What's at Stake
Chapter 10 - What's at Stake
In Collin’s room, the party was going on strong. People were playing music, dancing, talking, mingling. In fact, Molly was first placing with her husband and second born son. Then she made her way to her mother-in-law, inviting her to dance.
“Come on, Abuela Vaggie!”
Vaggie laughed and complied, since she found Molly just so charming, as did so many other people in town. Of course, the jovial mood was disrupted thanks to a panicked voice cutting into the festive music.
“Vivienne is in danger!” Charlie pushed through the crowd, stopping when she found her grandmother. “Our home is in danger! The tiles were falling and there were cracks everywhere… and the candle almost went out.”
There were muttering in the crowd then, the Madrigal matriarch tucking herself in her gray scrawl. She said, “show me.”
However, when Charlie led Vaggie and, to an extent, everyone else to the outside, they all saw that everything was fine. No fallen tiles, no cracks, and no candle at risk of being out.
“What?” The blue bow blonde breathed out, disbelieving. She saw that the doors were glowing the same as always. “No, that’s-!” Then she ran to the bottom of the stairs and pointed upwards. “The cracks were there. They were everywhere. The house was in trouble, the candle was…”
Of course, no one really believed her. Verosika was particularly annoyed, crossing her arms and huffing.
“Abeula, I promise-“
Vaggie held up a hand. “That’s enough.” Then turning to the guests, “there is nothing wrong with la casa Madrigal. The magic is strong and so are the drinks.”
The crowd laughs a bit, which was what the elderly lady was hoping for. Then she urges, “music, please! A bailar! A bailar!”
“Husk,” Ozzie whispered, holding up the piano to the man in question.
The accident-prone man got to playing and the lively music picked up again quickly after. Everyone except for Mimzy, who knew she had something more important to think about and deal with. The healing chef took her daughter to the kitchen, hearing her out and whipping up a treat to help with the hurt hand.
“If it was all in my head, how did I cut my hand?” Charlie inquired. “I would never ruin Collin’s night, not unless it was an emergency. Or is the opposite of that really what you think?”
Mimzy turned over the pieces of dough on the stove. “What I think is that today was very hard for you.”
“That’s-!” The blue bow blonde stopped herself, just emitting a frustrated grunt. Then, “I was looking out for the family. And I might not be super strong like Ozzie or,” now with exaggerated hand gestures, “effortlessly perfect like senorita perfecta Verosika who’s never even had a bad hair day, but…” finally, she sighs and slumps against the counter. “Whatever…”
Mimzy joins her at her side, Vivienne passing over to them a plate with an arepa con queso and a sugar box. The mother reaches inside the box and sprinkles sugar on the treat.
“I wish you could see yourself the way I do,” the healing chef said as she passed the food item to the bummed-out girl. “You are perfect just like this.” As the recipient took a bite, the healer stroked her hair. “You’re just as special as anyone else in this family.”
Charlie held up her hand and showed the cut as it was healing. “You just healed my hand with an arepa con queso.”
Mimzy took the hand and squeezed it, holding it against her temple. “I healed your hand with my love for my daughter!”
A groan.
“With her wonderful brain…”
“Mom…”
“…big heart, cute bow…”
At feeling her mom tugging at her hair where the accessory would be, the blue bow blonde pleaded, “stop!”
Mimzy then curled her hands around Charlie’s head, prompting the daughter to squirm out of it.
“I know what I saw.”
At Charlie's insistence, the healing chef said, “Charlie, my brother Blitzo lost his way in this family. And now I can’t freely talk about him anymore…” A pause, seemingly overwhelmed with sadness. Then, “I don’t want the same for you. To happen to you. Please, get some sleep. You’ll feel better tomorrow.”
Charlie couldn’t get herself to argue anymore. Not when she's seeing her mother choke up like that. So now the blue bow blonde was in the nursery, in her bed. However, it was difficult to get some sleep, especially when she was still plagued by what she had seen. It was until, finally, the restless girl couldn’t take it anymore and got out of bed.
Charlie looked at the candle and decided to freaking climb up on the roof and walk up to where that window is. Of course, when she got next to it, that was the same moment Vaggie came to the window. Upon seeing her grandmother, the blue bow blonde pressed herself against the wall, curling down. Luckily, it seemed that the Madrigal matriarch was a little too preoccupied, taking out a locket with a picture of Millie in it and looking at her lost loved one.
“Ay, Millie, my Mildred… I need you… cracks in our casita… if our family knew how vulnerable we truly are… if our miracle is dying… we cannot lose our home again.” A sigh. “Why is this happening? Open my eyes. If the answer is here, help me find it. Help me protect our family. Help me save our miracle.”
Finally, Vaggie closed the locket and kissed it before going back inside. Charlie watched on, then focusing on the candle after her grandmother left.
The blue bow blonde declared, “I will save the miracle. Don't you worry."