Chapter 18: Old Friends

'Miguel? ' the girl thought she heard a familiar voice. One that she hadn't heard in a few years. As Stephanie approached her old friend, it felt natural to answer his question. "I think it's both." She doesn't know much about love but from what she observed, those were the vibes her guardian and Señor Rivera were giving.

Pepita strutted by and wrapped her body around her calves, purring.

Miguel turned to his left. "Huh?" The boy just found Penny Proud on this side of the town. Who knows what other long-lost friends of his are residing here? He gasped when in front of him was the girl with bobbed hair and teal glasses. It was the same girl that he had seen in the Plaza the other day!

Dante turned to the sound of the girl's voice with its tongue out as usual. He took a whiff of the girl's scent and decided that he liked her already.

"Mirabel?" the boy whispered.

The girl beamed, pleased that she remembered her old name.

"It is you!" they both exclaimed, acting as if they just met a Hollywood star. The two kids ran to each and clasped their hands. They swung around in a circle, laughing joyously, while their pets nuzzled each other.

"Oh my gosh, I missed you!" Mirabel beamed, as she hugged her old amigo. A warm and fuzzy feeling spread around her from her heart, making her glow.

"I missed you too!" Miguel said softly wrapping his arms around her. He felt like he could hug her forever. It has been such a long time since he last saw her. A peaceful feeling washed over him.

Héctor and Imelda had finished catching their breaths and caught the sight of a sweet reunion between two young friends.

The gangster smiled a bit warmly knowing that her ward had been missing her friend.

The shoemaker looked a bit surprised to see the familiar little girl hugging his nephew. So chamaco really did see Mirabel the other day! 'If Mirabel is here, does that mean her uncle is-'

"Am I interrupting anything?" a familiar voice asked.

Héctor and Imelda turned around to see a man with two identical teenage boys, who looked amused.

"Bruno!?" Héctor was stunned. "Is that you?" Standing there, right in front of him was his oldest friend. His best friend. The one who mysteriously disappeared.

"Hola Héctor," Bruno chuckled nervously.

Imelda smiled, folding her hands together as if she had been waiting for this moment to happen.

Both men slowly approached each other. Each man carefully observed the other for they hadn't seen each other in four years. But instead of a handshake, the shoemaker bonked the prophetic man on the head with his fist.

"Ow!" Juan cried after he fell on his bottom. He clutched his head and began to rub it.

"Where have you been?" Héctor shouted, clenching his fists tightly. "Why didn't you come to my wedding?" The shoemaker wasn't sure how he felt exactly. A part of him felt relieved at seeing someone who had been like a brother to him, Enrique, and Berto. Another part of him was still sore at him for not showing up on what was supposed to be the most important day of his life. "Why didn't you show up?"

"I have my reasons," Bruno responded, annoyed and vaguely. When he was done rubbing his sore spot, he slowly stood up back on his feet. The crook knew that his old friend would not be happy to see him but he didn't think he would be holding grudges.

"Oh bother!" Imelda murmured, her heart sinking. She had been watching with anticipation in hopes of seeing two men rekindle their friendship. This was not how she imagined their reunion.

"What reasons?" The shoemaker scoffed. He pointed his finger at him. "You were my best man! You were supposed to stand by my side at the altar. Who was standing beside me during the ceremony? Nobody!"

"I'm sure you had somebody who could have stepped in," Bruno frowned, crossing his arms. "Enrique would have been a great substitute. Berto would have been good, too. Also Andres-"

"It's not about the ceremony!"

"Yeah, the wedding ended before it even began!" Miguel piped up, coming to his uncle's side.

"I remember that," Mirabel murmured, nodding. She recalled sitting in the aisle waiting for the wedding to appear. She kept looking back to see when the bride would appear only to be disappointed that she didn't. She, Isa, and Luisa J. had been looking forward to seeing her gown because, to them, wedding dresses were always the most beautiful things ever. That day, they never got to see the bride or her gown. Just a heartbroken groom.

Héctor responded by clamping his nephew's mouth with his hand. He knew how to handle this situation and he didn't need chamaco's help.

"Oh, I see," Juan nodded slowly. "If the ceremony ended before it ever began then you didn't need me after all. Ha, no reason to complain and grumble, then. Isn't that right?" Since when did his oldest friend act so dramatic? Sometimes he could be just as bad as his family.

"My fiancé left me at the altar!" Héctor yelled, throwing his hands up in the air, again. "How would you feel if you saw your bride kissing someone else on your wedding day?"

"Didn't you see it coming?" Bruno grinned ironically. He gave a dark chuckle. "Surely, you must have!"

"No, and my name is not Shirley!"

"All right, all right!" Imelda shouted, coming in between the two surprised men. "Pipe down, you two tontos!" Each man backed down when she glared at them daring to challenge her.

"You don't-" the shoemaker protested, only to shrink back when the gangster held her shoe up against his face.

"This is ridiculous!" she spat. When she noticed that her guest wasn't going to say another word, she put her shoe back on.

"I agree with my boss, most definitely!" Juan quickly added. "Let's change the subject, shall we?"

"Fine, I'll take a rain check," Hector frowned. Maybe not today or tomorrow but his friend better have a good reason for his sudden disappearance! Just because he's postponing the conversation, doesn't mean that he would forget about it.

The gangster began making introductions. She knew the names of this shoemaker and his nephew but she didn't want them to think that she was spying on them. Besides, it's important to stick to the rules of etiquette. "My name is Imelda Benita Acosta Sanchez." She referred to a set of twins. "These are my brothers Oscar and Felipe."

"Mucho gusto!" Felipe and Oscar both greeted their guests. One shook Hector's hand and the other one shook Miguel's, making them both vibrate.

"My middle name is Sacramento!" said Felipe.

"My middle name is Segismundo!" Oscar added.

When the twins were done shaking hands, their guests had to regain their balance.

"Yes, you have met Juan and Stephanie," Imelda said, referring to the man in a dark suit with a green tie and the girl in a green embroidered dress.

"Isn't his name Bruno?" Héctor inquired, dumbfounded.

"And isn't her name Mirabel?" Miguel asked, also feeling confused.

"No," Imelda cooly, corrected them. "Juan and Stephanie."

"Either they changed their names or we've been calling them the wrong names all along!" The shoemaker whispered to his nephew.

"So why are you here again, shoemaker?" The gangster asked. She tried her best to look as intimidating as possible. But on the inside, the woman couldn't help but feel something for this man. If this wasn't loathing, then what is it? And she hated to admit but he was handsome in her eyes. Not that she would ever tell him that! It would ruin her image as a gangster.

"My name is Héctor Fabio García Rivera."

"Fabio!" Miguel snickered. "Tee hee hee!"

Juan, Stephanie, and the twins put their hands to their mouths but failed to suppress their giggles.

"Fabio?" Imelda asked, smirking and arching an eyebrow.

"Don't ask," the shoemaker frowned, his face turning red.

"He was named after some guy from Abuelita's favorite romance novel!" Miguel piped up.

"Hush!" Héctor clamped his nephew's mouth. "And this little troublemaker is Miguel Jadiel Fuentes Rivera." He removed his hand slowly in case his sheepish nephew tried to say something more embarrassing than "Fabio." Thankfully, it was just silence so the shoemaker proceeded to talk. "I told you this before, but I want you to release my friends, Andres and Frida, so I can take them back home to their families." He felt his heart beating faster than usual as he faced the gangster. She had put on a look that was deadly and serious.

"Do you have the love potion, shoemaker?" Imelda asked slowly.

"Well….no," Héctor said hesitantly. He knew that coming here empty-handed except with a set of throwing knives would get him into trouble. However, he was counting on Natalie to bring to the love potion by the time he reached this scary mansion. What is taking her so long?

"Then you can't have your friends back," the cold-hearted lady answered smoothly. "No potion, no friends."

"What she said!" Oscar said, puffing himself up, trying to be tough.

"Aye!" Felipe agreed, copying his twin's pose.

Bruno shook his head, crossing his arms.

"Not one friend?" Miguel asked.

Mirabel shook her head as well. Her countenance showed sadness and sympathy toward her friend and his uncle. She didn't like what her guardian and uncle were doing to the son of the mayor and her long-lost aunt. If it were up to her, she would have freed them. But she couldn't risk going against either Imelda or Bruno's orders.

"Por favor senorita!" Héctor cried as he got down on his knees in front of the gangster. His fingers grasped on the hems of her dress which reached down to her calves. "I beseech you to change your mind." The man dared to look into her brown eyes. "Have you no mercy?"

"Sorry, shoemaker," Imelda responded. "It's my way or no way."

"You can't always have things your way," the young man argued. He tried only to shrink back a little again when the beauty before him gnashed her teeth at him. "At least that's what my Papá always tells me."

Dante barked, meaning that he agreed with his boy's guardian.

"Your father may be smart but my answer is still no."

Héctor quickly thought of another plan. "Well, at least, let us see them," he suggested. "I just want to make sure that they are okay."

Dante gave another agreeable bark.

"No," Imelda crossed her arms. "Out of the question."

"Come on, Imelda," Mirabel spoke softly. "I think you should let them see them. It looks like they want to."

"For their sake, Stephanie, I'm not sure if they want to see them," the woman said gravely. "Especially Andres."

" I don't want to see them," Bruno grumbled. "I had enough of Frida for one day!"

"Is he okay?" Héctor asked Mirabel.

The girl shrugged, not knowing how to explain her uncle's odd behavior. "Um, kind of."

Suddenly everybody heard singing from a distance.

"Sugar Pie Honeybunch…,"

"Uh oh, he woke up," Oscar murmured.

"Not again!" Felipe groaned, covering his ears. He and his twin did enjoy their prisoner's singing at first. But eventually, they grew tired of it after hearing the gringo singing the same song over and over again.

"Was that Andres?" Miguel asked, innocently. He heard his family friend sing many times before so he would have recognized his voice.

"That's him," Mirabel confirmed.

"Oh no, who did he fall in love with?" Héctor fearfully asked. Whoever his friend "fell in love" with, it can't be good.

Imelda winced, now wanting to give a straight answer. "You better come with me."

Imelda led her guests down the hallway. Her right-handed man, her brothers, and the girl followed along, curious to see the guests' reaction to their prisoner.

"I hope you have a strong stomach," Imelda whispered to her guest. She opened the door.

" Sugarpie honeybunch !" Andres sang.

Héctor dropped his jaw and his eyes widened like saucers.

When his host shut the door, the guest looked at her for a moment before opening the door again. Then he saw the blonde man singing to the gangster.

"You know that I love-"

The shoemaker shut the door and stared at the gangster.

" You!?"

"Yes!" Imelda squeaked nervously.

"Antidote!?"

"Working on it!"

Miguel burst out into laughter. He laughed so hard that he fell and tears came out of his eyes.

Mirabel only smiled at him amused, while Dante and Pepita just simply sat there on their haunches.

"Aye Caramba!" Héctor exclaimed, holding his head with his hands. "I know he's a guy who falls in love with every girl he meets, but this is ridiculous!" He immediately regretted his words when the fiery woman grabbed him by the front of his collar and pulled him very close to her face.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Imelda growled turning red.

"No hard feelings, but you're not his type," Héctor said sheepishly, as he reached for his knife. He pulled it and pointed it at Imelda which caused her to release him. He opened the door and went inside while still holding his knife.

"Why didn't you aim your knife back at him?" Bruno whispered to Imelda. Not that he wanted another fight but he found it odd to see Imelda not going into defense mode, as usual.

"I think I left my weapon back in the drawing room!" Imelda hissed back.

"How unfortunate!"

Just then, Bubo came down the hallway with Frida in handcuffs.

"Bubo, Frida?" Stephanie asked. "Is that you guys?" She quickly straightened up, trying to remember her manners. "This is my best friend, Miguel."

"Hola!" the boy waved, cheerfully.

"Hola Stephanie, Señorita Imelda, gentlemen, and Miguel!" Bubo greeted.

"Hello everybody except Bruno," Frida snorted.

Bruno shut his eyes and scrunched up his eyebrows as steam came from his nostrils. He crossed his arms.

"Is he okay?" Miguel asked Mirabel, nervously.

"Um, sort of…," the girl winced, feeling unsure.

"He refused to help me escape!" Frida answered firmly.

"Frida, we've already talked about this," Bruno retorted in a clipped and icy tone.

Finally, Héctor came out of the room, dragging Andres. He didn't like having his face touched by the son of the mayor but that's the least of his worries. "Come on Chamaco and Dante! We're leaving!"

"Going somewhere?" Bruno asked, crossing his arms.

"Yes," Hector said, with the knife still in his hand. "Thank you Señorita Imelda for your time. I did have fun sparring with you. Mirabel, it was good to see you again. Bruno, I'm still mad at you but also relieved to see you again. Come with us. Chamaco, grab Frida and we will be on our way."

"All right," Miguel nodded obediently. "Come on, guys! You too Frida." The boy gestured to his best friend and her uncle to follow after him and his dog. When he attempted to grab Frida from Bubo, he was surprised when he couldn't grab the woman's wrists.

"Oh, I don't think we can leave yet," The potion maker warned him, sadly. She pointed to her twin brother and her youngest niece. "And they can't come with you, either."

Confused, Miguel turned around to see that neither Stephanie nor Juan had moved an inch.

"Come on, it's time to go home!" Miguel urged them.

But all Juan and Stephanie did was shake their heads.

Dante's ears dropped and made a sad whimper.

"Go home and get ourselves killed?" The odd man questioned. "Out of the question!"

"I can't go home," the girl answered softly.

Her cat meows sadly.

"Nonsense, we're going home," Héctor encouraged them. "Come on Andres."

"Oh no, I won't go!" the son of the mayor shouted. Immediately, he stopped stroking the shoemaker's face and knocked his knife out of his hand.

"Andres!" Héctor scolded, feeling annoyed. But before Héctor could pick up his weapon, the gangster beat him to it by snatching it up, much to his dismay.

Imelda pointed the knife at her guest while her prisoner ran to her side.

"Amelia!" Andres squealed.

"Imelda," the gangster corrected him. She smirked when she saw that she had outsmarted her guest.

Héctor sighed in defeat. Before he could say anything, his host cut him off. He jumped back when she waved his knife in front of his eyes.

"Don't talk, shoemaker! Nobody is leaving with you or your nephew tonight." The gangster turned to her unwanted admirer and spoke in the sweetest voice she could muster. "Let's get you back to your guest bedroom, shall we?"

"Anything for you my sweet delicious cream puff!" Andres replied, caressing her face, which made Imelda's stomach curl in disgust.

"Not a cream puff," the fiery woman grumbled.

"Que asco!" Both Miguel and Mirabel gagged at the same time. Their faces turned green and their stomachs were about to churn as well.

As Andres walked back to his bedroom, he felt his arms being grabbed by the shoemaker.

"Andres, don't listen to her!" Héctor pleaded. "She's a criminal!"

"You are not my father!" Andres spoke harshly. "And don't even think about trying to steal my Mella!"

"Imelda!" The shoemaker corrected him.

The door was shut after Andres walked back into his room.

The shoemaker and his nephew could only look on in defeat. This was not how their rescue plan would turn out.

"He stays here until I get the potion back!" Imelda smirked in a song-song voice. She twirled the knife around her fingertips.

The men also smiled smugly.

Mirabel and Frida were the only ones who gave a sympathetic look.

"Why do you want the potion so much?" Hector challenged her as he turned around, eyes narrowed.

"Tío Héctor, shouldn't Natalia be here with the potion by now?" Miguel reminded him. "She said she'd bring it."

"Yes, but it is the middle of the evening and I am beginning to worry!"

"Ask her to extend the deadline."

"I don't know,"

"Por favor!"

"Fine," he sighed. "Señorita Imelda, can you please extend the deadline?"

"No," Imelda said firmly.

"Why did I ask?" The shoemaker grumbled to himself. "Come on chamaco, let's go, and look for Natalia," Héctor said.

"I wouldn't leave here if I were you two," Bruno warned them. He couldn't explain why but he heard some noises outside. Whatever was happening outside, he got a hunch that something was not right.

"Oh yeah," Héctor snapped, still walking toward the door. "Just watch us!"

"We'll be back!" Miguel quickly responded, keeping his dog close to his side. He was afraid that any minute, the Princesa de Mafia or her gang members might shoot them or something.

They opened the door and behold, they were in for a big surprise.