Caray, Caray!

We’ll start off with The Kiss… and, ohhh my gosh, what a kiss! It’s passionate. It’s fiery. It’s reciprocal… and so deliciously long! [Wow! Sigh! Swoon! You get the idea. I won’t deny that I replayed this scene ten or twelve times. ]

Cut to Marcia, who is arriving home after Ariel’s party. She is pensive.

No, Lety did not pull away from the kiss. When they finally stop kissing, Fern says he wants to take her somewhere so they can be alone. Lety tells him not to touch her. She hails a cab. Fern begs her not to go. He can take her home later. He wants to show her how much he loves her [that did not sound so crass in Spanish]. He says he knows he behaved badly in the restaurant, he’s here now, and he wants to look into her eyes so she can see that he is sincere. His voice cracks. He’s dying to be with her. He holds her face in his hands. He pleads. A tear rolls down his cheek. He begs her to please go with him because he loves her with all his heart. Lety appears to mull this over, but then she recalls Omar’s letter-- specifically, the part where Omar wrote a mantra for Fern to use when he feels horrified by being with her: “I kiss Lety in order to not lose Conceptos, I boink Lety in order to not lose Conceptos.” As Fern goes in for another kiss, she regains her nerve and harshly responds, “Well, I don’t want you!” and takes off in the cab, crying.

Standing alone on the sidewalk, Fern is beside himself. He asks “Doesn’t she feel how much I really love her?” He sighs as he says her name and wonders why she is doing this to him. He’s crying. [If only I could reach into my t.v. and comfort him…sniff…] He regains his composure, walks back inside the restaurant, and orders a whiskey.

He sits by the fireplace and recalls (yet again) the Psychic Guy telling him (Fern) that he is incapable of solving his problems, because he’s got them all mixed up. He must separate his business and his love life, and choose between them. Then he remembers the board meeting where his father handed over the company to Fern, and gave a short speech about how he’s handing over to his son a successful, family-run company with absolutely no problems of any kind, and that, God willing, Fern will keep the company on a successful path. Ariel sneers and says that God’s will is going to have to be really strong to make that happen.

Fern then replays in his head over and over the last scene with Lety. He thinks this can’t be true. He admits that yes, everything is mixed up, but his father left him the business, and the business has to be his priority… no, the business is his priority. He resolutely takes a swig of his whiskey.

Alicia and Tomas – or rather, Tommie – are on their hot date at Le Noir. Tommie is styling in his suit, pink shirt and tall pompadour. Alicia is wearing a tiny silver dress and is also sporting a tall pompadour. Alicia tells Tommie about her rich ex-husband. Tommie says he and the ex-husband know of each other, although they have never actually hung out together. Alicia says she has many suitors, but none of them are good enough for her. The waiter brings their food. Tommie says there’s not enough food on his plate to fill his stomach. He orders soup, French fries (because it’s a French restaurant), plus rice and eggs. The waiter is annoyed. Tommie complains about the food portions. Alicia asks where he normally eats. He says he eats at a place right next to Filmo Imagen. The proprietor, Doña Ju… uh, that is, the proprietor of the place is a great cook. Alicia pretends to be interested.

Lety gets home and Robopop is waiting up for her. He gives her the third degree and is worried about the swiggle-mobile. Lety says she came home in a taxi and assures him the swiggle-mobile is okay, because Tomas has it. Robopop is not convinced.

Alicia asks Tommie whether he lives alone. She is surprised that he does. She asks if he’s going to marry Lety; after all, he buys her all kinds of things and gives her money and lends her his car. Tommie says he’s not planning to marry Lety, he’s just a generous guy. Alicia sees her chance. She asks whether he would do the same for her as he does for Lety. Tommie gets an “Oh crap! What did I get myself into” look on his face.

In Lety’s room, her mom is comforting Lety. Julieta tells her that, whatever is wrong, she can help Lety. As usual, Lety just tells Julieta that nothing is wrong.

Alicia sees Tommie’s “oh crap” reaction and says she’s just kidding. But then says that she understands if he just doesn’t like her as much as he likes Lety. She goes on to give her sob-story about her credit card bills and her repo’ed car. The food arrives. Tommie snorts in delight. Alicia goes on about lawyers and frozen bank accounts. Tommie, who seems distracted by the food, says he’d be glad to help her. He feeds her French fries. She pretends to like it. He says he can have his lawyers help her. She’s pretty happy about that, “Aaaaay, Tommie!” The waiter brings the bill. Tommie is impactado. He can’t believe how high the bill is. He refuses to pay the tip. Alicia tries to reason with him and he finally agrees to pay. He takes out a wad of cash but it’s not enough. He takes out the Filmo Imagen checkbook but the waiter says they don’t accept checks. Alicia suggests that he pay with a credit card. Tommie won’t admit that he doesn’t have one, and instead says he doesn’t believe in credit cards. Alicia convinces the waiter to accept Tommie’s check. Tommie takes out his rubber stamp and ceremoniously pounds the check with it to prove that the check is good. They leave the restaurant and he beats the valet to open Alicia’s door. At first I thought he just wanted the pleasure of gawking at Alicia getting into the car, but when he wouldn’t let the valet open the driver’s side either, I realized he just didn’t want to tip the valet. The valet tells Tommie that he took really good care of the care, just like Tommie asked. Tommie says great, and then says he left the his tip with the waiter. The waiter says “yeah right” and gives him a nasty look. Alicia tells Tommie she does not want Lety to know about their date. She would normally never go out with a friend’s boyfriend. Tommie agrees that they should not tell Lety, as Lety is very jealous. He says he has that effect on women.

Lety writes in her diary that she should not have listened to Tomas. The night was a disaster. She had planned to embarrass him in front of his friends, but it was too hard for her. She just can’t play those games because, even though he ruined her life, she still loves him. The mere touch of his skin sends a clear message within her that she is nowhere near getting over him. As Lety speaks, there’s a shot of a very sad Fern, still drinking in front of the fireplace at the restaurant. [There, there, Fern, want some of my Cherry Garcia?] Lety admits to her diary that when he kissed her she almost gave in to his plead to go with him. She would never have forgiven herself for letting her love win over her dignity. She decides she must keep her distance from him until she gets over him.

Fern’s phone rings. Guess who? He tells Marcia that he’s finishing up his drink, and he’ll be going home shortly. She can even call him at home later to confirm that he’s really there. He hangs up and wipes the tears from his eyes.

Lety thinks aloud that Fern must be home by now with Marcia. He probably had to shower to cleanse himself after his contact with her (Lety). Meanwhile, here she is, still lost in the sensation of his touch. She’s left with his smell and with the taste of his kiss. She says he must suffer for betraying her. He claims he is jealous of Tomas over her but she is sure that he is really just afraid that Tomas is trying to take his company. Fern doesn’t trust Tomas and that is what launched them into this tragedy. What bothers her even more is that Fern looks down on Tomas, as if Tomas were inferior, as if Tomas does not have a right to a better life. [Don’t think she would be defending Tom like this if she knew what he was up to just then.] Another shot of Fern with his whiskey.

Tommie drives Alicia home. Still in the car, she turns her seduction mode into high gear. She thanks him and reminds him to call her. Tommie goes in for a kiss. She turns his face and kisses his cheek. She asks if he wants to go inside. Tommie can’t believe he’s about to get lucky! Wait… no luck… before he can even respond, Alicia takes it back. She says she’s so sorry, she knows he’s with Lety and it was very inappropriate of her to invite him in and she doesn’t want him to get the wrong idea about her. Tommie is still speechless. Alicia hurriedly jumps out of the car and runs off before he can say anything. Before going inside, she turns around and blows him a kiss [bleh!]. He blows her a kiss too [double bleh!]. After she’s gone, he congratulates himself. He thinks he left her wanting more. He can’t believe she was just sitting right there in the passenger side next to him. He says he will not let anyone else sit in that seat now that she’s been there. He proclaims his love for her.

The next morning, Lety walks down the stairs from her room. She stops to put on a brave face, then continues down to the dining table where her parents are. Robopop wants to know if she told Don Fernando about buying the swiggle-mobile, and whether he knows that Tomas is driving it. Lety says that Fern knows everything and that he’s fine with it. [This lying thing with her parents is becoming too easy for her… sorry, that’s the worried mom in me]. Robopop warns Lety to be careful with Tomas, because he is getting very attached to the car. Lety says there’s nothing to worry about; Tomas is responsible and trust-worthy. Just then, she reaches into a desk drawer for Filmo Imagen’s money box. She sees that the money is gone, and so is the checkbook.

Fern is at home, sitting in his thinking chair, looking out the window. He looks really hunky in a simple white t-shirt. He’s covered in a blanket and it looks like maybe he’s been sitting there all night. Surprisingly, he does not seem hung over. He’s got a sweet grin on his face as he thinks aloud that he kissed Lety. [Yeah, I’m getting a silly grin remembering that incredible kiss too! …Is it hot in here?]

Lety looks worried. They hear Tomas drive up and beep obnoxiously. He comes in wearing a different suit but the same tall pompadour. Robopop yells at him for being obnoxious. He tells Tomas the neighbors all think he’s a chauffer. Tomas retorts that his elegance must really bother Robopop. He tells Julieta that he’s not hungry, so he’ll just have some chocolate milk, two pieces of bread, juice, and a couple of eggs. Robopop lectures Lety about respecting his house and tells her that she must always report where she is. Lety slams her hand on the table, but then relents. She apologizes and agrees to abide by his rules. Lety takes Tomas aside to ask about the missing money and checkbook. He says that he has them because he needed them for some expenses. He says he noticed that there is a lot of money missing. Lety admits that she took some money to pay for lunch at Le Noir. Tomas freaks out. He says that place is too expensive and their portions are too small. Lety wants to know how he knows that. Tomas talks his way out of it and Lety is in a hurry to leave for work so he does not get busted.

Fern arrives at the office and asks PM for Lety. PM reports that Lety hasn’t arrived; she is probably driving her boyfriend’s sports car and she drives very slowly. Fern agrees. He jokes that with her slow driving, she doesn’t really get the benefit of driving a sports car. Not funny but he fakes a goofy laugh anyway.

Julieta is in the kitchen arguing with Robopop on Lety’s behalf. She says Lety can not be a little girl forever. They have to let her live her life and let her learn from her mistakes. Their job as parents is to be there for her no matter what. Lety overhears them and rushes over to hug them.

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