Caray, Caray!

Thanks to a series of petty mishaps (most of them not work-related), I was filled with snark and rage by the time I knocked off work earlier today. This pleased me, since I know from past experience that snark and rage usually inspire a better recap.

Then I went shopping and found everything that I wanted, in exactly the right flavors and/or colors and sizes. Now the snark and rage are gone. I'm sorry. The recap will suck. But you should see the awesome shoes and groceries I ended up with.

The brujas are staggering festively around the living room when Rodrigo and Panchi- er, Frankie arrive. Minerva scurries to turn off the music. "Here comes the love of my life! Hi, my love!" Isa cries with mock giddiness, throwing her arms around Rodrigo's neck. (I am impressed that she landed on the right man. Perhaps she was aiming for Frankie, but being so drunk, she missed.) "How'd it go with the love of your life?" she adds. Rodrigo tries to peel her off of him.

Sofia similarly throws herself at Frankie, who fends off her affectionate attack. "You went to the party?" Sofia asks, hurt. "Sure, with his 'pantera,'" Minerva jokes with a Mundo de Fieras hiss. "Or with Gaviota," Fedra laughs with contempt. "As manager of the plantation, I had to help out. Business is business," Frankie explains pompously. Then, in Pepe-Le-Pew French, he adds, "That's how it is, my love."

"Negocios son negocios. C'est comme ça, mon amour," Fedra mocks him in a deep voice, prompting a lot of sodden laughter. (I wish there were some way to frame this moment and hang it on Pilar's wall, as it perfectly captures both Fedra's personality and Frankie's.)

Minnie wants to know who her husband was hanging around with. "No one," Rodrigo assures her in blissful ignorance. As he takes his leave, Minerva starts slurping at yet another strawberry margarita.

At this point, it would not surprise me in the least if she is indeed pregnant and doesn't know it yet. Getting so hammered this early in the pregnancy probably isn't harmful because there are no actual organs to damage, but you know how it is in soaps. Anyway, she proposes a toast to her faithful husband. Ahahahaha. Isa turns her head so as not to laugh directly in Minnie's face, but the clueless cuñada is way too plastered to ponder the significance of Isa's sardonic mirth.

Meanwhile, back at the CRT, Aaron is dealing with Pamela, who has been anticipating this confrontation for months, while Aaron has apparently never given it a moment's thought or preparation. "Uh... Minerva made me do it," he offers feebly. "I swear on my mother that I had no idea she was going to publish those photos." Pammy pushes for a more satisfactory answer. "Why'd you go back to her? Maybe I'll understand." He weakly says it was due to family pressure about a business deal. "So my father was right - I was just an accident in your life. A bad business move. Right?"

He insists that he really did love her, and now he feels nostalgic about the nice life they had together. ""Nostalgic?! Your feelings have faded so quickly?" She reminds him that he swore he'd forgotten about Minerva, and wanted to marry Pammy and have a baby with her. He answers that he can't explain clearly - he can't say that he loves her, but he can't exactly say that he's stopped loving her, either. It's just nostalgia - that's the best way to describe it.

"At least it's something," Pamela replies sadly. Aaron says he can't even hope that she'll forgive him, but he does hope she believes that he never ever meant to do that to her, and he's sorry. She tells him not to worry - he'll have a chance to make it up to her. She wants to see him again. He asks if she doesn't think it would be useless. She says if he really doesn't love his wife, he can at least spend time with someone who makes him nostalgic. Is that so much to ask after all he's done? She's not asking to marry him - just to see him.

He reluctantly agrees to call her. "No - I will call you," she insists.

Their fathers are conferring in front of a booth for Sangre Brava tequila, which either does not exist, or isn't easy to find in the US (or on Google). Bruno is trying to smooth things over ("it's a matter between our kids") with Gaspar, who towers over him with restrained indignation. Gaspar says the only thing he asks of the Montalvos is to leave his daughter in peace.

Aaron ambles up and asks his daddy if they can leave. Bruno brushes him off and tells Gaspar that he wants to be pals again, with Bruno's apologies in the name of his whole family. Gaspar coldly excuses himself and walks away. "This situation sucks," Bruno tells Aaron in polite terms. Aaron opines that Gaviota probably engineered the whole thing. Bruno verbally rolls his eyes at this and asks how it went with Pam. Aaron says there's nothing tougher than explaining to a woman why he left her at the altar. She bombarded him with questions and it was a challenge to answer all of them.

Bruno reminds Aaron that he went back to Minerva because he loves her and he needs her to live. To this, Aaron replies only that he's exhausted. They leave the party.

Gaspar goes to Av* and says some stuff I don't quite get, but it sounds as though he plans to keep Av* informed on some monkey business that he suspects has been going on. (I think we all know what this is in reference to.) He then finds his daughter and calls her a fountain of stubbornness for tolerating Aaron's humiliation and even seeking him out. Pammy assures him she knows what she's doing. He disagrees and says he doesn't want her to contact that creep any more. Instead, she should go to Europe with him to look for that information she wants. "What are you going to do now, forgive him??" With sad but firm resolve, she answers, "That's the last thing I'd ever do, Papa."

Thus is Aaron's doom sealed; Pamela Torreblanca has been dissed for the dead-last time. I can see it in her eyes. Aaron Montalvo is less than toast. He is the droppings of the microscopic bugs that eat the crumbs at the bottom of the toaster. No, scratch that. He is the fungus that grows on those droppings and causes strange stains on the countertop than can't be removed even with a powerful and expensive bleach gel. Eventually you say "That's it, I'm going to replace this counter with granite, NOTHING stains granite," but then you look at that stain and you think, well... what if? Granite is expensive - what will you do if the bleach gel doesn't get the stain out of it? And then you decide not to spring for the granite after all.

Because that is the effect Aaron has on people, until someday he gets run over by a pie truck, or more likely a swimming pool chemical supply service van, mostly likely driven by Pamela Torreblanca. Mark my words. (No, don't really. I've got my snark back, but that usually means my judgment is unreliable.)

What was I doing? Oh yeah, the recap. Right. Sorry.

Elsewhere at the decreasingly enjoyable party, Doña Jose is sobbing to Gavi and Clarita that when her precious little boy called her his Nana, she felt as if the earth had opened up and swallowed her.

Great. Now I have to come up with what kind of nasty microorganism Frankie the Grifter is. Okay. There's this stuff which, if your property has a cesspool instead of city sewer, you're supposed to flush down the toilet periodically. I think it contains enzymes and such to help break down the, literally, crap and whatnot to prevent gases from building up. Francisco de la Vega is the stuff that...

You know what, I'm stumped. Here I am with my mind in a cesspool, and I still can't think of a substance or fate worthy of Frankie for the way he made his mother cry. Is it okay if I just call him a douchebag?

So Josefina is sobbing that she totally gets why he blew her off - after all, how can he admit that she's his mother, a lowly and illiterate woman? Clarita and Gavi try to comfort her. Gavi tells her that a child must never deny the family that gave him life. (I'm catching a whiff of irony. I can't place it just yet, but let's memorize the aroma so we can recognize it later, okay?) They converge in a three-way hug.

Back at the brujas' lair, Sofia asks Frankie if he met Gaviota. Yep! "Did she seem pretty?" Isa asks sarcastically. "Eh, more or less," douchebag Frankie answers in his first-year French. Fedra asks how she looked. "Adequately made-up," Frankie replies with great restraint. "Let's just say she was elegant enough."

Fedra drunkenly protests that a migrant worker could never make herself look "elegant." Fortunately, the arrival of Bruno and Aaron brings this painfully ironic conversation to an end. Isa stifles another laugh as Minerva complains that she thought Aaron would spend the night at the CRT. "Did you have a lot of fun without us?" Isa giggles.

"It was an evening of business, not a party," Bruno answers. (Now that I think of it, not only did he, Aaron, and Frankie all fail to have fun, they also failed to get anyone to conduct any business with them.) He's pooped and wants to turn in, but Fedra's got a burning question: Did the other women ask about them (the brujas)? Did anyone comment on their absence? "Oh, yeah, everyone," Bruno humors her.

"You're wrong, Papa," Aaron interjects. "Somebody specifically did NOT miss the women - Gaviota's mother." The brujas are as impactadas as you can reasonably expect from a bunch of women who are barely conscious. At the word "mother," douchebag Frankie closes his eyes and probably hopes no one will remember any of this tomorrow. Aaron hugs his own mom, either to comfort her or to prevent her from slumping to the floor.

(I believe Aaron missed out on the Jose/Frankie confrontation, unfortunately... he's the one person who would have figured out the entire thing in the blink of an eye.)

Minerva is particularly offended that they were snubbed just so that husband-stealer's mother could attend instead of them. (No, no, Minnie - you were excluded because you're a bitch. Clarita's attendance was an unrelated insult.) "I'm Fedra de Montalvo," Fedra slurs, "and that name means Tradition in the world of tequila!" She breaks down weeping. "So much humiliation!" She ambles out of the room in tears.

(Sofia rests her head on douchebag Frankie's shoulder, but backs off when he again doesn't respond.)

Minerva asks Aaron how the ex-migrant-worker treated with him. He tells her Gavi invited the Torreblancas. "You were with PAMELA??" Minerva asks, shoving him like Elaine on Seinfeld saying "GET! OUT!!" "Yep, but don't worry. Nothing happened. I'll explain later." He tries to kiss her, but she dodges him and storms out to join Fedra.

Aaron yells after her, but does not follow. Isa grabs him (a bit more eagerly than necessary) and asks if he knows whether Gavi will be visiting at the hacienda. "Of course," he answers, extricating himself angrily. Sofia gets up swiftly and declares that she will not allow Rod's little woman to invade their precious Montalvania.

She pauses, as if receiving a psychic message from a distant planet. It's actually a message from her digestive tract. It's remembering what it's supposed to do when it's presented with more poison than it can deal with. She rushes to the bathroom, heaving. Douchebag Frankie is so concerned, he almost swivels his head 90 degrees to watch her retreat. Bruno asks Isa to ask Enriqueta to get Fedra a coffee. "She's not used to drinking like that." Isa agrees and staggers off, even though she's got a massive headache herself.

The two men and one douchebag are now alone. Frankie complains that Aaron ruined the party for them. Bruno agrees. Aaron whines angrily at this, causing d.b. Frankie to smirk discreetly.

Back at the party, Gaviota is expressing concern to Dr. Blondie that she may have made a mess of things with the Montalvos. He tells her not to worry, and that if anything happens, he'll say he was the one who invited Clarita and Jose. "Since you invited us, why don't Jose and I get another tequila," Clarita slurs at him coyly. Gavi says they've had too much already, and she's going to get them some coffees and a taxi, because she still has to take some of the guests back to the hotel.

Dr. Blondie offers to take them (Clarita and Jose) instead. Clarita loves this idea - she wants to talk to him about this trip he's going to be taking with her little Gaviotita. "Clarita, do you think I'm five years old?" Gavi asks. Clarita informs her that she's never too old to be her child.

Dr. Blondie tells Gavi to leave now and show up early at the office tomorrow with her bags packed. She agrees to leave the ladies in his charge, and reminds Clarita to behave herself. Jose is still sobbing and pretty much out of it when Gavi leaves to take the guests back to the hotel. Clarita absentmindedly tries to follow Gavi, but Dr. Blondie calls her back. (You've heard of trying to herd kittens? Try herding just one drunken Clarita.) He assures Clarita that Gavi will be well taken care of. Clarita replies (with a slightly threatening edge in her otherwise unsteady voice) that Gavi grew up in the agave fields and can pretty well take care of herself.

Clarita then reveals that she's bummed that she won't be with Gavi on her birthday the day after tomorrow (pasado mañana). At this, we get a close-up of Dr. Blondie making an inscrutable face.

Rodrigo is in bed, telling himself that Gaviota's birthday is the day after tomorrow. (Okay, okay - I can take a hint. I guess now if anybody shows up without a gift or at least a card, we're going to look like jerks.)

Elsewhere in the DF, Sanwanna dozes lightly in her underwear on Hilario's bed, which is strewn with rose petals. The door slams, waking her up. She douses herself in Isa's stolen perfume and hides in the closet. Hilario enters the bedroom with two women, who go straight for the bed. He tells them, "First we're going to watch a movie, and afterwards..." He trails off, ever the shy and wholesome farmboy.

Sanwanna charges out of the closet, enraged. Hilario seems surprised to see her, and asks what she's still doing there. "I told you to go away!"

"And I told you I'm not going!"

He tells her to cut the crap and get the hell out. She counter-demands that he throw out his painted women. "I'm in my home and I'll do as I please." Sanwanna argues that she won't be thrown out. "Hili"'s lady friends are only mildly concerned and wondered where the heck she came from. He says he knows her from the hacienda, where she considers herself quite the thing.

"Don't be such a blabbermouth, Hilario! I'm his fiancee," she informs the amigas. "Get out or I'll throw you out!" She starts throwing stuff at them. They reluctantly get up from the bed and pick up their shoes, scolding Hilario as they leave.

Triumphantly, Sanwanna tries to comfort Hilario. With his back to her, she cannot see the maroon rage spreading across his face, nor the great effort he is making to control himself.

Isa joins Rodrigo in the bedroom and civilly asks what time they'll leave tomorrow to go back to the hacienda. He tells her it's strictly business and he'll be back in three days. She sourly observes that Gaviota makes all of his decisions now, and the Montalvo women aren't allowed to accompany him. "Does that include our child too?" He tells her to leave the kid out of it - and he's the one who decides who does and does not go. (If anyone was contemplating an angry comment about Rodrigo, now is the time to make it!)

"Fine, I wouldn't think of insisting. Montalveña is more hers than mine." She asks what he's going to do about Sofia. She's going early tomorrow too, and no way is she going to let his lover in.

Rodrigo gets up to leave the room. "None of you are going. NONE." Isa tries to hold him back and says she is surprised by his cynicism. "Don't you remember that we spent our honeymoon at the hacienda, my love?"

(I remember. I think he slept on the couch.)

Rodrigo reminds Isa that he is well aware of what she and his sister have done. They didn't support him in his project, they made all kinds of trouble for Gaviota, and that's why they got burned. That's why Gaviota didn't invite them to the party.

Isa clutches her skull and asks him to keep his voice down and complains that he's so concerned about "her." Rod says it's because he loves "her." And, he wants his guests to be well received and for things to go as planned. He doesn't want some trifulca (trifle?) to ruin his and his father's years if work on the organic tequila. He's going to go tell Sofia and Pilar to leave him in peace. "DID YOU HEAR ME? TO LEAVE ME IN PEACE!" Isa moans again, holding her head.

Over at Hilario's, Sanwanna is blabbering about how he should be grateful that she chased those nasty skanks away. She tries to tempt him with shrimps and cider to sooth his rage. And she tells him that Isa (there's someone Hilario does not need to be thinking about) says that seafood will "arouse his spirit."

Hili slowly turns to face Sanwanna. Honestly, he looks like he's going to bite her. She shoves a shrimp at him, and he leans away. She leans forward and demands that he smell her, because she's put on some perfume. He is wide-eyed with bemusement and exclaims that her shrimps and her damn perfume are not going to do her any good. He stomps out.

Alone, she gloats something like "we'll see who's tougher." She opens the bottle of cider and toasts the thin air. "To us, Hilario!"

Aaron and Minerva are just getting home. Aaron scolds Minerva for drinking when she's supposedly (even if only fictitiously) pregnant. "Well, you're SUPPOSEDLY my husband," she retorts, but instead he put on a big show in front of the whole world with his ex-lover. Their reconciliation must have been quite the spectacle.

She flops down on the bed. Aaron hauls her back up. "I told you we only talked." Pam wanted an explanation for what he had done. Aaron tells Minnie that he told Pam that he went back to Minnie because he loves her.

Minnie seems not to be paying much attention. She says she's thirsty, and sends Aaron to get her some aspirin. Glad for the change of subject, Aaron tries to lecture her on the perils of too much alcohol, but Minnie is not so easily derailed. She asks how Pamela took the news. "Did she congratulate you?"

Aaron tries to dodge the question by giving her the aspirin. Minerva hiccups and says she's sure that Pamela is in cahoots with Mariana Franco. Aaron angrily says no, Gaviota saw her chance to play a joke by inviting Pamela, and that's all.

He complains about some stray garment in his drawer. I don't know what that's all about.

"Did you really tell her you love me?" "Ah, with women you can never tell the truth because they never believe you!" He backpedals and tells Minnie the truth: He told Pam he went back to Minnie because there was a deal that would be very profitable for his family. (Minnie frowns, either at his words or at the turmoil in her innards.) And that maybe he does feel something for Pamela: Nostalgia. Pam said she wanted to see him again, and he agreed.

"Do you like that version better?" he smugly asks Minerva. She does not.

All Minerva can think about is the gossip that will be flying around the tequileros' union. That, plus a glass of water.

She asks if the homewrecker will be traveling with them (the men, not her) tomorrow. He says yes, and he is going to trash her reputation in front of everyone, including her boss.

Minnie tells him that all of the women are going to be at the hacienda to make sure the homewrecker doesn't set foot in Montalveña. She spanks him playfully. He tells her to quit the subject of Gaviota and get in bed. She wants to know how she's supposed to sleep, knowing that he's going on a trip with that woman, knowing that he's had relations with her? (Wait, I thought we already resolved this??) He ignores this. "I am going to sleep."

Frankie makes Sofia an Alka-Seltzer, which nauseates her further. She describes her plan to get up early and enlist Pilar's support to keep Gaviota out of the hacienda. He tells her he has to go back to the hacienda with Rodrigo to take care of operations there. Sofia is woozily impactada that he's planning to go back there without her. She doesn't want to leave him alone with Gaviota. She warns him that he doesn't know what she's like. She might flirt with him.

Frankie takes mild offense that she thinks he's such an easy guy. Sofia doesn't try to deny it. "How little you know me!" Frankie protests. He starts with the first-year French and "I only have eyes for you."

Throughout this scene, Sofia has been battling severe nausea. As he leans in to kiss her, I half-expect her to throw up. Instead, her stomach suddenly seems to settle. (Mine, not so much.)

Now it's morning. Clarita gives Gavi a blessing and asks the santos and Virgencita not to let the airplanes break in midair, and not to let Rodrigo and Dr. Blondie to argue over Gaviota. And not to let the Montalvo women show up at the hacienda. Gaviota adds, "and keep those fieras way far away, because wherever they look for me, they find me."

"And above all," adds Clarita, "protect her in the hotels." (She reminds Gaviota to double-lock all the doors.) She also asks them to give Gavi a happy birthday.

She's still bummed about missing Gavi's birthday. She says she'll say a prayer at the very hour that Gaviota was born to her. (That sounds like a pretty explicit statement that they are truly mother and daughter.) "You are my pride. You are the best child in the world." They hug and cry. At Gavi's request, Clarita manages a shaky smile. Gavi leaves with her luggage.

Hilario sneaks out of his own apartment, leaving a note for Sanwanna, who's asleep, possibly passed out, still clutching the cider bottle. "In my world, there's no room for you," Hili mutters.

Rodrigo asks Imelda to go wake Sofia because he wants to speak to her right away. She groggily comes out to join him. He says he's aware that she's planning to go to the hacienda, but he'd like her to wait three or four days. She says no can do, she's going with Frankie this afternoon. "Anyway, I know why you're asking me to cancel." They argue. She says it's her home too and she doesn't need his permission to go there with her husband. And, he's not her father and he can't tell her what to do. He says it's okay, he's not trying to deprive her of her rights, it's just that there will be guests and he wants things to go well.

Sofia knows he wants to have Gaviota there too, and she is not going to permit it. "I can invite anyone to Montalveña I want!" he hollers. Anyway, he claims, the "guests" will just be there for one afternoon, and after Monday they'll be gone.

Sofia says he's wasting his time. She's going this afternoon, period.

Rodrigo says fine. In that case, he'll cancel the event and give up Montalveña. She can do whatever she wants with the place. They argue some more - actually, it's just him yelling and Sofia holding her head - until Pilar shows up, wanting to know what's going on.

Sofia quickly summarizes the conversation. Rodrigo tries to "clarify" the situation - he's not threatening to quit. He is quitting, if he can't be with Gaviota there. He just wants a place where he can receive his guests the way they deserve. Sofia and Isa only want to go so they can interfere with Gaviota, and he won't allow it.

They bicker some more and Rod tries to stomp out. Pilar won't let him leave until they work things out. Sofia gets mad and starts yelling at Pilar, thinking that Pilar is going to give her blessing to Gaviota moving in.

Daniela wanders in and adds her two pesetas: she thinks it's swell if Gaviota does live at Montalveña. She proposes a vote: all three siblings have the right to enjoy the hacienda, so it's two to one. "What, doesn't Granny's opinion count?" Sofia asks in alarm. "She has the definitive word!"

"Thanks very much for including me," Pilar answers dryly. She says as long as she's alive, she'll give the orders. She says the CRT people can certainly stay at the hacienda. That includes Mariana Franco. All she asks is that Mariana not stay any longer than the duration of the CRT event. Nobody else from the family can go to the hacienda until the event is finished.

Sofia bitterly tells Pilar that she just helped break up Rodrigo and Isadora's marriage, and storms out. Pilar sits there serenely, brushing off Rodrigo's enthusiastic thanks. She reminds him that she's not authorizing him to take advantage of the situation. She trusts that she'll behave himself.

Rod tells Dani he doesn't think he'll see Gavi right away, because he has things to do in Tequila. But her birthday is coming up. He tells her about the book that Dr. Blondie gave her with the mushy inscription. Dani teases him about his jealousy and tells him not to worry so much or he'll miss his plane. She reminds him that if he doesn't stay calm, he could end up without Gaviota. (Again.) Rodrigo is seriously threatened by Dr. Blondie.

Now Gaviota is in her office, giving orders to Nancy. She is almost as demanding with Nancy as Dr. Blondie was on Gavi's first day, but at least she can remember Nancy's name. She asks Nancy to go to the IT dept and get her a laptop for the trip. She's going to do all of her press releases on it. Nancy's already on the case. She asks Gavi if she'll take a nice long bath (baño de tina?) at the hotel. Gavi says this trip is for business, not pleasure. (Gaviota seems to be the absolute only person who thinks so.) It's important that their offices in Washington, Brussels, and Madrid all share in the festival's success. (I Googled this, and while the CRT does have offices in Madrid and Washington, I couldn't find any reference to a place in Brussels.)

Dr. Blondie comes in. He's in a good mood and tells Nancy he's leaving her in charge of the department. Gavi says she has everything she needs except some cards for some overseas companies, or something. Dr. Blondie says they don't have time and tells Nancy to email them. Nancy takes off to get Gavi's laptop.

(In the last two paragraphs, I see like half a dozen things that could go horribly wrong for the CRT.)

Dr. Blondie asks Gavi if she's considered that she might run into all the Montalvo women. It won't be easy. Gavi says she knows Aaron probably thinks she invited his ex-girlfriend just to be mean, but in fact, only Pamela's parents were invited, and not Pamela. But she sure got a kick out of it when Pam showed up in front of Aaron!

Gavi says she'll be ready for anything. And she still sort of thinks of that place as her own turf. If anyone touches her, she'll make 'em dance!

Nancy shows up with the laptop. I think someone should take a peek inside that laptop bag before they leave just to be on the safe side, but as we all know, yelling at the TV accomplishes nothing.

Isadora and Minerva are on the phone, comparing hangovers. Minerva says that ever since she spoke to Sofia, her liver's been in her mouth. (Our equivalent would be to say that our heart is in our mouth.) She tells Isadora about Pilar's decree. Minerva is furious with Pilar and is hoping that Fedra will make a difference. They're going to meet with Sofia in half an hour.

Doña Jose is still smarting over what her douchebag son said to her last night. She's trying to excuse his behavior because she had caught him between a rock and a hard place (a sword and a wall). If the Montalvos knew what kind of mother her Panchito came from, they'd make him divorce that woman. Clarita says it's not her fault, it's his father's fault for letting her raise him alone. Jose disagrees. Frankie is where he is, among all those fancy people, because of the way she raised him. He looked like a prince.

"And what's that worth to you," Clarita asks, "if he denies the woman who gave birth to him? Gaviota would never do that!"

"And how's that been working out for her?" Jose answers angrily. "How many years has she been getting scorn from the Montalvos? And breadcrumbs from that Rodrigo? But him, he's married to a great lady!"

Clarita asks Jose not to compare their children, but Jose just has to point out that Gaviota doesn't have any hope of taking the Montalvo name. Clarita tells her that her daughter isn't in it for the surname. She's worth more than that. She's gotten to where she is by using her head, and not by being ashamed of her background. "THAT is the difference between YOUR Panchito, and MY Gaviota."

The brujas, including Fedra, are now assembled at Granny Pilar's house. "We want to know what you have against us," Isa begins.

"How long are we going to have to pay for our mistakes?" Minerva asks.

"It'd also be nice to know whose side you're on, Grandma," Sofia adds.

"Not only have you withdrawn your support of us, but now you're opening the doors of the hacienda to that woman," Fedra complains.

"It seems that you've become my enemy," Isa continues, "because she's allowed to go to Montalveña, and I'm not."

Pilar tries to reason with them, says it's about work and the CRT and the tequila, and tells them about the stipulation that Mariana must not stay any longer than the length of the CRT event. She tells them to let Rodrigo work in peace.

Sofia wants to know when they can regain her support. Pilar says that's a great question - it'll be just as soon as they can behave with some grace. And if there are no more questions, then great, everybody have a nice day! She excuses herself and walks out. I bet her virtual foot is still tingling from the virtual and extremely classy ass-kicking she has just delivered unto these dingalings.

Frankie comes in and tells Sofia they're going to miss their flight. "We're not going," she answers. He informs her that he is going, regardless. He gets up.

Isa smirks behind her glass and quietly asks Sofia if she's just going to let him leave. Sofia barks Frankie's full name and insists that they're not going. He argues. She stands up to him. He is flabbergasted, thunderstruck, dumbfounded, and, needless to say, muy pero MUY impactado.

It is awesome.

Isa pulls Frankie aside and tells him it'll just be for a few days. They'll find a way to pass the time.

---

Miércoles

• At the CRT event, Aaron tries to get Gaviota to talk about her adventures in Europe. I hope she tells them every last sordid detail of her laundry-folding days at the convent.
  
  
• Isa and Frankie get dirty in the bathtub.
  
  
• Rodrigo gives Gaviota a long-distance birthday party.
  
  
• Rodrigo goes out of his way to discover that Gavi and Dr. Blondie have adjoining hotel rooms. He does not approve.
  

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