Tomas blinked and nervously glanced at Luisa, "Why is Mirabel applying that Senor Gonzalez had something to do with us getting together?"
"She's not talking about Abuelo Gonzalez," Isabela said.
"So she's what, saying that your dead Abuelo somehow had something to do with me ending up with Luisa?"
"Why would you blurt something like that out?" Agustin demanded.
Mirabel gave him a confused look, "Blurt what out?" she asked.
"Seriously?" Isabela demanded, "Do you even remember your conversation with Tia this morning?"
"Well, yeah, I did it on purpose, you know to prove to Abuela and everyone there that I did have a gift," Mirabel said, "But why is everyone looking at me so weird, do I have something on my face?"
"You just accused Abuelo Pedro of playing matchmaker with Tomas and Luisa," Isabela pointed out.
"Well, that's awkward," Mirabel said, "And totally killed the mood, I'm sorry Tomas, apparently I'm really good at interrupting proposals, maybe I should be banned from them from now on."
"She's still learning full control over her gift," Julieta insisted, "She's randomly going to blurt out random stuff about our family that none of us knew about just like how Isabela grew random flowers and Luisa broke random stuff when they first got their gifts."
"Gift? When did you get a gift?"
"Not now Papa, this is Luisa's big moment," Mirabel insisted, blushing slightly at all of the eyes turned to her. Honestly, why was it that she always seemed to steal the spotlight away from her sisters, no wonder Isabela was always so annoyed with her, "You better hurry up and propose," she instructed Tomas, "Before the house starts falling apart or something."
Tomas glanced at her nervously, shrugged, and turned his attention to Luisa, moving from his chair to kneel in front of her, "Luisa, my precious Sapphire, will you make me the happiest man in the world and become my wife?"
At that moment several things happened at once, Luisa threw herself into Tomas's arms, Agustin blew his nose loudly, and Isabela leaned back into her chair and informed Mirabel, "That's what a proposal should look like. I mean minus the random outburst about the ghost of our Abuelo setting them up but… yeah."
"He isn't a ghost, he's an angel, a guardian angel, there's a difference..." Mirabel muttered.
…
Julieta smiled as Luisa and Tomas snuggled on the couch together, softly talking about the upcoming wedding with Mirabel hanging onto every word, every once in a while voicing her own opinion. Isabela was trying to pretend that she was grossed out by everything, but Julieta could tell that her eldest was thrilled about the upcoming wedding, now that it wasn't her that was getting married.
"Tomas, Luisa, are you planning on posting an engagement announcement in the Encanto Daily, I'm headed over to their office anyways, I'll be happy to..."
"I don't know," Luisa said, "What about…."
"Abuela technically knows," Julieta pointed out, "She was with me when I talked to the Reverend about performing the marriage ceremony. Besides, I'm having them print a letter I've written to Encanto as a whole. It explains what's going on between Alma and me. I'm hoping to stir up some sympathy for us. I don't know if we can do this alone."
"Senora Silva is on our side and so are the Guzmans," Mirabel pointed out, "I didn't talk to anyone else, but there are bound to be others who will side with you, Mama. You have Tia's support too, and Abuelo's, and Tias Maria and Carla."
"Thank you, Mira, I know that, but I still want to get my view out there where everyone can find it before Alma can tell her version."
"Oh, okay, I guess that makes sense," Mirabel said, shrugging as her mother turned her attention to her older sister.
"Well?"
Luisa and Tomas exchanged looks, before Luisa shrugged, "It is a tradition," she admitted, "and the Encanto loves to gossip. I'm sure that even if we don't post an announcement, the whole Encanto will know about it by the end of tomorrow. We might as well get it over with."
"Excellent," Julieta said, picking up a second piece of paper, "I'll drop these off at the newspaper office."
Julieta kissed Agustin on the way out, "I'll be right back," she promised.
Agustin nodded, plopping down on a chair, and eyeing Tomas slightly, he just couldn't believe that his little girl was getting married, or was about to become a mother. He was about to be an abuelo, boy did he feel old with that thought.
"So what's the plan?" he asked.
"Well, Sofia's going to be the flower girl, and Antonio's the ring bearer," Luisa started, "You're giving me away Papa," she insisted, nodding towards him, "Isabela's my maid of honor and Mirabel and Dolores are Bridesmaids. We need a best man and groomsmen, Tomas is there anyone that you want in the wedding party?"
"Ummm..." Tomas frowned, thinking, "I don't know, out of everyone in the Encanto, aside from you, of course, mi preciosa zafira, the person I am closest to would have to be Mariano Guzman and Carlos Garcia."
"That might get a little awkward," Mirabel pointed out, "Isabela and Mariano almost got engaged yesterday and Isabela's idea of dealing with that is to avoid him. Although I think Camilo and Dolores might have dumped him for her."
"What did they do?" Isabela asked.
"I don't know, all I know is that Dolores is all a flutter because Mariano asked her out," Mirabel said with a shrug, "He sure rebounds quickly, I hope that Dolores doesn't get hurt."
"Mariano is a sweet boy, boring, but sweet, he wouldn't hurt Dolores," Isabela said, "But how do you know this? Did she see you at work or something?"
Mirabel shrugged, "No, I just do, I don't know why I've suddenly developed a gift or how it works, but I know the basics of how everyone in the family is feeling and why. It's kind of weird."
"No, what's weird is the fact that you've demonstrated this gift before without any of us noticing," Luisa pointed out, "I mean, you told us what my gift was going to be when you were a baby!"
"How in the world could you have a gift before you turned five?" Isabela asked.
"Our gifts come from the Miracle Candle, but we don't touch it until the gift ceremony when we are five," Mirabel pointed out, "There's no way I could have been exposed to the candle beforehand, is there? I mean, when it isn't being used during the gift ceremony, it's up on its windowsill."
"That's not exactly true," Agustin announced, "You actually were 'exposed' to the candle as you put it, as a baby. You were premature, as I'm sure you know, and we were really worried that you weren't going to make it. Your Abuela brought down the candle and sat it next to your cradle that night. She never did explain why she did it."
"Because it granted me a gift that night, the gift of life," Mirabel muttered, "That's why I didn't get a door, I already received my gift."
"But that doesn't explain what's going on with you sprouting random stuff about all of us," Isabela insisted, "And if you've had this gift since you were a baby, why are we just now noticing it? Where's your door?"
"I don't know," Mirabel admitted, "I wonder, it can't be a coincident that the day that we leave the Madrigal family is the day that I get my gift."
"You told Mama and Abuela that it was a connection to the Miracle," Isabela pointed out, "Not that it was a gift."
By this point, Sofia had climbed onto Luisa's lap, stuck her thumb in her mouth, and fallen asleep. Tomas glanced at her and shook his head, "I guess that's the sign that I need to take her home and put her to bed," he confessed, scooping up the little girl, who rested her head in the crook of his neck.
"I'll see you later," Luisa promised, giving Tomas a chaste kiss on the lips.
"Not too soon," Mirabel said, her eyes narrowing, "We're sharing a room, and I've already walked in on you two one too many times. I don't want to wake up in the middle of the night to see that again!"
Tomas turned beet red, "When did she walk in on us?" he hissed slightly to his fiancee.
"I don't know," Luisa confessed, "Honestly I wouldn't be surprised that it was a while ago. I think she made this dress," she gestured to the lacy pink dress she was wearing, "After she learned about us, and she gave it to me for my birthday last November."
"Which probably means that the latest she could have learned about us was early November, late October," Tomas said.
"Try early June," Mirabel said with a shrug, "It took me a while to figure out that it was something serious and that Luisa wasn't just having a fling or something. No offense Lulu, but I had to be sure."
Luisa shook her head, "I'm not that type of girl, Mira," she insisted, "But don't worry, Tomas isn't going to come into our room."
"Good," Mirabel said with a sigh, standing up, "I never want to see that again, and I can't believe you and Isabela brought it up today."
"How was I supposed to know that you walked in on us?" Luisa asked, "I just thought that you caught us together out in town or something."
"The way that you turned bright red when Luisa asked you how you knew, and how quickly you changed the topic, yeah that was a dead giveaway."
"So you had to bring it up to the whole familia?"
"We're hermanas, we are supposed to embarrass each other," Isabela insisted with a hug, "I expect you to get back at me at one point or another."
"When you lease expect it," Mirabel agreed.
"Wouldn't have it any other way," Isabela insisted.
Luisa rolled her eyes, "Why do I have the feeling that I'm going to be caught in the middle of a prank war between you two."
"You won't be caught if you join in."