Caray, Caray!

Been there, done that: El L. has come back – he tells Mari that he had a premonition that something will go wrong. The cellos, which apparently don’t limit themselves to following Amador around, buzz. Stef tells JM congrats on your second honeymoon with Viv oh and by the way I know where Mari is.

New: Mari tells El L. that she’s had the creeps and been very nervous because he wasn’t there. She asks him again if he’ll help her deliver.

JM grills Stef, who looks smug and won’t tell. Why do you want to know? she asks. None of your beeswax, says JM. Stef forgets to act sweet and spits out that he’s a married man, he has a moral obligation to Viv, who is ill, plus there’s Mayita. Stef says she’s not going to tell, she just said this much to show him that she can keep secrets. She starts to stomp out, but he grabs her arm and says he needs to know where Mari is and with whom. Stef gives him a withering look, pulls her arm away and leaves.

JM follows and says you’re just trying to make a fool of me. They arrive in the foyer, where Mayita jumps on him while Blanca stands nearby. Stef smiles, and JM gives her the stink eye.

El L. tells Mari he won’t deliver her baby, but he’ll take her to the hospital. She asks if he’ll stick with her there. He says of course and they knuckle bump.

Back in the foyer, JM covers Mayita’s eyes and says he has a surprise. It’s Rocio, and Mayita is thrilled. (I’m thrilled her legs haven’t atrophied after all those months in a hospital bed and she can stand there without clinging to the woodwork.) He introduces Blanca to Rocio. Rocio is very warm with Blanca, hugs her, and says how can repay all you’ve done for Mayita? Stef says ahem, hello. Rocio gives her a polite but brief hello. Stef makes a few pleasantries and goes to leave. JM says Stef…., but she says sorry, I can’t.

The cellos are following Amador, who is walking his wolf down a city street. He is passing a shop, and who should step out and bump into him but the very pregnant Beatriz.

Cande and Mari are sitting on a spectacular tile fountain at the hacienda. Cande says if you’re happy that El L. is back, why the long face? Mari says she’s wondering if she’d spoken up to JM that day about her pregnancy maybe he wouldn’t have chosen to stick with Viv.

Amador tells Bea it looks like the baby’s due soon. He asks if she’s still with Elsa’s parents and when she says yes, he says he’s glad she’s staying there. She says she’ll be moving out. Amador says don’t think you can count on me for anything! Bea smiles and says don’t worry, I’ll make my own future. Amador has a big belly laugh at her. She says I don’t need you any more. I’ve learned a lot about life, and the main thing is that I have goals now. I’ve changed.

Amador smirks and who changed you? Bea says nothing about me is any of your business, including when MY child is born.

Cande is telling Mari that the law says JM had to go back to his wife when she reappeared, and Mari says does the law say I should be shoved out into the street? He and I married! And I’m going to have his child. The law isn’t fair.

Cande says are you regretting that you ran off, that you gave up everything, including love? Are you wanting to fight now for everything you lost? Mari is thoughtful. Cande says JM detests his wife and adores you, he told me himself, and if he knew you were here and expecting, he’d do everything he could to come to you. Let’s tell Padre Anselmo to tell him! No! says Mari. Don’t even say dreamy stuff like that because it makes my head spin.

Cande says even if you spend the rest of your days mad at me, I’m going to say what I think. I’d tell JM the truth. Then he can decide for himself between you and that woman. Mari says he has Mayita – I can’t tear him from his child. Probably they’ve made up and now they’re all lovey-dovey. I don’t want to be the other woman (? - el plato de segunda mesa) for him. Cande says I would never suggest such a thing! As for JM being happy with his wife, excuse me while I have a good laugh. (And she does.) They get on like cats and dogs. Heck, even cats and dogs get along better than they do! Stop says Mari, I don’t want to talk about it, understand? Leave it! Cande looks mad and makes like she’s zipping her lip.

JM arrives at Casa Velarde and tells Ceci he needs to talk to Stef. Anxious Ceci wants to know if he’s found out where Mari is, and he says not yet. Ceci says do you want to talk to Stef about Mari? and JM says yes. Ceci asks the nice maid to go tell Stef that JM is here. JM says, no, just tell her Ceci wants her, don’t say I’m here.

Cande tells Mari that Nacho says Pirana’s been seen lurking about. Mari bursts forth with a rapid stream of words, the gist of which I think is that she’s afraid El L. will go after Pirana for what he did to her earlier, and that El. L will get hurt on her account. Cande says hmmm, looks like you’re falling for El. L. Mari scoffs. Cande says (with relish) he’s young, handsome, strong, manly! Mari says he’s all yours then. Cande says naw, I’m going to die single, like my mother and grandmother. Your baby needs a father – marry El Leopardo!

Stef comes in and is startled to see JM. They glare at one another. Ceci says what’s going on with you, Stef? She thinks maybe she should let JM and Stef talk alone. He says no, you should be here and hear this. She’s been hiding something from us – she knows where Mari is. Stef doesn’t crumple, she keeps a poker face.

Mari is sitting alone now on that amazing tile fountain and she’s thinking about Cande’s saying she should marry El L. She thinks maybe it wouldn’t be decent. And sure enough, here he comes, our white knight. He takes her hand to help her up and they both smile at one another.

Back to the Stef thing: Ceci begs her to tell, and finally Stef says I have no idea. JM says but you just told me at my house! More dramatics on Ceci and JM’s part (but not on Stef’s) and finally she says I lied. It just popped out of my mouth. JM says you’re lying now, and Stef says how could I possibly know? If Ceci can’t get it out of Padre Anselmo, how could I?

El L. has helped Mari into the living room and she has a woozy spell. He comes close and says how great she smells. Mari hears Cande’s words – falling in love, in love. Mari asks him why he looks that way and he says he’s sad thinking of the day she will leave.

Stef gets ugly and says to JM why would Mari come back to you? She ran away from you because she hates you, detests you, for what you did to her that time long ago. Even if you got down on your knees, she wouldn’t take you back. JM excuses himself and leaves and Ceci looks at Stef and wonders.

Vicente is asleep in his wheelchair, a blank canvas in front of him. A nurse (!) lets Rocio in and she looks wistfully at him. She wakes him and he’s overjoyed to see her. She says forgive me (for what?) and tells him she loves him sooo much. Kissfest.

Ceci says to Stef, you know, don’t you? Stef says I have no idea – it would be criminal not to tell you if I did. Ceci melts onto the couch and says it would be criminal to keep a mother from her child, (unseen by Ceci, Stef rolls her eyes), to keep her from giving her child the love and tenderness that child deserves. To give her everything, including the family name. Stef fiddles with her hair.

Ceci says if I could see her, I’d win her heart I know. My tears would melt her, I’d beg her. I have to see her! Ceci looks at Stef, who shrugs.

Vicente tenderly admires Rocio’s face and says she’s as pretty as before. He says he never would have forgiven himself if she’d been left scarred. It’s all his fault! Rocio says no, don’t talk like that. I got better because of you. If it hadn’t been for you, I never would have had the courage to go through all those surgeries. I wanted to be pretty again for you. Can’t you at least try for me – try to walk?

Back at Mari’s barrio, JM sits on the steps of her apartment building. Oddly, nobody is around and he waits and waits, then goes down to the street where he remembers the days when he first saw here there. He goes back and asks some little kids apparently with no luck. He thoughtbubbles that he misses her.

Mari is sitting in the living room, sewing baby things. El L. who is all gentle smiles lately comes in. She says she’s bored having to just sit around, but he says pretty soon, when you have your baby, you’re not going to be bored. She asks how long she’ll be laid up after the baby and he says a couple of days, and he tells her about farm women giving birth and then getting right back to their chores. They chat and he corrects her grammar. She says she’s never talked good, and he says but now that you’ll have a child, you’ll want it to talk correctly, particularly if it’s a girl. It’s time for you to learn and change.

(Now, I’m a big Leopardo fan, but really! Two raggedy old stereotypes in about one minute! First it’s peasant women are sturdy breeders, and then it’s women should talk prettier than men. I guess living on a hacienda in the woods can make a person slip into a previous era without noticing.)

Stef is at her aunt’s apartment telling her about what happened with JM and Ceci. Isa is mad, but Stef says don’t worry, I told them I’d made it up. JM’s so mad he probably won’t talk to me again. Isa is all nerves and says it’s getting dangerous, and that darned Mari still hasn’t given birth.

Stef says don’t worry, she’ll give birth and it (she? – darn this lack of pronouns!) will disappear and JM will never know he had a child with her.

Mari is telling about the nuns trying to teach her, but bad things happened. In fact, her life has been full of bad things. El L. says he’ll correct her and if she remembers to use the right expression, he’ll give her a prize. She says like “verdad”? (instead of “neta”.) She wants to know what the prize is and he says I ‘ll tell you later. She insists and he says a kiss. She looks surprised and a little troubled and he looks shy. He says I’m sorry – I guess that’s a prize for me and not for you… buy maybe it could be for both of us?

Mari says you mean a friendship kiss? Like between pals? El L. gets very serious and says yes of course, for us there could be no other kind of feeling, but we know he’s fudging.

At the church, Purita’s mama is weeping copiously and telling the padre that Purita believes that people think she’s the same as her mother, and that everyone who looks at her is thinking that. He tells her Purita will come to understand and will change towards her. Have faith! She says her faith is shattered, and he tells her to glue it back together and offer it to God and ask for forgiveness. She says she will.

Things have gotten tearful between Vicente and Rocio. He says his situation can’t be fixed like hers was. She begs him to try. He tells her she’s wrecking their happy moment.

JM is reading a book! For a second anyway, but then right away he thoughtbubbles about Mari saying she doesn’t understand it – she and he were married legally, in a church! His bubble pops when Blanca comes in to see if he needs anything else and to say good night. He says one question: Is there a mystery in your life? He squints a little and she nervously touches her glasses.

It’s a great big church, but somehow all the action takes place in a cramped hallway where there’s a small table with candles under a crucifix. Maybe one of the many doors is the bathroom or a broom closet. Right now Purita’s mama is fervently praying aloud to Jesus about Purita and a heavenly choir is singing. There’s a hand on her shoulder – it’s Purita. The choir swells, her mama says forgive me and Purita says forgive me! (Well, I guess that’s the end of that story line. I never got into it maybe because I’ve never been a prostitute so I can’t relate, but more likely because it was such a hokey bit.)

Blanca says “yes” in a small voice. JM says trust me – I can help you. (In real life, when a man says “trust me” it’s usually time to run like mad.)

Mari is in bed and thoughtbubbles about JM telling her to leave and don’t ever come back. El L. knocks and then asks her to have dinner with him.

Blanca tearfully tells JM her sister committed suicide – because of a man.

Mari and El L. are having Purina Leopard Chow at the big hacienda table. He corrects her use of the silverware and then tells her she should say “para nada” instead of “pa nada.” She takes this in good spirits.

He mentions that he heard Amador came again – is he your husband’s friend? She says la neta, no (so no kiss for having remembered to say “verdad” ) but El L. isn’t paying attention to that anyway. He wants to know who her husband is.

Blanca is saying she doesn’t like to talk about it usually, but she’d like to talk to him. He says but you’re a very calm person, reasonable. She says but sometimes I feel a wave of anxiety, it’s some hidden fear that I don’t understand. I didn’t quite get this part – I think she said she’s afraid she’ll disappear into a world of shadows.

JM says do you blame yourself for her suicide? and she says she had nothing to do with it. He says were you maybe in love with the same man?

Mari tells El L. she doesn’t like to think about her husband, much less talk about him. He corrects her slang again. El L. says I told you names and Mari says oh yes – what was her name? Yvette.

And sure enough we see Blanca who is getting very distressed and says she didn’t even know the guy. She loved her sister and would have done anything to make her happy. Blanca looks like she’s coming unglued. JM says is the man still alive? Blanca says yes, but I don’t know where he lives, but if I saw him dead, I’d feel much better.

JM says accept your sister’s death as part of life. She despaired and went through the wrong door and there’s nothing you could have done about it. Enjoy your life, fall in love. Blanca is horrified. JM says love can heal as well as damage. ‘Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved before. (I guess in med school they offer Platitudes 101.)

El L. says yes, Yvette. It’s better not to remember. We have both suffered due to another person and now we find ourselves on the same path. Mari says bedtime and she wraps up a few big rolls, telling El L. they’re for Cande’s midnight munchies.

In the hallway, Blanca is having a twitchy crazy attack. She cowers beside a piece of furniture. Viv comes down and says Juan Miguel? She hears something and calls him again. Blanca pulls herself together, but she’s looking startle-eyed. Viv sees her and says have you seen Juan Miguel? Blanca smiles blankly then flees into another room. Viv is creeped out.

Mari is in bed thinking of El L. saying he will give her a kiss. She wonders why he talked to her like that. Is he in love with me?

Avances: JM mumbles something about Mari to Rocio. El L. sits among the greenery and smiles dreamily. Mari is holding lilies. Yvette is kissing JM’s hand. Viv is saying we have no idea who she is – we need to figure her out. JM is in a restaurant with Yvette and Viv walks in and they’re busted.

Labels: Cuidado