Who You Are: Camilo's Story (After Encanto)

Time For Dinner

As the sun was now setting, Camilo stood at the front of the Casita with the rest of his family, waiting anxiously for the Engels' arrival. There was a sense of déjà vu, and yet something in the air was so, very different. He could swear it wasn't just him feeling it either. It was as if everyone in his family was on edge about one thing or another. What concerned him the most was Dolores. He couldn't understand why, but she seemed determined to avoid making eye contact with him at all costs. Bruno's demeanor had not improved since this morning. In fact, it seemed to only have gotten worse. Julieta was not letting him out of her sight, nor was Pepa who kept glancing over at him from her husband's side.

'You can't avoid me forever!' she thought.

"Um...Peppy?" Félix asked. He pointed up towards the cloud over Pepa's head which was now beginning to drizzle. "I'm getting wet here," he said, kindly. Pepa looked up and shooed the cloud away.

Soon enough, Camilo could see the Engel family making their way up the trail toward the house with Cal leading the way. Mrs. Engel was two steps behind him, and their daughters followed behind her. Amalia was wearing a dress of light purple, and her dark hair was, once again, in a French braid. Hanna had on her pale pink dress. She had her hair tied into a high ponytail with a pearl hair clip and she wore tiny, white earrings. When Camilo saw her, he blushed a little. 'She looks so cute! This is gonna be a long night,' he thought. It pained him inside that he had to pretend there was nothing going on between the two of them just to save face in front of everyone. So, before Hanna went back to her house, he made sure to give her a loving kiss, despite Antonio also being present. But Antonio did not complain. He only gave a smirk at the sight of Camilo's red face afterward. As Hanna approached the Casita, she glanced over at Camilo and then at her sister. But Amalia's attention was on Mirabel instead. Hanna took this chance to give Camilo a warm smile.

'Ah, Bonita!' Camilo thought to himself as he grinned at her. Mirabel, however, was frowning at Amalia.

Alma went up to the family and said, "Bienvenido. Please, come in."

"Thank you," said Cal. Camilo turned to glare at him but was suddenly caught off guard. He was surprised to see something unusual in Cal's dark eyes as he stared at Alma. Was Camilo going crazy? Or was Cal...intimidated by her?

When the greetings had been exchanged, Agustín walked up to escort the family inside and Camilo followed behind Dolores. The long table had been set up near the kitchen area with 16 chairs all around it. Hanna gazed excitedly at all the delicious food Julieta had prepared, including Arroz con Pollo, meat-filled empanadas, and a mound of corn on the cob.

"This looks absolutely wunderbar!" Mrs. Engel said to Julieta.

Julieta smiled. "Gracias," she said kindly. "I had lots of help, of course."

They all took their places at the table. Hanna sat next to Amalia who sat next to their father. Mrs. Engel was sitting with her husband on one side and Bruno on the other. On Bruno's other side was Julieta and then Agustín. Pepa and Félix were on the other side of the table with Camilo next to his dad. Dolores was sitting next to Pepa, and Antonio was next to his sister. Alma sat at the front of the table with Mirabel on her right side. Next to Mirabel was Isabela and then Luisa who was also next to Hanna.

As both families were enjoying their dinner, Camilo heard Julieta making small talk with Mrs. Engel. "I'm guessing 'wunderbar' means 'wonderful'?" she asked, curiously.

"Yes, that's right," Mrs. Engel replied. "It's German."

"So...you're from Germany?" Bruno asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We are German-Colombian," Mrs. Engel explained. "We were all born and raised here in Colombia, but our ancestors immigrated from Germany. But about 20 years ago, even more Germans were evacuating the country. Just pouring into Colombia from all over! It was...during a very troubling time to say the least."