Chapter Two: Luisa says No

"Okay," Isa announced, pulling a black shirt on over her bikini top, "I'm ready to go, Mira, where's your cover-up?"

"My cover-up?" I asked, turning to my hermana mayor, as confused as ever, I don't even remember coming to the beach, how in the world was I supposed to remember where I left my cover-up. Judging by my new swimsuit I have no idea what my cover-up looks like.

"Yeah, your cover-up, Abuela will have a conniption if we march through the Encanto in just our swimsuits," Isabela insisted.

"You mean she'll have a heart attack and start yelling at you for parading around topless," Luisa pointed out.

"Ha ha, very funny Lulu," Isabela insisted, before turning back to me, "Seriously Mira, where's your cover-up?"

"Umm," I said, glancing around, looking for something that looked like my cover-up. What did it even look like? I had on a new swimsuit, it would make sense that I had a new cover-up as well.

"You don't remember where you put it, do you?" Isabela asked, rolling her eyes, "Of course, you don't," she muttered, twisting around, "There it is," she announced, launching across the grassy span next to the lake, before picking up a blue robe with green butterflies embroidered around the edge.

She scooped it up as well as a pair of flip-flops that were with them, well I should be grateful that she found them as well, so that I didn't have to admit that I couldn't remember where they were as well.

"Isa," Mama hissed pulling Isabela over to her as she walked past and whispered something in her ear. Not for the first time in my life I wish I had Dolores's gift, because Isabela's eyes grew round, and a hand flew to her mouth before turning to me, opening her mouth only to shut it as Mama shook her head gently, muttering something that I almost caught. It sounded like Mama told Isabela, "Let's not alarm her by telling her."

Isabela nodded her head, before turning to me, offering me my cover-up and flip-flops, "Let's get you home, I'll take the basket."

No sooner had a pulled my cover-up and flip-flops on did Mama place her arm around me and guided me down a path that lead through the middle of town. Why didn't we just head straight to Casita, sure the path through town was easier, with fewer roots to trip over or hills to climb, but the path through town also meant Abuela finding out that I had distracted Isabela and Luisa from their chores, and Mama as well. My groundings were twice as long when I distracted Mama. I shifted slightly against Mama's guiding arm, "Can't we go down the other path," I pleaded, "It goes straight to Casita, no need to go through town."

"The other path got washed away and overgrown, we haven't used it in years. What's the point when we don't have to sneak a swim every once in a while," Isabela insisted.

What did she mean we haven't used it in years? I know for a fact that I used it recently, okay so maybe not recent, recent, but still, it hadn't been years. Although there was a spot on the path that had been washed away when Antonio was born, but it wasn't that big of a deal and it was easy to tell where it was supposed to be.

By now we were on the outskirts of town, a donkey looked at us with big solemn eyes. Luisa looked at it as well, with a loud groan, "If he asks me to round up the donkeys today, I am going to…" she trailed off with a groan as the donkey farmer marched towards her.

"There you are," he exclaimed, "I've been looking for you everywhere. The donkeys got out again."

"I see that," Luisa said, "There's one over there," she offered.

The man blinked in surprise, "Aren't you going to help gather them up?"

"Sure, twenty pesos a head," Luisa suggested.

"What?"

"Twenty pesos a head," Luisa offered again, "I'll help you gather them up if you pay me twenty pesos for each donkey I grab."

"What, I don't have that kind of money," the donkey farmer exclaimed.

"Obviously," Luisa said, rolling her eyes, "Or you would have fixed your fence by now."

"I don't understand, you did it for free last Monday."

"Last Monday you hadn't asked me for help with your donkeys in five years, this is the third time since Monday that you asked me for help rounding them up. I told you last Wednesday that if you wanted me to keep rounding up your donkeys you will have to pay me for the work."

"And you keep changing the price on me. Wednesday it was only one, but Friday it was five, now you're telling me that it's twenty?"

"Today's my day off," Luisa insisted, "So I'm charging more, and the price is just going to keep going up until you fix the stupid fence. I'm here to help people, not to be their grunt slave. Do you really want a repeat of the…"

Mama actually elbowed Luisa, silencing her, that was odd, what didn't she want Luisa to say. Would she get in trouble for asking the donkey farmer for money? After all the Madrigal family was born to serve others.

"You aren't going to help me, are you?" the donkey farmer asked.

"I'm sorry, but the answer is going to have to be a strong no in this case."

Wait a moment, wait a moment, since when did Luisa say no to someone. Was she even allowed to say that?

"What's going on here?" a sharp voice called. I grimaced sinking as far into Mama as I could, praying that Abuela wouldn't notice me and send me to the nursery for the rest of the day.

"Luisa upped the price of her service again," the donkey farmer complained.

"Luisa?" Abuela asked, arching an eyebrow, "Aren't you supposed to be at the lake with Isabela and Mirabel."

My jaw hit the ground, did Abuela just say that Luisa was supposed to be at the lake with Isabela and me, that just doesn't make any sense. She hated it when they spent time with me.

"I was, but there was a little bit of an accident, Mirabel hit her head on a rock."

"Is she okay," Abuela actually sounded concerned, but then again, there were a lot of people around and someone might call her out if she got after me. Her eyes landed on me, I could feel them burning into me.

I grimaced as I looked up at her, only to frown, she looked different. She still wore her gray hair up in the same bun as always, still wore the same color of dress as she always did, but the black shawl she always wore was missing, she seemed lighter, and she actually smiled at me. She hadn't smiled at me since before my gift ceremony.

"Are you alright, mi Mariposa?"

I nodded, too surprised to trust my tongue, did she just call me her Mariposa? She hadn't called me that… in forever.

"That's great news," Abuela said brightly, "Well, I know that the three of you have the whole day planned with different sister bonding activities, so I won't keep you."

"But the donkeys," the donkey farmer insisted.

"Didn't you promise Luisa last Monday that you would fix the broken fence if she helped you gather the donkeys?" Abuela asked, "I see no reason for Luisa to help you if you don't help yourself. If you keep overworking her, her gift will give out again and we won't have it when we really need it for an emergency like when the dam broke."

The dam broke, overusing her gift, honestly, I had no idea what Abuela was talking about, but the donkey farmer sure did. He rubbed his arm nervously muttered something under his breath and walked away.

Abuela watched him go, "I better make sure that he doesn't try to bully Antonio into helping him with his donkeys. I'd send Dolores but she's been complaining about back pain, and honestly, I won't be surprised if she doesn't go into labor any time now."

What in the world is Abuela talking about. Why would the Donkey Farmer bother Antonio about his donkeys, what could a three-year-old do about them? And since when was Dolores pregnant? Last I checked she wasn't with any guys, and the only one she's ever shown any interest in was too busy worshipping the ground Isa walked on to notice her.

"If he does, inform him not to bother coming to me if he gets hurt for at least a month. He's a grown man and it's been five years. He should know better by now."

"Of course Juli," Abuela said, since when did she call Mama Juli?

"Might warn everyone that there might be a storm tonight if he does try to bully Antonio and Tia finds out," Isa insisted.

Abuela chuckled and agreed with her about Tia creating a storm. What in the world was going on? This was beyond strange. She hated when Tia Pepa had a cloud.

Abuela finally left, telling us all that she would see us at lunch, and headed down the path as we headed towards Casita.

That was Strange.

"It's Mirabel!" a voice called out as someone came charging up to her, it kind of looked like Cecilia, but she was taller, older, like maybe an older sister, which wasn't possible because Cecilia was an only child.

"Come play with us, please?" she asked, grabbing onto my cover-up.

Several more kids appeared swarming me, which really wasn't that strange except for the fact that I didn't recognize any of them. Sure some of the older kids looked like Antonio's friends that I'm always playing with, keeping them entertained while their parents are busy, but for that to be the case, then they had to have aged like five years since I saw them last.

"Please," a boy asked, clutching a mug of coffee in his hand. That had to be Juancho, but I could have sworn he had been just a little older than Antonio, this boy looked to be about ten.

I really didn't know what to do, sure the little kids all flock to me like bees to flowers, but this was different. I wouldn't really call them little kids anymore. I really didn't know what was going on.

Another girl, around the same age, as the others frowned, "Why aren't you talking? Are you giving us the silent treatment again? Was it something we did?"

"No, no, no, why in the world would I give you the silent treatment?" I demanded, honestly, I've never given anyone the silent treatment ever.

"They're talking about when you had Traumatic Mutism after Casita fell," Luisa insisted, "You know when you just couldn't get yourself to talk."

I stared at Luisa in confusion, I just couldn't understand what she was saying, "What do you mean when Casita fell?" I finally asked, pointing to where Casita sat proudly on the hill, "I can see Casita from here."