Caray, Caray!

As we cross the ocean to the New World, we find several battles raging. Paulina is battling to get Santi back. Alicia is battling to get Pat back. Charly is battling his demons. Tina is battling cancer. And Candy and Santi appear to be battling many problems, but finally – they’re on the same side.


We begin with the happy scene in which Santi gives Candy his mother’s ring, telling her that on the day he demonstrates that he’s a man in which she can have total confidence, that’s the day they’ll get married. Tonight they continue the conversation, as Candy, having seen the ring as a proposal, tells Santi she’s not saying no, she’s sort of saying “ni”, which is a combination of no and “casi” (almost). Santi takes this in good humor, plays a ringtone on his cell that sounds like the news, with the story of Candy and Santi to follow. This amuses Candy, who says that for now, we’ll keep this ring secret. Santi doesn’t mind, the ring is really just a symbol of their love, and Candy thanks him with a brilliant smile. A happy Santi exits, with the “news” ringtone going again, promising mucho más to come.

Gregoria and Lulu are cooking side by side in the restaurant kitchen. Apparently Greg is over her nerves, is now in an excellent mood. She tells Lu about when Greg was young, she wanted to be like Sylvia Piñal, who back then was quite slim (if you saw FELS, she played Santita, Don Augustin’s girlfriend, so you know what she looks like now). Gregoria dreamed of being an actress. And Gregoria used to imitate the actress Maria Felix, in the original Dona Bárbara. Greg especially liked when Ms. Felix played a character called Victoria Arribas, and Greg used to copy her sophisticated mirada (gaze, or look), which Lulu gets her to demonstrate. So what about Lulu, what’s her dream? Turns out she wants to be a singer, but she doesn’t have an agent. Right on cue, Meño enters to inquire as to what’s the daily special. The two ladies look at each other, and Lulu drags Meño into the restaurant to talk business, as Greg shouts after, “He’s the man!” (to be her agent).

Candy is full of pep, she’s picked up a little something for everyone this morning, Ceci gets coffee without sugar, Bárbara a little croissant since Candy knows she skipped breakfast, along with a fashion mag, Chayo a mocha latte lite and Soledad a Chai lite. The ladies know this is a little over the top even for Candy, and they follow her in the office for the “news”. How come Santi just left her office with a big smile, and she has the same smile, are they novios? Of course not, denies Candy as all the others say “Ay a hah” at the same time.

We jump to another grinning gal, it’s Paulina, who’s having fun with her little game in Santi’s office. Still pretending she remembers nothing, she begs him to tell him how they met. We see a flashback to her looking for an earring on the ground in the park, he finds it, offers to return it if she’ll have coffee with him, she played hard to get, didn’t want a novio. How did he succeed? He insisted, he pursued, he tried, and who could resist this (he poses to show off his guaposity), tells Paulina, who looks as if she’s reliving every moment, you remember, right? Nope, lies Pau.

Ay, real life intrudes into our fun, as Candy has called a hurting Pat to tell him she really does want that divorce. He pauses a few seconds, sadly agrees. He can call the lawyer, they can get divorced tomorrow, but is she really sure? She doesn’t want to hurt him, but….yes.

We continue pretty Paulina’s preguntas as she sort of slips, saying their first date was a disaster. You see, you remember, says Santi, but Pau denies it, what happened? We see them in a rooftop restaurant, clear blue sky, Pau is scratching her arms, saying her nerves are giving her an allergic reaction. Santi wants to get medicine, but Paulina says “you know what would help? If we get married!” Santi’s reply? “It’s a deal.” (trato hecho). Paulina wants to start over, right now could be their first date. Santi negates this, let’s change the subject. Guess who’s back? Mario! Again, Pau’s face gives away that she, of course, remembers. Santi suggests a dinner with all four musketeers, and Pau forces a little smile.

Lulu has asked Meño to be her agent. He doesn’t want to, for 2 reasons – he doesn’t represent artists, and she’s no singer. She begs to differ, he just never saw her show. She wants to debut right here in the restaurant, and when she lets out a few soaring notes, he agrees to at least think about it.

Gregoria is going through Candy’s advice mail “Obesity, obesity, obesity, unfaithfulness” (I guess there’s some key on the outside of each envelope!). Greg wants to know how the dinner with Santi went. Great, and Mom’s cooking helped, too, although Candy made Santi think she prepared it. Greg thinks Candy is wild, but so is SHE. She reminds Candy about the man she’s been with, who helped her to feel again. And then she even tells Candy who it is – Arturo! Candy is a little shocked, but the only thing she wants is for her Mom to be happy, and they hug.

Donato has finished writing a letter – he’s resigning, he doesn’t want to go, he HAS to go. Tina reminds him that tomorrow he’s going to go with her for her operation (the breast tumor). He will. She asks about the letter, and he nervously tells her it’s his resignation, as he walks out of the kitchen. Ayyy!

Okay, enough of our intrigues, what happened to our daily PSA’s? Okay, time to revisit the last few. Lucía is talking to Santi about Charly’s drug problem, which seems to be solved. She asks about her little brother, and Santi tries to be positive, at least they know he was born, and hopefully Marissa will calm down and have the sense to return. Then they talk about Suinti, the bulimic girl. She’s following her treatment, but she’s no longer friendly with Luc. Santi tells her that hopefully, after Suinti is fully recovered, she’ll renew her friendship with Lucía, and it’ll be a deeper and fuller friendship. But after Lucía leaves, Santi worries to himself about Marissa.

It’s morning now, and Chava is fully dressed in his school uniform, but is sleeping crosswise on Candy’s bed, with his backpack as a pillow. Candy tells him to get up, while talking to Pat on the phone. Pat says when he was a kid, he also would lie down on the bed fully dressed before school, so it seems that Chava and Pat are twins in this respect. Pat says he’ll meet Candy at the office and they’ll go to the divorce lawyer, but Candy has to do something for Ceci’s birthday, and they’ll have to meet a little later. Pat hangs up unhappy. Chava doesn’t want to go to school, and tries buttering up his Mom, telling her she looks beautiful, but Candy’s not falling for this, and a few tickles (cosquillas) get Chava moving.

Charly has also packed his backpack (mochila). He’s apparently going to help some kids with problems. But Meño wants to inspect the backpack (for drugs). Charly is initially resistant, but eventually he lets Meño check the compartments.

Jaime and Isabel now have a little mini-spat. Isa is upset with Jaime for not telling her earlier about the son he fathered out of wedlock. They were supposed to tell each other all their secrets, and she did. He’s contrite, he felt embarrassed, this was from his wild days, long ago. Guess what the name of Jaime’s long-lost love child is? Frijolito! Jaime hasn’t seen mother or child in many years, all he has left is a photo of the kid at age 4. But can Isa forgive him? She’s not ready to do that, keeping secrets from your spouse is no trifling matter.

Pat’s in the office, checking a report, when from behind comes “Hola, mi amor!” and he just about jumps out of his shoes. It’s Alicia, carrying the new baby in a white blanket, perky as ever. Pat looks at the baby as if it’s an alien, as Ali introduces Patricio Arturo Molina Lisaraga (I’m not sure of that last name, why isn’t it Morales?) She wants him to hold the baby, and although he’s initially reluctant, when he tentatively takes him in his arms, the paternal feelings start to flow. Ali points to him and the baby, says “Pato, Patito, quack, quack!” (Pato means a duck). He’s identical to you, she adds. Candy shows up in the doorway (the divorce thing), apologizing for arriving at an awkward moment, but Ali is more than happy to introduce Candy to her new sobrino (nephew).

Santi has woken, is in his bedroom in his robe, looking in the mirror, admiring his handsomeness, when his cell rings. He answers with a big, bright “Helllooooo”, but his face falls when it turns out to be Mariloca! She’s happy to hear he’s in a good mood, she won’t take much of his time. He demands, where is his son? Ignoring this, she asks if he liked her video. Where is my son, he repeats. Concentrate. Get your sanity (cordura) back. Where is he? What baby? she replies. Santi says the baby shouldn’t pay for his mistakes. Mari says “There is no baby, Santiago. The boy died!” Santi is impactado. Mari continues, it was destiny, maybe it was written that the baby wouldn’t live. Santi isn’t buying this, tells her to stop lying, she knows perfectly well the baby is alive. Mari’s reponse? “Murió, murió, murió, que en paz descanse, Sí, Señor, Adios!” (he died, he died, he died, rest in peace, yes, sir, bye!) and hangs up, laughing. Santi slams his phone down onto the bed in frustration.

We then cut to the same baby, cute as a button, being cuddled in Alicia’s arms, as Candy and Pat look on, and Candy agrees he’s beautiful. In light of all this, Pat wants to do the divorce thing another day, and Candy agrees. As they go into the hall to discuss this, Ali hugs her baby, asking him if he likes his Daddy, who’s really handsome, hoping the baby doesn’t end up looking too much like his real Daddy (Santiago).

Donato is wearing casual clothes, ready to accompany Tina to her operation. On the way out, Don slips his resignation letter into the fruitbowl.

Okay, can you believe this? Candy apparently told Pat about Ceci’s moving in with Soledad, and Pat is STILL worried about Ceci’s being gay, Beto lives there, what if one day Ceci brings a gay friend home? Candy says Ceci is the most discreet person in the world, she would never put Beto in an uncomfortable position, but if anything did happen in the future, they could deal with it then. She leaves, and it seems to me that Patricio’s rejection by Candy is slowly, inexorably driving him to the Dark Side.

Meño and Charly are eating breakfast. Why doesn’t he talk to Daniele? He should tell her she has HIV. (Okay, people, can you guess what happens?). Right! Charly angrily resists for two minutes, Meño makes a little speech, Charly changes his mind, he’ll go see Daniele. (if only life were this easy!)

At the Institute, Bárbara, Chayo and Soledad surprise Ceci with a birthday cake, singing the local version of Happy Birthday. Ceci doesn’t want to celebrate, birthdays just remind her she’s one year older, and still alone, but the ladies are all in a good mood, and as they go off to work, Ceci goes off to work on something related a diet for the bulimia problem from the other day (more likely to work on eating that cake), leaving Chayo at the receptionist post, accompanied by Soledad. In walks our next client, a handsome guy. He says his wife Ana has the problem, she totally controls him. When the ladies suggest couples counseling, he demurs, saying it’s his wife who has the problem, he doesn’t want to make her mad, how can they get her to come in for help? Ceci and Sole have suspicious (or maybe devious) looks.

In the scrub room at the Clinic, Santi tells Ed that Marissa had to be lying about the baby’s being dead. But then he asks Ed, what if Mari put the baby up for adoption? (Santi must have been reading the script, it’s hard to believe he’d just come up with this so fast). They’d have no way to trace the baby.

The ladies are discussing their latest client over cake and coffee. How can they get Ana to come in for therapy? They can’t just call her and tell her that her husband told them about the problem, the woman would be mad. Suddenly Chayo has an idea! She calls Ana, and tells her this is the famous Miracle Institute, you’ve heard of Candy with the column, right? Well, guess what? You’ve just won a free membership! (inscripción). The others sort of wonder what about the money, but let’s not worry about that now.

Isabel finds Donato’s letter of resignation.

Cut to some sore feet – Ceci’s, in the ladies’ room, she likes the style of these heels (maybe they were a present from the others?), but they’re killing her. Sole says maybe they’re too small for your feet, huh? Ceci says she could put them in the refrigerator to loosen them up. She then notices Sole’s preoccupied look. What’s on her mind? Sole tells her she has renewed hope for something with Patricio, now that Candy has broken up with him. Ceci implores her not to go down that road again, Pat just doesn’t love her. Sole asks, shouldn’t she even try to win him back? Ceci asks, “Do you want me to lie?” “Yes. Lie to me. And I’ll even buy you some new shoes” . Make them boots (botas), jokes Ceci.

We now see Lulu, jogging! Her jogging partner is Meño, and he’s had enough. She asks if he’ll do what she asked (let her sing in the restaurant, I think) and he’s not paying for anything, but she can work something out with Zamora. She tells him she knows he’s been getting notes from a secret admirer. He asks her to try to figure out who it is. She wants him to jog a little more, but he tells her that when he was young, rather youngER, he didn’t even need exercise. When he was young, rather youngER, he could drink two cups of water, and lose two kilos! She says okay lets do another lap. No, you go, and she’s off as he says, run, youngster, run (corre joven corre).

Charly is in the mall, drinking milkshakes with Daniele, apologizing for not telling her earlier (about the HIV). Dani denies, denies, denies, but Charly consoles, hugs, and I’m sure in 2-3 minutes, Dani will be off to get her AIDS test.

Alicia, baby in arms, has come to see Pat’s new house. Although she’s holding the baby, he has suitcases in both hands, so she slips her hand into his pants to get the keys (that Alicia knows what she’s doing), and they enter. The house is awesome, stone walls, wood beams, high ceilings, rustic but luxurious. Pat’s going to give a tour, but Ali says he should carry Patito. At first he’s afraid, but once again, as soon as Patito is in his arms, you can feel the love.

Knock, knock at the Institute, it’s Ana, to claim her prize of the free membership. Chayo and Soledad usher her over to the sofa to begin (but Ana doesn’t even really know what they do, or why she’s there. She had heard of Candy, though, who isn’t in at the moment). It’s time for a little improvisation, as Chayo asks Ana to tell them what her problems are, so they can help. Problems? Ana’s at a loss, until Sole says, just to guess, do you possibly have a pareja (partner, boyfriend, husband)? Bingo, that’s her biggest problem!

Pat has finished giving Patito the grand tour, and he asks if Alicia wants to hold him now. Of course, she has to take him, babies stay with their Mommies, and it’s time for her to go back to the apartment. No, please stay just a little longer (un ratito). Pat notes that it’s getting late, we don’t want the baby to suffer from a change in temperature, could he stay here for the night? Alicia smiles, are you suggesting the baby and I can stay here in the big house? Well, you can sleep in the guest room, but I definitely want Patito to stay the night. Alicia’s not quite as overjoyed, but she’s making progress.

It turns out Ana’s real problem is her suegra, her husband’s mother, who gives in to the husband’s every whim, and Ana is like a third wheel (un cero a la izquierda, literally a zero on the left). She’s tried to fight back, but the mother-in-law doesn’t pay any attention to her. The other ladies can totally relate to this problem, apparently they have suegra issues, too. Bárbara, though (being divorced) has nothing to add, seems to be enjoying this one.

In the hospital, Donato is pacing, Isabel sitting, as they wait for Tina’s operation to be over. Isa beckons Don with a finger. She read his letter. She knows she was generous with him, he should be generous with her. She’s asking him not to leave. He starts to protest, she shushes him, saying “Calladito te ves más bonito” (Silence is golden, or you look prettier silent). The doctor comes out with the news. They got the tumor out, and since it was not too big, they didn’t have to remove the breast. They took out (he says extirpamos, we removed) glands from the armpit (axila) to test for metastasis. They’ll know the results in 15-20 days, and can do chemotherapy or radiation therapy if necessary, but the operation was a complete success! Donato and Isabel hug. Don asks, does this mean Tina’s okay? Well, she’s in the middle of the struggle (en plena lucha), but the forecast for the battle is very good! They hug again.

But not all is golden. In the Clinic, Hortensia grabs Candy’s hand, thank goodness she came, Horti is worried about Santi, who got a phone call from Marissa, but since then, has been sitting alone in his office, not saying a word. Candy asks what Mari said. Hort says that Ed told her that Mari said the baby is dead! Candy enters to see Santi sitting, holding the empty picture frame. She sits next to him on the sofa. Santi says he knows he behaved badly with Marissa, but was he bad enough for Mari to do this? Candy is sure the baby is okay. Santi says he has to believe that, too, but he still has this empty picture frame. Candy tenderly tells him, he’s not alone, she will always be with him. And his baby will be with him, too. They gently put their arms around each other, determined to fight this together.

Monday: Suspicions grow about the baby, and Paulina continues her games.

Vocabulario:

Trato hecho – It’s a deal.
Cordura - sanity
Inscripción – membership, registration, enrollment
Un cero a la izquierda – a “third wheel”, or to be useless, like a nobody, literally a zero on the left
Calladito te ves más bonito - silence is golden, literally you look prettier silent

Labels: Tontas