Caray, Caray!

(Note: I still have house guests so my recap is more rushed than it should be; my apologies for omissions.)

At Raquel's ranch: Raquel confronted Luba and Gaspar with a shotgun. Luba said the local people wrongly thought she had made a pact with the devil.

Raquel immediately offered them jobs, saying, "With me nothing will happen to you, but you'll have to work a lot." Luba happily agreed, "You're going to have four hands that are going to help."

Back at the Valtierra hacienda, Vera told the other servants they would continue hunting for Luba and Gaspar tomorrow. Ifigenio said maybe they should go to the police, but Vera said, "No, they are ours," that they had to avenge Flor's death. (Who knew Vera was so bloodthirsty?)

In Emilio's tent: Karla woke up and and saw Emilio sitting in his chair. He told her to be ready for work in 15 minutes. Outside, he told Frank he hadn't slept all night.

Then Frank and the other soldiers saw Karla emerging half-dressed from Emilio's tent. Frank said, "Now I understand why he didn't sleep."

(Is it just me, or does Karla seem to be the reincarnation of Jose's girlfriend Felicia -- you know, the bandit who pursued him and got pregnant and then died? I hope we're not going to see that same plotline all over again.)

Meanwhile: Rodrigo, Alina, and Tina took the cowering Gaby to school. Gaby spotted a woman and became terrified, exclaiming, "It's her!"

Alina approached the woman. When she turned around, Gaby saw that it wasn't Thelma. She was still scared but she let Tina take her into the school.

At Coral's house: Adela answered the phone and told Soledad it was Mariana. Soledad took the phone and said, "You have good news? You're married? Congratulations!"

(I guess that means Mariana and Dr. Love have joined Santos and Rosita in the Honeymoon Land of No Return. Dr. Love, you turned out to be a real hero and I'll miss you.)

At the jail: Alvaro (better and more accurately known as Don Loco) told his lawyer, Mauro, that he didn't want to spent the rest of his life in a psychiatric hospital. Dr. Vargas arrived to take him away. Don Loco insisted on saying goodbye to his lawyer first.

I was distracted during this scene, so I don't know exactly what happened, but Don Loco was taken away by attendants dressed in white, and then Mauro read a piece of paper where Don Loco had written that he wanted to go to Veracruz when he was free because he had unfinished business there.

At nursing class: Alina's teacher asked for volunteers to do social work, saying it was sometimes dangerous but that was part of a nurse's career of service. Alina volunteered.

Some big barnlike place: Hugo argued with Alfonsina, who was tied up. She told him, "I prefer to die of hunger before I tell you where the money is!"

Raquel's ranch: Luba and Gaspar ate breakfast with Raquel. Gaspar commented that he'd never had so much food before. Luba told Raquel, "You are good people, with a great heart." Raquel said she needed them well fed so they could work hard, since they would be the only workers on the ranch. Luba said she wished all employers were like Raquel.

Bernal arrived and Raquel told him Luba and Gaspar were working for her now. (Good way to get them killed!) After Bernal left, Luba said something about there being a lot of vipers in the area.

At the nursing school: Alina told her nosy teacher that she'd rejected Rodrigo's proposal because she loved someone else. Later she told the teacher that she missed Emilio, saying wistfully, "Destiny always separates us."

At Emilio's army camp: Emilio warned Karla (who was dressed, for once) to be careful because the ground might give way beneath her feet. Karla snapped that he didn't have to treat her as if she were fragile.

Naturally, she immediately fell into the river and had to be rescued by He-Man Emilio. She immediately began kissing him. Emilio didn't react one way or another, just stood there in his usual indecisive way.

(At least he didn't have one of those telenovela delusions, thinking she was Alina. You know where that would lead: Karla would get pregnant, and then he would have to marry her while he was in another coma... and then this show would never end.)

Eventually Emilio asked Karla, "Why did you do that?" (A stupid question, even for him!) Karla pointed out patiently that she'd made no secret of the fact that she liked him. It finally occurred to Emilio to reveal that he was married. Then he told her to get back to work.

Karla asked if he was afraid of her. He said no, but he didn't want to do anything he would regret. After he left, Karla smirked and said, "You won't regret it, I swear."

In Dr. Vargas's office: Another boring argument between Vargas and Aida, aka Dr. Loca. As always, Dr. Loca told Vargas that she was a PROFESSIONAL.

He retorted, "I always thought it was strange that you were so interested in Montellano, and now I know why" -- because she had become Don Loco's lover.

In the ambulance: Don Loco started yelling for the attendants to give him a sedative. Then he grabbed a gun and warned them not to move.

The ambulance stopped near a car containing an armed man and Mauro. Don Loco left the ambulance and got into the car.

After they drove away, he said, "At last, I am free again." Mauro said, "I have an escape route that won't fail us." Don Loco said he wanted to go to Veracruz. Mauro didn't seem happy about it but said he would take Don Loco there.

In Vargas's office: Dr. Loca cried and told Vargas she tried to resist Don Loco's crazy charms but just couldn't help herself. Vargas said he would have to tell his superiors about it because her diagnosis of Alvaro wasn't credible. Dr. Loca insisted that Don Loco really was sick and needed help.

The phone rang. Vargas answered, listened, and then told Dr. Loca that her beloved Loco had escaped.

At Coral's Boutique: Soledad and Coral told Elias about the robbery. They all agreed that Alvaro was probably behind it. Claudia thought, "They are blaming a man who didn't do anything, but if I tell them I'll be fired, and I need this job."

General Ochoa's office: The general told Rodrigo he was being deployed to help Emilio in the flooded zones.

In Sierra Escondida: Orlando told Vera he was sure Luba and Gaspar hadn't left the mountain, and he would turn over every rock until he found them.

Elsewhere: Mauro gave Alvaro a gun and they got into a different car. Alvaro said again that he had business in Veracruz. Hmm, I wonder if he has business in Veracruz?

Back in Vargas's office: Dr. Loca said Alvaro must be very upset, and in that state he would be dangerous. She told Vargas to warn Soledad because she would be his "primer blanco" (I'm not sure what that means --"first goal"?) Dr. Vargas picked up the phone.

At the boutique: Claudia said to Soledad and company, "I have something to tell you." Assuming that she was going to quit her job because of the robbery, Soledad and Coral begged her to stay.

Claudia worried to herself that they would think she was Rosendo's accomplice if she told them the truth. She solved the dilemma by fainting. They picked her up and started to carry her to a taxi. Of course, the phone rang (Vargas's call) after they left.

Vargas told Dr. Loca that Soledad wasn't answering. Dr. Loca said Don Loco was obsessed with his wife and would probably go after her first.

At Raquel's ranch: Luba and Gaspar helped Raquel do something involving moving around bales of hay. Raquel later said something about feeding the lambs, so I guess lambs eat hay? You can tell I'm not a rancher, can't you.

While they worked, Luba chatted with Raquel, asking about her pregnancy and telling her, "You're a real little doll" (muñequita). I was surprised to hear Luba use that word -- you would think she'd be so sick of it by now.

Gaspar mentioned his "little cub" and told Raquel that his muñequita had turned out to be a bad woman.

Luba then pointed out to Raquel that Gaspar was "a strong boy," and handsome too. (Is she trying to fix him up with Raquel??? Wow, Luba, you are nothing if not ambitious.)

Meanwhile, Raquel's enemies Bernal and Fidencio were secretly watching them work and muttering about Raquel giving Luba and Gaspar breakfast. (Not sure but I think they are plotting to poison Luba and Gaspar's food?)

Thelma went to see Mauricio (Emilio's divorce lawyer) and said she knew he was Rodrigo's friend, that Rodrigo loved Alina and Emilio was determined to win Alina back, so Mauricio should help Thelma prevent that.

In Emilio's tent during a rainstorm: Frank told the frustrated Emilio not to blame himself because the river was flooding again. Karla arrived and Frank left. Emilio told Karla, "It's not easy to resist your provocations." Karla said, "Kiss me, kiss me." Frank ran in and told Emilio something, and they left with Karla.

Meanwhile: Rodrigo told Alina he was being sent on a dangerous mission to help Emilio. Alina told him she was going to a rural community that weekend as a volunteer.

At a doctor's office: Soledad told Claudia that the doctor had said she (Claudia) was just nervous. Angel arrived and Claudia said she felt better now. Angel agreed to take Claudia home, so the others left. Claudia told Angel, "I have something to confess. Rosendo was the one who robbed the boutique."

Elsewhere: Emilio and his soldiers rescued people from the flood. Too bad we didn't have them here in the U.S. during Hurricane Katrina. I'm just saying.

Later, Karla told Emilio that one of the flood victims was sick with something highly contagious. (I didn't catch what the disease was, but something tells me Alina will show up in time to catch this illness, whatever it is. Or maybe Emilio will catch it and Alina will nurse him to health -- yes, that's it.)

Vargas went to Coral's house and told Alina that Alvaro had escaped.

Dr. Loca did some research about pathological jealousy. (Good idea, Dr. Loca!) She told herself, "There is no doubt. Alvaro will be looking for Soledad" (or words to that effect). Just then Don Loco himself burst into the house and said that fortunately his lawyer had been able to give him her address, so he was there for a visit. (Dr. Loca is such a lucky girl!)

Words from this episode:
pobladores = residents
insalubres = unhealthy
delicadeza = gentleness
redes = networks
piedra = stone
poblacion = population
borregos = lambs

Labels: duelo