“Yeah!” Camilo moved closer to her so he could see the photo better. Slowly, a smile of recognition lit up his face. “That’s mamá! And papá!” He clapped his hands excitedly.

“It is.” Dolores let a soft smile spread on her face. Her mamá looked absolutely stunning in her dress and her veil. And her papá was very handsome in his guayabera. Both of them looked like they’d struck gold. Indeed, a bright sun bathed them in a golden glow, and a brilliant rainbow arced over them. Although she hardly needed the weather to confirm how happy her mamá had been; the love shining in her eyes made it more than evident. Dolores wiped a happy tear out of the corner of her eye. “This was their wedding day, when they got married.”

“Mamá was beautiful,” Camilo noted, touching the photo gingerly.

Dolores hummed. “She was.”

“And papá was all dressed up.” Camilo giggled. “It’s weird.”

“He looked very handsome,” Dolores defended, but secretly she saw where he was coming from. Their papá definitely preferred to dress more casually.

Camilo studied the photo carefully, taking in every detail. Suddenly he lifted his head. “Where’s everyone else?”

“Well, that photo was just of the two of them…” Dolores turned back a couple pages until she found what she was looking for. “There’s one with their families.”

Camilo took in the group of people gathered around his parents. He recognized his tíos and tías, and of course his abuela, but… “Where am I?”

“What do you mean, Milo?”

“I don’t see myself in the picture.” He pointed at the crowd. “Where am I?”

Dolores let out a laugh. “You weren’t there, hermanito.”

He appeared crestfallen. “I wasn’t?”

Dolores shook her head. “No, of course not.”

He frowned. “So mamá and papá had this big party and they didn’t even invite me?”

The idea struck Dolores as ridiculous, and she couldn’t suppress her laughter.

That was clearly the wrong thing to do. Camilo pushed the album back onto her lap and slid off the couch. “I don’t want to look at pictures anymore,” he announced dejectedly before leaving the room.

Dolores stood up, setting down the album. “Wait, Camilo, that’s not what I meant-“ she called after him, but he was already gone. She groaned.

Dinner that night was a more subdued affair than they were used to. Instead of cracking jokes and shifting into random kids from around the village to give his mamá a scare, Camilo sat quietly, pushing food around his plate.

“You okay, mi rayo de sol?” Pepa set down her fork and knife and examined him concernedly. “You’ve hardly touched your food.”

He shrugged. “Not hungry, mamá.”

Her eyebrows shot up in disbelief. “Not hungry? Is this the same boy that kept trying to shift into other family members to get more food at breakfast?”

The corner of his lip quirked up in a weak attempt at a smile. Carefully, he guided his fork into his mouth, swallowing the food almost as soon as he’d eaten it. He smiled at his mamá, hoping he hadn’t made her sad.

Pepa’s eyes lingered on him, but after a few more bites she seemed satisfied that he was all right.

Finally, everyone else had emptied their plates and started to clear the table. Camilo used the commotion to slip away unnoticed.

Or so he thought.

Pepa pulled Dolores aside as the others cleaned. “Have you seen your brother?”

Dolores pursed her lips in thought. “No, he must have left without us noticing.”

Pepa sighed. “He hardly ate anything. That’s not like him.”

Dolores put on a brave smile. “Mamá, I’m sure he’s fine. Maybe he just wasn’t hungry.”

Pepa shook her head. “No, Camilo is always hungry. I had trouble getting you to eat when you were little, but he’s always been good about finishing his food. Something is wrong.”

Dolores worried her lower lip between her teeth. “Mamá, I’m sure everything is fine.” The words sounded unconvincing even to her.

Pepa fixed Dolores with a look. “Dolores, if you know something…”

Dolores glanced up uneasily at the cloud that had started forming over their heads. She sighed. “We were looking at pictures in the photo album today,” she began uncertainly.

“Okay…” Pepa gestured for her to continue.

“Some of the pictures were from your wedding. Camilo wanted to know why he wasn’t there.”

Pepa closed her eyes, letting out a weary sigh. “What did you tell him?”

“I didn’t get to tell him anything. He said something about you not inviting him, and the idea was so funny that I couldn’t help laughing. At the comment, not at him,” she clarified. “Then he got up, said he didn’t want to look at pictures anymore, and left.”

“Ay, Lola…” Pepa massaged her temples. “You shouldn’t have done that.”

Dolores pouted. “But I wasn’t laughing at him! Obviously there was no way you could invite him because he didn’t exist yet!”

“I know that, but he doesn’t.” Pepa exhaled slowly. “I need to go talk to him.” She excused herself from the kitchen and went to find Camilo.

Camilo had already gotten into bed. He was too sad to stay awake. Why wouldn’t his mamá and papá want him at their wedding? Didn’t they want him around? Did that mean they didn’t love him? He sniffled quietly.

There was a quiet knock on his door. “Camilo?” It was his mamá. She came inside, standing in the doorway and looking at him worriedly.

“Hola, mamá,” he greeted her glumly.

She crossed the room and sat on his bed next to him. “I saved you some arepas from dinner.” She held up a small bundle wrapped in cloth.

Happiness flickered briefly in his eyes before extinguishing. “Thanks, mamá, but I’m not hungry.”

“Not even for arepas?” Pepa questioned. “They’re your favorite.”

They were his favorite, but how could he eat knowing that his parents didn’t want him at their wedding? When they’d invited everyone else. His answer came in the form of him turning his back on her, staring at the wall and trying to keep his lower lip from wobbling.

“Camilo…” His mamá’s hand came to rest on his shoulder and turned him gently to face her again. “What’s wrong, mi bebé?”

He debated how to say what was bothering him, but ended up only saying, “I’m sad, mamá,” before the tears began trickling down his cheeks.

“Ay, Milo…” Pepa scooped him up in her arms, cradling his head to her chest and rocking him as he cried. “Te amo tanto, mi vida,” she murmured as she rocked him back and forth.

He mumbled something, but the words were garbled through the tears.

“What did you say, mi amor?”

He wiped the tears off his face. “I said, you love me, but not enough to invite me to your wedding.”

“Oh, Milo…” She stroked her hand soothingly over unruly curls. “What do you mean?”

He sniffled. “Dolores was showing me some pictures today, and I saw you and papá at your wedding. And everyone else was there too, but I wasn’t. Why didn’t you invite me?”

“Ay, mi bebé…” She held his head tighter to her chest. “That’s not how it was.”

He pulled his head away. “What do you mean, that’s not how it was?” He demanded, sounding hurt. “I saw the pictures.”

Pepa paused for a second. “Oh good, then you can tell me if you saw Dolores in them.”

Camilo stopped to think. “I don’t think so…” he answered hesitantly.

“What about any of your primas?”

He shook his head. “They weren’t there either.”

“That’s right.” Pepa smiled at him, taking his small hand in her own. “None of you were there.”

He absorbed the information, then his face sank again. None of them were there. Did his mamá not like kids or something? “You didn’t want any of us there.”

“Of course we would have wanted you there, you’re our bebé,” Pepa reassured him. “There was just one problem.”

This caught his attention. “What?”

“You weren’t born yet.”

“What??”

Pepa laughed heartily. “Your papá and I got married before you were born. Before any of you were born, in fact. That’s why none of you are in the pictures.”

“Oh…” Camilo let this new information sink in. An idea began to form in his mind. “Well, we’re all born now.”

Pepa tilted her head in confusion. “Yes?”

“So you guys should have another wedding!” Camilo suggested, his eyes gleaming hopefully. “That way we can all be there.”

It made perfect sense. If none of them could be there because they weren’t born, then they should just have another wedding so they could be there.

His mom appeared less thrilled at the idea than he was. “I don’t know, mijo…” she trailed off. “Having a wedding isn’t so easy.”

“Good thing that all of us kids are here to help you now.” He shot her his most winning smile, showing off every single one of his teeth.

Pepa hid her face behind her hand, letting out a small noise of exasperation, but showing just a sliver of a smile. “You’re impossible, Milo,” she mused. “You and your papá can convince me to do anything.”

“So that’s a yes?” He began bouncing up and down in his bed.

“It’s a yes.”

* * *

“I still can’t believe I let Camilo talk me into this.” Pepa smoothed down the front of her dress nervously.

“It’ll be fine,” Julieta reassured her, fastening the dress and stepping back to double check. “You look beautiful.”

“Really?” Pepa chewed her lip anxiously.

“Really, tía. Here.” Isabela handed her a flower. “For your hair.”

“Thank you, Isa.” Pepa accepted the flower with a smile and placed it behind her ear.

“Remember, this isn’t actually a whole wedding. Just the best parts, for Camilo.” Julieta reminded her, putting the veil on top of her head. “So no need to agonize. He’s just happy to be there.”

Pepa nodded, exhaling deeply. “You’re right.” And yet, she was still anxious for some unfathomable reason. Heaviness settled in the pit of her stomach, and she couldn’t quite place her finger on why. Her hands drifted to her hair reflexively as she began chanting her mantra. “Clear skies, clear skies.”

“You already got through the real wedding.” Julieta hugged her carefully. “This is just for fun.”

Being reminded of her actual wedding brought back unpleasant memories: of teasing and smirks and thoughtless jokes that caused her to hurricane. Of a brother that had ruined everything.

Of a brother that wasn’t here this time.

Pepa shook the thoughts out of her head and took a deep breath to steel herself. “Just for fun,” she repeated.

Isabela handed her the bouquet and then they went outside.

After Camilo had made his request, Pepa explained his wish to the rest of the family. Thankfully, everyone was on board. Just like Camilo had predicted, the children and their gifts were a huge help. Isabela had conjured up breathtaking flowers that spilled over all around the meadow. Luisa had done the heavy lifting, both figuratively and literally, to get everything set up, from the chairs to the altar. Dolores had kept an ear out for anything that could go wrong and alerted Pepa so she could fix it as soon as possible. Camilo, well, Camilo was everywhere, doing whatever was asked of him for once. And whatever Mirabel lacked in terms of a magical gift was more than made up for by her skill with a needle and thread. She had embroidered beautiful ribbons for her and Félix, patterned with suns and raindrops. She had offered them up shyly, apologizing for her lack of a gift, but to Pepa, Mirabel’s thoughtfulness and effort were the best gift she could imagine.

Although the family was on board, the church was not; insisting that they were already married and they couldn’t conduct the ceremony again. So, instead of in the church, they had chosen to reenact their wedding in the meadow. It was lovely and spacious, giving them plenty of room for both the ceremony and the subsequent dancing.

The priest had absolutely refused to take any part in this, so one of Félix’s friends stepped in to conduct the ceremony. He talked about the beauty of marriage, of making a lifelong commitment to someone and wanting to celebrate it with your loved ones.

Feeling her attention start to drift during the long speech, Pepa caught Camilo waggling his fingers at her out of the corner of her eye and smiled towards him. He could barely sit still, but she saw he was trying very hard for this. And, she noticed with satisfaction, he’d even managed to keep his nice clothes clean.

Once the speech was done, the bride and groom recited their vows once more. And yes, Pepa cried again, plastering the veil to her face with rain. Félix just had a way with words that always got to her. Shakily, she read through hers as well, the paper she held turning into a mushy clump in her hand, focusing on the way Félix’s hands gripped her own, grounding her through her storm.

It was a good thing he was there to steady her, because her hands were trembling so badly she almost spilled wax on his nice guayabera when they lit their candles. Fortunately, she managed to move the candle away at the last second and wax dripped onto the altar instead. Not even her rain could wash that away.

But, being the wonderful man that he was, he just laughed it off, and continued the ceremony. They lit their joint candle, and exchanged rings once more (well, more like removed and put back on, but details). After this, they were pronounced husband and wife and everyone jumped out of their seats, whooping joyfully.

Pepa had gotten so swept up in her emotions, she’d almost forgotten this wasn’t the real thing. It was like she was thrown back to that day over a dozen years ago when she’d finally gotten to marry Félix. Then she saw Camilo milling around with his cousins and caught his eye.

He tore away from the group and ran towards her. “Mamá! That was awesome!” He exclaimed breathlessly, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

“Yeah?” Pepa laughed. “I thought you were getting bored during the speech.”

“Well, he did talk for a very long time,” Camilo acknowledged, “and it was kinda mushy, but he was saying stuff about how much you guys love each other and are happy together, and how we all want to celebrate your love.” A brief grimace was quickly replaced by a genuine smile.

“Here we are, celebrating.” Pepa swept an arm around the meadow. They’d cleared away the chairs to make more room for the festivities. Someone had brought instruments, so people were dancing to a lively tune. This time, she’d even managed to keep the guests dry. “Was it what you hoped for?”

Camilo nodded so eagerly that Pepa thought his head would fall off. “Wait,” he said. “Something is missing.”

Pepa mentally ran through the list of things she planned to include for her wedding. She’d hit every point on the list. She frowned. “What?”

“Pictures!” Camilo bounded towards the rest of the family, yanking her along by her hand.

Of course. The reason they were doing all of this in the first place: so they could have photos to remember the day by. She chuckled. “Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s take some pictures!”

Somehow, they managed to arrange everyone so they all fit in the picture. Pepa and Félix were in the middle, with Dolores standing next to Félix and Camilo standing in front of Pepa. The rest of the family filled in the space around them.

“Ready, everyone?” The photographer had finished setting up the camera.

Everyone nodded and jostled about to make sure they were all visible.

“Three…”

“Two…”

“One…”

When she got into bed, the situation still weighed heavily on her. She listed through the pages of her novela, barely taking in a word.

“¿Estás bien, mi amor?” Félix asked, resting his hand on her arm.

“I am,” she said unconvincingly.

“That didn’t sound very okay. What’s the matter, mi vida?”

She sighed. “Today Camilo asked me if we could get a dog.”

“Really?” Félix pried her hands off of the book, taking them in his. “What did you tell him?”

She snorted in disbelief. “What do you think? Obviously I told him no. He’s not old enough to take care of a dog yet.”

“Why do you think that?” He prompted.

She looked at him incredulously. “Because, Félix, he’s not responsible enough to deal with the kind of work having a dog would mean! He loses interest in new toys after a couple weeks. What if he loses interest in the dog? What if he decides that he didn’t really want a dog after all, or that they’re too much work, or he moves onto the next thing to catch his interest? What happens with the dog then? He can stop playing with a toy. He can’t stop taking care of a dog. He’s not ready.” Running out of breath, she inhaled shakily.

“I understand.” Félix looped an arm around her waist, pulling her into his side. “You’re worried he won’t take having a dog seriously.”

“Exactly.” Pepa exhaled, relieved to have her feelings validated. “Camilo can barely get himself dressed in the morning. He definitely can’t take care of a dog.”

Félix’s hand ran up and down her arm soothingly. “You know, I was around his age when we got our first dog,” he mentioned conversationally.

Pepa’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Where are you going with this?”

“Like Camilo, I was very excited to have a dog. Unlike Camilo, I didn’t have the slightest idea how to take care of one. I didn’t have any friends with dogs. It was a bit of a learning curve, but soon enough I figured it out and could help my brothers and sisters. We all did our part, and everything worked out.”

Her still-narrowed eyes bored into his. “Did Camilo put you up to this? Of course he would go to you after I told him no.” Pepa huffed.  “What am I going to do with that boy?” She threw her hands up in the air frustratedly.

“You adore Camilo,” Félix reminded her. “And he’s more responsible than you think.”

“Really?” Pepa questioned disbelievingly.

“Really. He’s had his gift for a whole year and he hasn’t abused it once.”

“He shifts into older kids when he’s racing with Dolores and his primas so he can win,” Pepa pointed out.

“He’s a kid, Pepi; he likes to win. He takes after his mami that way.” Félix grinned, squeezing his arm around her. “He hasn’t done anything seriously wrong with his gift, and he could have. But he knows that having a gift is a responsibility, and it’s one he takes seriously.”

Pepa could feel her arguments crumbling around her. “Don’t tell me you’re actually considering this,” she said weakly.

“It’s a good idea, Pepi.” He swept her bangs out of her eyes. “He loves dogs and having one will teach him how to be more responsible.”

Pepa hadn’t considered that angle of it. “And until he learns how to be more responsible?”

“We can all do a little bit. I can walk the dog. You can feed it. Dolores can bathe it. No te preocupes, querida; you won’t get stuck caring for the dog all by yourself.”

Félix was being so rational about this. But something inside her still resisted the idea. “He’s too young,” she repeated petulantly. “Mi bebé.”

“He’s 6 now, Pepa. He’s not a baby anymore.”

“That’s what he said!” Suddenly, Pepa was crying. She buried her face in her hands to hide her tears.

“Why are you crying, Pepi?” Félix’s voice was gentle and free of any judgment.

“Because my baby is growing up!” She blubbered. “Soon he’ll be all grown and he won’t need me anymore, and then-“

“Whoa- slow down, Pepa.” Félix took her into himself, placing her head on his chest. “He’s not a baby anymore, but he is very far from grown. You still cut up all his food.”

“I do, don’t I?” Pepa sniffled, smiling through the tears.

“And yes, he’s getting bigger, but he won’t grow up overnight. So let’s slow down and enjoy the ride, eh?”

“Enjoy the ride.” Pepa took a deep breath. “I can try.”

Félix gave her a winning smile. “What do you say? Are we getting a dog?”

Pepa pondered the question. “I’ve never had a dog before,” she confessed.

Félix frowned. “Are you afraid of them?”

Pepa shook her head. “No, it’s not that. I just…don’t really know how to take care of one myself.”

“Ah,” Félix said understandingly. “You’re worried you won’t be able to help Camilo out when he inevitably needs it.”

She merely nodded, sniffling sporadically into his chest.

“Lucky for both of you, I’ve had a few dogs, and I’m practically an expert at taking care of them,” Félix bragged, his tone so serious that it was evident he was trying to make her laugh.

It worked. “I’m going to hold you to it, expert,” she replied, snuggling into him.

“So is that a yes?”

She sighed. “That’s a yes.”

The next morning, Camilo lacked his usual enthusiasm; walking down the staircase normally instead of skipping every other step as he ran. “Good morning, mamá,” he greeted her glumly, giving her a halfhearted kiss on the cheek.

Her heart sank. He was a lot more torn up about this than she thought. “Good morning, mi rayo de sol.” She smushed him into a tight hug. “Did you sleep okay?”

He nodded absently. “Yeah.”

“No nightmares?”

“No.”

She pulled back to examine his face. “Are you upset about yesterday?”

His lower lip quivered and he looked like he was on the verge of tears. “I…”

Thankfully, Félix had appeared to preempt the waterworks. He wrapped an arm around Pepa’s waist, beaming at Camilo.

“Camilo, your papi and I have some good news for you,” Pepa announced, as if the rainbow overhead didn’t make it apparent enough.

Camilo brightened. “Can I have a dog?”

Pepa laughed. “Yes, you can have a dog.”

Camilo whooped loudly, jumping up and down.

Pepa melted at his joy. He wanted a dog much more than he’d let on. “It just so happens that the Garcías’ dog had puppies recently. Your papi’s going to take you there after school to pick one out.”

If Camilo had been happy before, he was downright euphoric now. It was a good thing he didn’t have her gift; otherwise, they’d all have been blinded by the rainbow he would produce. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” He exclaimed, hugging her and kissing her cheek.

“Taking care of a dog is a big responsibility, but we think you can handle it. Can you handle it?” Pepa knew what his answer would be, but she wasn’t expecting him to answer quite so loudly.

“Yes, mami! I can handle it!” He promised her. “I’ll feed the dog and walk it and everything.” Doubt crossed his features, but he was too caught up in his happiness to let it overtake him.

Félix chuckled. “Easy, chico. You don’t have to do everything. We’ll help you. But you do have to help out. Sound good?”

“Yeah. Thank you, papi.” He threw his arms around Félix’s middle.

Félix ruffled his hair indulgently. “You better hurry up or you’ll be late for school.”

Pepa peered through the window anxiously. Late afternoon sun streamed in. They had left a while ago. Where were they?

Then she saw them clamber down the hill. Félix held a wriggling bundle of fur in his arms. As they got closer, Pepa could see that the puppy was a sandy brown and had floppy ears. It was positively adorable.

She went into the hallway to meet them, kneeling down to hug Camilo, but was instead bowled over by the furry mass that bounded towards her. Instead of being upset, she found herself laughing as the dog licked all over her face and sniffed her curiously.