Days And Nights (Book of Life and Maya and the Three One Shots)

Shave And A Haircut

Celina and Cecilia shave Joaquin’s face.

Joaquin was talking to himself in the mirror, as he did almost every morning, "You're awesome. You're strong. You're loyal. You're apprecia-"

"Tío Joaquin?" 

Joaquin was startled by the small voice and turned to see his young nieces, "What are you doing?" Celina asked. 

"Uh-uh, n-nothing, girls. W-What are you doing here?"

"Going to use the bathroom." Cecilia said. 

"Right… Uh, hey, so, have you felt the baby kick yet? It started doing that last night."

"We did. Mama said when we were inside her, we kicked very hard. She said our sister kicks almost as hard."

"Well, what if it's a boy?" 

Celina rolled her eyes, "Oh, Tío Joaquin. Haven't you heard? Boys punch and girls kick."

"And Mama and Papa can only have girls because they had us." Cecilia said, "So, of course the baby's a girl."

Joaquin held back a chuckle, "Where have you heard that?" 

The twins shrugged. 

"Whatever you say." Joaquin checked his face for stubble before splashing water on his face. 

"Hey, Tío Joaquin." Cecilia said, "Have you ever shaved your mustache?"

"I trim it and shave the rest of my face, but no, I've never shaved my mustache."

"Why?"

"Because it's not about the mustache. It's about what it represents; confidence, manhood-" Joaquin remembered he was talking to five-year olds, "Uh- I just think it looks good."

"You could shave it right now." Cecilia said.

Joaquin scoffed as he dried his face, "Oh, you're serious. I love you girls, but I'll shave my mustache when Chuy flies."

"But Papa shaves his face." Celina said. 

"Well, that's because your dad doesn't have the face to pull one off." Joaquin patted the girls' heads as he left.

The twins glanced at each other and started chanting, "Shave it! Shave it!"

"Don't you girls have school?" 

When the girls went downstairs for breakfast, Celina asked, "Papa, can Chuy fly?" 

"Well, he's not supposed to, but anything is possible, I guess." Manolo chuckled. 

...

That afternoon, Celina and Cecilia were walking home from school.

"How are we going to get Tío Joaquin to shave?" Cecilia asked.

"We could tell him he'd have a new look." Celina suggested.

"Would that work?"

"I don't know. He said he'd shave when Chuy flies."

"But we've never seen him fly before."

Celina thought for a second, "Hm. If Chuy hasn't flown, then we'll shave it."

"What? Are you sure?" Cecilia asked. 

"We've never seen Tío Joaquin without his mustache. What is he trying to hide?"

"Maybe he has something living underneath." Cecilia became determined, "You're right. If he won't do it, we will."

Celina and Cecilia made it home, "We're home!"