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Miguel trudged [1] home behind his family,carrying an armful of marigolds.
“How many times have we told you—that plaza is crawling with mariachis!” Tío Berto said.
“Yes, Tío Berto,” Miguel answered.
A few minutes later, Miguel had dropped off his marigolds and was ushered into the Rivera family’s shoe workshop, where he plopped onto a stool. Surrounded by the rhythm of hammering [2] , Miguel braced himself for a stern [3] round of lecturing from the whole family.
“I found your son in Mariachi Plaza!”Abuelita said. Miguel’s parents looked up from their work.
“Miguel,” Papá said, disappointment in his voice.
“You know how Abuelita feels about the plaza,” said Miguel’s mother, a hand on her pregnant belly.
“I was just shining shoes!” Miguel replied.
“A musician’s shoes!” added Tío Berto,prompting [4] gasps from every corner of the shop. Primo Abel was so shocked that the shoe he was working on zipped [5] away from the polisher and shot up into the ceiling’s rafters [6] .
“But the plaza’s where all the foot traffic is!” Miguel tried to explain.
“If Abuelita says no more plaza, then no more plaza,” said his father.
“What about tonight?” Miguel blurted [7] .
“What’s tonight?” his grandpa asked.
“It’s Día de los Muertos,” Miguel said hesitantly [8] . “The whole town’s gonna be there,and...well, they’re having this talent show—”
“Talent show?” Abuelita said with a tone of suspicion. Miguel squirmed [9] on the stool,unsure whether he should continue.
“And I thought I might ... ,” Miguel stopped. His mamá gave him a curious gaze.
“Sign up?” she asked.
“Well, maybe?” Miguelf inished.
Prima Rosa laughed. “You have to have talent to be in a talent show.”
“What are you gonna do, shine shoes?”teased Primo Abel.
“It’s Día de los Muertos,” Abuelita said. “No one’s going anywhere. Tonight is about family.”She dropped marigolds into Miguel’s arms.“Ofrenda room. Vámonos!”
Miguel followed his abuelita to the ofrenda room with the pile [10] of golden blooms [11] . The room was bright and open, dominated by a wall lined with tables and shelves covered with pictures, candles,f lowers, and food offerings to the ancestors. Mamá Coco was already there. Miguel pouted [12] as Abuelita arranged the f lowers on the shrines [13] .
“Don’t give me that look,” Abuelita said to Miguel. “It’s the one night of the year when our ancestors can visit us. We put their photos on the ofrenda so their spirits can cross over. If we don’t put them up, they can’t come! We made all this food, m’ijo, and set out the things they loved in life. All this work to bring the family together. I don’t want you sneaking of to who knows where.” She looked up from the altar just in time to catch Miguel slipping out of the room.
“Where are you going?” she huffed [14] .
“I thought we were done,” Miguel said,turning around.
“Ay, Dios mío,” she muttered [15] . “Being part of this family means being HERE for this family. I don’t want to see you end up like ... ”She gazed up at the photo of Mamá Imelda.
“Like Mamá Coco’s papá?”
“Never mention that man!” Abuelita snapped, sliding a sideways glance toward Mamá Coco. “He’s better of forgotten.”
“But you’re the one who—”
“Ta, ta, ta—tch!”
“Papá?” Mamá Coco said suddenly. Abuelita and Miguel turned toward Mamá Coco. She was anxiously [16] looking around the room.“Papá is home?”
“Mamá, cálmese, cálmese,” Abuelita said,rushing to comfort her mom.
“Papá is coming home?” Mamá Coco asked again.
“No, Mamá. It’s okay, I’m here,” Abuelita said. Mamá Coco looked up with a blank stare [17] .
“Who are you?” Mamá Coco asked.
Abuelita’s face dropped, but she recovered
[18]
with a gentle smile. “Rest, Mamá,” she said. She returned to the altar and continued her lecture.“I’m hard on you because I care, Miguel.” She stopped and looked around the room. “Miguel?Miguel?” She let out a long sigh when she realized that he’d slipped out
. “What are we going to do with that boy?”
[1] trudge v. 步履艰难地走
[2] hammer v. 捶打
[3] stern adj. 严肃的，严厉的
[4] prompt v. 激起；导致
[5] zip v. 快速移动
[6] rafter n. 椽；屋梁
[7] blurt v. 脱口而出
[8] hesitantly adv. 犹豫地
[9] squirm v. 扭动
[10] pile n. 一堆
[11] bloom n. 盛开的花
[12] pout v. 噘嘴
[13] shrine n. 神龛
[14] huff v. 生气地说
[15] mutter v. 咕哝
[16] anxiously adv. 焦急地
[17] stare n. 凝视
[18] recover v. 恢复