TW// Domestic violence

"Perdóname" (Pardon me) Juana said to a stuffed skunk as she accidentally bumped it with the broom.

"You're doing a great job, just remember to sweep under everything." Wilbur spoke to her gently while walking by with a customer.

"Of course..." Juana continued to sweep, and continued to ignore the underside of everything. Being around all these dead animals was starting to make her vegan heart uncomfortable. Wilbur had assured her they all died of natural causes, but she still felt sick.

"Excuse me, do you know where Wilbur is?" Someone asked Juana as they crossed paths.

"Oh, he just went that way, with a customer." Juana pointed.

"Oh...best not interrupt him then." He shrugged. "You're new I guess?"

"Yes, I'm the janitor." Juana said without pride.

"Oh sick, what's your name?"

"Juana, I'm not from here. I'm from Quesadilla Island." Juana told him.

"Really? That's fucking cool! I bet the dragon is beautiful at night, innit?"

"Yes! The eyes light up, and the scales are illuminated by the lights in town. During Christmas, they put Christmas lights on the dragon! Sorry if I'm going on, I miss that dragon." Juana apologized with an uneasy laugh.

"Oh, no worries mi amiga!" (Oh, no worries my friend.)

Juana rolled her eyes with a smile. "Another white boy speaking Spanish to me, delightful!"

"Oh shit– it's not like offensive is it?" He looked genuinely horrified.

"No, no! I'm joking. I love when people give Spanish a try. Since leaving Quesadilla Island, I don't get to have full conversations in Spanish anymore. I'll settle for anything."

"Oh, well that bloody sucks mate. I have a friend that is trying really hard to learn Spanish right now. Maybe you can hang out with her, and teach her some stuff?" The boy suggested.

Juana shrugged timidly. She could use a new friend or two. Maybe it would make her miss her old ones less. "Maybe?"

"I can give you her Instagram so you can contact her?"

"Sure, that's fine."

The boy grabbed a sticky note and pen off of Wilbur's counter. He wrote down his and his friend's usernames before handing it to Juana. "Here, mine and hers...I'm going to go find Wilbur, that bitch promised to take me for ice cream." He ran off.

Juana raised a curious brow and looked at the paper.

Tommy_Innit_Mate

DristaXP

"No pueden reemplazar a Tilín." (They cannot replace Tilín.) Juana whispered to herself.

-

"So, am I free to do as I want after the cleaning is done each day?" Juana asked while sitting at the dinner table with Wilbur and Tallulah.

"Sure. Just ask me if you can leave early." Wilbur poured some gravy over his mashed potatoes. "Tallu, you not feeling hungry?"

"Uh...just not in a potato mood." Tallulah played with her mashed potatoes.

"I'm sorry, well at least eat the chicken." Wilbur insisted.

"I will..." Tallulah took her time eating. She had a lot on her mind.

"So Juana, you met Tommy today? He mentioned you." Wilbur put his attention back on her.

"Yes, I did."

"He's annoying as hell, but he means well. Perhaps you two could hang out sometime? You must feel awfully lonely..."

"Yes, I guess it does get lonely..." Juana shrugged and continued eating the green salad that Wilbur had specifically made for her.

Once dinner was done, Juana went to her room. She offered to help Tallulah with the dishes, but Wilbur insisted she rest instead. Apparently dishes were Tallulah's only chore. Besides having to keep her own room clean, and homework.

Juana sat on the bed and took a deep breath while pulling out her phone. She wanted to see notifications from her friends or family, but she blocked them long ago. Now it was time to reach out to her new friends.

First, Juana sent a message to Tommy. Since she had already briefly met him.

Tommy_Innit_Mate

Juana.Flippa: Hello, it's me from the taxidermy shop.

Tommy_Innit_Mate: Oh heyyy! What's up?

Juana.Flippa: Just finished dinner, how are you?

Tommy_Innit_Mate: I'm fine! I've gtg rn but I hope to speak to you again soon!

Juana.Flippa: Alright, goodbye.

Juana put her phone down. Her old friends were never too busy for her. Even if they were busy, they'd push things aside for her.

Now Juana laid down on her bed in silence, she didn't no what to do with her free time. She considered going for a walk, but didn't have the energy. Instead she laid in bed and reflected on old times.

-Flashback-

"¡¿Golpeaste a nuestra hija?!" (You hit our daughter?!) Mariana said in disbelief.

"No, no I did not hit her!" Charlie defended himself. He might not of been fluent in Spanish, but through repetition he knew some words and phrases.

"She says you hit her!" Mariana gestured to the ten year old pouting in a kitchen corner with her arms crossed.

"Why would I hit her? Mariana, do you really think I would do that?! You have no proof, you probably hit her all the time when I'm not here." Charlie tried to gaslight his way out of the confrontation.

"Why would I hit her?! I'm barely here!" Mariana was an absent parent to say the least.

"Correcto! (Correct!) You're always out with other people, partying! Meanehile, I'm here working my ass off raising our damn kid!" Charlie picked up a glassen cup from the table and threw it at Mariana, but missed.

"¡OYE NO ME TIREN COSAS!" (HEY DO NOT THROW THINGS AT ME!) Mariana approached Charlie and punched him in the face. They'd continue to fight for hours. Until eventually spending a passionate night in their bedroom. Then, they would pretend everything was normal in the morning.

-Flashback End-

Juana snapped out of her thoughts and got out of her bed. She decided she'd take herself for a little drive, to hopefully relax her mind before bed. She opened her door and walked down the hall. She heard gentle music flutter out of Tallulah's room. Her father's gentle guitar strumming paired with her sorrowful harmonica cries. Juana couldn't help but stop and listen. Slowly she moved closer to the door so she could hear the words Wilbur was singing.

"🎶I heard there was a special place where men could go emancipate🎶"

Juana would of loved to listen further, but she was distracted by a sound downstairs. She curiously headed down, wondering if she'd catch one of those awful taxidermied animals moving.

Instead of finding a dead deer come back to life, she saw a woman standing in front of an open window. Legs spread like bambi.

"I wasn't aware people break in to steal taxidermy..." Juana said sarcastically, staring down the woman. She didn't looked armed, her face wasn't even covered.

"Oi, sorry! I'm not a thief." The woman took a couple steps forward. "Who are you?"

"The new cleaner...who are you? Typically only criminals come through windows...though you hardly look intimidating." Juana noticed how the lady was dressed. She looked like she just back from a date, clearly she wasn't about to rob and dip.

"Ah, Nice to meet you...is Tallulah asleep?"

"No, and answer my question." Juana crossed her arms.

"I'm Sally, Wilbur said she'd be asleep by now...would you listen to that?" Sally looked up at the ceiling, Tallulah's music was seeping down. "Doesn't even sound like he's put her to bed."

"I'll go tell him his...whatever you are, is here." Juana turned to leave. Sally grabbed her arm. "Oye! What?"

"Shh, you can't let Tallulah hear of me." Sally pleaded.

"Right, okay, whatever." Juana found Wilbur's secrets interesting, but hardly cared enough to tell Tallulah. She walked back upstairs and knocked on Tallulah's bedroom door.

Wilbur opened the door slowly. "Oh, Juana. I thought you'd be asleep...did we wake you?"

"No, it's fine. Uh...I think you left a window open downstairs...you never know what could get in. The slit it wide enough to let in a decently attractive woman." Juana sounded more sarcastic than suspicious, but Wilbur caught on.

"Oh uh...I'll go close the window. I have some things to do downstairs too...Tallu, why don't you play some songs for Juana?" Wilbur pleaded with Juana with his eyes.

"Oh yes, please." Juana definitely sounded sarcastic as she entered Tallulah's room and shut the door as Wilbur left. She was only doing it because she didn't want to see this small family crumble on her second night.