Chapter 1: Birthday

"Ugh…"

Imelda laughed at her husband's groan.

"Sore," she asked as she undid her complicated braid that she had tied in a bun at the base of her neck in the early morning hours to get it out of the way while she worked. "I didn't know skeletons could get sore."

"It's just hammering all day makes my bones scrape against each other, and it hurts after a while," Hector moaned from his place on the bed with one of his arms draped over his eyes, and he was wearing his pajamas. Imelda was also wearing her own personal sleepwear, her nightgown, and was looking in a mirror on top of their chest of drawers as she undid her braid. She sighed at the two strips of silver hair that started at her hairline and went all the way down her back. Why did Hector get to still look like he was in his twenties, and she had to look old. He had been born a year after her, true, but they now had a huge age gap in the Land of the Dead. It felt weird to know that he still had his young body, and she was stuck with the one she died with when she had a heart attack in her seventies after her heart gave out on her for working too hard.

Hector heard her sigh, and lifted his arm to look at her. He became saddened when he saw her tracing her silver locks of hair with a disapproving stare. He wouldn't let her think she wasn't pretty just because she had a few silver hairs. He silently stepped off the bed, and tip toed over to her. He made sure to stay out of her line of sight from both her own eyes and from the mirror. After he creeped as far as he dared, he jumped at her and brought her into his arms. She gave a cry of alarm that morphed into laughter as he kissed her vertebrae up to her cheekbone. That had been her only ticklish spot in life, and he had found, to his delight, that she was still ticklish. He lifted her bridal style into his arms while still kissing her neck before dropping her gently onto the bed. She was still giggling as he crawled on top of her, and kissed her passionately on the lips.

"You are absolutely gorgeous Melda," Hector whispered as he pressed his forehead to her's.

"You're just saying that," Imelda breathed back since she was still trying to catch her breath from his tickle attack even though she had no lungs.

"I've never thought you weren't beautiful," Hector said truthfully before chuckling. "Even when you were hitting me with your boot."

"I'm still story about that," Imelda said with regret as she traced his cheekbone with her thumb. "I'm sorry about all of it."

"And I forgave you long ago mi amor," Hector said before pressing a light kiss to his wife's lips, if you could call them that. Imelda smiled into it. She cherished everything he gave her after so many years apart. She missed the tiny, loving kisses and the deep, passionate kisses alike. She missed the teasing, the caressing, and the warm, comforting hugs that could make all her bones sleepy with one squeeze. They made her want to stay in his arms forever, and never get out of bed. But they had a family and a business to run, so she wasn't rewarded that luxury.

"You old goat," She sneered with only a little bite. He was too forgiving. He deserved something, anything, for the pain she gave him when he didn't deserve it. He was murdered for goodness sakes, and she thought he had run away from his responsibilities to his family to party and be with a nicer, prettier girl. She had given up on him too easily, and he was forgiving her too easily. She felt she needed a whack to the head to make up for everything she did, and even then it wouldn't be enough. She did, however, know what he loved the most, and that was being loved by the people he loved. So if she couldn't punish herself for what she did, the least she could do was let her husband get what he wanted.

As he fell back down onto his side of the bed and went to turn off the lamp on his bedside table, she wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his pajama covered chest. It didn't take long for him to turn off the lamp, and the return the embrace. She never felt more safe than when she was in his arms.

"I love you," she whispered as he maneuvered her head so it rested comfortably in the crook of his neck. He sighed with a smile that she could feel against her hair and skull.

"I love you too," Hector whispered back as he pulled the bed coverings over them both. Imelda closed her eyes, and Hector waited until he was sure she was asleep before reaching over her and turning off her alarm clock.

"Hector," Rosita shook her brother's father-in-law gently as not to scare him, but also not to awaken Mama Imelda. She hadn't wanted to awaken either of them for a while because they both looked so cute and so comfortable in each other's arms, but Hector had asked her to wake him up so that's what she would do.

Hector groaned as he opened his eyes. He first made eye contact with Rosita then looked down at his sleeping wife in his arms. It suddenly clicked in his head why he was seeing the kind, younger woman in his bedroom early in the morning, and he started to slowly detach himself from Imelda. A frown crossed the matriarch's face when he moved away, but she didn't wake up. Hector immediately felt bad for leaving her, but he knew it would all be worth it with what he was planning. He pressed a gently kiss to her forehead, and he smiled when her own smile crossed her face. He then took his clothes, shoes, and hat that he had hung on a chair nearby before following Rosita out of his room.

After changing in the bathroom, he met the rest of his deceased family in the kitchen. They were all dressed and ready to go… for the most part. Rosita and Victoria definitely looked awake and set to help, but the twins and Julio looked like they wanted to go back to sleep. Oscar and Felipe had their heads resting on the kitchen table, and their glasses were sliding off their face. Julio had dozed off in a chair while Hector had gotten changed, and Victoria swatted at her father to wake him up.

"Ok everyone ready?" Hector asked as he made sure the shoe making workshop sign said 'closed'.

"This is such a nice idea, Papa Hector," Rosita cooed. "Mama Imelda never wants us to celebrate her birthday, but I know she's just going to love this."

"I never got to celebrate her enough in life, so I should probably start now," Hector shrugged, but he took what Rosita said to heart. He had never been able to give Imelda the fanciest dresses, the biggest house, or the easiest life, so he was going to make up for that. One birthday party wouldn't be enough, but, as he said, it was a start.

"Where are we going first?" Julio asked as he rubbed his eyes.

"I think we can do this faster if we split up," Hector said before gesturing to his family, "Everyone go to your unique store and make sure the people there are prepared with your presents."

"And what are you going to do?" Victoria asked as she raised one eyebrow.

"I'm going to set the trail," Hector stated with a smirk like it was the most obvious thing.

Mornings should always be this nice.

Imelda didn't wake up to the sound of her alarm clock beeping or to the feeling of a cat scratching at her leg. She then remembered she was dead, and that her little cat Pepita was now a huge jaguar alebrije instead. She shook her head to get her bearings, and then realized she was a lot colder than she usually was nowadays. Where she usually had Hector, she now had an empty bed. Imelda tilted her head in confusion before sitting up in bed. The house was too quiet.

She stepped out of bed, opened the door, and looked down the hallway that held all of their bedrooms. Her family always left the doors open when they weren't inside to let clean air get through which was an instinct that they had had when they had lived in a time that had no air conditioning. Imelda poked her head in every room, she almost fell over in her brothers' messy room while she marveled at the neatness of Victoria's, but her family wasn't there. She didn't hear the banging of hammers or the sound of sewing machines, so she guessed they weren't making shoes early in the morning either. Wait, what time was it?

Imelda looked up at the hallway clock, and froze in place. It was well after the time that she usually woke up. While she usually woke up at least by six, she had now woken up at nine.

What is going on? Imelda thought before heading down stairs. She was yet again met with an empty room. This reminded her of when she had first gotten to the Land of the Dead. She had been lonely for years before her family joined her. She had bought this very house, started another shoe making business, and became the most well known shoe maker in the Land of the Dead by the time they got there, but it had been multiple, unbearable years. The only one she had for company had been Pepita.

Speaking of the giant alebrije… Imelda jumped when she heard scratching at the front door. She opened it to find Pepita looking down at her. She sniffed her before licking her cheek. Imelda smiled before wiping off the saliva in her face and petting Pepita's soft head. Pepita purred happily at the attention before Imelda asked:

"Pepita, cario, where is my family? Surely you must have seen where they went off to."

Instead of answering directly, Pepita looked to the ground. She breathed on the dusty sidewalk, and Imelda leaned down to look at the shoe print that appeared. The first thing she saw was the Rivera symbol, a large 'R' on the heel, glowing bright blue. She then identified that it was size 10, made out of perfect leather, and it was made from her own hands. It was Hector's footprint.

"Show me more," Imelda said, and Pepita breathed out a long line of footprints that lead deeper into the heart of the city. Imelda was about to pursue when she realized she wasn't wearing any shoes herself, or any decent clothes for that matter. "I should probably get changed," Imelda told Pepita before the alebrije liked her cheek again.

After getting dressed into a nice, navy blue dress, Imelda started following Hector's trail. She followed Pepita as her breath continued to show blue footprints on the ground. Where did you run off to? Imelda asked mentally. She was thinking of possibilities where her family could have gone, and she tried to stay away from ideas such as the ones she had about Hector in life. She wouldn't think badly about it. They probably went to the store, or went out for more shoe making supplies. But then why did the sign say "closed" at the workshop, and why hadn't her family told her they were leaving? They could have at least woken her up or something. She had no idea why her alarm clock had been turned off. She certainly didn't do it on purpose. She had probably accidentally hit it the night before when Hector had been tickling her. She smiled at the memory fondly.

A fierce meow brought her back to the present as she turned to Pepita. Pepita gestured with her head to the building they had stopped at. Hector's footprints seemed to disappear under the door, and Imelda looked up at the sign. Why would Hector go into a embroidery store?

She had loved embroidery before starting her family and her business. She would waist away with a needle and thread in a comfy chair in her parents' living room. She gave up the hobby after having Coco because her daughter had required her attention every, breathing second. She did, however, remember those memories where she was sitting in a reclining chair when she was extremely pregnant, embroidering while Hector massaged her aching feet. Those were such happy times.

Imelda took a deep breath before entering the store. The bell above the door rang as she stepped inside. She winced at the noise. She didn't want to draw too much attention to herself. She quietly stepped in, and followed the trail of blue footprints up to the front counter. A lady with bright blue and pink marking over her eyes and on her cheeks popped up, and scared the living heaven out of Imelda. She clutched her chest as the lady asked.

"Are you Imelda?"

"Um, yes?" Imelda answered with a question rather than an actually response. How did this skeleton know her name?

"Your family makes the best shoes," she commented eagerly, and she was starting to remind Imelda of Rosita. "They gave me a pair a couple of weeks ago." She stepped out from behind the counter to show off her shoes. Imelda recognized the shoes immediately as the ones Hector had been working on, indeed, a couple weeks ago. They were his first successful pair, and they made her proud to see. A pair of high heeled boots that were similar to the ones she wore now.

"I'm happy you enjoy them," Imelda smiled before growing serious, "Although I'm looking for my husband right now. Do you know where he is?"

"I'm sorry to say I can't tell you that, but you can find out yourself if you just follow his trail," the lady winked at her. Imelda looked at her suspiciously. What was that supposed to mean? The lady must have noticed her confusion because she reached behind the counter. "And this is for you!"

She pushed a gift bag into the matriarch's hands, catching the older woman off guard. She looked inside to see an arrangement of different embroidery tools including yarn, thread, needles, and fabric. Imelda looked up at the sales lady with even more confusion.

"What? Why?" She asked.

"This is my pay for theses shoes," she explained, "I hope you enjoy that as much as I enjoy these shoes. You have a good day now!" With that Imelda was shooed out of the store. "You have a family to find," she squealed before shutting the door behind her. Imelda looked up at her giant alebrije more confused than she had been in a while.

"My family is up to something Pepita," Imelda said as she looked from her gift to the closed door of the shop. "We'd better find them before they hurt themselves."

Imelda continued to follow Pepita further into the city. They stopped at multiple stores, and each time the owner would know her name and give her a gift. Imelda grew more and more confused. She had expensive tools from a well known warehouse, a loaf of her favorite bread from life, a dozen new dresses that were all her size, and new earrings, necklaces, and bracelets. She had so many bags that Pepita was carrying some of them on her horns. Each present was supposed the pay for a pair of shoes that she couldn't remember her family making, except the the pair at the embroidery store. How could she have not noticed them being made?

The footprint trail still continued, and Imelda was starting to wonder if Hector had arranged all of this. It was either that or people today were being extremely nice. She didn't know what to think of it. It was extremely weird and off setting. She never thought in a lifetime that she would be doing this. A scavenger hunt.

Another of Pepita's growls directed her attention to another store they were now standing in front of. It was an artist's studio, and this one left Imelda with a raised eyebrow. Most of the places she had gone to reflected her in some way, but this one was off in its own category. Why would Hector come here?

Imelda gently pushed open the door, and walked inside. This door didn't have a bell or a buzzer or any noisemaker, to Imelda's liking. She stepped forward in the vast forum following Hector's footprints. There was no one there to greet her, and she couldn't hear anything even as she went further into the building. She was begging that she wouldn't get in trouble for trespassing or something.

She walked past stacks of paints, canvases, sculpting stone, clay, paint brushes, easels, and other tools and supplies she didn't recognize. Everything was lit up by the warm sunlight that came from the skylights above. The amount of light shining told her that it was getting closer to noon. She had spent almost half the day chasing a trail that she had no idea if it would end. She was starting to wonder if she should have just stayed home and made shoes.

Those thoughts dispersed when she turned a corner.

In front of her was a huge canvas balancing on a huge easel. The painting took her breath away as she stepped closer. It was her family. Her complete family, and everyone still had skin. She and Hector were in the middle with Julio and Coco on either side. Her brothers stood behind her and her husband while Victoria and Elena stood next to their mother and father. There was also Berto, Enrique, Gloria, Luisa, Carmen, Abel, Rosa, Benny, Manny, and Miguel holding his little sister Coco in his arms. Imelda smiled fondly, and reached forward to touch the dried paint. She looked up at herself, and then at Hector who held her close. It had been a while since she had seen herself with skin, and it had also been a while since she'd seen Hector with skin for that matter. Her smile brightened as she looked at the painting of her husband which jogged her memory. She remember that large nose, the large ears, his messy hair that would stay messy no matter how much you cleaned it, his soft hands that had the occasional callus from playing the guitar too much, and his warm eyes and lips that made her shiver with delight as she looked at them.

"Do you like it?"

Imelda turned to see a male skeleton with black and dark blue swirls on his forehead and cheeks coming down a flight of metal stairs from a floor above.

"It took me a while. Hector asked me to make it 6 months ago."

"He did?" Imelda asked as she looked between the family portrait and the new skeleton.

"Yes, when he was giving me my order," he gestured to the pair of perfectly crafted, leather dress up shoes that he was wearing. "He gave me a handful of prints of your family photo album, told me where to put each person, and I did the rest. One of my better paintings I must say."

Now that Imelda was looking around, she did see the pictures of her family either nailed up to the opposite wall for reference, or next to her on a table. Hector had been planning this for a while then. All of this.

"It's gorgeous," Imelda sighed longingly at the portrait, wishing that she could be that young, beautiful, alive self with no wrinkles, creaky bones, or silver hair. She could start over with Hector, and they could have the life they had dreamed about. But that was impossible. Hector must have known she was thinking that way or else he would have asked to draw them as skeletons.

"Thank you, senora," the artist said, "I'll send it by your house in the next couple days. I would give it to you now, but I think you might want to be able to walk. Also, when you gain more family members, you can bring the painting back, and I can add canvases to it. I can show your entire family."

"Oh gracias," Imelda smiled, "It will look perfect above our mantelpiece."

After thanking the man multiple times, Imelda was able to pull herself away from the painting. It made her a new kind of happy. A warm, fuzzy happy that made her think of kittens and newborn babies. Hector had set this all up and it had been fun, but Imelda hoped she was getting to the end of his little day of fun.

Her hope was well placed because the next turn she and Pepita took lead into a park of beautiful benches, metal flowers, and colorful, tiny alebrijes. Imelda looked across to spot her family. They hadn't noticed her yet, probably because they were watching her husband pace nervously with his back turned to her.

"Relax Hector," Felipe told his brother-in-law, "You've been planning this for a while. She's not going to get lost. She's got Pepita, and she's not dumb."

"Of course I know that," Hector chewed on his finger, "I'm just worried that I set up something wrong, took a step in the wrong direction that lead elsewhere. If she gets lost, I will never forgive myself."

Imelda rolled her eyes at his nervous ranting. She would have guessed he would react that way about a plan that he himself designed that went off without a hitch. He worried too much. As Pepita laid down in a corner of the park after seeing she had found what her person had been looking for, Imelda placed her bags next to Pepita and started to walk over to them. Hector still had his back to her, so Rosita was the first one to see her. She giggled and nudged Victoria who smiled before nudging her father. Felipe and Oscar both looked at each other knowingly.

No one said anything, so Imelda was able to creep up behind Hector and say "boo". He jumped at least 10 feet in the air, and the rest of the family started laughing.

"Imelda!" He cried happily before engulfing her in a tight, warm hug. She laughed into his shoulder as he started ranting again saying things like "I'm so happy to see you" or "I'm so glad you made it". Imelda relished the hug for a few moments more before pulling away slightly

"Where have all you idiotas been?" She asked with a hint of annoyance. "I've been all over the city looking for you!"

"And I see you went shopping," Victoria smirked as she looked over at Pepita who still had bags dangling from her horns.

"I did not," Imelda placed her hands on her hip bones. "I was following your footprints," Imelda pointed to Hector, "And every time I entered a store someone would know my name and give me something. I don't know what to make of it! Why were you in an embroidery store, and a dress store, and a jewelry store?"

"I was shopping for you mi amor," Hector said. "We all were." The rest of her family was nodding vigorously at this. Imelda's jaw dropped, literally! Hector reached down, grabbed it, and readjusted it back into its socket. Imelda stared at them blankly.

"Why were you shopping for me?" She asked, touching her bony chest. Hector smiled sadly at her. She's forgotten her own birthday.

Is this what he forced upon her? To forget her own birthday in order to raise her family? It was sad. No one should have to forget their birthday. She hasn't thought about herself in nearly a century. She's only thought about the people she cared about, and, if what Oscar and Felipe said was correct, she asked her family to forget her birthday. She celebrated everyone else's birthday, but not her own. Hector felt awful about it, but at least he was celebrating her birthday now. That was one of a couple dates he couldn't forget. He couldn't forget her birthday, Coco's birthday, his own birthday, and his and Imelda's anniversary. He was already planning a party for that one.

"Happy Birthday mi amor," Hector gave a small, cute smile. Imelda again was speechless. She opened and closed her mouth a couple of times like she wanted to say something, but didn't know what. She then started counting the days on her fingers, and she stopped in shock for a minute before looking up at her husband.

"You remembered?" She asked in a small, innocent voice.

"Of course, Imelda! Why wouldn't I?" He asked her, and she looked down at her boots sadly.

"It's been nearly a century," she said, still not looking up, "I can't believe you remembered after all this time. Especially after I thought you ran away from me because you wanted someone who wouldn't argue with you every ten seconds, and who had some money to spare. Someone prettier, nicer—" Imelda gasped in surprise when Hector pulled her into another hug.

"I never meant for you to think that," Hector murmured into her shoulder. "My only wish was for you to be happy. I never wanted you to thing I didn't care for you. I've been celebrating your birthday for years mi amor. Do you remember those paper, purple flowers that would pop up on your balcony?"

Imelda pulled back to look him in the eyes in shock. "The ones that were attached to stones, had little love letters on them, and smelled like actual flowers? That was you!?" Imelda asked in astonishment.

"A friend of mine is very good at making paper flowers and making fragrances. I ask her every year to make one for you, and she never fails. She pitied me in a way, so broke me didn't have to pay. It was my small way of saying that I loved you without showing my face."

"Oh Hector, you really never stopped loving me?" Imelda asked as she looked up at him with eyes that looked like they belonged to an innocent child.

"Of course, mi amor," Hector placed a tender kiss to her forehead before pulling something from behind his back. Imelda smiled at the purple flower before carefully taking it into her hands. She could smell its flower scent from here, and it was only made of paper. I reminded her of life, of those wonderful moments when she and Hector would go running through fields of grass, flowers, and crops shouting out gritos when she was mad at her parents, when life was getting them down, or when they just had the energy. It made her smile brighter to remember.

"You better not go running off again early in the morning tomorrow," Imelda told her husband as she watched him get into bed next to her over her reading glasses. She held a new book about unique, long lost stitches that Victoria had given her that day in her hands, and she was back in her nightgown and messy hair. Hector pulled the covers over them both before answering.

"I promise Imelda. I won't be getting up that early anytime soon," he said as he rested his head on the pillow she was leaning up against. She laid her own head against his, and could feel his soft hair against her skull. She smiled.

"Good," Imelda said sternly, but her smile remain, "Thank you for today. It's still mind blowing to me that you remembered my birthday."

"I love you, and giving you that flower and seeing your face light up each year gave me the strength to keep trying to cross that bridge. I never stopped. I never stopped loving you. Seeing you from a distance was enough to sustain me for the years I was down here, but being here with you know, having you so close, I don't think I'll ever be able to go back to that."

"I don't think I'll be able to go back either," Imelda said as she set down her book on her bedside table, and caressing his jaw with her now free hands. "You make me so happy."

"The feeling is mutual," Hector assured her as he buried his head into her hair and gentle touch. He sighed in happiness. This day couldn't have gotten any better. His plan had worked perfectly. Imelda had loved it, and she loved him. Nothing could make it better.

"Goodnight mi amor," Imelda said as she kissed his forehead, and reached over him to turn off the lamp, but not before checking her alarm clock was on this time.