While Mirabel assured everyone that she was "fine", Isabela and Luisa were not entirely pleased with how their sister was, once again, getting the short end of the stick for doing nothing. They waited until they were back at the Casita to confront Camilo about it. But when they interrogated him, he was completely lost. "I don't know how that happened! I swear!" he said as they glared at him.
"A likely story," said Isabela, folding her arms.
"Hold on," said Luisa, calmly. "Why don't we just go back to the beginning?"
She then looked over at Camilo, her eye on the brink of twitching again. "Explain how this all started again," she said.
Camilo sighed and told them about the day of his first date with Hanna. She had told him to meet her in the town, but he was just too impatient and wanted to go and get her from the summer house himself. Dolores advised him to go as Mirabel so that no one had to know that Hanna was with a boy. But their time together ended up being longer than what was anticipated, and it was confirmed soon afterward that Amalia was, as suspected, quite protective, and even a little overbearing. He then confessed that when he visited their house to deliver arepas to Hanna, the mother asked for Mirabel to come inside and comfort her daughter, but he went in instead. He told them that he had promised not to shapeshift into Mirabel again after that, but for some strange reason, Amalia's opinion of Mirabel just got worse.
"So, Hanna came home late one night! So what?" Camilo said. "I don't know why the sister is targeting Mirabel after one little mistake."
"Okay. Okay," Isabela said, clenching her eyes shut and pinching the bridge of her nose in disbelief. "I'm gonna choose to ignore the fact that you used your Gift to sneak into their house. But only for the time being," she added, calmly yet still rather irritably.
Camilo said nothing to this and merely stared at Isabela, waiting for what she would say next.
She then looked at him as if he had gone crazy and asked, "But did you honestly think that if Hanna came home late that her family would be happy to let her go out for a...' talk' with you at night?"
Camilo didn't answer. He then realized he didn't even ask Hanna if she had had any trouble meeting up with him. She just said that she would. And she did.
With her arms still folded, Isabela furrowed her eyebrows and looked down at the floor, thinking hard. "But something's still not adding up here," she said. "It feels like we're not getting the full picture." She then looked up towards the balcony and at Dolores's door.
"Dolores?" she called at a normal volume.
Dolores then came out of her room. "Yes?" she asked, looking down from the balcony.
"I assume you know what we're discussing," said Isabela.
"Yes," Dolores said once again.
"Well, do you mind filling in the blanks for us?" Isabela asked.
Casita formed a staircase for Dolores to descend right from where she stood. When she came down to join them, she then told them everything she heard the previous night. She briefly mentioned as well that Antonio was the one to help Hanna out of the house.
Camilo was stunned.
"But wait...," he said. "You're saying Hanna almost didn't make it to the bridge on the night we...?" he couldn't finish his sentence. Instead, he blushed slightly at the memory of the garden.
"Hanna said she was going to hang out with Mirabel again, and Amalia didn't like that," said Dolores. "She thinks Mirabel is encouraging Hanna to...act unusual. And not in a good way."
"So that's it!" Luisa said, her eyes wide.
Dolores nodded. She looked over at Camilo and said, "Hanna said she was always dependent on her sister. Right? She has never expressed a desire to be anywhere without her before. And she probably has never been so far away that Amalia couldn't see her. Up until recently, that is."
"Maybe the sister is jealous of Mirabel!" said Camilo, shrugging.
"It's a possibility," said Dolores.
"Well, she did tell Hanna not to get close to anyone in our family, didn't she?" said Camilo.
Isabela scoffed at this. "Did she now?" she asked, looking at Camilo as if she wanted to laugh.
Camilo shook his head at her, unamused.
"Well, maybe someone should ask Amalia to go on a little playdate too," Isabela said. "After all, why should your querida be the only one who gets to socialize outside her family? I volunteer!" She raised her hand into the air.
"Fine by me," Camilo said, completely unphased. "Do whatever you want."
"I will," Isabela declared. "But you'd better patch things up with Mirabel while we're gone!" She flipped her long hair, then turned around to walk out of Casita and towards the summer home. "Let's go, Luisa!" she called.
Luisa raised her eyebrows at Isabela but then strode on up to follow her, and they were off.
When there were only two of them left, Dolores suddenly thought about how Amalia spoke Mirabel's name. Why did she sound suspicious?
"Camilo?" Dolores asked.
Camilo turned to look at her. "Yeah?" he asked.
After a pause, Dolores asked, "Are you sure that no one saw you coming from the house after visiting Hanna?"
Camilo frowned. As he thought back, he realized he was not exactly paying close enough attention to his surroundings.
"Um...pretty sure," he said, unconvincingly.
Then there was a moment of awkward silence.
"Hmph," Dolores squeaked. "I hope so for your sake," she said, quietly, almost in singsong.
Camilo ruffled his hair, feeling very uneasy. "Um..." he said. "I'm gonna go apologize to Mirabel."
"Good idea," said Dolores.
Camilo went over to ascend the conjured stairs to Mirabel's room and knocked on the door.
"Come in," said Mirabel's voice on the other side.
Camilo opened the door. "Hey," he said, peaking in. Dolores watched as he hesitantly went inside and closed the door behind him.
Now Dolores was on her own again. She climbed up the self-conjuring stairs herself to listen to the voices outside from the balcony. She was curious to know if Amalia would accept Isabela's invitation. She waited and waited. 'They've gotta be arriving at the house by now,' she thought. She tilted her head up to listen. Finally, Isabela and Luisa could be heard approaching the house. Isabela was humming to herself.
Then the doorbell rang.
"Iche komme. I'm coming," Mrs. Engel said.
Dolores heard the door open and Mrs. Engel's little gasp of surprise.
"Hola, Señora," Isabela said.
"Oh my!" said Mrs. Engel, breathlessly. "To what do we owe the pleasure?"
Dolores looked smug. Isabela had the mother, hook, line, and sinker. Her cousin truly was capable of charming just about anyone.
"My sister and I were hoping we could talk to Amalia. Is she home?" Isabela asked, politely.
"Amalia, dear?" Mrs. Engel called.
Dolores could hear descending footsteps from the staircase.
"Oh!" Amalia said, a little taken aback. "It's you."
"Hola," Isabela said once more, in a friendly voice. "I thought maybe the three of us could take a short walk together. What do you say?"
There was a pause.
"Um...I'd like to but...I'm a little busy right now. I have to practice," said Amalia.
"Starting now?" asked Luisa. "But the festival is not for another few weeks."
"I'm aware of that," said Amalia. "But...I mustn't let myself get distracted. I'm sorry."
"Amalia!" said Mrs. Engel. "Don't be rude!"
"No, no," Isabela said, kindly. "It's alright. Maybe some other time?"
There was a pause. "Um...sure. Of course. Good day," said Amalia.
Dolores then heard someone walking away. 'Probably Amalia,' she thought.
"I'm terribly sorry about that," Mrs. Engel said.
"That's okay. Don't worry about it," said Luisa, kindly. "We'll see you and your family at dinner tomorrow night, if not sooner."
"Oh, yes. We are...very much looking forward to it," Mrs. Engel said. "You two are Julieta's daughters, am I right?"
"That's right," said Isabela.
"Would you mind returning this to her?" asked Mrs. Engel. "The boy...Camilo? He was so kind to bring this basket full of arepas over here the other day. Tell your mother that they were quite delicious."
"Oh, certainly," Isabela said. "She'll be most happy to hear that."
"And...tell Camilo...," Mrs. Engel added, hesitantly. "Tell him I said thank you for being so concerned about Hanna. He... seems like a very nice boy."
Dolores grinned.
"I'll be sure to tell him," said Isabela. "Well, enjoy the rest of your day."
"The same to you, ladies," Mrs. Engel said. "Good day." And she closed the door.
At that moment, Dolores heard the voice she was dreading most.
"Who was that?" asked Cal.
"Agustin's daughters," Amalia said, simply.
"Ah. And what did they want?" he asked.
"Nothing...," said Amalia.
"Nothing?" asked Cal, unbelieving.
"They...wanted to talk to me for some reason," said Amalia, hesitantly.
"Well, that's no surprise. You're as popular as ever," Cal said, a little proudly. "But you need to focus."
There was a pause.
"I know that. I'm going to go practice in my room," said Amalia.
"That's a good girl," said Cal.
Amalia's footsteps were on the stairs.
Dead silence.
Then Dolores heard Cal say in a much colder tone of voice, "You know the rule."
"Not in the house. I know, Father," Hanna said, quietly.
Dolores's eyes widened as she strained to listen. She gripped the balcony railing tightly with both hands.
Cal spoke once more. "Admittedly, I was surprised. Everyone in town was talking about how you gave quite the show with that little stick of yours," he said in almost a business-like fashion. "Well, you've made your bed, now lie in it. Think you can give a spectacular performance to something that doesn't walk on four legs? Then show me. But I'll make one thing perfectly clear." After a pause, he spoke slowly. His deep voice was quiet, yet the intimidation was still there. "Your family has a reputation to uphold. To make even one mistake is not an option. Do you understand that?"
"Yes, Father," Hanna said, monotonously.
"Off with you then," Cal said, dismissively. Hanna could be heard making her way up the stairs and into her room.
"Dolores?" said a deep voice from nearby.
Dolores gasped. She whipped around to see Mariano standing right behind her.
"Mariano!" Dolores exclaimed quietly. She put a hand over her heart. "How did you get in here?" she asked in one breath.
"The front door was open," Mariano said, pointing over his shoulder with his thumb. "It feels like ages ago since I last saw you and I just couldn't bear it... any longer..." He trailed off as he saw her terrified expression.
He then took her in his broad but gentle arms. "Is everything okay, querida?" he asked softly.
Dolores eventually relaxed. "Yes, Amor," she said, hugging him back. "And I'm sorry. I have been...quite distracted lately."
"I noticed! You didn't even acknowledge me until I was right behind you," said Mariano.
Dolores didn't say anything. She merely rested the side of her head on his chest as she continued to embrace him.
"I'm so sorry," she repeated.
"It's alright," Mariano said in a soothing voice. "I'm sure you have your reasons. But just remember, you don't have to deal with so much on your own anymore. If there's...anything I can do..."
"Aww, you're so thoughtful," Dolores said, smiling. "But I'm alright. Things are just...a little complicated right now.
"How so?" Mariano asked, curiously.
"My brother, Camilo is in love," Dolores answered.
Mariano looked down at her in surprise. "Really?" he asked with a smile.
"Yes," said Dolores.
"Why is that complicated?" Mariano asked, bewildered. "He's a nice kid. There's no reason for the one he loves not to love him back."
"You're absolutely right," said Dolores, smiling back at him. "But there's ... more to it than that. And that's why I'm..."
"Just looking out for your loved ones," Mariano finished for her. He grinned and said, "I shouldn't expect any less from you."
He then kissed her on the cheek. "Do you need me to go?" he asked.
Dolores looked into his kind, brown eyes. "No," she whispered, shaking her head slightly. She rested her head against his chest again and closed her eyes. "Please. Stay with me a little bit longer," she said.
"Whatever my princesa needs," Mariano said, quietly.
He and Dolores continued to stand on the balcony, holding each other. Camilo watched them from outside Mirabel's room, having heard everything they said. He wanted to thank his sister, properly, for always looking out for Hanna. But it looked like Mariano let himself in and got to her first. 'Oh well,' he thought. 'It'll have to wait.'
After watching them for a moment, he then went over to Antonio's door and walked into his jungle room. He found his little brother sitting cross-legged on the floor of his treehouse, surrounded by his animal friends, including Parce.
Antonio saw Camilo had come in. "What's wrong, Camilo?" he asked, worriedly. "Is Hanna okay?"
Camilo walked up to Antonio and gave him a warm smile. "She's fine," he assured him. 'At least I hope so,' he added to himself. Antonio sighed in relief.
Camilo sat down next to his little brother and said, "You know? A little birdie told me that you've been helping her so that she and I could spend time together."
"The animals talk to you too?" asked Antonio, with a half-smile.
Camilo chuckled. He then pulled Antonio into a headlock and gave him a friendly noogie on the head. Antonio giggled.
"You're my favorite person in the world! You know that?" Camilo asked, lovingly.
"What about Hanna?" Antonio asked.
"That's...a little different," Camilo said, keeping his hold on Antonio. "You'll understand when you're older."
As Antonio sat in his brother's arms, Camilo thought of something. "Have you been watching her the whole time?" he asked.
"No. But Carlos has," said Antonio. He then held out a hand to the floor and the anole made itself known among the crowd of other animals and climbed up Antonio's arm. Camilo looked at the bright green reptile, curiously.
"He's been curious about her since the day she came here," Antonio said. "He said she looked sad when you didn't notice her."
Camilo looked down at his brother. "Wait...what?" he asked, trying to think back. "When was that?"
"The same day you told us all that you liked her," said Antonio. "The same day that you had her eyes. You were by the river, looking sad. She was right there, outside her window. But you didn't see her. And she looked sad as you walked away."
Camilo was completely stunned. He finally remembered. He was so insecure about his feelings for Hanna and about his own self-worth that day. The memory of seeing his reflection in the river filled his mind. If only he had the courage to look up at that moment, he would've seen her, probably trying to smile at him.
"Wow," he said quietly, still holding onto Antonio. "I think I just realized something about myself. I'm an idiot."
"Carlos said that too," said Antonio.
"Thanks, Carlos," Camilo said sarcastically at the anole perched on his brother's arm. But at the same time, he truly meant it. Camilo then promised himself to never look down for so long again. He would make sure of that.