Caray, Caray!

Leftovers: Fortunately we don’t have to watch Inaki die again, or Paloma bolt from the church. Now everyone is gathered around the table at Carmen’s wondering what Alonso’s wishes will be. Carmen comes in and says Alonso’s opinions don’t count.

New, but soggy: In another room, Romina is comforting Paloma while Mac stands to one side. Paloma agonizes over why she lost her parents and now Inaki. God doesn’t love her! She wants to die too. Tearful Romina says no, no don’t say that.

Poster child for pinched-lipped town gossips Inez and her nice-guy son discuss what happened. Inez says the women of that family are doomed to remain single, and she tells him to stay away from Paloma– They’re cursed and I don’t want you being friends with her. Aron says that’s up to me, not you, and he walks out.

Back at Carmen’s we see Emiliano and Romina, all in tears. Camila says it’s the worst thing of all to lose a child. Emiliano says And she lost her parents too. Romina says it’s just not normal. In the background, we see Mac slowly walking sobbing Paloma out, Rufi bringing up the rear.

Emiliano looks after them and Romina says ruefully that he always seems to be fixated on Paloma and her family. Emiliano says I wanted to make them happy but now I don’t know what to do.

Mac has brought Paloma back to her room at home and says she’ll help her change into black, but Paloma says she just wants to be alone now. Mac leaves and Paloma remembers the night she and Inaki pretend married, and other lovely moments with him. She slumps to the floor and keens with grief.

Mac prays in her room and asks God why. Carlota comes in and tells her why cry since it was her (Mac’s) fault. After all, she’s the one who put that pearl Necklace of Deception, Lies and Sin on Paloma. Mac says shame isn’t inherited. Carlota strokes Mac’s hair casually and says you brought bad fortune down on us.

Mac says there’s no curse on Paloma and one day she’ll find the happiness she deserves. Carlota says who’d be interested in a girl who keeps having people close to her drop like flies? The best thing you could do for her is to tell her to resign herself to the fact that happiness is just not in the cards for her…before the next victim is you. Oh, and please don’t go blubbering through the wake.

Emiliano is telling his folks what happened. He says and Inaki was so happy and his whole future spread before him. Rafa says maybe Paloma’s youth will help her recover from this. Emiliano wonders why these things happen to Paloma, she’s an incredible young woman. Diana says does Romina know you talk about Paloma like that?

We’re at the funeral home. Alonso is here now, stroking Inaki’s coffin and telling Carmen Inaki never should have come to this town, and that she encouraged him in his foolishness and now look. Natalia is in the background, Sagrario on her lap. It’s your fault, he tells his ex-wife. It’s here that he fell into all this nonsense and started defying me. If he’d done what I wanted, this wouldn’t have happened. (He’s right of course, but only one person at the wake and about 3 million viewers know it.) Carmen says my conscience is clear, but obviously yours isn’t. Maybe you ought to deal with that instead of blaming others.

Natalia thinks maybe she better step in. She says this is a wake, not a court. She goes over to Carmen and says never mind Alonso, he just doesn’t know how to handle this. Probably he feels guilty. Carmen says he always thinks he’s right.

Whoa – it’s the ad break and there’s Inaki with his big smile. Creepy.

Drat, the captions have disappeared. Paloma comes into the living room, dressed in black, head down. Mac and Carlota are there too, also in black. Carlota acts all sorry and says she’s just glad she was able to make peace with Inaki and his family and with Paloma too.

Rufi comes in and Mac tells her to stay home from the wake – surely lots of people will be phoning. Paloma says Rufi is coming with us! Paloma and Rufi walk out and Mac tells Carlota off. Don’t you realize we should support Paloma in whatever she wants? Rufi is part of the family. Carlota rolls her eyes.

Emiliano and Romina are together, reflecting on what happened. Romina says a person could die at any time. If anything happened to him, she would just die. She says she doesn’t want to die without having realized her dreams. They should get married! Emiliano says it isn’t the time to talk about things like that.

Camila comes in, gives her daughter a hug and tells her she loves her. She gives Emiliano a hug, too, since he and Inaki were such good friends.

Arcadia’s granddaughter (niece?) breathlessly tells her about Inaki suddenly dying before his wedding. Arcadia is impactada and remembers having seen Carlota buying belladonna in the market.

Alonso, Natalia and the child are sitting in the room with Inaki’s coffin. Here comes our group of mourners. Paloma spots the coffin, cries and runs to it. Alonso leaps up and says hands off! This whole thing is your fault!

Emiliano goes ballistic. He tells Alonso that Inaki was his friend, and he loved Paloma. He will not allow Alonso or anybody else to talk to her like that. Alonso becomes menacing and says if it weren’t for her, he’d be alive today.

Paloma bawls I never would have done anything to hurt him! Alonso flames back that it was her fault Inaki didn’t go back to Spain, that he stayed here and died. Carmen says you can’t use Paloma to wipe your conscience clean. Thanks to her, he knew what true love is. Paloma thanks her.

Paloma wails over the coffin, while Carmen weeps with her. Paloma says I’m going now, goodbye Carmen, maybe I’ll see you again. Carlota watches, unmoved. Paloma flees and Emiliano follows her. Romina looks upset for a second, but then comforts Mac.

Carlota lets Alonso have it. She spits at him that she’s there to protect her niece and he doesn’t dare smear her like that. This is so scary that little Sagrario runs over and hugs her daddy’s leg.

Emiliano has run after Paloma. He puts her in the car and speeds off. Romina comes out and calls after him, but it’s too late.

Apparently the flower shop has called Camila at home to let her know they want to bring an arrangement by. Camila has to leave and tells them to bring them tomorrow. They read the card – From one flower to another. It’s from Orlando.

She picks up her mail on the way out. One letter catches her attention and she opens it. “Camila – not a day has gone by that I don’t think of you two.” Samuel! she says.

Emiliano and Paloma have arrived at her house. He takes her chin and tells her not to pay attention to what Alonso said. Paloma says it’s true – everyone I love dies on me. But thank you for defending me. Emiliano says I’ll always be there for you. It’s not true that it’s your fault. You’ve just had bad luck. Paloma says no, it’s true and I don’t want to ever love anyone again, or to let anyone love me.

Emiliano says that’s not up to you. People will love you anyway. Don’t give up on smiling, or loving. She says she doesn’t want to live and runs away.

Paloma is in the park and she sees Inaki sitting on a stone wall playing his sax. She can’t believe it. He looks up and smiles his winning smile, then evaporates.

Mac and Rufi are leaving the wake just as Camila comes up. They tell her about Inaki’s father jumping on Paloma.

Camila finds Romina just leaving the wake. Romina says can you believe it? Emiliano drove off with Paloma. Now it’s just Inaki’s family, so there’s no reason for you to go in.

Handsome Dr. Bermudez approaches Camila – he’s looking for Mac. Camila recommends he check by her house in a few days. He wants to show Mac how she can count on him.

Alonso tells Natalia that he doesn’t believe the heart attack thing and he doesn’t agree about skipping the autopsy. Carmen comes in and tells him she can’t believe how he acted with Paloma. It’s your fault, says Alonso. Why did you decide to cremate Inaki without an autopsy, to take his ashes back to Spain? Carmen sobs you have another daughter, but I have only one son.

Alonso suddenly starts chewing the scenery. He sobs, he embraces the coffin. You don’t understand! I can’t grasp that he’s gone. It’s a nightmare and I’ll wake up. Carmen lights into him: It’s your conscience eating at you. Why didn’t you support Inaki to be a musician? To marry Paloma? You wanted him to be just like you.

Natalie begs them not to fight. Carmen says this is our last fight, because it’s the last time I’ll see you Alonso. With Inaki gone, there’s no reason. She stomps out. Alonso sobs on the coffin.

Another break and there’s Inaki smiling again. What’s he got to smile about?

Emiliano has been waiting by his car across the street from Paloma’s. He sees Carlota get out of her appropriately black car and go in to make sure that the level of evil in the house doesn’t fall below acceptable levels. Mac and Rufi are with her. The theme song starts up. Suddenly he spots Paloma sadly returning to the Casa de Spinsters.

Next we see her in her room, stupefied with grief. She looks out the window and he gives a tentative finger-waggle wave. She lifts her hand limply, then turns back into her room and looks at her engagement ring.

Down in the street, Emiliano wonders how he can lift her sorrow. Romina and her mom pull up. Romina reproaches him for running after Paloma. She doesn’t get why he always has to be Paloma’s white knight. He reminds her what Paloma’s just been through. She says okay, but next time you want to rescue her, take me along. It looks fishy.

Carlota is cooking something and Mac and Rufi are commenting that Paloma wants to be alone. They understand. Carlota said you should. It’s amazing how history repeats itself in this family. You know what it’s like to have the man you love just poof! die.

And you know too, says Mac. Because when he died, he died for you too, at least for what you had in your imagination. But for him, as a woman you didn’t even exist. Touché! Mac leaves the room and Rufi thinks Good one! Carlota sends Rufi to go buy some bread.

Carlota gets down the bottle of belladonna and pours it down the sink. She thinks to herself I got rid of him same as I got rid of Inaki. If I can’t be happy, then nobody else in this house can be either.

Arcadia asks the herb lady if she has something to sleep, or relax. The herb lady is very voluble and tells her about belladonna, how if you take to much it’s slow, but then you can’t breathe and finally your heart just stops. Ah, says Arcadia. So you could take it at night and wake up dead the next morning? Yes, says the herb lady.

In her bedroom, Mac is talking to the photo of her lost love. She says maybe it’s true, bad luck can be inherited. But she begs her lost love to help her help Paloma find happiness.

Chris is back from his retreat. He’s decided to go to Real del Monte and face his ghosts.

Paloma has flipped out. She’s having full-on hysterics in her room, tearing at her wedding gown. The aunties and Rufi rush in and can’t contain her. Tranquila! Tranquila! says Carlota who finally slaps her a few time to bring her to her senses. Take me with you, Inaki! raves Paloma. Where is some belladonna when you really need it?

Carmen is at her house, sadly looking at a photo of Inaki and the chain Paloma gave him. Real tears course down her face. She calls Emiliano and tells him she’s about to leave for Spain with Inaki’s ashes, and could he come by and pick up a few things?

Dr. Bermudez is at the house and apparently has given Paloma a sedative. He says he’ll check by every day. Mac says thank you, Doctor, and he says call me Rodolfo. He says I’d like to know you not just as a doctor, but as a friend. Mac demurs and says right now I’m focused on Paloma. Rodolfo says life and time will make things better. I speak from experience.

He asks her to go to a concert at the University of Mexico. He says if Paloma sees that you are trying to re-enter life, maybe she’ll follow your example. Rufi has been listening from the kitchen and she exults, but turns and sees Carlota giving her the snake-eye.

Romina has brought lollipops for Paloma and is sitting on her bed, trying to cheer her up by reminding her of their childhood adventures. Paloma says she’ll never smile again. Romina tells her she’ll get better, like she did after she lost her parents.

Romina says she was thinking all night. It’s weird she says. Your Tia Carlota suddenly changed overnight and was all sweetness and light. What’s up with that? And that dinner where his family asked for your hand? Very weird. You don’t suppose she actually did him in?

Carlota is reading (probably not The Little Prince, but Machiavelli’s The Prince) and gets a phone call. It’s Arcadia who says now that Inaki has died, it’s time for a chat. Carlota looks startled.

Avances: Carmen tells Emiliano that she sees why Inaki said the only fellow he’d trust Paloma to was him. Orlando is at Camila’s shop, asking her out. She says yes and just then Rafa walks up. Emiliano tells Paloma it was all worth it. Best Avance of the Year Award: Romina tells Carlota that she did it just to make it so Paloma had to stay with her, huh?

The singer comes on, clutching her face and looked as flipped out as Paloma was.

Labels: amor