Caray, Caray!

As Patricio bounces up, Ali asks Santiago, “Wouldn’t you like to have a baby?” Santi’s mouth turns to sawdust. Pat covers while Santi recovers. He says, "Lord willing, I'll find him." He seems less confident as time passes. Always eager to hold Patito, Pat asks Santiago, "Lo puedo cargar?" Cargar can mean to carry, but also to be responsible for. Santi suggests that when he finds his son, maybe the boys can be friends.

What is Alicia’s game here? To gloat? To rub his nose in it and make him miserable? To enjoy the triumph of her trick? To feel the thrill of risking discovery? Or maybe she wants to be discovered because she’s tired of playing mommy and she’s not getting anywhere with Pat.

Moving out of the frying pan and into the fire, Pat notes that Santi and Candy are now novios. Ali couldn’t be happier, but Pat says he’s worried because Chava is so sad about it. Everyone stands there uncomfortably, and Santiago awkwardly observes that he hasn't found his son yet.

Gabino warns Art to play their game or else. Art spouts several platitudes to assert that he’s old but wise, implying that Gabino should pay him more respect. He says Rocky had promised him he’d be able to retire from “the family,” but Rocky also helped him arrange Plan B to fall back on. He pulls out the key to his safe deposit box.

Cuau sends Lulu flowers with a flattering card. He shows up and she gives him the grand tour of the office. He gives her some more flattery and a kiss.

Raúl comes to the institute to pick up Soledad, who now wears pastels instead of harsh colors. When Ceci joins them, Raúl eyes her suspiciously. Ceci says Beto wants to see a movie, so they should all go together. So much for a romantic date!

Jaime goes to the restaurant to see Sven. He feels like Isabel is keeping something from him, and he’s looking for someone to talk to.

Amanda of the botched surgery goes to Candy’s office. Candy says she will believe in her novio until she sees proof to the contrary. I guess when Candy told Santiago, “I love you with all my heart,” that didn’t extend to her trust or confidence in him. Amanda promises to get proof.

Still at the park, Alicia cautiously quizzes Santiago about his efforts to find his son, but he can’t take his eyes off the adorable baby in the stroller. Ali says she honestly hopes Santi finds his son, and she doesn't follow it with an evil sneer. Hmm.

Luc stops by the malt shop to see her friends and Charly. She’s upset because of the picture Paulina e-mailed her. Across the room, she sees Danielle kissing some other guy. Luc tells her off for hurting Charly, but Danielle tells her to get a clue! Luc is the one he wants, according to Danielle. Besides, Danielle has decided to enjoy life instead of lying around depressed, like Charly. This all definitely gets Lucía’s attention. Fred tries to talk to her but Luc blows him off (that’s a step in the right direction). She tries to call Charly, but he just growls at her.

Santiago sits down with his therapist, Donato. His face glows when to talks about Baby Patito. He’s happy for Pat and Ali because a baby is a gift from God. But, voice cracking, he says he worries about his son. Is he well fed? Is he warm at night? Does someone hold him when he’s scared? Santiago knows he bears part of the blame. But he echoes the unanswered cry of everyone who has worked with troubled children, and our voice cracks too. Why should the child pay the price for the sins of the parents? Donato gives the best answer he can, “Don’t lose hope. La vida le va a dar las repuestas. Life will give you answers.”

In telenovelas, baby abductions always have a happy ending. Too bad real life doesn’t usually follow the same script. Occasionally it does. On Friday’s blog we were talking about a happy ending in Philadelphia, and Kris found the news story. It was even made into a movie called Little Girl Lost. Thanks, Kris!

Soledad sets Ceci straight. She asked Ceci to baby-sit Beto, not barge in on her date. Ceci claims she was only trying to help, but Sol says she keeps interfering with her relationship with Raúl. Is Ceci jealous? Ceci goes to her room in a huff and refuses to talk any further.

In his study, Santiago talks to Rocío about her hermanito. They light a candle to call the angels to help find him. Meanwhile in the kitchen, Luc is stressing about Charly not wanting to talk to her.

Pat worries for Chava, who wants his parents back together. Margarita pointedly counsels her son, “Los hijos simpre siguen pagando los platos rotos de las papas” (the children never stop paying the price for their parents’ sins). Margarita knows Pat’s concern is more than just for Chava, and she reminds him to accept that Candy loves somebody else. We can’t have everything we want. Bitter medicine.

Candy calls Santi as he’s getting ready for bed. She says, “I spent the whole day thinking about how much confidence I have in you.” Mucho o poco? No lo sé. She asks, by the way, has he done anything professionally improper? He assures her, nothing whatsoever. She hangs up and concludes that Amanda is a complete liar.

Alicia hides in the bathroom to call Marissa, who has been out shopping. Ali reports that Santi saw the baby, and Mar wants all the juicy details about his reaction. Ali is worried that somehow he’ll find out the truth. All Mar cares about is Santi’s prolonged suffering. She wants him to never stop paying the price.

Luc finds Charly in the park and tries to talk to him, but he tells her to get lost and go back to her boyfriend. He says she lives in her grand palace and she’s never had to fight for anything (except maybe surviving the sudden death of both her parents). He on the other hand is fighting for his life and nothing else matters. Luc refuses to join his pity party

Raúl and Soledad have the big talk. Has he accepted his wife’s death, or is he with Soledad just because he’s lonesome? He confesses that it has been hard, but he thinks he is ready to love again, and Soledad makes him feel again. Soledad implores him, “Don’t fail me. I’ve had too many other failures.” He promises he won’t. She asks him about his “museum,” and you can tell it’s a sensitive subject. But he’s trying to put those things in the past, including the museum. Raúl suggests that Ceci is jealous of him. He also suggests that it’s time to talk to Beto about their relationship.

While Gabino inspects Art’s safe deposit box, his subordinate (I’ll call him Viney) secretly snaps pictures of Pat picking up all three kids at school. Pat notices. Viney follows him to Santiago’s house where Pat drops off Roc and Chava. Suddenly Pat yanks Viney out of the car and demands to know why Gabino is having him followed. Viney says he’s not following Pat, he’s following Santiago’s kid. Pat wants to know what Santi has to do with Gabino, and warns Viney not to mess with him. You gotta’ admit, Pat’s got guts. Maybe no brains, but guts, he’s got.

Like any good boss, Gabino has a “counseling session” with Viney, to impress on him the importance of not getting discovered while he’s spying on people. Viney explains his quick thinking. He told Pat that he was following Santi's kid, so Pat wouldn't know that Viney was actually following Pat and his kids. Gabino says he just doesn’t want Pat snooping around in his business. Meanwhile Pat tries to figure out how best to protect his son, since he thinks Santi is somehow mixed up with Gabino. He knows that if he tells Candy, she’ll think it’s just his jealousy against Santi.

Charly says Luc ditched him because he’s infected and she’s afraid of him. She says that’s nonsense. She ditched him because he cheated on her. (Nice try Luc, but didn’t you split with him before you knew about Danielle?) Getting serious, Charly says he was drunk and he was stupid, but why can’t she forgive him? How long must he keep paying for his offense? He loves her and she doesn’t care. If she’s not afraid of his infection, she’ll kiss him. Lucía overcomes her anxiety and does just that. A good, sweet, meaningful kiss.

Candy talks to Barb and worries some more about the demands of trying to be a super-mama plus work full time. Barb reminds her that she doesn’t need to work, but Candy wants to have it all.

Pau is in charge of Roc and Chava at her house, but she tells them, “You can’t go to a movie, you can’t watch TV, you can’t play on computer.” I would add, DON’T EAT THE GINGERBREAD!!! She suggests that they make a puppet show instead. And guess who will write the script?

In the next scene, Donato is setting up the puppet theater Pau just bought. Santiago asks whose idea that was. “Why, the children’s idea,” Pau quickly interjects. He asks what the story will be, and she claims she has no idea. “Those children are so creative.”

Gabino meets with Art and we finally find out about that safety deposit box. Art has a letter from Rocky to Gabino, saying that Art has solid evidence about the money laundering. Gab threatens that in his business, there is only one place for traitors. Art says he’s not betraying anybody; he’s protecting himself. Gab says he’s not ready to let Art retire, and shows him the photos of Art’s wife, son, and grandsons. "If you talk, they fall." Art knows he has lost. When Art chose his course in life, he never considered that this would be the price.

Raúl wants to tell Beto that they are novios, but Sol wants to wait. He agrees to wait. They seal the deal with an extended kiss, during which Beto walks in and see them. I guess that wait was shorter than expected. Beto runs to his room, upset. Later Sol tries to explain to him that Raúl won’t take the place of his father, but she wants to be happy too. Beto mostly whines. Back in the living room, Raúl tells Sol that it’s understandable that Beto is upset right now. It will take time. Raúl looks forward to getting to know Beto better because he likes children, and he never had any because his wife died while she was still pregnant.

Sven reports to Isabel that Jaime is worried for her. She says she’ll talk to him. Changing the subject, she notes that Sven and Jaime seem to have a special relationship. Sven admits that he’s like the father he never had. He explains that he was raised by the man his mother married, but his actual father was married to somebody else. He loves his stepfather and he owes him a lot. But still sometimes he thinks about his original father, who he hasn’t seen since he was five. “He used to call me Frijolito.” Isabel hides her impactada as best she can.

In the puppet show, the puppets say that they are sad because their parents don’t want to live together, and they want to marry someone else. The Chava-puppet says that his mama doesn’t love him. We all know who the actual puppeteer is. The audience looks uncomfortable. Pat buys into the message, hook, line, and sinker. Santi sees Pau’s fingerprints all over it, and grits his teeth once again, at what he has to put up with for Rocío’s sake. And Candy? Pau hit a bull’s-eye! Candy goes off to cry, Santi tries to talk reason with her (silly Santiago!), and Pat tells her that he thinks it’s time for Chava to live with him.

Labels: Tontas