Caray, Caray!

Regurgitated: Vituperous Viv tells Onelia she’s sure Juan Miguel is seeing some woman; Stefi told her that she saw him with some French dame at a bar. Viv is going to follow him and let him know what’s what.

Marichuy tells Cande that Amador has come to visit again. Cande is shocked that he would come back after she told him not to. Marichuy tells her that he wants to know when the baby is born so he can be nearby. They can’t figure out why he is so interested. The two unsuccessful fugitives fret.

Fresh and tarty: Ivette is in Blanca’s room, all dressed up for a night of skanking around. She goes to the closet and takes out a shiny silver dagger (I think? I know nothing of weaponry) and tucks it under a red ribbon around her thigh, under her dress.

Onelia follows Viv toward the castle door, begging her not to do what she has in mind. Viv insists that JM is not going to deceive her. She is surely going to catch him with that woman. She reminds Onelia that he doesn’t know that she disappeared and hid from him deliberately. In a very loud voice. Right there in the Foyer Confessional. Too bad Juan Miguel wasn’t hiding behind a Magic Lollipop Tree to hear all that. Onelia asks Viv to be careful.

Ivette greets Juan Miguel at Ivette’s Casa de Creepiness. I don’t know why she needed to get the dagger at the other place if she was coming right to the armory. He sits down and she massages his shoulders and gets him a drink. She asks if he’s falling in love with her and he says forget it, it will never happen, he is a married man and will not divorce his wife. Ivette asks if he loves his wife and he says he’s in love with another woman whom he lost and cannot have, but staying married is a moral obligation.

JM’s moral obligation enters the brightly-lit bar and orders a drink, thinking to herself that they will show up soon.

But…they are still at Ivette’s place, where our Man of High Morals is getting fondled up and down while discoursing on his emotional state. He says that Viv is sick, so he feels sorry for her, and also sorry that he can’t return her affection, but it’s hard to try to love her when he’s still in love with someone else and bitter and remorseful that he ruined that relationship. Besides, he remembers that Viv wanted to divorce him earlier, but he didn’t want a divorce because he wanted to maintain his home life as it was. JM reminds Ivette that she will get nowhere with him, and if he thinks the situation is getting dangerous, he won’t see her anymore. Dude, you’re repeatedly seeing a woman who won’t keep her hands to herself, makes no secret of the fact that she wants you, and holds knives to your throat. Where exactly do you draw the line at “dangerous”?

Viv returns to the castle and tells her ma that she was following JM but lost him, and he never showed up at the bar. She’s sure he’s with that woman somewhere, though. Onelia tells her to let it be, but Viv insists that she needs some ammunition to use against JM so he won’t force her to have hypnosis. I don’t think you can really be hypnotized against your will (at least that’s what the hypnotist at school assemblies used to tell us), so she should just agree to it and then say it didn’t work. Viv gets a bright idea.

Francisco and Luisa nervously await Elsa’s arrival. The doorbell rings, and they stand around and discuss whether it could be her rather than going to see. It is Elsa, and she is all teary and apologizes for having a ruined marriage and coming back. They say no apologies are necessary, and don’t quite manage to hide their delight that she has left Nelson and returned to them.

Viv enlists Onelia’s help in her plan. She wants to know what the big secret is in JM’s past. Onelia hedges and doesn’t want to tell her. Could it be that Onelia will be the first to flip from devil to angel? Well, she is maybe only just edging that direction. She tells Viv that he committed an indiscretion (deslizo). While he was married to me? Viv is astonished, but more nosy than hurt.

Marichuy lies in bed and talks to herself. She’s afraid of Amador, and she doesn’t know why he keeps following her.

Onelia tells Viv what she knows of the story, that there was an incident with the girl, but it actually didn’t go very far and he was just following her to try to apologize. Viv says it doesn’t matter. She insults her husband and says now she’s got him in her hands. I don’t know what kind of blackmail material that is if pretty much everyone already knows about it.

Elsa and Beatriz sit outside drinking coffee. Elsa laments that her marriage to Nelson was sad and bitter. She wasn’t thinking clearly when she married that useless, lazy idealist. But, now she’s gotten over her illusions, and she’s realized she should never have left Eduardo, who is smart and hardworking and supportive (just say it, Elsa—he has money!), and now that she isn’t blinded she is going to try to rebuild her life. Beatriz sips her drink to avoid discussing her own love of Eduardo.

Speak of the handsome devil, and he appears. Ed walks out onto the patio holding a bouquet of flowers. Beatriz smiles and stands up, but he hands the flowers to Elsa and Beatriz sits down, disappointed. Ed welcomes Elsa home and then asks Beatriz how she is. Beatriz excuses herself, and they try to get her to stay, but she says they have a lot to talk about. She leaves and Ed and Elsa look at each other significantly, and if I’m not mistaken Ed licked his lips. I don’t know why he bothers with her, she was never nice to him even when they were engaged. (P.S. Ed, call me instead. I’m pretty sure I will never cheat on you with a pretentious, lazy poet.)

Juan Miguel walks heavily down the stairs of Castle San Roman in what looks like the same shirt as the night before. Blanca stops him and whisperingly reports the conversation she overheard, wherein Stef told Viv he was with the French Maiden (well, okay…unlikely a maiden) at the bar. He looks confused as to why he isn’t getting away with this.

Isabel and Stefi sit on some steps and drink booze. They toast to the success of their plan thus far.

JM thanks Blanca for keeping him informed, and says she must not think much of him, going out with another woman. She says she doesn’t get paid to think; she’s just an employee and has no right to judge him; her only goal is to keep the family intact and functional for Mayita’s sake. Also, she wants him to be happy. He says his happiness lies in Marichuy’s hands, and she has left him forever. He’ll never be happy again.

Stefi tells Isabel about seeing JM and Ivette in the bar. They cackle. Then they laugh about Marichuy, and if she thinks she’s going to use her baby to get Juan Miguel back, well, she’ll be left with “un palmo de narices,” by which she obviously means with not much but I can’t tell you why that phrase means that. I did learn from my slang dictionary that “narices” is sometimes used as a euphemism for “cojones.” They continue to babble at each other in “…my pretty…” witch voices.

Some time later, as in months, we are back at the hacienda, and Marichuy is looking big and wearing maternity clothes and knitting something pretty. She drops the knitting and says, “aaaayyyy” and Micaela asks her what’s wrong. Marichuy just clutches her large belly. Mica decides that Marichuy is in labor and helps her to the sofa and yells for Cande/Lala, Nacho, and Cosme.

All these months later, Estafa is still living on the Velarde largesse. She is sitting on the lawn at the mansion doing yoga when Ceci comes out to tell her that she is going over to Castle San Roman, aka Casa de Locos, Nadie Curado, to visit Viviana. Stef looks all twitchy about that.

At the Hacienda, Micaela is covering Marichuy’s legs with a blanket and fanning her face and telling her to breathe deeply and to pant like a dog. Basically she has no clue what to do. Cande is no help either, just insisting that it’s not time yet. Micaela wants to get Nacho to bring the truck to take Mari to the hospital in town, but Cande says he’s not around; he’s gone shopping. Mari continues to yell in pain and Mica runs off to see what she can rustle up. Cande wants Mari to move to her bed, but Mari would rather just stay where she is, thanks.

At the Crazy Castle, Balbina tells Viv that Ceci has come to visit her, and Viv remember to pretend she doesn’t know who Ceci is.

Marichuy is in agony and begs Cande not to leave her. They lament that Omar/Leopardo still hasn’t returned; he’s been gone much longer than he said. Now she worries that she’ll have to deliver her baby there, with no assistance. There has got to be SOMEONE out of all the people on that hacienda who knows something about delivering babies. Or they should call Eduardo and have him give instructions. Mica returns and says she’s summoned Nacho. Marichuy worries that the baby won’t survive. The camera lingers on her belly for a long time with a heartbeat sound for accompaniment.

Ceci and Viv talk about Marichuy and her relationship to various parties. Viv says she knows Marichuy was married to JM for one day and wants to know what happened between them. Ceci looks pained.

Marichuy looks even more pained. Cande and Mica try to convince her that everything’s going to be fine, while they just hope that Nacho comes soon with the truck.

Ceci tells Viv how desperately she’s tried to find her daughter and appeals to Viv’s maternal feelings for help with any information which could lead to her return. Unfortunately for both Ceci and Mayita, Viv does not have maternal feelings. She says she can’t help.

Marichuy’s contractions have subsided, and the three ladies alternately pray, try to convince themselves the pains won’t return, that it wasn’t real labor, just anxiety, Leo is going to return in time, everything is going to be just fine.

Ceci says goodbye to Viv as Juan Miguel arrives to say hello. Ceci flees and JM and Viv have a staring contest.

Marichuy sleeps on the couch and dreams of having her baby and Juan Miguel, all happy and together.

Isab!tch and Amador laugh that Ceci is going everywhere asking about Marichuy. They agree that Viv won’t say anything, because she has the most motive for keeping Marichuy away. Amador says that he’s still having Mari watched, and the baby hasn’t arrived yet.

I guess Viv won the staring contest. She tells JM that Ceci was asking her if she knows where Marichuy is, ha ha, isn’t that funny, how would Viv know? JM feels sorry for Ceci, missing her daughter. And what about you?, Viv asks. You know we split up for good, he says. It must be so hard, after a love of so many years!, she retorts. What? She says she knows they hadn’t just met.

Nacho and some other farmhand finally arrive and hold their hats and stare at Marichuy like she’s dead. Mari insists that she’s fine now, and the baby isn’t going to be born yet. What do you know about it?, asks Cande. They still want to take her to the hospital but she insists she doesn’t want to go, she just wants to go to bed. Nacho decides that they should at least bring the doctor there. Will it be the old one, or the drunk?

Juan Miguel admits to Viv that he committed an error in the past, but he’s been paying for it ever since with his upright and miserable life. Viv says she’s the one who has paid; he is so cold to her. He claims that if she were different, he would never have looked at another woman.

The ladies help Marichuy into bed. Mari tells Cande about her dream of being with JM. They both cry.

JM and Viv continue to attempt to assign blame for their miserable marriage. It’s all depressing and nothing we don’t already know, so I’m going to skip recounting it, but JM notes that it’s remarkable that Viviana can dredge up all this history when supposedly she remembers nothing. He threatens her that sooner or later he is going to find out what she was doing all that time she was gone.

JM walks into the house and Ed has just arrived. JM tells him it’s like Ed fell from heaven! That’s what I think, too, but it sounds a little funny coming from JM. Anyway, Juan Miguel thinks Viv’s behavior is strange; why is she refusing a treatment which could help her? Ed asks whether he thinks she’s faking, and Juan Miguel says they have to find out.

Viv, wearing a shirt dress that I think was meant to be just a shirt, whines to her mommy that her husband is going to find out she’s lying to him. Mom is worried that he’ll figure out Onelia was the one who told her about Marichuy, but Viv says they’ll just say Stef did it. I like that as a plan. For everything. Just blame Stef.

JM tells Ed he shouldn’t hypnotize Viv without her permission, but he needs to fight with the same weapons as the enemy, and yes, he does consider Viv his enemy. He is going to hypnotize her. Eduardo advises him to think carefully before he does anything and looks concerned.

Onelia warns Viv that JM will leave her if he knows the truth. Viv doesn’t believe it. Viv is summoned to the room with the fireplace by JM. He has a metronome all set up, and tells her to watch it; it’s therapy. I guess a pocketwatch would have been way too obvious, but I wonder why they even own a metronome. I mean, I own one, but I used to take piano lessons. I never even thought to hypnotize people with it. He sips coffee while watching her get veeeerrrry sleepy.

The villanous vixens get on the horn to share the news that Marichuy has had contractions but still no baby, and what luck, Leo hasn’t yet returned! Ceci interrupts Stef’s glee by returning home, crying over another dead end. She asks Stef very pointedly whether she REALLY doesn’t know where Marichuy is.

The somewhat oldish doctor, who may or may not be a drunk, tells Marichuy that everything will be fine, but recommends bed rest. He thinks the baby will be born within a fortnight. They all look astonished at that news for some reason. Is that still early? We don’t know.

Stef insists she knows nothing, but can’t look Ceci in the eyes while she says it. Ceci looks suspicious.

Marichuy eats soup in bed. The baby is still not born. Amador arrives at the hacienda, where unfortunately the peasants do not have orders to shoot on sight. He asks Micaela about the baby. She is not happy to see him but reports that there is still no news.

JM encourages Viv to relax and sleep. She keeps staring at the metronome and her eyes close.

Avances: Juan Miguel might learn of Viv’s cabana-boy-murdering? The hijo is born, and Marichuy fights off demons which may be imaginary.

Labels: Cuidado