All conversation immediately stopped when Mirabel, Bruno, and Antonio turned the corner. Bruno was clutching Mirabel's hand like a lifeline, but he didn't seem like he was about to fall over anymore.
Mirabel saw Luisa first, standing a little in front of everyone. She smiled encouragingly, giving the trio a thumbs up. Dolores and Camilo were standing next to each other. Camilo had his arms folded, watching them. He raised an eyebrow. Dolores smiled.
Isabela was further away, standing close to the barn doors. Her eyes were red, like she'd been crying.
Mirabel took a deep breath. "Okay, so, uh. Everyone, this is Tío Bruno. And…Tío Bruno, this is…everyone."
For almost a minute, no one moved.
Then, Dolores huffed. "This is stupid," she said. She crossed the room to stand in front of Bruno. He eyed her warily but didn't move. "Hola, Tío Bruno. My name is Dolores."
Bruno nodded. "Felici—felicidades," he whispered, then cringed a little. "On–on your wedding, not, uh, your name. I already—I already knew that."
Dolores laughed. "Thank you," she said. "You picked a good week to be alive again."
Mirabel choked on a laugh. "Geez, Lola."
With that, the atmosphere relaxed a little. Bruno let go of Mirabel and Antonio's hands and allowed Dolores and Luisa to hug him carefully, awkwardly patting their shoulders each time. He'd glance at Mirabel every so often, and she'd give him a wide smile and a thumbs up, ready to step in if it looked like he was getting overwhelmed again.
"Mirabel."
Mirabel turned and found herself face-to-face with Isabela. Her oldest sister bit her lip. "I-I'm so sorry," she whispered miserably. "Did I…did I hurt him?"
Mirabel shook her head. "Not…physically?" she whispered back. "I think—I think it triggered a…memory? But he's not injured. And he's not mad at you, I promise."
Isabela nodded, but she didn't look reassured.
Camilo joined their group, nudging Mirabel's arm. "Soooo, care to explain how, uh, this happened?" He gestured vaguely in Bruno's direction.
Bruno met her gaze. He nodded.
"Yeah, okay," Mirabel said. She clapped her hands and everyone looked at her. "Story time!"
They all sat in a circle in the hayloft, a lit lantern placed in between them, casting flickering shadows on the walls and piles of loose hay.
Mirabel began her story from the first step she took into the Encanto, describing the overgrown buildings and abandoned belongings, eyeing Antonio to make sure he didn't get overwhelmed. But the eight-year-old—who had managed to charm his way onto Bruno's lap already—just leaned against Bruno's chest and listened, outwardly unperturbed by her descriptions.
She continued, describing Casita. Everyone sucked in a breath when she told them the house moved when she spoke to it.
"Casita's alive?" Dolores squeaked out, voicing everyone's thoughts.
"That's what I said!" Mirabel cried. She shook her head. "I hardly believed it, at first."
"Abuela must not know," Isabela murmured.
"I can't believe Mami didn't realize," Camilo said. "I feel like that'd be a pretty big thing not to bring up—"
"She, um."
All eyes turned to Bruno. He shrank back a little but continued, his voice softer, "Pepa didn't–didn't make it to Casita."
Mirabel frowned. "You never told me that."
Bruno shrugged one shoulder. "You didn't–you didn't ask. But there used to be–to be the occasional looter, so I started, hm, I started scaring them away? And I didn't realize—not until she was gone—"
Oh.
"Wait, wait, wait, the monster Mami talked about—that actually was you?" Camilo asked, incredulous, waving his hands. "How long were you there?"
Antonio looked curiously up at Bruno, who looked down, twisting a piece of hay around his fingers.
"Long, long time," he said, echoing the words he'd said to Mirabel inside Casita. "I never really…tried to keep track."
Luisa elbowed Camilo, knocking him into his sister, who squeaked.
"Anyway!" Mirabel said, trying valiantly to keep them on track. "I went inside and started looking around, and then I ran into Tío and we had some dinner and I fixed his ruana and he decided to come back with me to be with the family again. Any questions?"
Dolores and Isabela looked at each other. Luisa raised an eyebrow and Camilo huffed.
Antonio wrinkled his nose. "That's it? You knew he was Tío Bruno just like that?"
Mirabel bit her lip and didn't answer.
"What can I tell you, niño," Bruno said. Antonio looked up at him. "Your prima is just–just that good."
Mirabel laughed and Bruno sat up a little straighter, his whiskers twitching as he smiled.
But she caught the looks her older sisters and cousins were giving her, and knew she wasn't off the hook until the full story was told, away from younger, more sensitive ears.
"Okay, so, how do we tell the rest of the familia—" Dolores began. She glanced at Isabela and prematurely winced. "Without a repeat of tonight?"
Isabela swallowed. She sat up a little straighter. "About that—I'm…I'm really sorry, Tío, I—"
Bruno waved his hand, cutting her off. "Pfft, no, you were protecting your family from some big, creep-creepy monster. I would–would've done the same! It's water under the bridge, lo prometo."
Isabela nodded slowly.
Antonio yawned.
"Couldn't we just bring him back to the house right now?" Luisa suggested.
Bruno jerked in surprise and started shaking his head.
Dolores also shook her head. "The parents are drinking," she said. "And Abuela already went to bed. I don't think it'll go over well tonight."
"Hurricane-central," Camilo agreed.
Something tugged at Mirabel's sleeve. She looked over and saw Antonio nodding off in Bruno's lap. Bruno's eyes were wide.
"What do I do?" he whispered.
Mirabel smiled. "Looks like you're trapped," she whispered back. "Sorry, I don't make the rules."
"Ah…"
She giggled.
"Well we have to tell them sometime," Luisa was saying.
"Not unless you want Mami to flood the orchard—"
"What about after the rehearsal dinner?" Mirabel asked, rejoining the conversation. "Everyone will be there, and we could maybe try to prep them a little tomorrow, so it's not quite so…dramatic…"
The others had all found interesting pieces of hay to look at.
"What…?"
"Dolores never told Mariano about the magic," Camilo blurted.
"What!" Mirabel yelped.
"Shh!" Dolores and Isabela and Luisa said together, gesturing at the now sleeping Antonio. Mirabel winced.
"But—" she said, quieter. "Why haven't you told him?"
Dolores folded her hands in her lap, looking away. "It…never came up."
Like they'd rehearsed it, Camilo and Isabela scoffed and rolled their eyes. Luisa let out a long-suffering sigh. Mirabel stared at her prima in disbelief.
"I feel like—I feel like that would be the first thing to come up, Dolores!" Mirabel said. She clasped her hands and placed them under her chin in a bad impression of her cousin. "'Oh, yes, mi amor, I'll marry you but oh by the way my family is magical in case that changes anything—'"
Dolores folded her arms in front of her chest. "It worked out for both of our mothers—"
"They're the exception, not the rule, Dolores."
"Thank you!" Camilo said, throwing his hands in the air.
Dolores winced. "Yes, I–I know what it sounds like—I mean," she continued, a little desperate. "I wanted—"
"Oh, no, no, don't talk like you wanted to tell him," Isabela said scathingly, pointing a finger at her.
Dolores snapped her mouth shut.
"Noooo, it was all about what Abuela wanted," Isabela continued. "And Abuela said to keep it under wraps until after the wedding in case there were any 'surprises.'" She folded her arms and huffed. "And Lola, you've always put too much stock into what Abuela wants and never into what you want—"
"Oh, shut up, Isa, it's a little hard when you live with her," Camilo snapped. "You three got off easy."
Mirabel and Luisa winced.
"Hey, it's not our fault our grandfather died," Isabela scoffed, flipping her hair. "And, I did offer to let you come stay with me, Milo."
Mirabel raised an eyebrow. That was news to her.
"Bit difficult when you have a farm to run—not that you'd know, Miss Art Degree—"
"Okay, enough!" Mirabel cried.
Everyone else looked at her, but Isabela and Camilo continued to glare at each other.
"Okay, so, this…complicates things a bit," Mirabel said slowly. "But, we can't just not tell them because we're afraid of Tía Pepa's rain. And I assume Mariano will find out eventually? After the wedding, if not before?"
Dolores gave her a tight nod.
"Preferably before," Isabela muttered.
Mirabel ignored her.
"What about everyone else though?" Luisa asked softly. "There's…kinda a lot of extra people around right now, and they're not exactly used to magic. If we reacted badly…" She winced and shook her head. "Plus, there's still Abuela to consider. Even if Mariano finds out before the wedding, she's not a, uh, fan of blatant magical events. No offense, Tío Bruno."
Mirabel was already shaking her head. "No, no, no, Abuela's not gonna—she's not like some version of–of El Coco—"
"Nah, that was him, apparently," Camilo said, grinning at Bruno.
Bruno laughed quietly, catching them all off guard. "Luisa–Luisa's right," he said. He shifted, careful to avoid jostling Antonio. "Your abuela…she doesn't like the magic, sí? Showing up like this," he gestured at himself, "will only complicate things. With her and with the–with the village. It's—hm. It's better if we wait."
They were silent, looking at him.
Isabela spoke first. "But…you're her son. She wouldn't—I mean…don't you want to come home?"
Bruno's whiskers twitched. "I–I've waited this long," he said after a moment. He shrugged. "What's a little more?"
"Thirty-two years," Camilo blurted. Everyone looked at him and he folded his arms. "What, I can do math."
"See? A day or two more isn't–isn't going to kill me."
"Only if you're sure, Tío Bruno," Dolores said gently. "I mean…I don't mind if the wedding gets derailed a little bit. Really. You're more important."
Bruno shook his head. "No, I—I'm really…not," he said firmly. "The wedding comes first, then you all can have whatever dramatic reveal you want."
Mirabel hated this. Hated, hated, hated it. Everything about this sucked and she said so.
Bruno tapped her knee. "It'll be alright, Mirabel." He tapped his forehead. "Trust me."
Mirabel looked at him for a long moment. Had he seen something, just now, that told him it would all be fine? How was he so sure—how was he so calm, why wasn't he demanding to be brought to the house, why wasn't he demanding to go home?
He must have seen something, she decided.
The alternative was too painful to consider.
"Okay," she said, sighing. "Fine, we'll wait. But I want the record to show I'm only agreeing under protest."
"Yes, esteemed Madam Councilwoman," Camilo said, bowing his head and deepening his voice.
Mirabel rolled her eyes.
Isabela stood. "Well, if that's settled, then we should probably start heading back before the parents begin wondering where we are." Her eyes flicked to Bruno and then away. "Um. Do you need anything Tío? For tonight?"
"Oh," Bruno said. "Um—"
"Wait, is he staying here?" Camilo asked. "In the hayloft?"
Dolores wrinkled her nose.
"Well, we didn't really talk about it, but do you have a better idea?" Isabela asked, glaring at no one in particular.
Camilo glanced at Bruno with a troubled expression.
"He has some clothes and a book in my bag, if you want to grab those," Mirabel said to Isabela, breaking the tension. "And a pillow?" She looked at Bruno and raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, um, I really don't–really don't need anything…" he stammered.
"And a pillow," Isabela repeated firmly. "I'll be right back."
She disappeared down the ladder.
"Here, Tío," Camilo said, leaning over to scoop Antonio out of Bruno's lap. "I'll rescue you." He hefted his little brother, still sound asleep, into his arms. He winked and shifted into his father, resettling Antonio's head on his now broader shoulder. With a mock salute, he slid down the ladder and out of sight.
Dolores squeaked and followed her brothers, but returned a minute later with the quilt. "Here," she said, holding it out to Bruno. She averted her eyes. "I'm sorry…I really am glad you're here."
Bruno took the blanket and fiddled with the edges. "I know. Thank you."
She bit her lip and disappeared down the ladder again.
"Tío Bruno?" Luisa asked. He looked up. "I'm happy you're here, too. Buenas noches."
Bruno nodded. "Yeah…yeah. Buenas noches, Luisa."
Luisa disappeared down the ladder.
"Psst, Mirabel!"
Mirabel stuck her head over the side of the hayloft and saw Isabela, holding up a pillow, with Bruno's clothing and book and a canteen resting on top. "Heads up."
Vines sprouted from the floor and gently lifted the items up to the loft. Mirabel grabbed them easily and the vines withdrew and faded. "Thanks!"
"We'll be waiting in our room," Isabela said with a pointed look.
Mirabel sighed and waved her off. She figured.
When she turned back to the hayloft, Bruno had wrapped himself up in the quilt again, running his hands over the fabric. She set the pillow and his things down next to him and sat down across from him.
"You okay, Tío?" she asked gently. "Was it…too much?"
Bruno shook his head. "No, I just…I never thought I'd get to—" He cut himself off.
He stared down at his hands, flexing his fingers. Mirabel could tell that something was on his mind, but he just didn't know how to express it yet, so she waited.
"I wasn't always like this," he finally said.
"I know, Tío."
"I was–I was normal," he said, like he hadn't heard her. "Well, as normal as a Madrigal can be."
Mirabel nodded. She had the feeling her heart was about to squeeze one more tragedy into it tonight.
She was right.
Translations:
1. Felicidades - congratulations
2. El Coco - the boogeyman
