The next day was the slowest day in the world to Mirabel. She spent the whole day counting down the minutes until dinnertime. She was so excited for Max to meet the rest of her family. She was happy she still had things to do to keep her busy. When it was only an hour until dinnertime, she found herself getting a little nervous. She wanted it to go well. She wanted her whole family to like him. She especially wanted Rosa to like him. Rosa loved everyone in her family, but was usually shy around strangers and it took a long time for her to warm up to them. She would cling to whoever had her if they tried introducing her to someone new.

At the exactly the time Max said he'd arrive, there was a knock on the door. Mirabel picked up Rosa from the floor and walked up to the door. She looked at her daughter and said, "Are you ready?"

Rosa just looked at her with a confused look and started sucking on her fingers.

Mirabel laughed and opened the door. There stood Max with a smile on his face. "Hi, Mirabel."

"Hi. Um, Max, this is Rosa."

Max looked at Rosa and smiled warmly at her. "Well, hello, Rosa. You are just so precious."

Just like she always did with strangers, she turned and wrapped her arms around Mirabel's neck. Mirabel patted her back and said, "She always does this with people she doesn't know. She'll warm up to you. Come on in."

He walked in and they went in the kitchen. Julieta was finishing up on dinner. She looked up when she noticed Max and Mirabel walking in the kitchen. She smiled and said, "Hi Max. Welcome to a Madrigal family dinner night. Do you think you can handle it?"

"I'm more than ready."

Max got along so well with the whole family. They all bantered back and forth, laughing and telling stories. Everyone was having such a great time. Mirabel loved it. The only problem was that Rosa didn't really want to eat. She was refusing her food and pushing it away. Mirabel got her out of her highchair and she instantly started to pull at Mirabel's clothes while whining. Mirabel knew what she wanted and groaned. Why now? She thought. If this was a normal family dinner, she would have fed her there and no one would have given it a second thought. But with Max there, she felt uncomfortable to do it in front of him. She excused herself and headed up to her room.

Once Mirabel was settled in her room and Rosa was content, she said, "You couldn't have wanted this before he got here? Or even after he left? You had to choose now?"

Rosa responded by slapping Mirabel in the chest and then sticking her hand in her mouth. Mirabel just laughed and kissed her hand and then started to act like she was biting her fingers, which Rosa loved and thought was hilarious. The older Rosa got, the more curious she got and she was starting to pull at Mirabel's glasses during the feedings as well. That's what she kept doing and Mirabel had to just pull her hands away from them and she'd say, "Don't you touch Mommy's glasses."

20 minutes later, Rosa was finally finished. Mirabel was just tapping her fingers, wishing it would go faster. She wanted to be with Max. She was so happy when she was finally able to go back downstairs and sit down with Max. "Sorry about that," she said nervously after putting Rosa back in her highchair.

He shrugged, as if it wasn't a big deal, and it wasn't. "No problem. We're here just chatting away." He loved her family already. They seemed very close. Mirabel had mentioned to him that she spent most of her childhood feeling like an outcast due to not having a gift, but it was clear things were different now. He loved seeing such a big family being so close. He always wanted a bigger family growing up, but he always tried to be thankful for the family he did have.

After dinner, everyone stayed back to help clean the kitchen, but Max and Mirabel stayed the longest and continued to help Julieta. She said, "It's very sweet that you two want to help me, but you don't have to."

"You did such a great job cooking that I just want to repay the favor." he said.

Mirabel and Julieta smiled at each other. No words were said, but their eyes conveyed the message perfectly.

Once everything was cleaned up, Julieta, Mirabel, and Max went to the living room where everyone else was. The kids were playing on the floor. Max continued talking with the family and would ask questions just to try and get to know them better. After a little while, Mirabel was shocked when Rosa crawled up to Max, pulled herself up on his legs, and held her arms out to him. He looked to Mirabel, who nodded, and he picked her up. He started talking to her so sweetly and Rosa loved it. She was smiling and laughing. Mirabel looked to her mom and dad across the room and smiled at them. Julieta and Agustin already liked Max way more than they ever liked Javi.

At the end of the night, Mirabel stepped outside with Max. He spoke up first. "Well…this was wonderful. Maybe next time you can have dinner with my family."

"I'd love that."

He smiled and leaned in. Mirabel got anxious again, but he just kissed her cheek again. She was very nervous about it, but honestly now she was a little disappointed he didn't kiss her. He started to walk away. When he was 10 feet away, Mirabel shouted out, "Wait!"

He turned. "Yeah?"

She could not believe she was about to do this, but she couldn't wait any longer. She ran right to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. He wrapped his around her waist. Her hands moved to his cheeks and she kissed him. Within a second, he was kissing her back. It was instant sparks and butterflies were in her tummy. They deepened the kiss and tightened their grip on each other. They pulled apart a few moments later and just stared at each other. "Whoa." he whispered. "You are magic, Mirabel Madrigal."

She giggled. "I just couldn't stand waiting to do that any longer."

"Oh, believe me, I've wanted to do that since the moment I met you. But I knew it had to be on your terms."

"Thank you for not giving up on me." she whispered back.

"And thank you for giving me a chance. You were worth the wait." he whispered back. He kissed her on the forehead. "How about I come back here tomorrow around lunchtime?"

"Perfect,"

"Great. I'll see you then." He couldn't help himself and he grabbed her cheeks and kissed her again. He moved his hands and ran them through her hair. Mirabel absolutely loved the feeling. She tightened her grip around him and continued to kiss him. When they finally pulled away, he said, "Wouldn't it be nice if we could just stand here all day?"

"Yes." she agreed. She wanted him to stay, but knew he had to go.

They smiled at each other and both turned to walk away. She went into Casita and stood with her back against the door. She was so head over hills for him. She knew she needed to take things slow and not rush them. As hard as she was falling for him, she couldn't be in love with him. Not yet. It was too soon. She hadn't even known him for 2 weeks. She told herself to not get too attached. What were the chances that he'd be the one she ended up marrying? She thought she'd end up marrying Javi, but that obviously didn't happen. Mirabel thought that one of the reasons why she fell in love so quickly with Javi was that she kept him on her mind at all times. She literally didn't think of anything else, except for them. She had plenty to keep her mind busy now, so that wouldn't be difficult. At the time, she didn't care how quickly she fell in love with Javi. Now, she did care. She had a daughter that was number one in her life and that was not going to change. With Javi, she wasn't responsible for anyone else's well-being, but her own. She agreed that she would have fun with Max and do her best to not dwell so much on the future. She would live in the here and now.

This was her plan, but she still wanted to ask her mama for advice and see if she had any other ideas. She went to her after she put Rosa to bed and asked to talk about something. She said, "Okay, so I like Max. I mean, I really like him. I fell in love with Javi too fast and I still remember you telling me to take it slow with him, and clearly, I did not. But I need to take things slow with Max. I can't make the same mistake again. Javi was on my mind constantly when we were dating, so I plan to just keep my mind occupied with chores and of course, with Rosa. That will help me to not have Max on my mind at all times. And no matter what, she comes first. I refuse to put some guy ahead of her. Is there anything else I should be doing?"

Julieta thought for a moment and then said, "I think those are wonderful ideas. And you're right. Your baby girl comes first. Max seems like a level-headed guy and I'm sure he'd understand that."

She smiled. "Before he went home, we kissed and he told me he has wanted to kiss me since the moment he first met me, but he said it had to be on my terms."

"That's a guy that really respects you." said Julieta. "I would just talk to him about it. You know, tell him that you do really like him, but you don't want to move too fast. There's nothing wrong with that. You can still have fun and just enjoy being in a new and exciting relationship. Don't worry so much about what the future holds."

She nodded, already having had those exact same thoughts before the conversation. She was happy that her mom agreed with her.

The next day, she sat with Max on the couch and with Rosa asleep on her chest. It was rare that Rosa didn't sleep in her crib, but she wanted the extra snuggles and Mirabel was more than happy with that. Her baby girl was growing up so fast and she wanted to soak it all in. She looked at Max and said, "I want to get your thoughts on something."

"Okay."

"I'm going to be completely honest with you." she started off. "I like you. Like, really like you. This thing that we have is so new and exciting, but I don't want to rush anything. I rushed things with Javi. We dated for 4 months and took things too far too early." She motioned to the sleeping baby on her chest as proof. Max let out a small chuckle. "I don't want to make that same mistake again. I think we should just have fun and take it one day at a time. With Javi, I was so focused on the future. I don't want to do that this time." She grabbed his hand and they interlaced their fingers. "Can we just focus on the here and the now?"

"I would love that."

"Another thing is that my daughter comes first." She ran her hands over her back and kissed the top of her head. "I think you're amazing, but I won't put a guy before my daughter. I really hope you can understand that."

"I do understand that and I wouldn't have it any other way." he said. "Your daughter absolutely does come first."

He didn't even seem real sometimes. He was just too good to be true. "You're the best." She looked down at her sleeping baby. Things were going well with Rosa, but she couldn't help but think how awful the first 4-5 months of her life was. Mirabel was so happy to be past that part of her life, but she couldn't help but be so saddened that she didn't enjoy most of that time with her baby. When Mirabel thought back to her postpartum depression, it was just one big fog. It was hard to remember at times. What she remembered the most, however, was the feeling of loneliness, emptiness, and sadness. "There's something else I need to be honest about."

"Okay."

She took a deep breath. She hated talking about it, but she wanted to be truly open with Max and for there to not be any secrets. "Have you heard of postpartum depression?"

"I've heard of depression, but not postpartum depression. I'm guessing it's depression after having a baby?"

"Yes. Having a baby triggers it in some women. My tia Pepa had it after Camilo was born. I have no other way to explain it than I was just so sad all of the time for no reason. I was especially sad when I was alone, but even when I had my family around me, I was still sad. Night was the worst, because I was always alone at night. I couldn't explain why I felt that way, but it was so miserable. I felt so…empty." Her voice was shaking and she was trying to keep herself from crying. "Most days, I felt like I was drowning and I wanted to scream for someone to save me. I can truly say it was the worst time in my life. It wasn't until Rosa was a month old that I finally asked for help. I was at my breaking point." She took deep breathes to try and stay calm. She really hoped he didn't freak out at the next part. "I was trying to get Rosa to sleep one night. She would not stop crying and it made me so angry. I finally…yelled at her to stop crying. Of course, it didn't work. Then…a voice in my head told me to…throw her across the room." The memory of it was so painful and she couldn't help but start crying. It was embarrassing to be crying in front of Max, but she couldn't help it. "I didn't want to do it. I love my baby more than anything in this world. I called Dolores for help. She came to me and once she had Rosa, she went and got Tia Pepa and my mama. A plan was made that night. I hated being alone and, to be honest, I did not trust myself around Rosa. Day and night, for the next two months, I was never left alone. I truly could not have made it without my family."

"Dang, Mirabel." he whispered. He tucked some hair behind her ear. "That's rough. That must have been so hard."

"It was the hardest thing to overcome. I'm so glad to be past it. The only thing that lingers from that experience is anxiety. I get very anxious at things that don't seem like a big deal. The thing that helps the most is taking deep breathes and it especially helps if I can copy someone else doing them, so like me and whoever I'm with taking the deep breathes together." She looked at him. "So, just a warning, sooner or later, I'll be asking you to do that for me."

"I'll be more than happy to do that for you." He kissed the side of her head. "It sounds like you've gone through more than anyone should ever have to experience. You are so strong."

Mirabel leaned her head on Max's shoulder and sighed deeply. She was honestly enjoying just being in the moment with him.

A few days later, she had lunch with Max's grandparents and brother. They initially planned for it to be dinner, but Max knew how important family dinners with her family were, so then he suggested they do lunch together. Mirabel got very nervous as they walked to the house. Her heart was racing. She wanted his family to like her and she was scared they wouldn't. This is what her anxiety did to her: it made her think of the worst-case scenarios and she was left freaking out, usually over nothing.

They were holding hands as they walked up the porch, but Mirabel let go and stood back. She was seconds away from a panic attack. She started breathing heavily and put her hands on her head. Max turned to her. "Hey, hey, it's okay. What's wrong?"

"I can't do this, Max." She was still breathing heavily. "They're not going to like me. What are they going to think about you dating a woman who has a baby? Can we please go and do this another time? I can't handle it."

He grabbed her hands from her head and held onto them tight. "Look at me." he said gently. "We're going to take some deep breathes together now." He immediately started taking deep breathes while not taking his eyes off of hers. She started taking shaky breathes until finally they turned deep and she calmed down. She looked around and realized she had a mini panic attack over something insignificant.

She shook her head and said, "I'm so embarrassed."

"Don't be embarrassed. You've been through a lot. Come here." He pulled her in for a tight hug. She sighed and wrapped her arms around him, closing her eyes and keeping her head against his chest. She could hear his calm and steady heartbeat. It was so comforting. She thought to herself that that might be something that could calm her down as well as deep breathes.

When they pulled apart, he said, "They are going to love you, okay? I promise." He grabbed her hand. "Let's go."

She took one final deep breath before walking inside with him.

His grandmother immediately gave her a hug when they walked in. "Mirabel. Oh, mija, it's so good to finally meet you. Although, I feel like I already know you with how much Max here talks about you."

Mirabel smiled at him. "You talk about me?"

"Only a little bit,"

Suddenly, Diego came around the corner and laughed. "Only a little bit? The guy never stops talking about you! He is so in love with you."

Mirabel smiled and looked at Max. He was so embarrassed. He agreed he would take things slow with Mirabel and he was happy to do it. He hoped his brother's words didn't scare her off. He whispered in her ear, "I'm so sorry."

"Don't be," she whispered back. She smiled again. "I like that you talk about me."

Lunch could not have gone better. Mirabel got along so well with Max's grandparents and brother. They were all so kind and had the best stories. They told stories about Max's parents and things got a little emotional, but Mirabel didn't mind. This was a family full of so much love and it was so nice.


Mirabel woke up on the morning of Rosa's 1st birthday with so many emotions. It was very bittersweet. She cried silently for a few minutes and then woke her daughter up and hugged her tightly. "Happy birthday, my princess." She kissed her on the forehead. "Can time slow down a little bit? I want you to be my baby forever."

Everyone still had their daily chores and duties to do around Encanto, but Mirabel still spent the day thinking a lot about Rosa's birth. It was incredibly difficult and she couldn't have done it without her mom or Pepa by her side. In some ways, it felt like yesterday, but in other ways, it felt like years ago. She was so happy that she got to enjoy Rosa as a newborn, even if it was just for a few days. She missed out on the next several months due to her postpartum depression, but she at least had the memories of the first 3 days to think back on.

That evening for the birthday party, the entire family gathered around as Rosa sat in just a diaper in her high chair with a cake in front of her. It was tradition that when a baby in the family turned 1, a small "smash" cake was made and the 1-year-old could smash the cake and just have a great time. Another regular sized cake was also made for everyone else. It was always so entertaining. Along with the whole family, there were some friends there as well as Max and his family.

Things were still going so well with Max. Mirabel could not stop thanking her lucky stars that she met him. He was so wonderful to her and to her daughter, which was most important to her. Mirabel could tell that Max genuinely enjoyed having Rosa around. He would pick her up, hold her in the air, tickle her, laugh with her, and he would even help Mirabel put her to sleep sometimes. It melted Mirabel's heart to see him interact with Rosa. They were still taking things slow and trying hard to not focus too much on the future. They were having a good time and enjoying each other's company almost every single day.

Rosa absolutely loved the smash cake! She made a huge mess, but also managed to eat a lot of it. Everyone loved standing around watching her, talking to her and laughing with her the whole time. Mirabel couldn't help but admire her family. Big things were happening in the Madrigal family. Just a couple days before, Dolores and Isabela announced they were pregnant. They were due roughly around the same time in June. With their birthdays literally weeks apart, they thought it would be so cool to have babies around the same time, too. Everyone was so excited about 2 more babies join the family.

Mirabel watched in awe as Max walked up to Rosa and knelt down next to her. He said, "Someone is enjoying their birthday cake." She smiled wide at him. She reached down, grabbed a big chunk of cake, and just shoved it in his mouth, laughing the whole time.

Everyone died laughing, including Max. "Thank you for that, baby girl. I appreciate it." he said with a chuckle. She had only gotten half the cake in his mouth while the other half was on his face. He really didn't care and just smiled as he wiped it off. He bent down and kissed Rosa on top of her head.

Mirabel couldn't hold back her feelings anymore. He was just too incredible and clearly, Rosa loved him. It was obvious. Even with the whole family around them, she walked up to Max and helped him clean off his face. When she finished, she gave him a kiss on the cheek and whispered in his ear, "I love you." This was the first time those words had been spoken by either one of them.

"I love you, too." he said immediately and kissed her on the cheek as well.

She looked back at her family, a little embarrassed. Not a single person minded. They were all just smiling at them. The family had watched Mirabel go through hell and back. She deserved happiness.

After the cake was finished, Mirabel snuck Max to a hallway so they could be alone for a moment. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply. She was done holding it in. She loved him and she was going to let him know every day. "I know we agreed to take things slow, but I couldn't help myself." she said when they pulled apart. "I could not have asked for a better man. You are so amazing with Rosa and there are no words to describe how much that means to me. I love you." When she was with Javi, she never wanted to say I love you first to him due to not wanting to sound desperate. She didn't care about that with Max.

"I love you, too. Hey, wanna know a secret?" he whispered.

"Hmm?"

"I have wanted to say I love you after our first date in the coffee shop." He kissed her again. "I knew it was too soon, so, of course, I didn't say anything. Then we agreed to take things slow and I was more than happy about that. I was just happy to be with you. But I am just so thankful I can tell you now."

"I was so scared of falling in love again." she said shakily. "I wanted to love you from the beginning, but I couldn't let myself. Seeing you tonight with Rosa was…well, icing on the cake. Literally," They both laughed at that. "I just can't thank you enough for being so amazing with her."

"She's so easy to love. And so are you." He kissed her again. When they pulled apart, they grabbed hands and headed back into the living room and joined the party. Mirabel helped Rosa open all of her presents. For many reasons, she could not wipe the smile off of her face.

Even though she was going to be completely honest and open about how she was feeling, her original plans for the relationship weren't going to change. Her daughter still came first. That would never change. Another thing was that even though she loved him, they had only been dating for about 2 months. It was still early and there were still things they were getting to know about each other. She did not want to have another child unless she was married, so she was committed to not going that far with him. She knew it would be very difficult to resist, but it was very important to her.

She was nervous about talking to him about it, but, again, she knew she had to be completely honest with him. After the party, she pulled him aside and told him that even though she loved him, she would not take that next step with him unless they were married and marriage was not something they needed to be thinking about at the moment. She told him she still wanted to focus on the present. He said he understood where she was coming from and agreed that it would be perfectly okay to wait. He was just happy to be with her.