You are a madrigal

Part 7

Once they were finally inside Pepa's room, Dolores paced slowly while her mother sat on a couch. Pepa hasn't seen Dolores this distraught since right after she got her gift. There were so many noises and the little girl started crying in her mother's arms for the noise to stop. she didn't come out her room for a week.

She grabbed her daughter's hands and brought her to the couch. "Breathe Mi hija. Everything is okay." Dolores took a deep breath and let it out before looking at her mother. Pepa smiled softly at her and it helped her calm down. If she was going to tell her this she was going to start from the beginning. " I heard arguing...." Pepa looked at her confused, causing Dolores to sigh.

"3 years ago, I was 13. I had heard a discussion sometime after dinner because I had grabbed a late night snack before I went to bed. And that's when I heard it. Abuela was upset that maybe because Mirabel didn't get a gift, something was wrong with the miracle. She wanted you to have another child."

Pepa's eyes showed in recognition and she shook her head and sighed. "Dolor-"

Dolores stopped her from speaking by squeezing her hands. "I have to tell you this mama, please." Pepa looked into her daughter's eyes before nodding her head and smiling softly to calm her daughter down. Dolores licked her lips as she looked away from her mother and nodded her head before continuing her story.

"A few months after that I heard a heartbeat, similar to when I heard Camilo's before he was born. It was there and I heard it, that's why I was staring.... I told you it was nothing because I didn't want to say anything about it but I heard it and I knew. Then I... "

Her dark brown eyes met her mother's light brown ones. "..I came home that day. It was raining, I- I heard you crying, and I couldn't hear the beating anymore."

Pepa's eyes clouded over with sorrow and a dark cloud appeared before she took a deep breath and the cloud went away as she sighed. She squeezed Dolores hands when she looked back concerned and nodded for her to continue.

" Years had passed and I continued to hear the arguments you and Abuela had. Then I was in the kitchen after lunch and I heard a slap. I got scared and dropped a plate on the ground. Tia came and gave me an arepa because I cut my leg on accident."

Pepa rubbed at her daughter's arm as she listened. That day, she heard the plate hit the ground from her mother's room. Of course she was too busy staring at her mother in shock from the bruise she left on Pepa's face, and left the room after she swore she never wanted to hear the subject bought up to her again.

Dolores started to fiddle with her skirt. "I wanted to find a way to help you, mama. So that you didn't have to go through what happened that day again and I..." She avoided any eye contact from her mother as she began to tell her what it was she did.

"That day I told you I had made a new friend... His name is Alejandro Mendoza, Papa was friends with his father when they were kids. I met him by a river near the forest."

Dolores turned her head and saw her mama smile which mad her smile a little at the memory." Alex was a person I trusted with my life, mama. He was my best friend, and we would meet at the river almost everyday..."

She glanced away for a split second and looked her mother in her eyes. "We started dating 5 months before Isa's birthday. I cared for Alejandro a lot and he was there when my gift became too much. He would play his guitar for me and would hold me when I felt too anxious."

She looked back down to her lap and frowned. "But even when I was there with him sometimes I would still think about what I could do to help. And then I figured it out. Mama you couldn't have any more kids because of your health and age...but I could."

Pepa's eyes widened. All that ran through Pepa's mind was that there was no way Dolores could have.. She wouldn't have!. But she could see it in the way Dolores looked and knew that she did.

"Mi hija.."

Dolores shook her head and tears began forming in her eyes. " Alex had come to Isabela's party and we danced and had a lot of fun, and then... I took him to my room while everyone was busy. I seduced him and we..." The girl's face was a burning mess as she thought about that night.

And she look back at her mother and saw a bigger cloud formed and only continued to grow then looked back down

"..We had sex... and it was only just that once, and then he had to leave and I started feeling weird a few weeks after and just today I..." She looked at her mother with teary eyes and she whimpered in fear of her reaction.

"Mama, I can hear another heartbeat besides my own."

Pepa gasped and it started raining as she left her hands to cover her mouth and her eyes began to tear up. "Dios mio..."Dolores covered her ears as her anxiety got the best of her. She looked at her mother and the tears began to break out as her lungs started burning. Pepa brought her arms around Dolores and held her close.

She placed a hand on the back of her head and rubbed at her daughter's back as she cried out. "It's okay baby, It's going to be okay. Shhh." she rocked back and forth slowly as Dolores hid her face in her neck. "I wanted to help the family mama. I wanted to help you so that you wouldn't be hurt again having another child, I'm so sorry."

Pepa did all she could to try and calm her daughter down. Felix and Julieta both came in to see what the problem was and saw them crying on the couch with Dolores repeating that she was sorry.

Felix and Pepa gave each other a look, Both cornered but for different reasons. Then her gaze fell to her sister and as if Julieta could tell what was wrong just by the look on her face, she gasped and held her hands against her mouth and glanced down to her crying niece.