"Welcome !" you put on your brightest smile to welcome the new client, not realizing it was your best friend.
"Dolores ?" you tilt your head as your best friend waves at you from the shop's door, holding a piece of fabric you couldn't identify.
"Hola, (Y/n). It's pretty busy today here." she greets you with a quick hug, then motioning to the dozens of clients present.
"Eh, Antonio's ceremony is tonight ! People are panicking and searching for things to bring to the party. My mom said that the day of Mirabel's ceremony, it was true chaos."
Dolores chuckles as you have to divert your attention to a client frantically ringing the counter bell. You playfully roll your eyes, leaving her browsing through the new products to find your place back behind the counter.
"Hola, Señorita Sanchez." you smile tiredly to the lady, who didn't look too pleased with you.
"Finally ! What took you so long ?"
You blink once, suddenly annoyed by her precious behavior. "The other tones of clients needing help, Señorita."
She eyes you, taking in your disheveled hair and dark eyebags, and clicks her tongue. "Hurry up. I don't have all day."
"I'll serve the Señora, (Y/n). You can take a quick break." your mother gently pushes you aside, giving the customer a terrifying smile. The lady shudders, suddenly acting shy, and you quietly snicker. Your mother was scary, and well-known for her sharp mouth, so few were the people who dared to upset her. It was a rule among the villagers : never touch a hair of Beatriz Hermoza's children, or you were done for.
"Your mom is so scary, (Y/n)." Dolores, who heard all of it, chuckles as you stand behind her, watching as she searches through the shelves for what she wanted. "She makes me think of mine, everyone is scared to upset her."
You snort. "Whatcha searching for ?"
"A gift for Tonito. I already have one, but Camilo forgot where he put his, so I had to run here and find another one for him. I'm such a good sister."
"That's not even a question, of course you are. But I'm wondering..."
She hums, still looking through the products.
"Why are you looking to buy a gift for Antonio in the makeup section ? Last time I checked, he wasn't too enthusiastic at the idea of letting you paint his face."
She stops for a moment, as if she just realized what she was doing, before resuming her search. "Well, I thought that if I came here, I might as well help you prepare for the ceremony."
"Me ? I'm good, thanks."
Dolores ignores you as she hands you some cream you never heard of. Your mother was the one who was in charge of the makeup section.
"What do I do with that ?" you almost drop it as you read the instructions on the tube.
"You hold it until I find everything I want. Since I can't 'paint' Tonito's face, yours will do."
You sigh as she ignores your protests, to focused on her quest. You weren't against wearing makeup, but you weren't used to it and everytime you tried it, you'd scream when you'd see your face in the mirror, not recognizing yourself nor the visage you learned to love.
But at least, it would be funny.
Dolores then dragged you to the toys section, chose a wooden figurine of a tiger in two seconds, and headed to the counter to talk to your mom, paying for everything she made you carry.
"Hola Tía Beatriz !" She gave her a grin, and your mom returned it. She was always proud of you for befriending a Madrigal, even though you didn't do it on purpose. It just happened, and if you were glad of it, it had no link to Dolores being part of the all-mighty family.
"Hey there, Dolores. What brings you here ?"
Well, first of all, groceries ? you roll your eyes.
You narrow your eyes as Dolores smiles widely, knowing she was up to something.
"Does (Y/n)'s shift end soon ?" she says in an angelic voice, and your mother's eyes soften.
"Oh, sweetie, (Y/n)'s shift ends with mine, in two hours or so."
"What ?" Dolores gives her puppy eyes, looking disappointed. You snort quietly, knowing damn well your best friend was already aware of your busy schedule. "I thought we could have left to prepare for the party. It's not everyday my little brother will get a gift, you know ?"
Your mother frowns at you, unsure. There were less and less clients, but still too much for her to take care of them alone. And you didn't want to let her deal with that.
"It's fine, Dolores." you start. I don't need much time to put on a dress, you know ?"
"Hey, amor." your father suddenly passes the door and walks towards his wife, not knowing he had fallen into a death trap.
"Diego." Your mother was still angry at him for throwing glitters everywhere in the living-room, rightfully so, as the floor was still a bit sparkly. Those things were impossible to clean. "Why don't you come here and cover your daughter's shift ?"
Dolores didn't need to hear more to pull you out of the shop at the speed of light, leaving your poor father dealing with your mother. He hated taking care of the shop, not knowing how to talk to people and always convincing them the product they were buying wasn't that great. He was a bit too honest.
"Where we going now ?" you struggle to talk as Dolores keeps dragging you behind her, running like a mad woman.
Maybe she was mad. Was she ? Were you ? You didn't care. You just needed to now your direction so you could race her to it.
"La Casa Madrigal !" she answers with a giggle, but you had already overtaken her, sprinting towards the house at full speed.
You were free for the day, thanks to Dolores, and now all that filled your mind was the ceremony tonight.
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