Summary:
Just as Bruno feared, he meets Gabriela again. He tries to survive the entire dinner.
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Written in Bruno's POV.
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"Have you both already met, Brunito?" Mamá asks, definitely surprised by the señorita's reaction. I hoped I was wrong, but then again, Encanto is a small town, so we're all friends with the neighbors. Anyone new would stick out like a sore thumb.
Gabriela reels herself back in, nervously chuckling. "Ah, no, Señora Alma. He just…reminded me of someone I know. The resemblance is uncanny."
Mamá doesn't notice Gabriela's eyebrows going up when she said the resemblance is uncanny. A shiver runs up my spine. Dios mio, she is scary.
Play it cool, Bruno. Play it cool. I immediately extend my hand at her, an attempt to make it seem like we don't know each other. Well, technically, we don't know each other, but we already met…under unusual circumstances.
"Nice to meet you, Señorita. I'm Bruno." She looks at my hand for a moment, then takes it and quickly shakes my hand. Thank goodness she caught on to my attempt. "Pleasure to meet you, Bruno. Please, call me Gabriela." Her grip is a little too strong, but I ignore the slight pain until she lets go. We awkwardly smile and back away from one another.
"Well…um…now that introductions are done…¡buen provecho! Please, help yourselves." Mamá glances at me and Gabriela, looking unconvinced but doesn't question us any further as she leads the rest of the Álvarezes to their seats.
And unfortunately for me, she leads Gabriela to the chair across from me.
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Dinner goes off without a hitch, although I'm uncomfortable the entire time. Gabriela stares at me, her green eyes intense as she studies me. I almost dropped the bowl of avocado that I'm holding. I'm not sure if I'm starting to feel attracted to her, or if I'm terrified of her. Maybe both.
"So, Gabriela," Mamá smiles as she asks her the dreaded question. She always does this, given I'm the only one of my siblings who is unmarried. There's not much of a market for the black sheep of the family. "How old are you?"
Gabriela breaks her stare to look at Mamá, and I quickly try to spoon food into my mouth so I don't have to look at them. "Oh, I'm twenty-seven."
"You still single?" Félix asks. I glance over at Pepa, but she doesn't seem to react to Félix's pointed question towards Gabriela. I realize he's holding my sister's hand, giving it an assuring squeeze now and then. It's amazing to see how love can completely change a person…he used to be a bit of a playboy before he fell in love at first sight with Pepa, who blew him away with a gust of wind when he tried to flirt with her. She came around to him…eventually.
Gabriela laughs nervously. "I was engaged before, but it didn't exactly work out." Well, that piqued my interest. I look at her and notice she's gripping her spoon a bit too hard. Looks like a sore topic.
"Ay, well that man must be blind to let you go, don't you think so, mi vida?" Félix turns to look at Pepa, smiling at her. Pepa just rolls her eyes, but blushes. "I didn't let Pepa go when I first laid my eyes on her, and look at us now!"
"Félix, you're embarrassing me!" She laughs.
"Yeah…a waste…" Gabriela's trying to keep her voice light, but something seems wrong. I'm about to ask her if she's alright when her brother, Julián, interjects.
"Well, it's a little bit of a sore topic for my sis. Let's not talk about him." Félix looks all apologetic, but Julián shakes his head and grins. "Don't feel bad, hombre. Anyway, what's done is done. What's important is that my sister is on the market for a good husband."
Gabriela whips her head towards her brother, staring daggers at him. Félix laughs out loud. "Well, she's in luck, hombrecito. Mi cuñado Bruno here is single."
I almost spit out my water. Pepa immediately roars with laughter, incredibly amused. "Oh, our little Brunito? I mean, sure, I guess, if you're into that!"
"Oh, Pepa, what do you mean by that?" Julieta chimes in. "Bruno's not that bad-looking. I mean, maybe save for his nose. It's very prominent."
The conversation is starting to go off the rails. My cheeks heat. I glance at Gabriela, and she's trying to contain her laughter as my sisters and Félix continue to tease me. It's a relief to see her smiling, though I don't appreciate that it's at my expense.
"His nose is fine. I mean he has some resemblance to Papá Pedro, doesn't he?" Agustín's now also joining in. "And the essence of a good husband material isn't with the looks, but how he takes care of his beloved and adores her."
"It does help though!" Pepa retorts, grinning. I wish Casita would open a hole up and swallow me whole so I don't have to endure this torture. "And also, Agustín, you were by Julieta's cart every day, looking all kinds of messed up from the bee stings."
Julieta laughs. "Still adorable even when his face was bloated. I fell in love with him that way."
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Glossary of terms (in order of appearance in-text):
Buen provecho - Good provence (in this context: Enjoy!). Usually said to indicate it is time to start eating.
Hombre- man
Hombrecito- little man