Chapter 22: Love Hurts

"It's getting to be too much, Imelda!"

"We need to expand the business, branch out."

"That means opening another shop."

"Somewhere outside of Santa Cecilia."

"But not too far."

"We know how to run things-"

"So you won't have to worry!"

"What do you think, hermana?" Oscar and Felipe finished and pushed the papers they had drawn up towards their sister.

Imelda looked at both of her brothers with a frown and her arms crossed. It was true, despite having expanded Rivera Zapateria throughout the years, including another workshop on the other side of town, demand was too much for the workers to keep up with. Not since word got out that Ernesto de la Cruz got his famous sequined and studded boots from Imelda herself. Now everyone wanted replicas of Ernesto's boots, as well as all the other shoes they had come up with. She was no longer regulated to just work boots and sandals, but also elegant women's shoes that she had begrudgingly let Oscar and Felipe design themselves, if only to keep them from experimenting with their useless ideas about footwear. The ones with wheels that popped out of the heels had been the last straw for her.

She blew out a sigh and nodded. "I see your point. And you both are right, we do need to expand the business towards other cities. Maybe even a warehouse. It would provide a lot of jobs for people."

Oscar nodded happily. "And we would also be the heads of the research and development department! We got some good ideas for-"

"Just… sensible… footwear! Por favor!" Imelda pleaded with a glare. "Your novelty items won't get you far, trust me." Then her face turned soft. "But still, the thought of you two leaving to go off to some big city is a little heartbreaking. We've been together since you two were tiny babies. I'd… I'd miss you."

"Aaaww…" Felipe went around the table and hugged his sister, with Oscar following. "Don't be sad Imelda. We won't go that far, trust us."

"And it's going to be a while before we'd have to leave." Oscar added. "These things take a lot of planning. But we'll always come home for the holidays."

"Ay, mis hermanitos!" Imelda said as she squeezed them both. "I could use a break from you two though." They all laughed at that and hugged some more.

Coco came into the workshop twirling in her new dance shoes and humming a slow, romantic waltz. When she spotted her mother and tios hugging her dreamy smile grew bigger. "Aw, isn't that sweet? Love is truly in the air tonight." She danced in more dizzying circles before making her way over to a workbench to sit and giggled in ecstasy.

"My my." Imelda said with smirk. "Someone is in a good mood today. Are you going dancing with Julio again?"

"Mmmm, si." Coco swayed and picked at the end of one of her long braids as she grinned from ear to ear. "But that's not why I'm so happy… Mamá," she beckoned her mother over with her finger. When Imelda came closer, she said in a stage whisper, "Julio told me that he had something he wanted to tell me tonight."

Imelda's eyes grew big and she gasped into her hands. "You don't mean-"

"Si!" Coco squealed. "I think he's going to ask me to be his wife!"

"WHAT?!"

Coco sighed in exasperation as she heard her father's shout from across the courtyard. He had been plucking at his guitar from underneath the tree, but it only took a few long strides for him to storm into the workshop with a worried expression on his face. "Papá, how in the world were you able to hear that?"

Héctor pointed to his large ears. "These things aren't for show mija. But that's beside the point! What do you mean you're going to be someone's w-w-wife?!" He shuddered as the word left his mouth. "You're just a baby!"

"I'm eighteen years old, Papá." Coco said. "I'm not a baby anymore, I'm a full grown woman."

"Nope!" Héctor crossed his arms over his chest and tried to look stern, which Imelda always thought looked comical on him. "Eighteen is far too young to get married, Coco."

"Cuñado, you were seventeen when you got married." Oscar said.

"And eighteen when you became a father." Felipe added.

Héctor slumped and gave a sheepish cough. "Yes, w-well… It was a different time back then… And I was… And your Mamá… Ay Dios mio…" He flopped down next to Coco and whined as he leaned onto her shoulder. "My sweet little Coco. I used to change your diapers, and feed you mashed bananas and tuck you in your little bed with your dolly…"

Coco patted her father's head. "Aw don't be sad, Papá. You can still do all that with your future grandchildren!" Héctor only moaned louder and hugged her closer to him, causing her to roll her eyes.

"Estas loco! Estas loco!"

Five heads whipped up at the voice shouting from outside the shop, when Matty walked towards a workbench in a huff with Barto trailing behind him in desperation. "This was a once in million, life changing, mind-blowing opportunity and you just threw it away! Pinche idiota!"

"Nice to see you too, Bartolomeo." Imelda said, not appreciating the teenager's profanity.

Barto shrunk back from Imelda's glare. "Ech… Perdoname, Senora Rivera. It's just that your son is loco! Patricía Alvarez, the most beautiful, the most prestigious girl in school, with her grande culo and gigante tetaaAAAaaahhh…" Imelda's glare turned to fire. "Perdoname! Anyway, Patricía came up to Mateo after school and asked if he wanted to be her novio. This never happens, Senora! A question like that, from a girl like her, is like a gift de Dios! And what does this pendejo say to her? Hmm?!"

As his family turned their heads towards him for the answer Matty sighed and put down a half sewn shoe. At fourteen years old Matty was almost as tall as Héctor. Unlike his father however, who had been whupped so hard with puberty that it had literally knocked him off his feet, Matty had grown gracefully into a young adult. His hair was thick and glossy, his complexion smooth and blemish free, and his build was thick and muscular. His childhood allergies had diminished to almost nothing and his endurance had increased, letting him partake in sports and excelling at them. He still needed his glasses, but all they seemed to do was enhance the shape of his almond shaped eyes: His mother's eyes.

Matty was on his way to becoming a very handsome man and was the ideal partner to all the girls in school. He just didn't want anything to do with them.

Matty shrugged. "I told her no."

"No! No!" Barto pointed an accusing finger at his friend. "That is not what you said! Tell them!"

Matty sighed in disgust. "I said I would rather go out with a decaying, maggot-infested goat than with her."

"He made her cry!" Barto exclaimed. "I tried to give her my shoulder to cry on, but Aye! She pushed me away and ran home in tears. Pobrecita…"

"Oh, mijo…" Héctor said with disappointment. "That was a little harsh, don't you think? The poor girl obviously likes you, why would you say something horrible like that?"

Matty threw the shoe he had been trying to work on angrily before grabbing his book bag. "Patricía Alvarez used to sit behind me in primary school and thought it was funny to stab me with her pencil for a whole week! I have these silver spots embedded on my shoulder that will never go away! Then she took a pair of scissors and lopped off a chunk of my hair and later sprinkled it onto my lunch. On three separate occasions! So excuse me if I have no sympathy for a girl who thought I had forgotten that she used to torture me! Did she honestly think I would go out with a brat like her?! No lo creo!" And with that he stomped out of the workshop, went to his room and slammed the door shut with Barto right behind him.

Héctor blinked in surprise. "Well alright then."

Imelda moaned. "We're never going to get grandchildren from him, are we?"

"Not at the rate he keeps breaking girls' hearts." Oscar said.

"But still, he has to learn to forgive and forget." Imelda said as she went back to her own workbench. "It's not healthy to hold on to grudges for so long. Honestly, I don't know where he gets it from!" She then started to work on an order, not noticing Héctor elbow her brothers in the gut to keep them from saying anything.

"Well, as fun as all that was," Coco said as she stood up and twirled towards the door. "I have to go now and start the rest of my life!"

"Coco!" Héctor called out. "J-just… don't make any rash decisions. I hear that long engagements are a thing now. We can all sit down and plan it out for about, eh… five, ten years?"

"Papá, don't be so clingy! Everything will be fine." She hugged herself and sighed dreamily. "I love him and he loves me, and I'm ready to spend the rest of my life with him. Wish me luck!"

As Coco bounded out through the courtyard and out into the street, Héctor waved after her. "Good luck…"

Dante looked up from the bed he was sleeping on when Matty stormed into his bedroom with Barto right behind him. The poor dog was startled when the door slammed shut, and when Matty saw him his anger melted into an apologetic smile. "Sorry Dante." He walked over to Dante and scratched behind his ears until the dog started to lean into him and then he rubbed his soft underbelly. Dante thumped his tail happily as his tongue lolled out, making Matty laugh.

"Okay, okay. I understand your point." Barto said as he twirled the antique globe on Matty's desk. "Patricía, as gorgeous as she is, es una bruja who deserved to be put down for once in her snotty little life. But that doesn't explain why you've also shot down both Blanca and Pilar. Those two are like angels sent down to Earth!"

Matty smirked. "You know who was also an angel sent down to Earth? Satán."

"C'mon, amigo!" Barto whined. "I meant those two girls are nice. They have always been nice to you, so you can't fault them for treating you badly in the past because they haven't. What's so wrong with them?"

"Nothing's wrong with them." Matty said as he draped Dante across his lap and continued to rub him. "It's… it's me. I think there's something wrong with me."

Barto's brow furrowed in confusion and he sat down on the bed with his friend. Now was the time to be serious. "What do you mean?"

Matty sighed. "I don't know. I see these girls and they see me, and they turn all lovey-dovey and I just can't force myself to do the same. I want to, but something is stopping me. I don't know what…"

"Uhh…" Barto rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Maybe it's not… girls you like? M-maybe it's… guys?"

"No, idiota." Matty said with a glare. "I told you I don't know what is stopping me from connecting with them. If I was a homosexual then at least I would have an answer for what I'm feeling right now! But I don't! It's like there's a wall around my heart. And it's not just girls either."

Matty leant backwards until he was lying on the bed. "I do really well in school, but it's boring to me. I'm good at fútbol but I could take it or leave it without a care. Even being around my family irks me… I do love them, but the love feels muted, you know? Distant." He took off his glasses, draped an arm around his eyes and sighed tiredly. "And I know I'm not supposed to feel this way, that it's wrong. I just don't know what to do about it."

Barto looked at Matty sadly, at a loss on what to say or do. "I'm sorry Matty… Have you talked to your parents about it?"

"No." Matty said bitterly, not raising his arm. "They'd probably just send me to a doctor, and we've all learned the hard way that throwing money at doctors doesn't help anything." He sat up and gave Dante another rub before turning to Barto with a small smile. "Besides, telling you was a little helpful."

Barto took Matty's glasses off the bed and put them on his own face. "Ja, zat is vat I am here for, young man. Now you must tell me about your dreams und I will tell you how it involves your mother somehow."

Matty tossed a pillow at Barto and sneered. "Ha ha, very funny."

Barto handed the glasses back to Matty. "I could tell you weren't a homosexual, by the way." He rubbed his hands seductively down his chunky figure. "How else could you stand not getting a piece of all this?" This time Matty did laugh with Dante in between them, happily panting that his master was feeling a bit better now.

"Think about it Héctor! Cavallero has been mayor of this town for over twenty years, solely because no man has had the cajones to run against him." Facundo said as he sat at the kitchen table with Héctor. "He flaunts his wealth and spoils his stupid family, letting them walk around town like they own the place, which yes they kind of do. But Héctor, you are wealthy too! You could literally give Cavallero a run for his money!"

Héctor held up a hand. "Facundo, I'm sorry amigo, but I have to decline. Musicians should never get involved in politics. Besides I already co-run a major motion picture and recording studio, and write songs, and make shoes, and raise a family. I'm thirty-six years old and I already have these!" He pointed to his temples, where his hair was now streaked with grey and white. "You add being mayor to that and you'll put me into an early grave."

"Better that than this." Facundo said as he ran a hand over his smooth bald head. "But actually, I wasn't thinking about you for mayor, amigo. You are well-respected and you give generously to the town, but you're usually just holed up here with your family. A mayor needs to be a man about town. Who works with the people, meets with them daily, listens to their concerns, gives low prices on highly crafted sofas and armchairs-"

"Wait wait wait wait…" Héctor interrupted as he finally got the point. "Are you saying that you want to run for mayor?"

Facundo shrugged. "Mis amigos at the tavern all agreed that I would be the best pick, so I'd have their votes at least. But Héctor, this is something that I think I would be good at. I could fix the potholes in the streets, give the poor better access to education, and finally bring progress to Santa Cecilia. Cavallero embezzles the town's money, you know that! I could use it to do good! I just need your support in my campaign. What do you say, amigo?"

Héctor scratched his chin and thought deeply. "Hmm… I don't know."

"Come now, mi amor." Imelda said as she came towards them with cups of coffee. "What is your motto again? Spread the wealth around? Only this time it isn't throwing a fancy party for the town or building a new restaurant. This would help people's lives. I seriously think you should consider it."

"Well said, Imelda!" Facundo grinned as he took a cup of coffee and held it up towards Héctor. "So?"

Héctor grabbed his own cup, watched as the coffee swirled around, and grinned. "I think we'll finally make a difference to Santa Cecilia. Salud!"

Before Héctor and Facundo could clink their mugs together, the doors to the complex burst wide open and Coco came barreling in towards her room, letting out heart-wrenching sobs and scrubbing at her eyes. When her eyes landed on Facundo, her face twisted into hate and rage. "What is he doing here?! I want nothing to do with him, or Rosita, or J-Julio, or their whole damn family ever again!"

"Coco!" Imelda cried out in alarm as Héctor and Facundo also stood up in worry. "Whatever is the matter?!"

Coco yanked at her braids hard and sobbed again. "Julio! That bastardo! He said he didn't want to court me anymore! He said I wasn't good enough to be his wife! I wasted five years of my life waiting for him to ask me to marry him, and he just drops me! Oh, Mamá!" She collapsed into Imelda's arms and cried out her heartbreak. "Mamá, I love him! I love him so much! What am I going to do?!"

"Cálmese, mija. Shh shh." Imelda slowly rocked Coco side to side and kissed her red face. "What exactly did he say?"

"H-he s-s-said that-" a loud snort came from her nose and she coughed out another sob. "He said that I was too tall! That a man was supposed to look down at his wife, not eye to eye!"

"Oh, mija!" Héctor cooed as he came over to hug his distraught child. "You are only one hundred and sixty centimeters. That's not too tall, cielita!"

"This is all your fault, Papá!" Coco screeched as she pointed a finger in Héctor's face. "You made me too tall! I'm a giant because of you!"

"Of course it's my fault!" Héctor said in exasperation as he flung his arms up in the air. "It's always my fault. 'Papá, you made me too tall! Papá, you gave me your big nose! My ears are just like yours, Papá!' Apparently Imelda you mated with a man who's even worse than a leper! Heaven forbid I show my wretched face out in public!"

"What is going on out here?!" Matty said as he walked up towards the kitchen table.

"You!" Coco turned her accusations to her little brother. "What is it about you… you men?! Why do you think it's okay to spit such vile words at us poor girls and break our hearts?! You should be ashamed! All you men should be ashamed!" And with that she ran towards her room and slammed the door shut, crying all the way.

"Everyone in this family is loco!" Matty fumed as he too went back to his room and also slammed his door.

The three adults were left reeling at what had just transpired, before Facundo solemnly picked up his hat and placed it on his head. "Well, it looks like our deal isn't going to happen after all. It appears that my family is not welcome here anymore, and I apologize for that."

"Don't worry Facundo." Héctor said as he patted the smaller man on the shoulder. "This isn't over. We'll talk about it later."

Facundo nodded. "Gracias, Héctor. Now if you'll excuse me I need to go home and beat my son into oblivion for hurting your girl."

Héctor nodded. "Right behind you, amigo."

"ATATA! No!" Imelda held up a hand and stopped both men in their tracks. "You two are not going to do anything to that boy, and we are also not going to do anything with Coco. We are just going to sit back and watch."

Héctor and Facundo looked at each other in puzzlement before turning back towards the scheming matriarch. "Imelda?"

Imelda smiled and entwined her fingers together. "Those two are head over heels in love with each other. Sooner or later their pride will falter and they'll be racing back into each other's arms. We just have to let this all unfold naturally. Trust me chicos, all will be well in the end."