Caray, Caray!

Romina drops by Emiliano’s office to whine and beg for him to take her back. It’s super attractive, yet he holds himself back. He tells her to straighten up and fly right and stop suffocating him. Uncharacteristically recognizing that her strategy is failing, Romina says he’s so right. She reaches toward him, and Emoony reluctantly fondles her hand.

At Camila’s shop, Meche offers Monica coffee, but only as a pretext to start gossiping. Meche says she’s worried about Chava but doesn’t know what to do. Monica offers the slightly cheerier news that she had a date with Joel. Me(ti)che thinks that’s swell; now the ceramics factory just needs a third Musketeer for her, and they’d all have one! Monica has to kill the mood, though, by saying she doesn’t think things will go anywhere with Joel, because if her finds out her horrible secret he’d flee like all the others. Naturally, we don’t get to find out what this secret is, though Me(ti)che seems to know so it can’t be long before it’s all over town.

Edmundo, still in mariachi duds, wants to know whether Rufi has decided to uproot her life and move away with him though they’ve only recently remet after decades apart. She hasn’t had time to decide, what with all the chaos and Dementors in the house. He’s in a hurry, though, as he needs to get back for his great-grandson’s baptism since he’s the padrino. Who picks the great-grandfather as the padrino? Don’t you want someone who is a little further from circling the drain? He decides he can leave and come back. Rufi decides she needs two months…in that time, Paloma will have turned 18 and things might have changed. Ed boldly asks for her phone number so he can call on Sundays.

Emiliano has escorted Romina back to Diana’s Home For Wayward Girls, but declines to stay for dinner.

Rafael goes to Camila’s house just to let her know that Ro is at Diana’s in case she didn’t already know, because he really really cares about anything that is important to her. But really he wants to talk about something else. Camila quickly shushes him and says they’ll have to talk another time as Orlando walks into the room. Orly smirks, Camila sends frantic secret eye messages, and Rafa gulps and shuffles. Rafa excuses himself, and Oily Orly swirls his wine and tells Cami that Rafa came by his office to give notice that he would like to court Camila. Cami is wide-eyed at their gall.

Rufi brings a tray to Paloma’s room, but Paloma is on a hunger strike and drama queening that she wants to die. Rufi says she should try to understand Macarena’s reasons, but Paloma of course thinks she herself is suffering the mostest of all. Rufi tells her Emiliano called, but she doesn’t even want to talk to him.

Speak of the moony devil, and he appears…lurking outside on the sidewalk, of course. He sees his dad across the street by Camila’s house and asks what he’s doing, but Rafa has his good cover story all ready. Emiliano tells him he’s a refugee at Germán’s place. Rafa says he should have stayed with him, but Emoo says it´s better to not make Diana even more jealous and ranty. Rafa says he can at least come for dinner, and off they go.

Orlanda asks Camila if she’s interested in Rafael. She cannot tell a lie and admits that she is interested in both of them and can’t choose between them at the moment, but thanks for putting her on the spot and making her uncomfortable. Orly says he accepts that and will work on getting rid of her doubts. They get back to business…discussing their search for Samuel, that is…but they make blinky Bambi eyes at each other. Did we ever decide? Did they or didn’t they?

Germs has dinner with his father, and dad gives him the watch that was a wedding gift from Germy’s mom. It’s a birthday gift, even though dad knows that (for some unexplained reason) Germy doesn’t celebrate his birthday. They seem to be getting along fine until his dad says if he needs anything he should just ask. Germy gets a bit prickly and thinks it’s his wicked stepmother Enriquita who has no faith in his abilities to take care of himself. Germs’s dad says he sees moros con tranchetes (Moors with daggers, i.e. enemies...a colorful expression from the days of Moorish occupation of Spain) everywhere, but it was just a general offer. Liliana sees them; she’s in the same restaurant celebrating her parents’ anniversary. Germy introduces her and his father but without saying his dad’s name, so I still don’t know what it is. After Lil leaves, Germy pointedly muses that the best part of dating Liliana was her loving, united family, since he never had such a thing himself.

Rafa and Emiliano are having a coffee-table bachelor-pad supper which is 90% beer. Rafa gives Emoo two thumbs up for having the sense to get out of the house; best to stay away from those crazy ladies. He says he’s glad they’re spending time together, but he’s thinking about where he’d rather be, which is the place Orlando currently occupies.

Camila and Orlando are having wine and cheese. Orly starts getting all nuzzly. Cami giggles.

Suddenly, it is morning.

Paloma stomps out of the house toward school, refusing to be pleasant or stop for breakfast.

Dr. Rodolfo is in his office with some lady with hair which should be declared a Superfund site, or whatever equivalent Novelaland has. She may be his assistant and/or his sister; I didn’t catch it for sure. Anyway after 2 seconds of medical talk, they get down to what we know from television is the real business of healthcare personnel: gossip and the pursuit of sex. Rodolfo goes on and on about how wonderful Macarena is, but ultimately he doesn’t think she is in love with him. Possibly because she told him directly that she is not in love with him.

Paloma wanders through town in a daze and nearly is run over by a car. A chance is missed to put an end to her sobbing. The same song (Fin de Capítulo) plays that was playing during her long scene of flashbacks of Iñaki. Now I miss him all over again. She curls up on a park bench.

The Madre Superiora tells Romina she thinks she judged Angélica too harshly, and she’s going to apologize and offer her job back. Romina says that everything she said about Ange’s misdeeds is true, and she’ll never trust Ange again.

Paloma is still on the uncomfortable-looking park bench, thinking back to yesterday’s revelations, and also to Carlota’s abuses in her childhood. She cries until she falls asleep hanging off the bench.

Chava sees Paloma while on his hoodlum wanderings through town. He is muy confused.

Liliana taunts Romina all, haha, Angélica is coming back, you don’t get what you want. Romina tries to claim that Lili is just jealous of her, but Lili is way better armed for this battle. She knows things aren’t going nearly as well with Emiliano as Ro claims, and she says even Germy isn’t as tightly wound around Romina’s finger as she thinks. He’s always telling Lili how great she is, and even introduced her to his dad! Take that! Romina calls her a gata de quinta (I think this means something like "on-call slut"). They sling more insults.

Uh-oh. Germán is talking with some other lawyer. (Is this someone we already know? A lot of these guys look the same to me.) The lawyer offers him a check in exchange for not revealing the remaining evidence against otherlawyer’s clients. Germy says he wants double, or no deal. If he doesn’t also want it in cash, there’s really no helping him.

Romina calls Germy to grill him about his affections for Liliana. He says it was nothing, he was just at the restaurant with his dad for his birthday, which he does not celebrate. Romi gets in trouble for using her phone at school.

Inés tells Carlota she’s worried about Padre Juan; he left in a taxi with a suitcase. He said he would return but she doesn’t know when. Carlota stews.

Chava runs to fetch Emoony to come to the aid of the damsel in distress. He says she seems almost dead, just to raise Emoo’s blood pressure unnecessarily.

After school, Romina calls Germy again. He’s already on his way to the D.F. She asks what hotel he is staying in.

Lightning cracks; thunder rolls.

Rafael calls Camila and says they need to talk and clear some things up.

Carlota has somehow acquired a giant umbrella for her stormy walk home, which allows her to comfortably stop along the way to try to send telepathic messages to Cristóbal that she must see him because she luuurves him.

Paloma is still asleep on the park bench in the downpour. Emoony sprints to her side and begs her to wake up. Somehow this works, even though the rain and thunder and Chava’s shaking did not. Emoo carries her to his car, because having skipped two meals she cannot walk. Heh, she really is Mac’s daughter, with emotional trauma leading to convalescence.

Carlota walks into the house and tries to act like everything is normal. Mac ignores her as long as she can, but then Cruel starts on the taunts again and says she might go ahead and tell Paloma the rest of the story. Mac says Paloma will forgive her, but Cruel says she has made things worse by lying and saying her father is dead. Hey, even the devil can say true things. Cruel says Paloma won’t forgive, and trusts Carlota more now. “Shut up; no one loves you,” says Mac.

Camila and Mónica chat about Joel’s interest and whether he might call. They agree that though they are modern women, resourceful and independent, they’re still old-fashioned about waiting for the galán to call.

Paloma is late for dinner, and Carlota is ranting. She decides to go out in the car to look for the wayward waif, and looks frustrated and impatient when Mac calls the school. They learn Paloma never showed up at school. Wait. Was she lying on that bench all day?

Emiliano carries Paloma into Germy’s apartment and fetches towels and dry clothes. He wants her to change so she doesn’t get sick, but she just wants a hug. She says her whole life has been a lie.

The remaining residents of Misery Manor argue about whether Paloma ran away. Mac has a dizzy spell.

Paloma tells Emiliano the big secret. He is suitably impactado.

Cruel runs to fetch Mac’s medicine. She hesitates, then fills the syringe with something from the big bottle in the refrigerator. I assume that’s bad.

Paloma whines that she doesn’t even know who her father is or who she is. Emiliano says her character is her identity; it doesn’t matter where she came from or who her parents are. Paloma worries that he is ashamed of her scandalous origins. “Don’t be ridiculous,” soothes Emiliano. He throws in a lot of mushy compliments.

Carlota leaves to look for Paloma. Rufi goes to make Mac some tea, and sees the multiple medicine bottles which Cruel has sloppily left out on the table. She is suspicious. She compares various medicine bottles and calls Dr. Rodolfo.

Emiliano tries to convince Paloma to forgive Macarena.

Avances: Emoo and Paloma get snuggly. Mac comes to visit. More sturm und drang.

Labels: amor