11. Chapter 11

AN: Sorry this took so long! Enjoy!

Isabela had insisted on taking Luisa on a picnic into the trees, like they had done when they were younger, before life's responsibilities got in the way of everything.

These trips - trips that Agustín used to take them on when they were too young to be alone - had been what started Isabela's love of flowers, and the memories of time with her Papa and both of her sisters - Mirabel had been just a baby on some of the trips - would always be held close to her heart.

When Tía Pepa had announced a self-care day for the kids, Luisa had looked absolutely and completely lost. Isabela was annoyed because Mama had told her and Luisa that they weren't allowed to sit with Mirabel, which meant she had to come up with something else to do.

"What do I do for self-care?" Luisa asked Isabela quietly.

Isabela was in the middle of braiding her hair. "Whatever you like to do for fun." She shrugged. Luisa didn't answer, and Isabela turned to look at her. "What?" She asked, confused.

"I don't… I don't know what I like to do." Luisa's voice sounded lost.

Isabela had half a mind to go and track Abuela down and give her a piece of her mind, but that isn't what Luisa needed right now.

"Well, we will just have to try stuff and see what you like." Isabela tried to keep her voice upbeat. "Today, you'll come with me."

"Where? What are you doing?"

"It's a secret." Isabela declared. "You'll find out soon enough. Just dress to be able to walk a distance."

Luisa still seemed hesitant. "It's a self-care day. You don't need to be babysitting me. I'll just go to the house and-"

"Absolutely not." Isabela cut her off. "Luisa, you've worked so much that you don't even know what you like to do. You aren't going to fix that by working more."

"Isa-"

"Nope. Plus, spending time with my sister isn't babysitting. I've failed one sister already, I won't fail you too. Get ready. We leave soon."

Isabela walked away, not leaving the decision up for discussion.

When Luisa was ready, Isabela led them out. It didn't take long for Luisa to remember their old trips, and she settled into the walk, both quiet for the most part, enjoying time away from the town and the building of the house and their large family.

When they finally sat down for lunch, Luisa commented, "This was a good idea, Isa. Thanks for letting me come with you."

Isabela shrugged. "It's nice to get away from the crowds and the eyes and the expectations."

Luisa nodded. "The town - even without our gifts, they expect much from us. Like they don't realize we don't have them anymore, even though we've told them."

Isabela agreed. There were still townspeople who would complain about the weather when they knew Pepa was around, who would complain about having to walk further to the one bridge, who would complain because the Madrigals were sleeping in the church - that would just complain because for once, the Madrigals weren't able to cater to the town's every need.

Of course, most of the town didn't have this problem. But the ones who did were much more vocal.

After a while, the two decided to head back into town. It was late afternoon when they returned, heading straight to the church to change as they had been sweating most of the day from their walk.

Both had just finished changing when they ran into Tío Bruno, who was beaming.

"What's got you in such a good mood?" Isabela joked. It was strange, Tío Bruno was not an unhappy person, though he was anxious most of the time. He wasn't often outwardly so happy.

He froze. "You two don't know?"

"Know what?" Luisa exchanged a puzzled look with Isabela.

"Mirabel's awake. And she's okay, she is up and talking and moving."

Luisa dropped the bag she was holding, and Isabela's hands flew to her mouth.

"What?"

"Yes, sobrinas. She's awake." Both just stood there, staring at him. He tilted his head to the side. "Go." He nodded towards the door. "Go see your hermanita."

Together, they both dashed out the door and to Dr. Gonzales' office. They thundered down the hallway, barely taking note of Dolores, Camilo, and Antonio who were just moving to the side to make room as the two ran in, both in tears.

Their cousins slipped out of the room, and Isabela threw herself at her sister, taking her hands in hers. "I'm so so sorry, Mirabel. I was a horrible hermana, and you should never speak to me again. I treated you horribly. I would never have wanted my engagement or my marriage to not include you. The things I said to you were uncalled for. I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you, I'm so sorry."

Mirabel looked absolutely stunned, staring straight back at Isabela. "Isa?" She breathed out, her voice incredulous. "You- you aren't mad at me?"

Isabela cried harder. "It is you who should be mad at me. And I don't deserve your forgiveness, I understand if you are angry-"

Mirabel cut her off by pulling her oldest sister forward by the hands and hugging her. "I'm not angry with you." She murmured. "I understood that you didn't want me to mess anything up, I-"

"No!" Isabela exclaimed. "It's not - my reasons - that wasn't it." She seemed panicked, not knowing how to explain this. "I - this is of course not an excuse for how I acted - but I was only getting married to Mariano because Abuela wanted it. I was doing everything how she wanted. She wanted it to be perfect, so I was trying to make sure it was, and I lost sight of what was truly important - mi familia. And keeping you away, taking my frustration of the situation out on you, was not the way to do so. I'm so sorry."

"You don't want to marry him?" Luisa asked, incredulous.

Julieta and Agustín had quietly sat down with the Guzman's and had explained as briefly and privately as possible that Isabela was under a lot of stress and was not ready to get married - that she was feeling pressure as the oldest of her generation to get married quickly. They had explained that Mariano was a wonderful man that they would have been happy to have as a son-in-law, but that they wanted their daughter to marry because she wanted to, not because she felt pressured to.

The Guzman's had handled it well, especially Mariano, who admitted that while he desired marriage and a family, was not sure that he and Isabela were well matched in their desires for their future. But it had been kept very quiet, and Isabela realized that even most of her family was not aware of the end of their engagement.

"No, mija, and she won't be." Agustín said, taking Luisa's hand and pulling her in closer to their circle. Agustín had been furious when he'd realized that Isabela had decided to marry to help the family instead of for love. He and Julieta had acted almost immediately, one of the few times immediately after Mirabel had fallen into a coma that they had both left her side.

"Oh, Isa." Mirabel breathed. "Of course I forgive you." They hugged again, and then after a moment, Isabela pulled back slightly, and held her arm out for Luisa.

Luisa looked nervous as she stepped forward into the hug. "I'm sorry too, Mira. I didn't protect you the way that I should have."

Mirabel was shaking her head. "Why are you all apologizing so much? Luisa, you haven't done anything wrong to apologize for."

"She's right, hermana." Isabela said. "You've struggled just as much, especially recently. You aren't responsible."

"Responsible for what?" Mirabel looked between them, confused.

"For not treating you like family, like our sister." Isabela said. "Everyone has failed to make sure you're included, to make sure you know how much we love you and need you in our lives. We're fixing that, I swear. And that's what the apologies have been for. I'm sure you'll be hearing more in the near future."

Mirabel looked stunned, but didn't try to brush them off like she had been earlier. "Thank you." She breathed, and tears sprung to Mirabel's eyes. And that alone told her sisters how much she had been hurt - Mirabel was such an easy-going, joyful person, that for her to be surprised and touched by an apology and recognition meant that she had been hurt deeply by their actions and inactions.

The sisters were still tangled up in a hug, and Isabela felt Julieta pull her in tighter on her side, and her Papa was pulling Luisa in tighter, and they had the first family hug that they had had in over a decade.

Mirabel was awake. She was okay. And she wasn't angry.

Now, they just had to keep it that way.