It was Mirabel's 25th birthday and Isaiah and Ivan were 4 and a half weeks old. She was reflecting over the last month. Things were so much better. Being open about her feelings truly was her saving grace. She still felt a little sad, but it wasn't all day and it wasn't every day. Nighttime was better. Max stayed up with her if she couldn't sleep or if she woke up in the night for the babies. They spent many hours with her head on his chest while he ran his fingers through her hair. That always made her feel better. Sometimes they were silent and sometimes they talked. She had a lot more anxiety than she did before and would have frequent panic attacks. They got so bad that Maria needed to get her out of them quite a bit. She hated using her that way and apologized to Dolores about it frequently, but Dolores told her it wasn't a big deal. Maria was happy to help however she could.
Mirabel looked around at her family at the dinner table. She was holding Isaiah, Pepa was holding Ivan, and Max was holding Rosa. Both boys were already the perfect combination of their parents. Isaiah had blond curly hair, green eyes, and a skin tone that was darker than Max's, but lighter than Mirabel's. Ivan had brown curly hair, hazel eyes, and a little bit darker skin tone than Isaiah. They both had features of their parents and Max and Mirabel loved it. They didn't know if their eyes would stay that color, but they hoped it did.
Mirabel couldn't help but notice the odd look on Dolores' face. She always made that face when she was hearing something no one else did. "Dolores, I know that look." said Mirabel and she looked at Mirabel. "What do you hear?"
"I think I hear someone at the door. Whoever it is has been standing there for a long time now. I keep waiting to hear the doorbell ring, but nothing. It's weird."
"Hmm," said Mirabel. "Who knows, but I'll go check it out." She gave Isaiah a kiss on the head and handed him off to Julieta. She got up and walked up to the door. She had no idea who would be standing there, but it ended up being the one person she never hoped she'd have to face again. She stepped outside and closed the door behind her.
Javi and Mirabel just stood on the porch staring at each other. Suddenly, Mirabel felt like she was 20 again. No time had passed. She was shocked to see him wearing the red scarf she had left at his sister's house that very first week. It wasn't even cold outside, so it was very odd to see him wearing it.
Besides seeing him around town from time to time, this was the first time in almost 4 years that she had been face to face with him. The last time was when she told him she was pregnant. She was in so much shock she couldn't speak. So much had changed since then. Mirabel didn't feel like she was that person anymore. She'd been through so much since then and she was most definitely stronger.
They stood there for a whole minute just staring at each other. Mirabel didn't know what to feel. She didn't feel sad or angry. She was just confused. "I'm sorry, I don't…I don't really know why I'm here." She gasped slightly at the sound of his voice. She had not heard that voice in 4 years. "I realized it was your birthday today and I thought I'd come tell you happy birthday."
Mirabel was no longer confused. She was angry. She was so angry for her 21-year-old self. Her 21-year-old self deserved so much better. "Are you serious? You wanted to wish me a happy birthday when you didn't come to my 21st birthday party? No, you don't get to do that. You don't get to come and tell me happy birthday when you had me sobbing on my birthday exactly 4 years ago. You told me you were coming and you didn't. Even if things were bad between us, how could you do that to me? You broke my heart, Javi. What we had was a masterpiece and you are the one who tore it all up. You have no idea the hell I've been through these last 4 years and that's because of you."
He just blinked at her, not having a clue as to what he should say.
She was not done. She had more to say and she was going to say it. "And when you got me pregnant, you couldn't take responsibility for it. I had to grow up overnight, because of you. I became a mother, because of you. My child is the most amazing thing in this world, but that's not because of you. That's despite you. She is that way, because of me and the rest of my family. When I met someone new, and I told him I had a daughter, he welcomed her with open arms. Rosa is not biologically related to Max, but he is more of a dad to her than you ever will be. You go around this town acting like she doesn't exist and continue to date all these women who have no idea you have a daughter." Mirabel had to stop catch her breath. She didn't realize she was practically yelling. She couldn't believe she was getting to tell him all of this. She had dreamed of telling him her feelings for so long, but didn't think it would ever actually happen.
She still wanted him to be involved in Rosa's life somehow. He was here now. That had to count for something, right? She had initially said she'd only give him until Rosa was born to make up his mind, but if he decided now he wanted to be involved, she wasn't going to deny the chance for her daughter to have her father. "I said I'd only give you until she was born to decide if you wanted in her life, but I'm going to be the bigger person here and give you one more chance. I want to be able to tell Rosa someday that I did everything in my power to let you in her life. I don't want to be the reason you never see her." She stepped a little closer to him. "I'm not asking you to be here every day. I'm willing to allow you to have visits with her, but those visits need to be consistent. If you say you're coming, you come. I told you before and I'll tell you again. If you're going to be a dad, you stay. You can't just leave if things are inconvenient for you or if it gets hard. As her mother, I just want what is best for her. What is best for her is to have a loving family and the more people who love her, the better. If you want to be a dad, I will allow it."
Mirabel hoped he would take a moment to think about it, but without skipping a beat, he said, "I would be a stranger to her. It's too late. I can't do it. I'm sorry."
Mirabel had to close her eyes for a moment to stop the tears. She wasted so many tears on him. She could see now he was not worth it. She was done crying over him. When she opened her eyes, she said, "I'm sorry, too. Alright, it's time for you to go now."
"Okay, I'll leave." He glanced at the scarf around his neck. "Um, I'm sorry for keeping your scarf. Do you want it back?"
"No, I don't." It used to be her favorite scarf, but seeing it now was a painful reminder of their relationship. It was just a simple, thin, red scarf that she made when she was 18. "You need it as a reminder to never treat another woman like you treated me. Look at it and remember the innocence of 2 people in love. What we had was love, even if you could never call it that. I don't need that reminder, so I'm happy to never see the scarf ever again."
He thought her words over and nodded. He gave her a small wave and turned around. She watched him walk away and kept her eyes on him until he was completely out of sight.
All she could think was, I can't believe I just did that.
Mirabel finally turned around, opened the door, and stepped inside. She gasped when she saw her family standing there. They heard everything. She looked at Max, who was still holding Rosa. Mirabel walked up and grabbed Rosa from him. Mirabel hugged her close as she put her head on Mirabel's shoulder. She rubbed her back and kissed her on the head. "I'm so proud of you, Mirabel." Max said. "I'm sure that wasn't easy."
"I've wanted to tell him those words for so long. I never thought I'd get to do it." Despite it being over 4 years since their relationship ended, she still remembered many moments of their relationship. She remembered the good times and the bad times. She remembered the way he made her feel. She remembered how loved he made her feel and she also remembered how heartbroken he made her feel. She knew she'd always have memories of their relationship. She remembered it all too well. She knew he probably did, too, and that's why he still had the scarf.
Mirabel looked up at her husband of almost one year. She didn't think she'd ever find someone again. She didn't think she'd ever find a love as strong. Now, she loved Max more than she ever loved Javi. She didn't think that was possible. Allowing him into her heart was the best decision she ever made.
Javi said all's well that ends well when he broke up with her.
Mirabel put her hand on his neck, pulled him in, and kissed him. She kept her forehead on his as she whispered, "All's well that ends well to end up with you."
And that's it! This story started so small and it grew into being something way longer than I expected. It started with my love of Encanto, love of Taylor Swift, and just grew from there. I'm very proud of this story and I hope you all loved it. Please leave me a review and tell me what you think!
There will be a sequel that takes place years in the future. It focuses on Rosa and the questions she has about her biological dad. I hope to start posting it within the next week.
In the first chapter, there was a line that said "and that was the last time she'd ever see the scarf." Well, I didn't know exactly how the story would end at that point, so sorry about that continuity error.
The reason I had Javi wear the scarf was because that's how the "All Too Well" short film ended. I do not own the song or the short film. I merely took inspiration from it.
Lastly, the line "All's well that ends well to end up with you" is a lyric from the Taylor Swift song "Lover," so I can't take ownership of that line. I just thought it fit perfect for that moment.
Thank you for the love on this story :)
