The Chameleon's Grin ll Camilo Madrigal

Chapter 34 : Planning

Carmen's pov:

I didn't go into Camilo's room that night. I couldn't.

I needed to sort my thoughts, and that took the majority of the night.

This morning Tia Julieta offered for me to stay home today, seeing the large eye bags I had.

"No, no. I'm alright." I assured her.

It took all night, but I was in the right headspace now.

"Are you sure?"

I nodded. "Yes, Tia."

"Okay, but if you want to come home call for Dolores and we'll figure something out."

I thanked her, and left to get breakfast.

The only one that was in there was Luisa.

The woman looked at me, and her shoulders tensed.

"Is there anything you would like to tell me?" I asked her, not meaning to sound so confrontational.

Slowly, she nodded. "Today I will be talking to the morgue director, and there we need to find a date for the funeral. I also need to know if you want her cremated or in a closed casket, since the body is very damaged from the attack."

I nodded, swallowing my emotions. "I...I think a closed casket funeral."

"Okay," She nodded, standing up. "I'll let him know, and later I'll tell you the date he could do."

Just before she left, I said "Thank you, Luisa."

Turning back for a moment, she smiled sympathetically. "Anything to make it easier on you, Cortes."

Camilo's pov:

It was the day of the funeral, and tenseness lingered in the air of the Casita.

It had only been three days since Mrs. Cortes' body was taken out of her home, because the morgue director wanted her buried as soon as possible. She was already smelling bad, supposedly.

I now stood at the door with the rest of my family, all dressed in black clothing.

Everyone but Carmen and Diana had come down.

We gave them all the time they needed, though.

This was their day to mourn for their mamá.

After a few minutes of silence beside the door, the girls came down.

Carmen's face looked beyond strained, with her features being squeezed tightly together to prevent herself from crying.

Diana didn't seem to understand exactly what was happening, but at the top of the stairs, she took a hold of her hermanas hand.

They walked down the steps, and everyone looked painful for my friend.

There was a silent agreement that the way there was going to be quiet, so we all left for the funeral.

Anyone who wanted to from Encanto could come, and most of the citizens from Carmen's old community took the day off of work to come.

Apparently many knew of the Cortes family, because they all had jobs at one point with them.

They were like the Madrigals of the outer ring of town, except they were rich with good deeds and hard work.

Seeing that the sisters were approaching, the people that were lined up to go inside moved so they could get through.

It was still quiet, but their actions spoke in volumes that words could not describe.

There was an overwhelming sense of respect for the girls, even though they were young. They had been through a lot, and still, they managed to keep from sinking into the pits of despair.

And Carmen was more than willing to take on the responsibilities of her sister, and paying for food and a house.

She was committed to her family, no matter how shattered it was, and that was one of the many reasons I had a deep respect for the eldest of the Cortes sisters.

Carmen's pov:

I stood over Mamá's casket, and everyone took their seats in the building, waiting for some big speech.

Of course I wanted to talk about her, but there was simply too much to cover, so I settled for something short and sweet.

Silently, I clicked open the casket and looked down at the beautiful woman, even though her torn abdomen was being covered with the pretty, sunshine yellow dress she was in.

I turned back to my audience. "My mother was a wonderful woman. She worked tirelessly just to feed us. She made us smile even when she was in her darkest times. She was honest, even when you didn't exactly ask for her opinion." That dragged out a few chuckles of people who agreed. "But she did it in such a way that you never felt judged or embarrassed. She was gentle. She was kind. She was amazing. Amelia Cortes was simply amazing."

I went back to her body, and slowly I dipped my head down to pay my last respects to her.

"Thank you, Mamá." I let one of my tears fall down onto her cheek. "I hope you're happy with Papa."

I planted a kiss on her temple, and straightened back up.

When I looked back at my audience, there was a person in my reserved seat beside Diana.

I felt my feet lift off the ground ever so slightly.

The person was Pedro.