Chapter 6

Mariano's Space

"All right, Mariano!" Felix marched up the stairs, Agustin and Mariano followed him. "Now that you are marrying into the Madrigal family, there's something you need to know!"

"Are you sure you're okay with us going into your room?" Mariano called down to Dolores.

"Yes, Valentina is in there. I'll catch up with you. I just need to help Isa with something." Dolores reassured.

"What's going on?" A couple of young men were in the courtyard, looking up in curiosity. Radamel was one of the groomsmen, and Alejandro was hired by Julieta to help with catering. With the wedding plans, they had been spending a lot of time at the casa Madrigal.

"They're showing Mariano something, you guys can go up too." Dolores said.

"Hey, where's-?" Diego approached the group.

"Valentina is in my room." Dolores quickly answered. "Mirabel will be there too in a moment. She's talking with Bruno."

"Oh…" Diego nodded.

"Come with us. You'll want to see this." Agustin invited.

Bianca had also finished speaking with Bruno, and had been making her way down stairs. When she asked why there was a crowd making their way to Dolores's room, Agustin and Felix gave each other a knowing look. They suspected another wedding was in the near future. They happily invited her to join in the tour. Once they made it to Dolores's room, Valentina was invited to the mysterious door that had appeared a few weeks ago. Dolores noticed it after Mariano had proposed.

"When someone gets a spouse in the Casita, a door will appear in their room." Agustin explained.

"Outsiders who marry into the family don't receive a gift." Felix added. "But they get their own space." The door was opened slowly by Mariano. He stepped in a looked around. There was a desk with empty papers and a quill and an ink bottle, and a typewriter. There was also a guitar and various items.

"What's all this junk?" Radamel asked.

"It's not junk." Bianca piped up. "I remember teaching Mariano that anything can be an instrument."

"Really?" Alejandro asked.

"Yeah, watch." Bianca walked up to the type writer, and began to type what sounded like a rhythm. Eventually, the others picked up various items and began to sing and play music. Even Felix grabbed a trombone and played loudly.

~jb~

"Dolores? Are you all right?" Julieta asked, noticing her niece had been staring off into space.

"Huh? Oh yeah, just distracted." Dolores admitted. "Papi and Tio are playing music in Mariano's space."

"Mariano's space?" Isabela asked curiously.

"Wait…she's right hermana, listen!" Pepa gasped, making the room go quiet. Sure enough, they could hear music and clattering from upstairs.

"Ugh! Agustin!" Julieta groaned.

"Do we need to separate them again?!" Pepa groaned, making their daughters giggle. The two dads in the house often received time-out.

"Let's go see what they're up to." Julieta sighed. The three oldest granddaughters followed the two sisters up the stairs. They had opened the doors to see the guests making music with all kind of random objects. Bianca, Agustin, and Felix dancing together, while he was still playing the trumpet. They stopped when they noticed Julieta and Pepa.

"What is going on here?" Pepa demanded, a cloud appearing above her head.

"Oh…we were just explaining the new space to Mariano." Felix said.

"What kind of space is this?" Isabela asked, looking around the room.

"Looks like a place to make music and write poetry." Dolores mused, placing her hand on the desk.

"What's going on in here?" Mirabel asked, walking into the room.

"Sorry, I got distracted." Valentina admitted.

"Don't worry, I can explain." Agustin said. "Let's get out of Dolores's room."

~jb~

"So…every spouse gets their own space?" Mirabel asked.

"Yes," Agustin replied. "My space has a piano and a desk. Felix's has all kinds of instruments. And it looks like Mariano has his own space for writing and music as well. He'll fit right in with us." He winked at Felix.

"Oh…that explains a lot. I didn't realize…" Luisa mused. She and Mirabel seemed fascinated by this new information.

"So, even Papi and Tio Felix had their own space, and we still made Mirabel sleep in the nursery?!" Isabela snapped, storming away. She stomped to her room and slammed her door shut.

The group was silent for a moment.

"Uh…maybe I should talk to her…" Mirabel said.

"No, let me." Agustin said.

"No, I made her mad…I should apologize." Mirabel said.

"No." Agustin said firmly, placing his hands on Mirabel's shoulders. "Isa isn't mad at you…she's mad at herself. She wishes she had been a better sister to you…she's too hard on herself for many reasons. Let me talk to her, okay?"

"Oh…" Mirabel nodded. "Okay…"

After Mirabel, Diego, and Tina had been left alone, Mirabel was ready to break the bad news.

AN: I am not dead! And I'm not giving up on this fic! Don't you worry! I am back!