Caray, Caray!

Cesar and Bertha are literally crying in their beers over their loss of Miranda and Alejandro. Bertha moans about how Alejandro made fun of her and despises her just like his father. It occurs to Cesar to ask Bertha if she killed Alfredo because of that. Bertha howls drunkenly that she had wanted to kill Fernanda, but missed. “I missed! I missed!” Bertha runs down the hallway to get a kleenex before leaving. Right at that moment ther is a knock at the door and Lizania is standing in the doorway dressed to the 9’s and ready to smack Cesar. She walks in and gripes to him that Cesar didn’t answer a single call all afternoon and had his cell off apparently. Lizania runs on, nonstop, and tells him that Alejandro and Luciano have found a way to block Bertha from getting his fortune.

Cesar has tried to get Lizania to leave before she blurted something out and Bertha hears, but she won’t pay attention. He says they’ll talk later. She sneers, “Well, fine, since I’m not interested in having you touch me when you’re drunk!” (Little Miss High-and-Mighty is so full of herself!) She begins for the door. However, Bertha prevents Lizania from leaving and demands, at the point of a long, sharp knife, that she explain what plan Alejandro and Miranda have to block her from taking control of his money. Berta assures her that Alfredo’s documents were unsigned and undated, so she put the date as that before her father’s death which gave her possession of everything. Lizania explains there was a clause that went into effect once they got married, and that clause states that as long as Miranda gets pregnant within the first year, the funds are frozen until the baby is born. Bertha goes nuts and tells Cesar that he has to stop that pregnancy from happening at all cost and then shoves the knife into his hand and leaves the place. After Bertha leaves the apartment Cesar throws the knife onto the floor and takes his belt off and he uses it as a strap. He begins to beat Lizania with it because she told everything she knew to Bertha instead of waiting and giving that information to him instead.

Naty warns Miranda that if she doesn’t leave in the morning right away she will be running a great danger. Gabino arrives and requests Miranda to lock herself in her bedroom that night, and hands her over a gun for her protection.

Fernanda is certain that she will never recover her daughters and tells this to Juan. He’s worried that Renata has said something insulting to her again. Fernanda says she only told her about her suffering as a little girl and that it has now turned into the resentment of a grown woman. So, she cries that Gonzalo was right when he said she should never have come back to reclaim them. Juan says he’ll make Renata see reason, and that if she’s learning to accept the life of a poor man then certainly she’ll come to accept her as her mother. Fernanda disagrees and says as soon as Florencia recuperates she’ll be leaving to go somewhere nobody will ever find her.

Miranda, Arcadia and Naty are frightened while staying locked in the bedroom when they hear someone trying to open the door. It is El Guapo, the pug-ugly, who is hiding somewhere inside the wing in another bedroom. Miranda asks Arcadia if this could be the same troublemakers as before and what they could possibly want from her. Arcadia and Naty discuss the history of the people wanting to grab possession of the various plantations over the decades. Miranda remarks that she couldn’t get hold of one of the nearby neighbors. Arcadia says the property is abandoned and run down and the owner is always in the city. Meanwhile, Pug-ugly is having a grand time frightening these dopy women. He’s scraping the door and then shaking the knobs. Finally, Pug-ugly hears Gabino returning and leaves the hallway to hide. Gabino comes back and opens the door to the bedroom. Miranda pulls the gun and nearly shoots him as he enters.

Daira and Alejandro are discussing their finances and his sadness over Miranda’s rejection of him. She suggest he sell the mansion but he assures her things are not that bad yet. Alejandro mentions to Daira that he now understands what Miranda meant when she said that the wounds of love are healed by tears. Alejandro next asks Daira what she thinks he should do to win back Miranda. Just then Luciano walks in and suggests that rather than asking a woman, he should try to think like one. Alejandro decides that makes sense and figures that Miranda would want to explain things to her father so he decides to go see Gonzalo and tell him everything from the beginning. The others agree that would be best.

The women tell Gabino about the noise at the door, but Gabino swears he saw nobody and nothing. Miranda sends him back out to search the premises again, every little corner he can think of.

Lizania is lying in pain on the couch with very noticeable welts on her arms and chest. (About then I’d be looking for that knife and slipping it under the cushion for when Cesar was least expecting it.) Cesar is in another room, but he comes back in and continues to hurl insults at her. She cries pitifully to him: she’s sorry and she cannot take it back or correct this mistake. He threatens to beat her again and she squeals out in panic not to hit her anymore. She promises she will never let it happen again! Then he warns her that she’s got a number of punishments coming for the way she acted, particularly complaining to him about being drunk. He asks her if she is willing to stay with him and she says yes, she’d do anything for him. She jumps up and tries to kiss him but he pushes her away. (One sick puppy—no, make that 2 sick puppies here!) He yells that he wants her to “Get out!” She can stay with Daira in order to find out more details about the clause in the will. Lizania should “make nice with mommy again”. He tells her, “Act respectfully around her now. Our argument isn’t with Daira, only Alejandro.” He explains that they need Daira on his side so that if wins her over then it will be easier to get Alejandro to accept him. He kisses her and pushes her unceremoniously out the door. He closes it, goes back to the couch to retrieve his belt and wipes it down, presumably wiping off the blood and sweat from the beating he just gave her. (Gag, gagging here--and this is being shown at the dinner hour?)

While Florencia is sleeping Fabricio arrives and Fernanda tells him that she’s done all she can; there is no hope for his wife and she shouldn’t give him false hope. Fabricio cries and says she must save her. Fernanda changes the subject and asks him how he’s getting on with Julio; is he comfortable with the situation. He answers that Gonzalo was more like a father than Julio and he’ll never be comfortable calling him “Dad.” Fernanda reminds him Julio had no idea or things might have been different. Fabricio answers he is more angry with his mother for hiding the truth from him and Julio all these years. (Aren’t we all?) Fernanda replies that parents aren’t taught how to raise children, they just do what they feel is best which causes them to make mistakes.

Carola and Raul agree to purchase a computer together. He’ll teach her to use it to better her career skills and he’ll use it for school projects.

Nuria knocks at Cesar’s door later that same evening. He opens it and she is upset and sour at him for having sent for her. (What a surprise! I love it when she shows some backbone!) He asks why so glum and she says because you only call me if you need some ironing or sewing on a missing button to one of your shirts. Cesar tells her she’s now going to live with him. Nuria literally jumps for joy and squeals excitedly. (Wait! Wait! What happened to the other Nuria?) He says she needs to stop for her things at Miranda’s and in the meantime he is dropped off at the hospital to talk with Fabricio and Fernanda.

Juan tells Florencia, Fabricio and Fernanda that he’s worried Bertha will turn Renata against him. Florencia tells them that she remembers a number of things from that night she wants to tell them. It was Bertha, who, for instance, for all those years turned everybody in the family against Fernanda. Florencia and Fernanda then discuss her early years and the funny timing of the doctors’ deaths. Fernanda explains that if she’d been treated all those years ago her condition would never have advanced. Florencia swears that she always took her medicine. Afterward, Florencia tries to get Fernanda then to tell her how it could be that she has an inherited, congenital heart condition if absolutely nobody in the family suffered from this same problem. She wants to know if she was adopted, but Fernanda says no and tries to avoid the rest of the questions. Instead, she gives her extra sedative to make her sleep.

Juan and Fabricio are talking outside Florencia’s room and he requests that Juan keep Renata far away from Bertha. Juan refuses saying Bertha is her aunt and he has no right to do that. Fabricio warns him that despite that she is evil and has a way of deceiving people and then hurting them, and she will probably try to harm his family as well. She is an evil woman. Cesar walks up on them in the hallway about then. He hears Fabricio and Juan. He says, “Yes, Bertha is evil.” “Don’t look at me that way. I am only trying to be your friend. Bertha doesn’t need a reason to finish off someone. She does it because she enjoys it.” Fabricio adds, “Juan, don’t be naive. Bertha plots against somebody and enjoys it. She does it just to see you suffer. Just to see you suffer.” (Ok, Juan. Here is when that class in psychoanalysis/psychotherapy you took in med school should start sounding alarm bells.) Juan asks if she is as bad as Cesar and he quips back that he’s far worse than Bertha. Fernanda comes out of the room then and Cesar takes her to dinner.

Miranda is sleeping deeply when Pug-Ugly/ El Guapo takes a key from his pocket and enters her room. He walks towards her, runs his fingers up and down her arms and then licks his fingers. He gets onto her bed and lies down next to her. After a bit he gets up and leaves a little carved monkey’s head next to her feet at the foot of the bed and walks out, leaving the door wide open. Miranda wakes up to find the carving. She is of course spooked, so she starts to dial Alejandro on her cell, but she gets mad at herself for always running to him whenever there is a problem. She puts the phone down. Of course, at the other end is Alejandro with his cell in his hand thinking of her and wanting to call her, but neither does. While in their individual beds they both remember their honeymoon, making love and their promises to each other.

At dinner, Cesar tells Fernanda that Miranda and Alejandro should never have been allowed to marry. She answers that well, they loved each other so, there was no reason to object. He replies that if they really loved each other they would not have separated. She admits she ought to have told her the whole truth. Cesar talks next without thinking and shoots off his mouth, ”You ought to have told her that Alejandro came to avenge himself on Gonzalo!” Fernanda stops in mid-chew and asks Cesar how he knows this. Cesar realizes he’s said too much, “Some time ago Fabricio says a few things and I knew then that was what up.” She thinks to herself, “Fabricio just finished learning this himself recently and could not therefore have told Cesar. So, who else knows this and could have told him?”
They finish eating and he says good-bye. He acts so strangely by coming back and hugging her an extra couple of times before actually leaving, and telling her how he needs her to know that he just loves his madrina enormously. Once he is gone, Fernanda realizes she can no longer trust Cesar. She then plans to tell Alejandro about what just happened and about her suspicions.

Miranda calls back in Arcadia and Gabino. She tells them that she had locked her door specially, but there it was, open with the monkey head sitting on her bed. She orders them to examine every nook and cranny, and to lock every room and all the windows. Gabino and Arcadia begin looking for clues in the hallway. They find dirt and sand tracked onto the floor and determine to follow any more signs of that to wherever the intruder might be hiding.

Miranda talks with Pamela on the phone and plans to meet with her the next morning. She returns to bed and secures the gun near her pillow. Then she tries to sleep with at least one eye open.

Labels: heridas