It was easier this way, she couldn't stutter or be too quiet. It was just them for a moment and she felt… seen.

"Huh, well I now I know why Antonio is doing so well," laughed Marino.

Antonio. Antonio. This day was about Antonio, she couldn't keep getting caught up in these little moments,. These little moments that lead nowhere, that meant nothing. They just set her back. But, she couldn't help but enjoy his company. Having him around could be enjoyable, they could be friends, once she found a way to talk to him without reading into everything. And she would have to find a way soon.

"He loves being in your class," signed Dolores,

"Well, I love having him in my class" he signed back, then he said. "I'm a little jealous of him, having such a big family."

"Do you mean such a magical family?"

"Well, yes that's lovely," he admitted, "But, I always wanted sibling or cousins to play with. Both my parents were only children, and they always meant to have more children but it wasn't meant to be. I hope one day to have a big family of my own, I hope one day me and Isabela- oh look, I'm getting ahead of myself aren't I?"

"Huh, yeah," she said, her feet urging to run.

"I mean, I have to propose first and then we can talk about starting our own family,"

"Yeah, y-you and Isabela would discuss that, yeah," muttered Dolores, suddenly feeling hot. "I uh, hear my Abuela calling," she lied as she picked up her skirts and ran inside. She felt as though she was going to vomit, but she knew that wasn't what this was. This was usually how she felt when she first heard something and it fought to be repeated. The way a secret kicked aside any thoughts or observations and made itself the center of attention. This was nothing new or surprising, but it still had fight in it. "I love you," she whispered quickly to herself when she was certain no one was around. She exhaled, the weight lighter but not gone. She fully knew it was possible this was merely a crush, but it would never get a chance to see and so it continued to bubble up and burst out until it could be accepted or denied without a doubt. From the moment he entered her space, the sentiment began its battle to come forth and lately he was around more and it was harder and harder to suppress.

She knew tomorrow night, at dinner, he was planning to propose. She would have to devote herself to avoiding him whenever she could and finding excuses to leave. She would be nonchalant and aloof. She would be busy and distant and quiet. She would be anything she had to be to keep things perfect because now she was certain she would never stop being in love with him.