A Camilo Madrigal Story: Josephine's Dream

Chapter 9: Josephine

A week passed, and it was time to give Dolores her wedding gift. All of the Madrigal sisters told Dolores to wait at the Madrigal encanto while they hurried down to the art studio to wheel her painting in. The Irene sisters stayed with her, and she kept asking them questions,

"How big is it? Will it fit in my new room?" Dolores asked, and Mabel and Josephine exchange looks,

"It's a surprise!" They said at the same time, and Dolores huffed, mocking impatience. They were all seated in the center of the encanto, and even Mariano was there. Josephine looked around the room. She spotted her little sister and little brother sitting close, whispering excitedly between themselves, and she found her mother and father chatting away with the other adults. A few other families, like Cecelia's mother, there, too, and Josephine smiled at them, giving Cecelia little wave. The little girl giggled and waved back.

And then Josephine spotted Camilo. He was near the back, and Antonio was in his lap. He was laughing at something his little brother had said, and when he looked up and met Josephine's eye, his laugh faded. He stared at her for a while, before gave her a small smile and nod, before turning back to Antonio.

Josephine's heart was beating fast as she quickly turned away.

What is wrong with me? I can't want him, I already told him that. Josephine thought, and she noticed Mabel was giving her a funny look. She raised her eyebrow, but Josephine just shook her head, not wanting her sister to know what was going through her mind at the moment.

Camilo, Camilo, Camilo.

If Josephine had a magical room, she was sure his face would be plastered all over her walls right now.

"They're here!" Mabel whispered excitedly, pointing to Luisa, who was wheeling in the giant painting, covered by a white sheet. Isabela and Mirabel followed her, and Mirabel sat down next to Josephine.

"I really hope she likes it." She said, nervously biting at her nails. Josephine put her hand on Mirabel's shoulder,

"How could she not? We are artistes, are we not?" And the girls giggled. Dolores had left her spot next to the Irene sisters, and she was now standing near her gift. Isabela clasped her hands together,

"The Irene sisters and the Madrigal sisters, also including some other little girls," Isabela began, winking at Cecelia, "Worked very hard on this. It's a wedding gift, to celebrate your marriage with Mariano. We love you, Dolores, and we hope you like it!" And with that, Isabela nodded at Dolores, who pulled the sheet off of the painting.

The room collectively gasped, and Dolores stared at it in admiration. The painting was of Dolores, well, only a silhouette of her, surrounded by dancing butterflies and vines. At the bottom, everyone had signed their name in a different color, adding to the magic of the painting.

"You guys..." Dolores started, her voice trailing off as her eyes began to fill with tears. She wrapped Isabela in a hug, and then invited the rest of the girls to join the embrace. Josephine hung on a little bit longer than everyone else, and she grinned at Dolores,

"So? Do you like it?" She asked. Dolores put a hand to her heart, and gave a loving smile,

"It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen!" She cried. Dolores's husband came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist,

"I love it, mi amor. It will look perfect in our new room, right across from the bed." He murmured, putting his head on Dolores's shoulder. She blushed and Mariano kissed her cheek gently.

"O-kay, I'm going to leave you two alone now." Josephine said, playfully rolling her eyes at the couple. Dolores's pulled away from Mariano, and gave Josephine one more tight hug,

"Thank you." She whispered, and Josephine squeezed Dolores, hoping she knew how much Josephine loved her.

Josephine said goodbye to Mariano and Dolores, and walked back to her usual 'gang'— Mirabel and Mabel. This time, Layla was standing with them, and she was holding a large bouquet, fixed with hues of purple, orange and green.

"For tomorrow. Isabela made them." The youngest Irene smiled. Josephine took her sister's hand, and smiled at the flower-growing Madrigal over her shoulder. Isabela winked at her, and then went back to talking to Carlos.

Josephine had noticed that the two of them had grown closer, and she wondered if it was because Isabela had feeling of attraction towards her (very obnoxious) older brother, of if it was because she was a very kind person. Whatever it was, Carlos did look very happy standing next to her.

They look like a couple already. Josephine confessed, gagging a little. She loved Isabela, but she thought she deserved better. Better than Josephine's annoying, snobby brother.

Well, maybe girls find those qualities attractive. Maybe Isabela really does like my brother. Josephine wondered. She knew for sure Carlos had a thing for Isa, but who knew if those feeling were one-sided.

The Irenes were invited to stay for dinner, but they had to decline, for they had a party to prepare for. Josephine's mother ushered her family out the door, and began to instruct each kid with a task,

"Carlos, I need you and Nico to go into the market and retrieve that cake I requested the other day. I have already paid for it, so all you two need to do is take the two-tier, almond strawberry cake, with the pink icing. And I need you to pick up the fancy laced napkins, down at Maureen's. Can you do that for me?" Marta asked the two boys, who nodded solemnly. Everyone rememberd the last time they tried to get a cake for Mabel's 12th birthday. They had grabbed the wrong box, and the family had ended up eating a toffee-banana chocolate cake with fancy iced letters that read: Congratulations, Barb!

The cake was pretty good, though, in Josephine's opinion. The boys started for the market, and Marta Irene turned to the rest of her family,

"Mabs, you are in charge of decorations. Oh perfect, Layla has Isa's flowers. Lay, Juno, you two... help Mabel, and please stay out of trouble. Julio, I need you to do... that thing we talked about." Marta said, subtly, winking at her husband, who winked back and started back towards the Irene house, followed by the rest of Josephine's siblings. "And Jos, you're going to come with me to the dress shop, down the road. We can pick out a sweet 16 gown for you, mi amor!"

Josephine swelled with joy. She had been waiting for this day for a long time, and by the end of tomorrow, she would finally be 16 years old.

Her party was tomorrow, and all of her friends were invited, including their families. So of course the Madrigals would be there. The party was at the Irene's house, which wasn't as ginormous as the Madrigal casita, but it was a moderately large house. There was going to be mango-berry punch (Josephine's favorite), games, music (a playlist Mabel had put together for her), lots of food, and more.

Josephine tried her best to contain her excitement as she followed her mother to the dress shop.

ooh, another bday! what will go down at josephine's party?? another kiss perhaps?? ;)

please comment i love feedback from yall!

stay safe and love you! <3