Chapter Text
Julieta knew all three of her daughters like the back of her hand, it was one of the things she took pride in, so there was no doubt in her mind that there was something weighing on Isabela’s mind at the dinner table. She had been quiet and in her own little world since they sat down to eat, merely swirling her spoon around in her sopa rather than eating it and doing her best not to make eye contact with anyone, and Guillermo was no help at all. She had glanced over at him a number of times in an attempt to make out what was going on, but she’d been given nothing to work with. Of course, there was a chance that he was just as in the dark as to what was going on with his esposa as she was, but there was also a chance that he knew much more than he was saying.
Ay, who was she kidding?
Of course, he knew more about this.
Despite having only been married six short months, they had known one another for four years now since they met during the rebuild of their home. She deemed him a nuisance in the beginning, feeling all he did was get in the way and make more work for everyone with his clumsiness and inability to even hold a hammer up the right way, she told her so herself, but her feelings regarding him soon began to change. She found it hilarious when he tripped over something or tore into a packet of seeds with too much force, sending them everywhere, and it surprised her little when she came in one night and asked if she thought he could eat dinner with them.
Her little girl had fallen hard for him.
Why on earth it took them so long to get around to getting married, she had no idea, but she was pleased the two of them had let a good length of time go by before making such a choice. It would have been so easy for them to rush into things in the heat of the moment and make a mistake, one they may have come to regret in time, and so she felt they had gone about things in the correct way and she was proud of them for thinking so rationally about it. It was well worth the wait too, honestly, seeing her daughter so contenta and with someone who loved her for her, not only her talent and the family she came from, and reminded her of her worth daily.
It was the sound of a spoon being tapped lightly against the side of a glass that pulled her from her thoughts, causing her to glance the young couple’s way once again, and she was relieved to see Isa was smiling this time.
So, the reason for her being so quiet was a good thing after all.
She could breathe a little easier now.
Once he had the attention of the familia, Guillermo rose from his seat and moved to stand behind Isabela and she watched her daughter reach up and thread her fingers through his when he laid a hand upon her shoulder. “I, uh, I have no need to tell you that I am not the greatest with words because you all remember my wedding speech,” He brought his free hand to the back of his neck and rubbed it nervously, making her and the rest of the family chuckle. “But, not too long ago, Isa and I got some wonderful news and we wanted to tell you all at the time, but thought it would be better to keep it to ourselves for a little while just in case. I think both of us are too impatient to keep it secret anymore though, so we couldn’t be happier to tell you we’re having a baby.”
“A baby? You’re having a baby?” Mirabel gasped from the other end of the table.
Isabela nodded, laughing at her hermanita’s evident delight. “It should be here in late septiembre, early octubre if Gui and I have done our maths right, but neither of us are that good at it and so I wouldn’t quote us on it.”
“And how are you feeling?” Alma reached out and brushed her hair from her face, sitting next to her.
“Just a little tired,” Isabela shook her head. “I had an appointment with the doctor a couple of days ago and he said that things look excellente with me and the baby which is good. All I truly care about is it being healthy.”
Julieta was doing her best to listen to her familia while they asked Isa question after question and she answered them as best she could, but the second she heard they were expecting a baby she was overcome with emotion and all she could focus on was her little girl. It would have been a true understatement for her to say that she was thrilled at the announcement. Not only was she going to be an abuela, something she’d wanted for years, but her daughter was going to be a mamí and there were honestly no words for how delighted she was for her.
She could remember her going on and on as a child, only a little older than Antonio, about how she was going to be the best mother when she was older. Her dolls were her babies and she would treat them as such, always making sure they were comfortable and clean and well presented, and she never gave her a reason to doubt she would make a brilliant mamí to her own child when the time came. Of course, playing dolls and having a real baby to care for were not the same thing in the slightest, but she knew for a fact her daughter had it in her to be amazing. She was so warm, so nurturing and gentle, and those were all things that made up a good mother.
It would be foolish to think she would never make a mistake because she would, lots of them, and there were going to be moments when she felt she was failing and could do nothing right, but that was where she would come in. She would be there to pick her up when she was down, to hold her and make her see she was doing her best for her bebé and her little familia and that was all that mattered. It would be an emotional time for all involved, much like her own pregnancies had been, but there was no doubt in her mind that they would make it through together. It was the way their family had always handled things and that was never going to change.
Not as long as any of them were living.
It was nearing midnight when she was alone in la cocina, a candle burning next to her as she prepared the last couple of things for breakfast in the morning, and she looked up at the gentle pat of bare feet against the tiles only to see Isa there in her nightgown. “Mi vida? What are you still doing up? I thought you went to bed ages ago!” She wiped her hands quickly on her apron and turned to her as she entered the dimly lit room, opening her arms to her with a sigh at the look on her face. It seemed as though she had the cares of the world on her shoulders. Wrapping her arms around her when she all but fell into her embrace, she gently kissed her temple.
“I’m scared, mamá, I have so many questions and none of the answers to them,” Isabela said, in a voice thick with emotion as she curled her hands into her dress and tucked her head into her neck. “I love Gui and I love this baby, but it all happened so quickly and I never expected it to. I thought he and I would be married for a year at least before starting a familia, just like Lolita and Mariano, that was the way it was planned in my head and I liked that plan! I think what worries me the most is not knowing what to do. I don’t know how to be a mamí, I don’t know how to nurse or change or settle a bebé, and I’m worried Guillermo will be disappointed.”
Julieta smiled into her hair. “Do you think us women are born knowing how to do any of those things?”
Isa tilted her head back against her shoulder and looked up at her, closing her eyes when she brushed her hair from her face. “I think you were sometimes. You just always made it seem so easy when we were growing up.”
“Gracias, mi princesa, that’s kind, but I had to learn to be a mamá the same way your abuela and every mujer that came before me did,” Julieta pointed out, easing her away from her and taking her hand so she could lead her over to the table and they could sit down together. “I had already had some practice when your hermanitas arrived, but when I had you I had no idea what I was doing. I was only a few years older than you are now when I gave birth to you and I had a lot to learn. I had to learn to nurse you and I had to learn to bathe and change you along with many other things. It was hard and I was so tired, I won’t lie, but I loved every moment of it.”
“Did Papí help a lot with me?” Isabela raised an eyebrow. “I remember him helping with Lu and Mira.”
“I think your papí helped me more with you than he did your hermanitas,” Julieta told her with a nod. “I was able to do more on my own when they were born because it was second nature to me by then, but with you it was all so new and I needed a lot of help and encouragement. He would get up with you in the middle of the night sometimes just so I could sleep. I remember he used to carry you down to the music room and play the piano until you settled. He was always reminding me of what a good mother I was too though. He helped me to stop caring what people thought of me and to stop listening when they would give me unwarranted advice.”
Isabela brought a hand to her stomach, smiling to herself as she glanced down at where her child was growing safely within her. “Guillermo is the happiest I have ever seen him,” She almost whispered when she looked up at her mother again with tears brimming in her eyes. “He talks to the baby all the time and he can’t help but put his hand on my stomach when he’s around me. He loves this baby so much and it isn’t even here yet, so I can’t even imagine how much more he’s going to love it when it’s born and he gets to hold it. He is going to be the best papí, I know that already, and he has already promised me that he’s going to help when I need it.”
Julieta reached out and laid a hand on her knee. “You need to stop worrying then and just enjoy this, amor.”
“I know and I’m going to try, mamá, I really am.” Isabela assured her.
“Good,” Julieta leaned in to stamp a kiss onto her forehead. “Now, I think you should go and get some sleep.”
“Am I allowed to say that I think you should do the same?” Isabela asked with a smirk.
Julieta couldn’t help but chuckle at that. “I suppose I should. Why don’t we go up together?”
Wordlessly, sharing a smile, they rose from their chairs and tucked them in before she wrapped an arm around her daughter and let her cuddle up to her. She picked up a candle in order for them to be able to see as they left la cocina and walked through the courtyard, quietly making their way up the staircase when they came to it. Once they were outside her room, she took her arm from around her only to lift her hand to her cheek and brush her thumb against her skin. Her beautiful little girl. Her baby. She always made her so incredibly proud. “I want you to know you can always come to me if you ever need to talk,” She whispered. “I am always here.”
“I know, mamá, and I love you for it.” Isabela smiled, kissing her on the cheek. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
“You will. Buenos noches, mi vida.”
“Buenos noches.”
Turning around once she’d shared one last smile with her mother, Isabela opened the door to her room before walking inside and closing it carefully behind her. Casita turned up the lights ever so slightly so she could see where she was stepping as she made her way back to bed, but once she climbed in – careful not to knock her sleeping esposo – they turned back down and she hummed as she laid down next to him and got comfortable. Feeling relieved and as though she could get a little sleep now, she tucked a hand under her cheek and closed her eyes and that was when she felt Guillermo move closer to her beneath the covers and take her in his arms.
“You okay, querida?” He murmured in the darkness, clumsily kissing her neck as he brought her back against him and brought a hand to rest on her abdomen. “I could have sworn I heard you get up. Where did you go?”
“I needed to speak with mi mamá about something before she went to bed,” She laid a hand over his and felt her heart swell when he curled himself around her and held her a little tighter as she relaxed in his embrace. “I feel so afortunada to be getting to do this with you. Starting a familia, I mean. I was a little worried about it before, I admit it, but mamá really helped and I’m not worried about it as much anymore. I’m just so excited.”
“Good,” He buried his face in her neck. “You don’t need to be worried. You are going to be the best mamí…”
“I was more worried about letting you down than anything.” She sighed, lacing her fingers lazily with his.
He chuckled. “No, mi amor, you could never let me down.”
“You really mean that? Never?”
“Not ever.”