Work Text:
“Phew!” said Mirabel, as she put away the basket she was carrying.
It was heavier than she anticipated, full of freshly washed laundry: blouses, trousers, dresses, ponchos – all the good stuff. Being the family of twelve, it wasn’t news to her that the Madrigals produced loads of dirty clothes on a daily basis. However, the load was greater than ever now that they were temporarily living in rented rooms, repaying the hosts’ kindness by doing all the house chores in their stead.
Which included washing their underwear. Thankfully, that was her Mama’s job; Mirabel was only asked to hang it.
The girl straightened her back and looked around the empty courtyard. When she spotted clothes ropes stretched between the trees, her face momentarily brightened. She quickly got to work, not complaining one bit, and even humming a cheerful melody every now and then.
She was less than half-way done when her peripheral vision registered movement. A quick glance told her that someone was attempting to approach her, one tentative step at a time. Before the figure could change its mind and turn away for the third time, Mirabel spoke up without looking up.
“Hey, Tio! You done with your chores already?”
Bruno flinched back as if his niece had spontaneously materialized right in front of him. Rubbing his forearm with his hand, he uttered back an awkward,
“H-Hola. I mean, yes, to your question. – Need some help?”
Stifling a chuckle, Mirabel gave him a quick side-glance. The poor man seemed unusually nervous, even for him. Like he was about to talk to a stranger at the bar, not to his own relative. What a decade of being a recluse can do to a person… Hopefully, giving him some space would help.
“With this?” asked Mira, laying Camilo’s poncho over the rope. “Nah, almost done.”
“Oh.” Her Tio shifted awkwardly, now scratching his elbow. “Mind if I ask something?”
Mirabel swallowed. No conversation that started with these words had ever ended well. From her prior experiences, Tio Bruno was either about to ask her a very personal question, or he had a huge favor to ask. If she was allowed to choose, she’d rather take the favor.
“Ask away,” she replied, smiling at him with encouragement.
Bruno considered her for a moment. Just as she was about to give him a gentle push, he opened up at last.
“O–okay. Well, you see, I have some free time, and a few good ideas, so… so I thought, hey, why not? And I’m doing it. Another play, I mean. For the theatre – y’know, with the rats? The kids kept asking me, and I said yes.”
His niece needed several seconds to organize his speech in her head and realize what exactly he was talking about. She recalled Tio Bruno’s encounter with the Encanto kids, when she introduced him to her little friends. The moment the children heard that her uncle used his pet rats to play scenes on a miniature stage, they went ecstatic. Initially, the man said no, explaining that he's busy trying not to be homeless. Evidently, he'd changed his mind since then.
“That’s great news!” stated Mirabel, beaming at him. “You’re gonna make Juancho and Alejandra very happy.”
“Yeah, right?” stated Bruno, scratching his chin thoughtfully. “But, well… It’s – It will be lots of work, still. With the sets and everything gone…”
Silently, she nodded, having already realized why her Tio was reluctant to agree to the kids' pleas. All his equipment was lost in the collapse. Along with tools, materials, and possibly several actors. He'd need assistance to start from scratches. And he asked for her help! Excitedly, Mira clapped her hands together.
“So, what would you like? What do you need?”
Bruno blinked, probably not used to receiving such a positive response. He stayed silent for a while, simply looking back at his niece. However, when he spoke at last, he sounded no less excited.
“Oh, you see, I have this general idea for the plot. But there are some tricky details. I can’t quite figure them out.”
The girl shook out her Tia’s skirt, so that it wouldn’t get wrinkled. The man waited patiently for her answer.
“I’d ask Camilo if he wants to give you a hand,” proposed Mira, pretending to be too busy to look him in the face. “He’s a great actor, you know? I bet you’ll have so much in common!”
Yes, Camilo was a great choice. Her Tio should be happy, satisfied with her recommendation.
But then, why wasn’t he? His expression was anything but contented.
“He is,” he said rapidly, probably because the silence had stretched way more than it should have. “True. But, um – he, he… he doesn’t get along with my rats.”
This indeed posed a problem. It was a rat theatre, after all.
“Oh, I didn’t know.”
With this new piece of information, Mirabel reconsidered. Good with rats, good with rats…
“What about Antonio?” she asked, surprised she hadn’t thought about him sooner. “He’s great with animals. He would make a great director, asking your pets to make all the right poses.”
Once again, her Tio seemed doubtful about the option she presented. Weird; she could have sworn him and Toñito liked each other.
“With no gift?” Tio Bruno raised a skeptical eyebrow.
Oh, shoot! Mirabel had almost forgotten. For her, a miraculous candle or not, there was no difference. But ever since Casita fell – ever since Mirabel inadvertently caused it to collapse… Her little cousin no longer talked to animals. Her Mama had no healing powers. Tio Bruno couldn’t predict tomorrow’s weather.
A sharp pang of guilt hit her between the ribs.
“Hmm, right. No poses. But still…”
“Um, sure…" The man found it hard to disagree. "But that’s for later. Now I need help with – well, with other things.”
“I see. You mentioned sets?” Tio Bruno nodded, prodding her to go on. “You probably haven't heard, but Luisa draws beautiful pictures. Characters, scenery, whatever you want. I’m sure she’d be glad to help you out!”
“Yes, she probably would,” the man reluctantly agreed. “But, um, she’s supposed to offer less help, right? I wouldn’t wanna bother her now.”
He was right, of course. The downside? They were running out of options.
“What about Isa?” Mirabel inquired, straining to find someone, anyone that her Tio would approve of. “She has loads – and I mean loads – of experience with decorations. And Dolores could help with the script. I’m telling you, she’s heard so many teary stories it would be enough material to write several books, let alone a single play.”
This was like an ideal combination – an all-hearing Dolores, a treasure trove of information, and Mira’s perfect sister. Nothing bad could come out of their collaboration. They were going to make Tio Bruno a spectacle the audience would never forget.
Happy with how things turned out, the girl hang out the last pair of socks and turned to check on her uncle, who remained suspiciously quiet. His wide eyes and extensive fidgeting told her Tio Bruno was close to panic. Thinking rapidly, Mirabel concluded she should definitely reach out to him, though probably with no urgent moves.
Before she could do anything, however, the man tapped his fingers on his arm and mouthed one of his self-soothing mantras. Small rituals like this one apparently helped to calm his nerves. For the girl – and any bystander, really – they just seemed weird. Like, the kind of stuff that always made people look away in discomfort. The important thing was, they helped Bruno put himself together and gather the courage – to raise his chin and tell the truth straight into Mira’s face.
“I’d rather not ask them, thank you.”
She raises her eyebrows in confusion. Worried creases appeared all over her face. He did so much for her; she truly wanted to help.
“What? Why?” asked Mirabel in a high-pitched voice. “Did they say something to you? Something unpleasant?”
“Wha–? No, no, no!” Tio Bruno waved his hands defensively. “Not what I meant – at all. It’s just that – well, um…”
Maybe he’s too shy, she thought eagerly – because this could be easily remedied.
“I can go and ask with you! Don’t worry, Tio; I’m sure they’ll say yes.”
“No!”
With this final exclamation, he made his niece abandon all hope. Despite her best efforts, she could not help him. She failed again, in an astonishingly short amount of time. True, this defeat wasn’t as grand as failing to save the candle, but still… it counted, adding to a long list of times she tried to prove her worth and failed miserably.
When Bruno leaned forward to meet her eyes, it took some effort to refocus her gaze on him. After she did, Mira realized that his expression was soft. And so was his voice. He spoke slowly, like he was talking to a child.
“I mean, you don’t have to, okay? Because – Because I…” He took a deep sigh and practically whispered the last part. “I want it to be you.”
“You want it…?” Her long face was soured with a frown. “I don’t understand.”
He smiled at her, and Mirabel could tell that it was sincere. So why was it so sad…?
“I’d rather you helped me,” Tio Bruno repeated, though not much louder. “If it’s not too much to ask. You have so much work, and I do, too, so we don’t spend much time together, and I – I… I miss you.”
“Oh.”
Maybe her response wasn’t the most eloquent, but it got the message across. She got what he was trying to say. She finally realized – even if she couldn’t fully grasp his reasoning. At a risk of sounding silly, the girl asked, wanting to make sure,
“Me? Really?”
This was a lot to take in. This man before her, her own uncle, hadn’t seen her in over ten years. An entire decade! And suddenly now, after they hadn't spoken for a couple of days, he missed her?
As strange as this sounded, Mirabel herself would be lying if she’d said that she hadn’t missed him, too.
“Yeah, sure, no problem. I have time. But…” The girl looked away, feeling her cheeks flush. She tried to cover it by playing with her hair. “Are you sure? Like, sure sure? Because, as you see, I’m not your best option here. I’ve never even done stage sets before! I shouldn’t be your first choice.”
Despite what she said, and despite all the other odds, Tio Bruno beamed at her. And while he did, he resembled a parent that looked at his grown-up kid with pride.
“Positive. I don’t care if it’ll be crooked, or discolored, or… or if it takes ten tries to get it right. I know you can do it. I’m sure of it! I want you, Mirabel.”
Was it just her or was Tio Bruno an expert in motivational speeches? Last time he told her so many pleasantries, most of which she strived to hear but never did, she nearly ran forward to hug him.
This time, she actually did.
“Is that a yes?” the man asked, chuckling into her ear. He embraced her back so firmly that it seemed unlikely he’d ever let go.
“Yeah,” replied Mirabel, suddenly feeling uncomfortably self-aware.
Sure, the girl was used to being all touchy-feely with her family – but this man? She met him less than a week ago. They were relatives, yes, but this situation was completely different - even though Mira sometimes tended to forget. Luckily, her Tio released her the moment she loosened her grip.
This is silly, Mirabel thought to herself. Since when was she so nervous around people, even if she barely knew them? Trying to hide her earlier discomfort, the girl play-punched her Tio on the shoulder.
“So, why don’t we start right away, huh?” she asked, picking up the empty basket. “Whaddaya say?”
Bruno beamed at her, wordlessly taking the basket from her hands. As they walked back to the house, Tio introduced her to his plans.
“First, I need to tell you all about the main plot. Oh, and I need to show you my drawing style, so that our pictures don’t clash. Just you wait until you meet the crew! Matias, Rico, Zacarias, Elena, Fiona, little Wendy… Well, there’s a lot of them, actually. But no worries, you’ll learn their names soon enough. This is gonna be so much fun!”
At the sight of his honest enthusiasm, his niece couldn’t help but start to be thrilled herself. While he kept explaining what they’re going to do together, she kept a close watch on him. Right now, Tio Bruno didn’t look like a man her Mama’s age. He was like a boy excited to try out his new game or new toy with a friend. She supposed that even something as little as being finally able to tell another person about his hobby was a huge event. No wonder – he’d waited for this long enough.
But why did he choose her of all people? Mirabel guessed she’d have enough time to figure that out.