The Real American Idol

Cosa Bella

The rest of the week went by, and now it was Saturday. Sara took Mirabela, Lily, Miley, and the twins to a store called Cosa Bella to get their dresses for Mirabela's Quinceañera. Lily, Miley, and the twins each tried on a beautiful bright blue strapless dress with matching shoes.

"These are beautiful," Miley smiled. "But if Dulce and Variel are going to wear the same dress, how can we tell them apart? They're identical twins."

"Got it covered," Mirabela said. "I was thinking Dulce could wear a white rose in her hair and Variel could wear a red one—and you can all wear necklaces and earrings that match your roses."

"Sounds good," Variel smiled.

"Okay, Mira, time to find your dress," Sara said. "I've got some good navy-blue choices for you."

Mirabela looked at the choices her mother picked out, and she tried each one on. They were all beautiful, but none of them felt right. "I don't know, Mami," she said. "These are beautiful, but there's something about them that doesn't feel quite right."

"It's okay, mija," Sara said. "We'll find something."

"May I suggest this, mami?" an employee asked, showing a beautiful navy-blue dress.

This dress had a yellow gold sash around the waist, and it was almost strapless but had short off-shoulder sleeves that would barely expose the underarms.

"Let's see," Mirabela said. She took the dress and went back into her fitting room, and then she came back out wearing the new dress.

"Wow, that's beautiful," Miley grinned.

"This is perfect," Mirabela smiled.

"Oh, Mirabela, you're sure to be the Belle of the Ball," Lily grinned.

"Good choice," the employee smiled. "How about a faux gold tiara to match that sash?" He showed a beautiful tiara that was real pretend gold, and it almost looked like the one worn by Queen Athena from The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning.

"Perfect," Mirabela smiled.

The girls paid for their dresses and shoes, and now they and Sara were on their way to the Casita Mendoza.

"Wait until everyone sees us in these things," Lily beamed. "It's the prettiest dress I'll ever wear to any party."

"I can't wait until the party," Miley smiled.

"I know what you mean," Variel said. "It'll be the best Veteran's Day birthday party in history."

"Quite the prediction," Dulce smiled. She turned to her cousin and asked, "What say you, prima?"

"I have to say, there's something about my Quinceañera that makes me really look forward to it," Mirabela said.

"Well, you should, mija," Sara smiled. "You only get one Quince, so you should enjoy it."

"Well, you may only get one special 15th birthday party, but you also only get one Sweet 16 party, and Nancy's is sure to be totally awesome," Lily said. "I hear she's displaying sneak peeks of her dad's jewelry. I swear, Nancy has totally awesome parents, especially a dad. I wish my dad was that awesome, and I'm sure everyone wishes their dads were that awesome. I know I do."

Mirabela was getting restless—she was sick and tired of hearing Lily talk about how she wished her father was awesome and that she assumed everyone wished they had an awesome father. Then again, maybe that would be true—not every child in the world has a father or father figure, and some children have abusive and neglectful fathers, so Lily was right but for the wrong reasons.

As time passed, Nancy continued to gloat about her parents and their jewelry designs, and she was still gloating about her Sweet 16 party. At the same time, Lily continued to complain about her parents, especially her father, which made Mirabela feel worse. But luckily, Dulce and Variel were there to comfort their cousin.