Caray, Caray!

At poolside, Cesar Luis kisses Paula's hand and then moves in for the mouth kiss. She's willing but he pulls back, he doesn't wish to commit a grave error. Paula runs off and leaves CL stunned but also smiling.

Pastor, wearing his cute little apron, tells Juan he will wait for him but Juan had better not stand him up. "Again the burro goes to the wheat," Juan responds (again with the same old crap). Pastor hangs up on him and Juan plays the big exec in front of Marely and Yadira.

Juan, Fernando, Yadira and Marely go down to the garage. Who should be lurking there with a scowl on his face? Enrique!

Yadira and Fernando are driving in "his" car. She's in a snit because she recognized Ivonne from the disco. She picks a fight with Fernando giving him a taste of her spoiled, bitchy personality. When he snarls back she makes up and they kiss.

Marely and Juan are in the other car. Why aren't they all in one car? Don't they know about carpooling? Marely mentions she heard Juan studied with Fernando in college. Juan nearly crashes the car because this is the first he's heard about it. He tells her he studied economics of course. They chat some more and she eventually asks him what he wants (out of life?). He thought bubbles that he wants her to feel butterflies inside her sublime chest whenever he is at her side. Cut to Pastor fuming over his shrimp cocktail.

Pastor phones Ivonne to find out what time Juan left the office. She advises him to stop looking at his watch and have a copita of something before he ruins this date like he does all his others. Pastor vows that if that guy doesn't show up he'll kill himself.

Juan, Fernando and the girls are enjoying lunch in a nice restaurant. Yadira and Fernando are disgustingly goopy with each other. Marely interrupts, she hates to be a wet blanket but can they talk about her job? She looks at Fernando hopefully until Juan butts in and says it's already arranged. Marely's ecstatic, when can she start? Fernando mumbles something incoherent and Juan pipes up "this week!" Juan broadly grins at Marely's joy but oh dear, his lies are becoming very complicated and they involve way too many people. Fernando looks like he's about to choke.

Alirio is at the bank about to cash a big check. While he waits for his money he dreams of Nidia..."Ah Nidia, now you won't be able to say No to me, I already have the dead guy's dough."

Taxco, Guerrero: Paula gazes out her window and asks herself what's happening to her. Meanwhile CL lies on his bed watching a hot chick on an exercise show. He visualizes it's Paula. "Why is that woman driving me crazy?" he wonders.

Alirio shows up at Nidia's door and says he has the perfect cure for her previous wrath at him. She haughtily allows him to enter. He proudly states, "In this moment I am in front of the sole legitimate heir of Don Samuel's fortune!" Nidia's mouth goes into a perfect "O" before she erupts in joy..."No puede ser, no puede ser!"

Alirio assures her he's absolutely serious. It wasn't easy but he falsified Sam's will so she would inherit everything. He explains to her how he arranged this with the utmost discretion to benefit her. She vows her lips are sealed.

After the foursome return from lunch Enrique accosts them in the garage. He yells at Juan and Yadira for betraying him. Fernando comes to Yadira's defense. Kike calls him a cadaver and dares him to fight but Juan breaks them up. Kike elbows Juan in the stomach and mocks the "wonderful Juan Dominguez" who is a liar, a pig, an opportunist and an egoist. Furthermore he borrowed all of Kike's money and used it to help steal Yadira from him.

Kike really works himself into a lather. Juan tries to calm him but he only pisses Kike off more. He turns on Yadira again and Fernando leaps over to try to punch him but Juan holds him back. Poor Kike yells "bring it on" to Fernando but he looks like he's in tears.

Nidia asks Alirio if he's sure his "funny" documents won't get her into trouble. He skirts the question sufficiently enough for her to go into spasms again, "It's all for me, all all all all!" She wants to know when she'll get the check. He reminds her that he took care of his part of the bargain, he got her the money, now it's her turn to make good on her part. She holds her head and pretends she doesn't know what he's talking about. "Darling Nidia," he reminds her, "I was going to get you the deceased's money and in return you were going to marry me." Nidia's mouth goes into a perfect "O" again.

Poor Pastor, he's sitting alone, waiting for Juan, with shots of tequila lined up on the little bar. He pounds the shots and refills the glasses until the bottle is emptied. He opens another bottle.

Juan arrives back in the office and Ivonne scolds him for not meeting Pastor. Now he will be responsible for the suicide of the Chief of Personnel. Juan pats his pockets and makes up one of his stories, he lost the address, does she have it? Ivonne tells him to be careful with Pastor, he's very sensitive and easily disillusioned. Juan thought bubbles, "Bah, he's a regular Madame Butterfly. Santo Niño de Atocha have pity on me and this opera that I'm in."

As Juan walks away Ivonne totally checks out his stupendous aft end and wonders what's going on with Pastor and Juan.

Nidia becomes very sweet to Alirio. She tells him she's still in mourning and is concerned that they not rush things, they need to follow social protocol. Fine, answers Alirio, just so she knows they WILL get married. He starts drooling over her and begins to chase her around the coffee table. He warns her not to make him too crazy because he could, in a moment of insanity, reveal their plot to Ana and Paula Davila. Nidia gets huffy and replies that she might, in a moment of insanity, reveal that the honorable licenciado Alirio Preafan Rocha de Francisco falsified official documents. He counters that jail would be a fiesta compared to not spending the rest of his life with her. Round and round the table they go.

Nidia suggests that they could be novios without matrimony, couldn't they? "I require the complete package," Alirio firmly responds, "and now I'll leave while you consider your decision. Don't rush, but if you don't decide neither will you get your money. Farewell my Egyptian princess." She hisses like an asp after he departs.

(And now we introduce the magnificent comedic team of Juan and Pastor.) Pastor is three sheets to the wind when Juan finally arrives. Juan has to hold Pastor up he's staggering so badly. Pastor grabs Juan's wine and blubbers insults at Juan. He cries that Juan is an egoist who ripped his heart apart. Who does Juan think he is, Juan Camaney? (sorry, I don't know who Juan Camaney is. Juan is as clueless as I...) "No, Dominguez," answers Juan, "and all I want is a little respect."

Pastor replies that Juan and the rest of the world insult and disrespect him, well he's had enough, he's going to change and he wants Juan to get far away from him. Juan goes through a series of amusing facial expressions and thought bubbles "Ay ay ay, who woke the sleeping lion? Don Pastor is worse than Lupe D'Alessio." Pastor concludes his train of thought by stating he may have drunk too much.

Juan calls Ivonne. He says Pastor did something crazy. "Is he alive?" she gasps. Pastor staggers into the room, mutters "I'm dead" and falls face down onto the bed. Ivonne tells Juan not to leave Pastor alone and to take him to the emergency room if he gets worse. Pastor becomes sloppy, he begs Juan to forgive him. All the while Juan is flopping Pastor around like a bloated fish, trying to get him face up on the bed. Pastor yells at Juan to use the "tu" form with him before he (Pastor) dies and to tell him that he (Juan) feels something for him. "To tell you the truth," Juan answers, "at this moment I only feel shame for you/usted."

It's a beautiful night in Taxco. CL and Paula are at the Seminar of Strategic Thinking (Planning Strategy?) which has just concluded. The seminar leader is pleased to see CL and tries to chat him up but CL can't wait to follow Paula who has left the building.

Pastor's world is spinning so Juan tries the old trick of putting one foot on the ground. Unfortunately Pastor's leg is too short and his foot doesn't reach the floor no matter how hard Juan pulls. Pastor begs for one word of love and Juan flips him over in disgust. Juan silently comments to the Santo Niño that only God knows the twisted ways of love.

CL finds Paula in a cafe listening to Fur Elise. He invites her to a meal with the seminar participants but she says she wants to go to bed early. He tells her he's been thinking of their conversation from that afternoon. Did she never consider marriage and children? Yes and no she answers. So far she has been busy with her studies, plus her own family situation was kind of negative. He admits that from the start he has felt a certain aloofness from her. She says maybe it is deliberate, her way of protecting herself from...(sleazy music)...because she's starting to feel...(more sleazy music and hopeful looks from CL).

Commercial break to Paula in a bikini followed by scenes from El Gran Final of Duelo de Pasiones. The music is very suspenseful but I don't see any sign of The Cofre.

Paula thanks CL for the conversation but she's tired. He tries to get her to stay but she cuts him off and splits.

Juan burns his fingers on a hot plate he takes out of the oven. No reason to let Pastor's delicious meal go to waste just because Pastor has passed out. He digs into his steak with gusto and thinks that at least there is no question that Pastor is a very good cook. After he eats he rolls Pastor around some more so he can get him under the blankets, all the while babbling to himself about poor Pastor. It must be difficult to live life running in the wrong direction. In some ways Pastor has been nicer to him than many of his other friends.

CL drinks his wine with a smug grin on his face. He recalls Paula's words that she was beginning to feel something. He jumps up and dashes out of the cafe.

Juan sits in his car and thinks about Paula, "Ay Paula, do you know how much I think of you? Not because I want to but because I can't get you out of my head. You are there no matter where you go. Good night my sugar dove."

Paula calls Ana to tell her goodnight and that everything is going fine. Paula looks over at the door that adjoins her room to CL's.

CL approaches Paula's door, starts to knock, turns away, then turns back to her door but stops before he knocks and says "caught in my own trap, the hunter becomes the hunted."

Paula promises her mother that she will be careful, then she reclines on her bed with the look of love on her face.

Next morning: Monica tells the maid she felt nauseous all night. (Uh oh!!! Pregnancy alert!) She can't bear the thought of breakfast but going to visit Cesar in Taxco will surely make her feel better. She tells the maid that if Cesar calls don't tell him she's on her way because she wants it to be A Surprise. (Again with the surprise.) She faints on her way to the door.

The second day of the seminar begins. Paula and CL are wearing their seminar uniforms of yellow polo shirts and caps. He whispers to her that it wasn't easy to sleep knowing they were separated by just a door. She tells him to take sleeping pills...but if it makes him feel any better she couldn't sleep either. It looks like she just made him feel better.

Whoopeee!! A treat for the ladies, Juan is in his cute little jammie bottoms doing pushups. He grunts "one, two, three" and flops onto the floor, muttering that the good life is taking a toll on him. Someone knocks on the door. When Marely enters he enthusiastically resumes his pushups counting out loud "five hundred sixty-seven, five hundred sixty-eight." Can Marely speak with him for a moment? She beckons and he follows her out on his knees. He's almost as tall as she is. My gawd he is a complete hunk.

They sneak into the dining room where Yadira awaits. They are obviously plotting something as there is much whispering and giggling. Marely kisses a photo of Samuel. Nidia walks in and is greeted by music and a cake covered with burning candles. In fact it's a veritable inferno. Happy Birthday Nidia! Juan picks her up and twirls her. They all happily blow out the candles. Juan puts his big arms around them all and thought bubbles that they feel like his own family..."In spite of everything what it would happen to us later, this was the only family that I had ever really had."

Any appearance to reality is pure coincidence.

Advance - Ivonne makes another anonymous call to Ana, a doctor tells Monica that she's expecting a baby.

dejar a plantado alguien = to stand somebody up
soy una tumba = my lips are sealed (lit. I'm a tomb)

Labels: Juan