Agustin held the door open for his wife and mother-in-law, who when she had learned about their scheduled meeting with the Dean of Students at the school had insisted that she come along as well. Due to how late the meeting was scheduled, and how they weren't sure how long it would last they had decided to find a room for the night and go home in the morning. This was great because Agustin was exhausted and he couldn't imagine doing a two-hour trek back to the Encanto. The fact that they would be sleeping in actual beds and not on the pews of the church or on mattresses on the floor made him even more tired. He couldn't imagine how Alma, at her age, and Julieta, who hadn't been sleeping well the past week and a half while tending to Mirabel's needs felt right now.
A balding man stood up from behind the desk, "I take it you are Senor and Senora Madrigal?" he asked.
"Si," Agustin confirmed, "I'm Agustin, and this is my wife Julieta, and her mother Alma."
"I'm Professor Ruiz I understand that you have a child that applied to this school, how old is she, the note only says that she's underage."
"Mirabel's fifteen," Julieta explained.
"Fifteen, and got a scholarship here, she must be really talented."
"Oh, she is," Alma insisted, "I'm sure she will be a star student."
"And you have questions?" Professor Ruiz added.
"Well, you see, during the earthquake," Julieta explained, "She was injured, she'll most likely be in a wheelchair for the rest of her life. Paralyzed from the waist down, and I was wondering if there was any way that she can still attend."
"Hmmm…" Prof. Ruiz hummed, tapping his chin with his finger, "I heard that one of our current students is able to operate a sewing machine laying down. Something about using her elbow, I could talk to her and see if she could be willing to teach her. Of course, that is with an electric machine. I don't know about a foot treadle machine, but I doubt she'll have problems with a hand-crank. I think we might still have some in storage, if not we'll buy a new one for her to use, or she can provide her own sewing machine so that she can keep it after graduation. It's really up to her."
…
"She did what!" Mirabel exclaimed, trying to snatch the book out of her older sister's hands, "You're making that up, there is no way she did it."
Luisa held the book over her head so that Mirabel wouldn't be able to snatch it from her again, "That's what the book says."
"No one just breaks a bone and does not notice it," Mirabel protested.
"Says the queen of showing up with broken bones randomly," Luisa pointed out, "Just last month you showed up to cena with a broken arm and nearly gave Mama a heart attack, and do you remember what you said when we asked you about it?"
"I tripped, I take after Papa, everyone knows that."
"That's just what Sara said in the book," Luisa pointed out, "I told you that she reminds me of you."
"Yeah, except for the magical part," Mirabel insisted, "I can't just sew up a spell whenever I need one."
"Have you ever tried?"
"Have you?" Mirabel countered.
"Well, you see…" Luisa trailed off, as she ducked her head dramatically.
"You actually tried."
"No," Luisa insisted, flopping dramatically next to Mirabel, being careful not to jar her sister, "How could I since… no it's too embarrassing, don't make me say it."
"Come on," Mira exclaimed, poking her sister in the side, "Spill. I promise not to tell anyone."
"You'll tease me."
"No I won't," Mirabel insisted, purposely crossing her fingers in front of her.
"You just crossed your fingers," Luisa pointed out.
"I won't tease you too badly."
"Fine," Luisa said, leaning over and whispering into Mirabel's ear, "I can't thread a needle."
"That's your big secret!" Mirabel shouted, slapping Luisa in disbelief, "You can't thread a needle? Neither can Isabela, she probably doesn't even know what the eye of a needle is."
"The eye?"
"The little hole on the top that you put the thread through is called the eye of the needle," Mirabel explained, shaking her head slightly at her older sister.
The door to the church opened and closed as Isabela hurriedly entered the room, "Sorry about that Tio Bruno wanted my opinion on a flower bed with cactuses in it. Oh, you're awake. Luisa, you should have come and got me."
"You were busy, besides, shouldn't I get some one-on-one sister bonding time with my sister as well?"
"So what were you guys doing?" Isabela asked, plopping down on the edge of the camp cot.
"Luisa was reading me The Stitch Witch Chronicles," Mirabel insisted.
"Oh, that's a good one," Isabela insisted, "What's happened so far?"
"She broke her arm in a fight and claimed that she tripped."
"Hmm, that kind of reminds me of someone else that I know," Isabela insisted, giving Mirabel a look.
"Yeah, but at least Sara isn't a know it all like Mirabel, she just gave me a lecture on what the eye of the needle was."
"Uh, I see, you think you're so smart," Isabela playfully poked Mirabel in the side, careful not to do it too hard or to jar her too much.
"I'm smarter than you," Mirabel insisted.
"What makes you say that?"
"I know that the plural for Cactus is Cacti," Mirabel pointed out with a giggle.
Luisa and Isabela glanced at each other, "I think she's mocking us!" Isabela exclaimed.
"I think you're right." Luisa agreed, "And you know what we do with mocking hermanitas, right Isabela."
"Why indeed I do," Isabela agreed, stifling a laugh as she started to wiggle her fingers at Mirabel, who squealed trying to squirm away from the fingers that got closer and closer, but Luisa was blocking her on the one side, and the camp cot wasn't that wide.
Luisa realized what was about to happen a second too late as Mirabel threw her full weight away from Isabela, sending her over the end of the camp cot. "No!" Luisa shouted, reaching out to stop Mirabel from falling.
Her hand grasped only air as Mirabel thudded onto the floor landing awkwardly on her splinted arm.
Mirabel could not hold back the scream as fresh pain shot through her arm.
"Oh my goodness," Isabela exclaimed, "Mira are you okay?"
Mirabel shook her head, cradling her broken wrist as she tried to pull herself up into a sitting position using only her left hand and failing.
"Can I help you up?" Luisa asked, peering in concern at her younger sister, who simply sniffled and shook her head.
"I want Mama," Mirabel whispered.
"Mama isn't back from the city yet," Isabela wailed.
"What's going on here?" a new voice asked as Tio Bruno seemingly materialized behind Isabela and Luisa.
"I'm sorry, I forgot," Isabela exclaimed, shaking her head as her whole body trembled, "We were just goofing around, and Mira… She fell out of bed and… she landed on her broken wrist. It's my fault I was tickling her. Luisa tried to catch her."
"I seem to recall your Mama telling you to be gentle with Mirabel," Bruno pointed out as he crouched down next to Mirabel, "Okay mi mariposa, let me see your wrist."
Mirabel slowly held out her injured wrist, which Bruno took in his hands gently, "Isa, can you grab her some pain killers, Luisa, ask Senora Perez if she has any ice, get an ice pack if she does."
The two older girls ran off in opposite directions.
"So, Mira, what happened?"
"It wasn't their fault, I was teasing Isa and Luisa, and Isa started tickling me and I fell off the bed and landed on my wrist and it hurt, really, really badly."
"I know," Bruno soothed, as Isabela returned with a glass of water and a handful of pills.
"Here," She said, thrusting them into Mirabel's face, "Take these, they should help.
Mirabel took the pills and tossed them in her mouth before downing the glass of water, "I wish Mama was here," she muttered, sniffling slightly, as Bruno poked and examined her wrist.
"So do I," he confessed, "But it doesn't look like you've injured it again, it just hurts like nothing you've experienced before," he sighed, shaking his head, "And that's why your Mama told you guys to be gentle with her, she could have rebroke her wrist."
"I'm sorry, Tio, I wasn't thinking."
"Obviously," Bruno muttered, as Luisa came charging into the room, a wash rag clutched awkwardly in her hand.
"There's still a bit of ice from the ice house from the last time Tia Pepa made ice," Luisa announced, "Senora Perez said to come to get more if we need it."
"Great," Bruno insisted, grabbing the cloth-wrapped ice and placing it gently on Mirabel's wrist, "How's that, better."
"Uh-huh," Mirabel said, watching in amazement as her tio held the ice pack to her injured wrist, "How'd you know the ice would help?"
"I've learned through experience, just don't tell your Mama that, I don't need a lecture from her."
Mirabel giggled, acting out locking her lips and throwing away the key.
…
Agustin, Julieta, and Alma stepped off the bus, "Is this the place?" Alma asked.
"I think so," Julieta said, "remember, we are just asking about prices, we aren't buying anything, we don't really have room to store a sewing machine at the moment."
"I hope that it isn't too expensive," Alma muttered, we lost so much stuff. Everything that was in our rooms is gone."
"I know, but remember Mama, Mira lost stuff too, and out of all of the stuff she lost, her sewing machine was probably the most important thing we can replace."
"I know, but we also can't spend all of our money on Mirabel, she's already getting a wheelchair."
"Out of necessity," Julieta pointed out.
The man in the store was very helpful, showing them the hand-crank machines.
"We got her old sewing machine for half the price of this," Abuela protested.
"We got it second hand from Senora Silva," Julieta explained, "I was really hoping that we could get her a new one," she let out a sigh.
Alma froze, looking at one of the hand crank machines, "Mirabel has some money squirreled away, doesn't she?"
"Are you really going to make her buy this herself?" Julieta asked, eyes flashing, "She wouldn't even need a new one if you had just treated her the same as the others."
Agustin shifted, trying to decide if this was one of those times that he needed to intervene or one of those times that he just lets them have at it.
Alma let out a sigh, "I know, but we can't afford this, we'll have to talk to the familia about it."
Agustin let out a sigh of relief, the conflict was avoided.
"Fine, but I don't want to hear you suggesting that Mirabel pays for it," Julieta insisted, "You aren't bullying my daughter with this. She can chip in, but she can't buy the whole thing."
Or maybe not.