Camilo x Reader -Broken Reflection

Chapter 23 (Mr. Muñoz's past)

Y/N'S POV

"Sweep up the dirt when you're done, will you?" Mr. Muñoz asked. He was bustling around the shop, just as he seemed to do near the end of every month. My boss was the type of person that liked to redecorate and rearrange things whenever he was stressed or bored.

I'd told Mr. Muñoz about what Abuela had said to me, and though a week had passed, I could feel my chest squeeze every time I was around him because of his stress. His curls were greyer than usual, and new lines had formed on his generally youthful face. Though I knew that he valued my company, I didn't expect him to be so distraught about the possibility of me quitting my job.

He'd taken off his signature grey vest and was trying to shift his desk across the room. His collared shirt was rolled up to his elbows, and dark sweat stains dampened the cloth on his back and underarms.

"Don't overdo it," I said to him as I peered over my own desk. My boss let out a little grunt as his desk scraped the ground but shifted a few inches to the left. The items on his desk rattled. Spools fell and his sewing machine nearly tipped over. He pushed the desk a few more feet and the machine wobbled again.

"Edward!" I yelled. My boss halted at my use of his first name.

"What?"

"You're going to break something," I sighed and stood up. I made my way across the shop to the poor man's desk and lifted his sewing machine with a little grunt. I placed it on the ground near the large window that peaked out onto the quiet street.

The hot afternoon sun beat through the window and I wondered why my boss chose to rearrange the furniture on that day when all I could think about was how hot it was. The ceiling fans pushed cool air around the room, but they may as well have been broken.

I approached my boss with my hands folded together behind my back and watched him shift and struggle for a few moments, ignoring the pity I started to feel.

"It's like, 40 degrees outside," I told him after a while. He huffed in response. "Why don't you take a break, Mr. Muñoz? Would you like some tea maybe, or..."

I trailed off, watching as his loafers slid on the tiled floors and the desk didn't budge. He'd completely used up his energy. He slowly slid down to the ground and folded his legs to his chest. I sat down next to him.

"Do you wanna tell me what's going on?"

"What, you can't feel it?"

"...I can," I replied after a few moments. I watched my boss pull his handkerchief from his pocket and mop sweaty his forehead with thin fingers. His curls clung to his forehead with sweat. Even when he used to rearrange the shop, he never did it with such urgency.

"It's not a secret," he told me. "Everyone in town knows about the pressure Abuela puts the Madrigals under." I nodded slowly as he spoke. "I grew up in this town. I know almost everyone. I help almost everyone. The family you live with is a good one, darling. Everyone is kind and generous. But something's just not right."

"How do you know that?" I asked. Mr. Muñoz wiped his forehead again.

"I knew it as soon as your friend- Mirabel didn't get a gift. It was weird. Everyone brushed it off, but now that you have one?"

"I get it. It's fishy," I conceded.

"But Abuela built this town from dirt. What she says goes." I nodded. "I just don't want you to lose your job, especially now that you're truly happy... you deserve happiness," he said, looking down at his hands. I could feel my chest ease as his stress started to recede. Sadness replaced the pressure on my chest. I'd come to see that my boss felt many emotions at once and had trouble deciphering them.

"I doubt Abuea will actually make me quit," I told him. I reached out to gently hold his hand. I gave him a small smile. "I won't leave you alone, no matter how much you try to shake me off."

We both chuckled sadly.

"I wouldn't doubt it," Mr. Muñoz confessed. When I furrowed my brows, he continued to say, "see, Abuela knows me personally."

"Of course she does. You clothe the whole village."

"No, I mean..." he paused and seemed to consider if what he was going to say was worth it. It must have been because he continued. "I dated one of her children."

I stared at my boss for a few long moments. Mr. Muñoz was human. The village was small. He was a respectable man who was seeking a relationship with someone else. So why did it come as a shock? He was unmarried but successful. Somehow, I couldn't imagine Julieta or Pepa dating him. Félix was always a voice of reason for Pepa. Agustín would always need Julieta.

He must have understood my surprise because he let out a little chuckle again. This time it was much more lighthearted and I couldn't have been more glad to see that he was happier.

"It was a long time ago, back when we were teenagers," he explained. "We thought it would be best to keep our relationship private, so we didn't really tell anyone."

I couldn't help but smile a little as I imagined my boss and one of my somewhat aunts strolling together on the streets with intertwined fingers. Mr. Muñoz's smile faded after a few moments.

"I'm sure you can anticipate it, but obviously it didn't work out. Abuela found out and forced us apart because she wanted all of her children to focus on their gifts." He gave a little shrug as if he were trying to convince himself that he was over it. Maybe it was. Sometimes it's just nice to fantasize about the past.

"Do you still talk to her?" I asked after a while. Mr. Muñoz furrowed his brows.

"Who?" He asked. "Abuela? No, not really."

"I mean your ex-girlfriend," I said with a little chuckle.

That was when my boss laughed- yes, actual laughage. And I didn't know what was so damn funny because I felt a little bad for the guy.

"Oh, you're mistaken, dear," he said after he was able to calm himself. He wiped a little tear from the corner of his eye. "I dated Bruno."