1920s slang:

Noodle juice: tea.

Bo: Pal, buster, fellow, as in "Hey, bo"

Buttons: Police

Drugstore Cowboy - a guy that hangs around on a street corner trying to pick up girls.

Chapter 17: Straight On For You

"Oh, I can't believe this!" Ernestina squawked as she stormed through the alley of the East Side. She was pacing so fast that her group struggled to keep up with her. "No wonder why Becca and Helga didn't show up. They were too busy sucking lips from a bunch of street rats!" Her face was the color of a granny smith apple. "Ugh, I get sick just thinking about that!"

"You don't think they were…love dusted, do you?" Mihaela asked.

"Of course, I do, but it's no excuse for them to not arrive on time!" Ernestina barked. She motioned her pet chihuahuas to keep on sniffing as they continued to walk. They had gone through the park, some alleys, and many houses that were stacked upon each other. While walking, Ernestina was passing by a phone booth, in which a cop was talking to someone on the phone. She gestured to her gang to hide behind the corner of a pawn shop, so that the cop wouldn't see them.

Officer Randall Jenkins stepped out of the phone booth, looking quite exhausted. "I've never had such a difficult case like this before!" he murmured to himself. "How am I supposed to find the mayor's son on this side of the town?" He walked straight across to another shop, not seeing a group of women and their small dogs who were hiding in the shadows.

"Well, that's what Andres gets for being such a nincompoop!" Ernestina huffed, quietly to herself.

Just then, three drunken men waltzed by on the street while engaged in a conversation.

"Don't go near that pretty senorita from the speakeasy!" one man slurred.

"Aye!" another man nodded. "That witch struck poison ivy on me!"

"At least you didn't get punched in the face by some doll with big arms!" The third one snapped, clutching a cold rag to his eye.

"Try getting smashed by some scrawny boy who pretended to be a drugstore cowboy!" the fourth one complained, holding his injured hand.

Finally, the group of drunken men stumbled further away into the dark of the alley.

"Ah, so the Madrigal kids are here," Ernestina whispered to her gang. "Closer than we expected."

"Oh, those Madrigals!" LaCienega seethed so much that steam came out of her ears. "I can't stand them! Isabella thinks she's so beautiful just because she's a movie star! I can sing better than her! Luisa J thinks she can show off her big muscles in front of the boys! Dolores is always telling my mother about me! Camillo is always playing pranks on me! Antonio bites me all the time! And that Maribel! Ooohh, I hate that four-eyed freak! She's always hanging around with Miguel! He belongs to me, not her!"

"Calmse, nina, calmse!" Ernestina said, rubbing her back. "Temper, temper."

Despite relaxing a bit, the girl's face was still heated. "But I want to get back at them!"

"Of course, of course," the leader began. "Lucky for you, I already have plans for those Madrigal rascals."

"What's that?"

"Telling the police about their family secret," she sneered. "That's my revenge for them."

"What for?"

"For not letting me act in their movies!" Ernestina took out a cigarette. After having one of her girls lit it up for her, Ernestina began smoking.

"You were an actress?" LaCienega asked excitedly.

"Of course," Ernestina explained. "I acted in a few movies and I would have starred if people let me! I almost acted in plays written by Chekhov, Ibsen, Shaw, and Molier. I almost starred in a William Shakespeare production as a blushing Juliet." Her nostalgic smile turned into a frown. All the roles that she had auditioned for were given to other actresses. It is natural to feel sorry for her but had she listened to her directors, she would have learned that they were looking for somebody with talent and hard work. "I have more talent than Helen Hays and Bernhardt! I'm more glamorous than those Madrigals! They may be the town's favorite stars but at least I don't cheat by using magic!"

"Why don't we expose the Madrigals now?" Gill demanded. "We can get them out of our way!"

"Not yet," the leader answered, rubbing her hands together. "I need them as part of my plan."

"Plan, shlan!" LaCienega responded, rudely. "Why not just send those Madrigal losers to boarding school? That's where the bad kids go!"

"No, that plan is for the Rivera brats except Miguel," Ernestina confirmed.

"Oh good!" the young girl quickly nodded. "That will keep Rosa out of my way! She's always telling me to leave Miguel alone! But why is Miguel an exception?"

"You want him as your novio, right?" the actress reminded her, slyly.

"Of course I do!" The rich girl said, confidently.

"With the love potion, he will be all yours."

"Oh berries!" the girl replied, rubbing her hands together. The thought of grabbing Miguel with her arms and kissing him made her giggle madly.

"That is what Miguel and his primos get for humiliating me at that party!" Ernestina snapped. The talentless actress breathed in and breathed out. After she regained her composure, she scanned the area.

"I can't wait to show Miguel some kissing!" LaCienega giggled, in a voice that sounded like poison honey. A lecherous smile formed on her face, which was unbecoming of a fourteen-year-old girl. This display would frighten anyone but not Ernestina's friends.

"Oh, a little naughty, aren't you?" Ellen teased her. "How many boys have you kissed?"

"Thirteen," the girl counted her fingers, proudly. "I even know how to do the tongue!" She licked her lips, remembering her first kiss with Ercole Visconti. Four months ago, they snuck out into the woods during recess when the teacher was not looking. After finding a tee, Ercole showed her many ways one can show affection with their mouths. Who knew that you could kiss people by putting their tongues in their mouths? After that, she went on to show other boys what kissing was all about. So far, Miguel was the only boy whom she had not kissed yet.

"No way!" Ellen exclaimed, impressed. She turned to the rest of the girls. "We should take this girl with us to petting parties someday once she is 18!"

The other girls nodded. Their mindless chatter died down when they heard their leader snapping her fingers.

"Priorities ladies, priorities!" Ernestina reprimanded them. "Look out for the Madrigal kids. They must be here somewhere, chasing that monkey."

"But how do we know which bar they went to?" Violetta asked. "It could be any bar!"

"Then, we'll search every bar in here! Once we find the monkey, we'll get the love potion, and then use it on Héctor."

"Shouldn't we give the love potion to La Princesa de Mafia first?" Patricia suggested. "After all, she demanded for it or else 'we'll be next!'"

"Bah, forget about that drama queen!" Ernestina waved it off, carelessly. "My only concern is Héctor and his family."

"Bye Penny!" Miguel waved as he and his uncle watched his old friend walk away. "Who knew that Penny had been here all this time?" the boy sighed, sadly.

"Yes, who knew?" his uncle agreed. "I will find a way to get her family to move back to the other side." The shoemaker turned around and faced the intimidating mansion. "Well, come on chamaco!"

They climbed up the five steps and approached the main entrance. The front gate had thin black bars with swirls at the ends. In the center was a golden lock.

Miguel deflated a bit. "Oh, it's locked." If only they had a key or something. The boy was curious when he saw his uncle pull out his knife. Whatever it looked like, the boy was not sure if what his relative was about to perform was legal. "Tio Héctor, what are you doing?"

"Unlocking the gate," The shoemaker responded, casually. "Nothing to be afraid of." the young man inserted the knife into a slit on the outside handle. He turned it to the left until he heard a click. "Yes!" A happy whisper passed from his lips. He opened the gate a bit wide, making a slightly squeaking sound.

"How did you do that?" the boy asked, surprised. Picking a lock was something that he never his uncle could do.

"Practice," the shoemaker winked. "In case of a situation like this." He looked to the open entrance. "Vadamos, chamaco."

But as soon as they took a step or two forward, they jumped back at the sight of a short old man who jumped out of the bush, holding a rifle. The creature was surprisingly energetic despite being as stout as a pumpkin.

"Halt, who goes there?" the old man shouted.

"Eek!" Miguel screeched. The boy and Dante hugged each other and began to shiver.

"My good man, why must you point your gun at us?" Héctor scoffed, feeling a bit annoyed.

"I don't like trespassers," the old man frowned. "Especially the Buttons and Fat Cats. Now leave! I don't want to see your stupid faces and neither does the Princesa de Mafia!"

"But we need to talk to the Princesa de Mafia!" Héctor beseeched, trying to appease him. "Por favor, good man, it is really important! She has kidnapped my friends and I'm here to save them!"

"Yes, it's true!" Miguel added.

Even Dante made a sound as he nodded his head. "Ruff, ruff, ruff!"

Chicharron lowered his gun, seeing that the guy was not here to cause trouble. "So you're here to negotiate," he stated, rubbing his large chin. Then, he scowled. "You're not the police, are you?

Héctor and Miguel both shook their heads.

"Well, I can't just let you in," the old guard said firmly. "The Princesa will assume you're here for courtship."

"Courtship!?" That threw the shoemaker off from his balance. He fell to the ground and had to be helped up by his nephew. "Gracias mijo." He looked at the old guard. "Why in the world would she think that?"

"Don't ask," the old man frowned. "Even if you are ugly looking, she'll still assume. Mira, If you want to talk to her, all you gotta do is one thing: jump through the window." He pointed to the long glass window that was above the front door.

"Jump through the window!?" the shoemaker cried. "Usted loco!? Why can't we just use the front door?"

"That's not very polite," the boy shook his head. He did not like the idea of having to jump through the window, either. "Oh no, not polite at all."

"Listen, Bo, if you and the kid mean business, then you better do as I say. Otherwise, she'll have your cat or men chase you out. So either jump through the window or go home!"

"Oh, very well then," Héctor surrendered, shrugging his shoulders. He breathed out a heavy sigh. "But I would need a lot of energy to do this."

"Sure, sure," the old man nodded. "Go back as far as you need." I want to see how far the Fat Cat can fly before falling. But I'm not telling him that!

"Is Chicharron working on his night shift?" Oscar asked as Cookie and Tia Chelo carried a plate of cookies and tea to the twins. The twins were sitting in a small room that was dark but still cozy. All you see are an old fireplace that hadn't been used in months, a small stack of books, and two chairs with a table. Pieces of dollar bills were sticking out from corners and angles of the fireplace and the very old grandfather clock.

"Yes, he's making sure that no more suitors come here," Tia Chelo said. She laid the plate down while Cookie set down two cups of tea.

"Por qué?" Felipe asked. He took his cup of tea and a plate of cookies from the maid.

"Orders by the Princesa de Mafia," the old lady sighed, wearily.

"I see," Oscar frowned. He took his cup. "Well, gracias for our noodle juice and cookies."

"De nada," Tia Chelo smiled as she and Cookie walked back to the kitchen.

"Our sister needs to get married," Felipe said, before taking a bite of his cookie. "She can not be alone forever!"

"Yes," Oscar agreed. He took a sip of his tea. "She also needs someone to take care of her-"

"And us!" Felipe added. "We're not boys anymore but we're not men yet.

"Did I mention to her that we also need to fulfill our mother's dying wish?" Oscar reminded him, after taking a cookie. He took a bite of it.

"Many times! It is too bad she hates men."

"And no matter how many suitors we brought to her-"

"-She refused them all!"

"If only we knew who she would marry."

"If only we can predict who she will marry."

Then an idea hit the twins as if two lightbulbs lit up above their heads.

"Are you thinking what I am thinking, Felipe?" Oscar smiled wide.

"Of course, hermano!" Felipe answered. "Someone can predict her future husband!"

"That's right," Oscar shared a knowing smile with his twin. "He's in this mansion, right now!"

"Right!" Felipe smiled triumphantly.

"Oh Juaaaaaan!"

"Wait, let me understand this matter," Juan stated, frowning. He and Frida had been giving each other the silent treatment since their squabble. Although he could have left the room whenever he wanted to, Bruno wanted to make sure that his twin sister didn't try anything suspicious like trying to escape. Besides, he was hoping to get a vision to see if there was a way to save his sister without sending his boss to the police but it was useless. He was about to put his bag of sand away, when the knuckleheaded twins barged in through the door, without knocking. After snapping at them to knock first before coming in, the twins apologized. That was when they gave him the most outrageous request that he had ever heard. "You want me to get a vision of your sister?"

-And her future husband!" Felipe added while Oscar nodded.

"That's not going to work, guys," the tough guy frowned, crossing his arms.

"Oh come on, Juan!" Felipe whined as he and his twin deflated.

"I'm not coming on," Bruno shook his head. "First of all, your sister has shown no interest in romance whatsoever. Second of all, I only see bad things."

"Well, how bad are your visions usually?" Oscar challenged him.

"Muy malo," Juan replied. Briefly, he recalled the times that he couldn't keep his mouth shut whenever he had voiced his observations. "I've already ruined my friendships with folks because of my predictions. I once told Señora Pezmuerto that her goldfish would die if she didn't feed him enough. She didn't believe me. By the time she woke up the next day to feed her fish, it was dead. Then, there was the other time when I told Mr. Wilson that his wife was spending a lot of time with some very wealthy man. Then, there was the time in which I warned Osvaldo that he would grow a gut if he didn't lay off the sweets!" He sucked in a breath and cleared his throat. "Anyway, the point is I don't want my friendship with Imelda to be ruined over one bad vision. I scared people off and I don't want to scare your sister."

"Oh Bruno," Frida spoke up. "Those weren't prophecies; those were observations! Anybody else could have noticed that Señora Pezmuerto's goldfish was close to dying or that Osvaldo was gaining weight. Also, good job on telling Mr. Wilson that his wife was having an affair with Mr. Buchanan. Nobody else would have the courage to tell him."

"Yes, but he refused to believe it and had to find out the hard way!" Juan grumbled.

Anxious to change the subject, Bruno turned his attention back to Oscar and Felipe. "Mira, amigos, even if I receive a vision, sometimes I don't understand what it means. One thing can't happen without the other."

"Well, at least give it a chance!" Oscar pleaded.

"We're willing to take a risk!" Felipe also beseeched.

"Yes, maybe a man will come and persuade, er-romance Imelda to let me go!" Frida added.

"You just want to see if someone would come and rescue you, don't you?" Bruno questioned her bluntly.

"Yeeaah…," Frida smiled sheepishly.

"Nope," Bruno said, simply. He closed his eyes and stocked his nose up in the air, with arms crossed. "I'm not going to do it."

"Por favor Juan!" the twins cried as they got down on their knees. "Por favor! We need to honor our madre's wish!"

"Yes, do it, hermanito!" Frida jumped in, trying to appease him.

The make-up artist and the two troublemakers kept begging and begging and begging until Juan finally started to lose his stoic composure.

"All right, all right, all right!" He cried. "I'll do it!"

"Yay!" the twins shouted, like a bunch of four-year-olds.

"But I'm warning you, I can only see the bad parts." He regretted his words when he saw the sight of the twins' crestfallen faces.

"Juan, even if you do see something bad-"

"-There is always a way-"

"-to prevent it-"

"-or fix it!"

"So, what-"

-" do you say?"

"You are right," Jusn breathed out another sigh. The prophetic man stood up from his sofa and gathered a bag of sand from the small shelf. He poured it around on the floor in the shape of a circle. The odd man made sure that they all were encircled inside it.

"This looks creepy," Felipe commented.

"And how!" Oscar nodded.

"Do you guys want the vision or not?" Bruno huffed, annoyed.

"Yes," the twins squeaked like timid little mice. They bent their knees and raised their shoulders in case they got hit. Not that their sister's second-in-command had struck them before but he always becomes as easily annoyed as their sister. They had to be cautious thus they would not risk getting hit. It was bad enough that their sister swung her shoe at them whenever they or someone else made her mad.

"Gracias," Bruno replied, sourly. He had everyone sit down and hold hands.

Frida had trouble reaching out her arms to them because of the bars. Her brother and the twins had to scoot closer to her so she could join hands with them.

Once everybody was ready, Bruno closed his eyes for a while. Then he opened his eyes which flashed bright green like emeralds. All the sand particles levitated in the air and swirled around them. Then everything turned green.

"Do you see anything yet?" Felipe asked, impatiently.

At first, they saw Frida talking to the police.

"Oh good," Frida said happily. "I'll be free!"

"We're gonna be arrested!?" Oscar asked, feeling his heartbeat pounding.

"Me and my big mouth!" Felipe mumbled.

"I can't confirm that," Bruno hissed, trying to focus. The image of the cops and the women evaporated. "My vision doesn't tell me that!" He was about to close the vision because he was afraid to see whether or not the police would truly arrest them. The prophetic man didn't think that his heart could take it. Just then, a yellow butterfly appeared in his vision. "Wait, follow that butterfly!" Everybody's eyes followed the trail of marigold leaves left by the yellow butterfly.

One image showed Mirabel hugging a boy in red that looked oddly familiar. The butterfly turned pink and circled the two children in the shape of a heart.

"Thy boy looks like Miguel," Frida observed before the kids faded away.

Next, everyone watched the pink butterfly fluttering away and turning purple. It traveled onto another couple. This time, it was a man standing in front of Imelda. He was tall and skinny with big ears and nose and a goatee.

"Héctor!?" Bruno whispered as he saw his face. It's been a long time but he remembered what his oldest friend looked like.

As the shoemaker and Imelda looked deep into each other's eyes, the butterfly flew around them in the shape of a heart. The man cupped the woman's face tenderly. The gangster smiled blissfully as the man bestowed a kiss upon her lips.

"Hmmm, interesting," Bruno observed.

After the kiss, the purple butterfly flew up in the air and performed a twirl. Finally, the vision disappeared, the sand particles changed from green back to dusty yellow and collapsed to the floor.

"Oh, so Héctor is the one!" Bruno said, amazed.

"To set me free?" Frida asked, much to her brother's annoyance.

"Please don't interrupt me," he spoke.

"Héctor?" Oscar inquired. "Is he your best friend from the West Side?"

"Yes, my old best friend," he answered. The crook felt a strange mixture of emotions inside him. On one hand, Bruno was looking forward to meeting his old best friend after four years. On the other hand, he also had a feeling that his oldest friend may be quite upset. He never told him why he failed to show up at church on his special day. Perhaps, this new vision would help them make amends. He wasn't sure. Only time can tell.

"When should we be expecting him?" Felipe and Oscar asked, breaking their friend out of his train of thought.

"Any minute now," the prophet winked at the last sentence. "As we are speaking."

"I can't believe I'm doing this," Héctor muttered. After the old man had given him the most ridiculous task he had ever heard, the shoemaker had no choice but to obey. He had taken several steps backward. When he reached his starting point at the edge of the gate, he studied the target of his destination. It was hard to tell how strong the glass was. Either way, the man figured that he would need a lot of thrust to break in there. "I'm probably going to fall flat on my face before I reach there!" Looking to his left, his nephew, the old man, and the stray dog were watching him.

"Be happy that I found a mattress!" Chicharron called. He wiped the dirt from his hands. "It was the only thing in the trash can that was bouncy."

"Don't worry, Tio Héctor," Miguel smiled assuredly. "You got this!" His dog companion nodded, with his tongue hanging out.

Héctor steadied himself. Focusing right in front of him was the window.

"Quite some time, I've been sittin' it out ,"

"Didn't take a chance, I was a prisoner of doubt ,"

"Gonna knock down the wailin' wall, it ain't no sin ,"

"I got, the feel of fortune, deal me in!"

The shoemaker bent his knees a bit and began to jog. Then, he put his hand on his sheath and slowly took one throwing knife out. As he did this, he picked up speed, jumped on a broken mattress, ready to plunge into that glass window…

"Imelda, are you okay?" Stephanie inquired. Even though she could tell that her guardian looked upset, it didn't hurt to ask. "What are you thinking about?"

"Still thinking about this silly gift," Imelda sighed. "It's pathetic that someone has to be under a love spell to give me one."

"I know," Stephanie said. "I know we both agreed that boys are dumb but maybe your Prince Charming is out there somewhere!" she finished, hopefully. Truthfully, Mirabel didn't think all boys were dumb. Just the ones from her old school. She remembered her cousin, Camillo who always made her laugh. She also recalled her other cousin, Antonio, who was so cute and pudgy. He must have been a toddler by now. And then, there was her friend, Miguel. He was the only boy who didn't mind playing with a girl. She always enjoyed listening to him sing and play his guitar. She wondered if he was still thinking of her. Probably not. It's been a long time and she didn't know if he was still the same sweet boy that she had known since kindergarten. He's probably just as mean as Ercole and his friends. The preteen shrank a bit at seeing her guardian scowl.

"Stephanie, I don't want a Prince, I want a warrior."

"A what?"

"A warrior!" Imelda clarified. "If I meet a man that will fight for me, I'll consider marriage." Her eyes glistened at that thought, then briefly, they became cloudy again. "But that will never happen." The woman put her needle down and stood up from her chair. She walked over to her small window. "It's a bit stuffy in here," she muttered while opening a creek in her small window. Looking at the view, her senses heightened. Her eyes widened at the sight of a dark figure jumping toward her…house!? She gasped when she heard the window crash as a tall skinny man let out a war cry…and another short one from pain.

"Who was that?" Stephanie asked, jumping from her seat.

"Yo no se!" Quickly, the gangster grabbed her gun from her dresser and strapped it into her sheath. "Stephanie, stay in here and don't come out!" She ordered as she opened the door. After shutting the door tight, she sneaked downstairs. Whoever this intruder was, he was not going to lay a finger on her little girl or the rest of her family.

"Mierda!" the intruder muttered. "Eso realmente dolió!" The shards had broken away from the glass and delivered a greater impact on his face than he expected. Lucky for him, the window was already fragile enough for him to easily break through. Carefully, Héctor picked off some shards off of his face. A few drops of blood were on his complexion. Luckily, he took out his handkerchief and dabbed his cheeks and forehead. Sounds of stiletto shoes made him turn his head, as he pulled out his knife. "Argh!" he yelled. He came face to face with a woman. The same beautiful but deadly woman that he had met earlier.

"Whoa, whoa!" Imelda cried, her knife colliding against her opponent's one. "Dios Mios, usted loco?"

"Un Poco Loco," Héctor growled. "Release my friends!"

Imelda observed him from toe to head. This was the same man that had confronted her at the Italian restaurant. Those same deep brown eyes.

"Oh, not you, again!" Imelda groaned. "The last thing I need is another musico!" She can tell because he was still dressed in his mariachi suit from earlier.

"I'm a shoemaker!"

"Well at least, you're not singing," Imelda spoke too soon.

"I'm comin' straight on for you!" Héctor vocalized. He aimed his knife toward the mafia lord who let out a growl, holding her knife. The shoemaker began to duel with the gangster, clashing with two knives.

"I made up my mind!"

He was quick to spot her trying to squat behind the couch. The man crept up behind her. "Taking a break?" He whispered into her ear. The shoemaker swung his knife and cut one armchair off, making the woman gasp.

"Now I'm stronger, now I'm comin' through!" He sang as he sliced one of the paintings on the wall.

Miguel finally climbed in through the window along with Dante. They had to be very careful while stepping over shards of glass. The dog had no problem, jumping over from the door frame onto the nearby small sofa. But Miguel had to be more careful, due to not having the same gross motor skills as the animal. After going over the open window, the boy slowly climbed down using the doorframe as a step. He had to slide down on the arch of the doorframe and landed on his bottom.

"We still should have used the front door," He winced, rubbing his rear. The boy and the dog looked up and spotted his uncle, who was in a duel with the princesa de mafia. "Whoa, they're getting started!"

"Need any help, Imelda?" Dr. Sweet called. He had poked his head out from the drawing room. He was just reading an old medical textbook when he heard the commotion.

"No," Imelda answered, confidently. She swung his stick against the man's knife.

She and her strange guest jumped from wall to wall as if they were in some kind of dance. Their knives were still held tightly in their hands.

" I'm coming straight on for you!" Héctor vocalized. He flipped forward and twirled with his knife. " Yeah, straight on for you!"

"Wow!" Imelda breathed, watching this shoemaker aiming his knife toward her, only to hit the wall instead. "Berries!"

" I'm feeling stronger, now I'm coming through!"

Héctor threw his other knife, but his opponent ducked, so it missed her and struck one of the chandeliers instead. The impact caused the chandelier to fall off the ceiling and land on the floor with a loud crash. Many lightbulbs spread everywhere, shattering into many pieces.

Bubo, Vinny, and Audrey, who were guarding Andres' door, heard the crash and heard Andres stirring. Quickly, they opened the door. Audrey cradled the prisoner in her arms like a baby and rocked him back to sleep.

" Rock a bye baby on the tree top,"

"Squeeze your eyes tight,"

"And don't hear that sound !" she quietly sang while looking with terror at the direction of the noise.

"Oh, I know I should stay in this room!" Stephanie said to Pepita. She couldn't help but worry that her guardian was in trouble. "I know Imelda can take care of herself but what if she gets hurt?" The sounds of the chandelier crashing made her anxious. "That's it!" she said, determined. "I'm going out anyway!" She took out a bobby pin and unlocked the door. After opening the door, she left the room, followed by Pepita. The girl held one of the knitting needles as her choice of weapon. When she reached the staircase, Stephanie saw her guardian fighting against someone. She carefully watched from upstairs, wanting to see what happened next.

"Had enough?" Héctor asked trying to be tough. He blew his bangs from his eyes.

Imelda blew hair into a few strands of her hair that were loose from her bun. "I can do this all day!" she rolled her eyes playfully. "Now give me the potion!" At this point, she and the shoemaker resumed back to their sword-fighting duel.

"Why do you need the love potion?" the shoemaker chuckled, glancing at her up and down. "You don't look like you need it." He winked at her, clicking his tongue.

"I don't need it!" The gangster blushed. "I want to eradicate it!"

"Well, eradicate this, doll!" the guest laughed, playfully. He knocked over a table that had a tall white vase. His opponent stepped out of the way as the table fell onto the floor. The vase descended off the table and into an open hole until it broke.

"Ow, who did that?" Mole asked as he came out of his hole. Shards of the broken vase were on top of his head. He turned and saw his mistress fighting.

"Mole, ask the mistress if she needs help," Dr. Sweet whispered into his ear. He was crawling on all fours in case one of the knives hit him. "She'll appreciate it."

"Okay," Mole said before turning to address his leader. "Need any help, mademoiselle?"

"No!" The mafia woman remarked, turning away from her opponent. When she turned back to face the shoemaker, he wasn't there. "Where did you go?" She jumped when she felt a knife gently poking her in the back.

"Got you, señorita!" Héctor smirked, holding his knife. The shoemaker was caught off guard when the gangster kicked his weapon out of his hand, with her own. The knife flung in the air toward the ceiling.

The shoemaker watched with mouth agape and widened eyes. No one has done that to him before! His opponent did a swing kick toward his stomach and caught his knife up in the air.

"Not bad," Héctor commented, his voice full of awe. He pulled his other knife out of his other sheath and aimed it toward Imelda's face.

"Looks like you need help!" Mole spoke.

"No!" Imelda shouted.

The shoemaker and the gangster did a few twists and turns with their knives still colliding with each other. Although the fight was intense, the couple found themselves laughing at every twist or turn. It looked like each had found their match.

"So, is that all you got?" Imelda smiled, coyly. On impulse, she flicked her wrist gently, at her guest.

"Oh, I got plenty!" Héctor teased. There was still a ball of energy inside him.

"Now I know I got to play my hand!" Imelda sang.

"What the winner don't know, a gambler understands,"

"My heart keeps playin' it through with you, my friend!"

"I beg your pardon, " the young man murmured, feeling confused. Was that supposed to be a comeback or was she just bragging? Whatever it was, he couldn't tell, so the shoemaker decided to redirect his focus back onto the duel.

"I'll take my chances on you again and again, again!" They both sang.

"Comin' straight on for you,"

"You made my mind,"

"Now I'm stronger, now I'm comin' through!"

"You fight well," Héctor simpered. He blocked her knife with his own. "For a woman."

Mirabel giggled. She and the cat had descended the steps and were at the bottom of the last staircase. The girl was at a distance and she was far from the action but close enough to see and hear the exchange. No man has ever dared to challenge her guardian before.

"Wish I could say the same thing about you!" Imelda sassed at him. She swung her knife at her opponent who ducked.

"What do you mean?" The shoemaker challenged her while dodging her aim with his weapon.

"I don't know," The gangster responded, playfully. "I was expecting…," She spun around and gave him a flirtatious smile. "…more."

Héctor was taken aback by her seductive tone.

Miguel chuckled. This woman could fight as well as his uncle and exchange a witty conversation with him.

"Straight on, straight on for you

"Straight on for you!" the couple belted out the last note. They circled as they stared down at each other. Each was ready to strike when the time was right.

Bruno appeared in the main room, along with the twins. They just heard the noise from the other side of the mansion. The twins were concerned that Imelda may be in trouble. Bruno thought the police had found their way here to arrest them. Lucky for them, the intruder turned out to be a familiar face that Bruno would have recognized.

At last, when their duet was over, Héctor and Imelda collapsed to the ground, panting and panting. The fight had worn them out. It was like their energy had finally been sucked out of them.

"Is that him?" Oscar asked, pointing at their guest.

"That's him," Juan confirmed.

"Were they fighting or flirting?" Miguel asked Dante. The dog just simply sat on his haunches with his tongue hanging out.