Caray, Caray!

Paloma wears her old-lady fuddy-duddy clothes and little-girl barrette to the church and tells Padre Juan/Cris she’d rather forget about FauxDaddy; PJC is the only father figure she wants in her life. He agrees he’d like to have a daughter like her.

Brave and/or suicidal Camila goes over to hostile Diana’s house for a chat.

Over in the House of Gloom and Doom, the Grinch gets an awful idea. She goes to her bathroom cabinet and pulls out the bottle of belladonna (what, you don’t keep some on hand?) and mixes up “the correct dose” in another bottle. She smiles smugly and says to herself that this is the perfect pretext to get some alone time with Cris. But who will be the pawn in this game?

Diana yells at Camila for stealing the man she owns. Cami retorts that men can’t be owned. “Only a slut would say that!” says Diana. Camila isn’t going to stand for Di’s insults, and says Diana drove Rafael away herself, and it must suck for Diana that both of her exes only want Camila. Diana assures her that both men will come back to her. (What will she do with both of them? Move to a compound and borrow dresses from Paloma?)

Edmundo feeds soup to Rufi, who is still in bed recovering from her stomach infection. She whines that she feels like she’s been knocked upside the head (cachetada = box on the ear). Ed says she’s better now due to the medicine and his tender loving care. She tries to throw him out repeatedly; he asks why she’s so difficult. Rufi says “they say the mule isn’t stubborn/churlish” (la mula no es arisca) and I don’t really quite know what she means by that…maybe that she isn’t deliberately acting this way to annoy him, it’s just how she is or how the situation is? That’s my best guess.

Edmundo begs Rufi to forgive and accept him. She thinks he’s living in a fantasy land because what they had was over many many years ago. He says it may seem like a long time to her, but it’s been like no time at all to him and he’s never stopped thinking about her. “All that time while you were married to someone else and raising a big loving family?” Rufi retorts. Ed says his wife Dolores was in dolor all that time knowing he was with her but in love with another lady (yeah, dude, that makes it better). Rufi says her family is Paloma, maybe even Carloca, but that’s it. (Well, what’s a family without a crazy antagonizer?)

Carlota makes Paloma a sandwich to pack for school. Paloma should not eat that sandwich. While she works, Carloca tells Paloma they can probably figure out a way for her to go to art school in Pachuca. Paloma says thanks but no; she’s going to take the scholarship. She’ll be able to start her studies here in Real del Monte and then continue in the Ciudad de México. After Paloma leaves, Cruel says to herself that there’s no way Paloma is going off to the big city. She’ll get rid of Rodolfo if she has to. Paloma can’t possibly leave her without his help. Carlota then starts in on the daily grind of abusing and demoralizing the new maid. Felipa doesn’t seem inclined to put up with much of this.

As Paloma heads out the door, shoving the sandwich (of death?!) into her bag. Emiliano is out on Romina’s balcony, glowing in the orange morning light. He smiles at her and looks all moony and drippy; Paloma gives him a brief stony acknowledgement and heads off to school. Romina bellows for Emiliano to come cater to her every whim. She wants some water, and for them to rent some movies to watch. (She says “rentamos” which I think is English creeping in... “rentar” in Spanish means to produce or yield). He asks what she wants to see and says he’ll get it for her. Romememena wants him to stay so they can watch together; it is their honeymoon after all. “No way; I have to go to work; call with a list of what you want and I’ll bring it; take care of the baby, buh-bye” and Emo is out of there. Romi throws a little tantrum.

Downstairs, Camila interrupts her phone call with Angélica to try to get Emiliano to eat some breakfast and encourage him to feel at home there. She tells him she’s asked Josefina to come every day to take care of Romina (subtext—he needn’t feel guilty about fleeing). Back to Ange, Camila sympathizes with her unrequited feelings for Orlando and says she didn’t mean to hurt her. She says she wants to marry Orlando but feels bad about how Ange is being dismissed, especially after seeing the way Romina snagged Emiliano and hurt so many people. Angélica tells her not to feel bad; it’s not the same at all. Cami and Orlando chose each other fair and square with no coercion (maybe just a little pushiness on Orlando’s part), and no one is to blame that Orlando didn’t feel the same way about Ange.

Juanita and Arcadia’s niece stroll in the marketplace and talk about lighting candles for the deceased. The niece says she’s been having dreams about both Arcadia and the gachupín (Spanish settler; I assume she means Iñaki). She thinks that’s strange because she was only a little acquainted with Iñaki; maybe the dead aren’t resting in peace. María, another maid, comes along and reports that Padre Juan has helped her get a job. She’s now working for Natalia, who is married to the gachupín’s father! What a small world.

Alonso goes to Germán’s office and fiddles with a cigar while saying he needs to see the will of Javier and Sagrario. He happens to have a whole briefcase full of cash which just might accidentally get left behind.

Back at home, Arcadia’s niece lights a candle on her little altar shelf and clutches an envelope which must be important.

Well, Germs listens fast when money is doing the talking. He hands Alonso the will and says he understands there were to be changes made. “How can the will be changed when they are dead?” Germy claims to not know anything about it, nor to have read it. So is this the original will which still says Paloma inherits at 18? Don’t know.

In her dark office, Carlota finds some letters of Mac’s in a box of documents and gets to work with a pen.

Alonso walks in a park and muses that Iñaki must have wanted to wait until after the wedding to tell Paloma about her inheritance and confront Carlota. Carlota must have suspected something, and pretended to accept Iñaki in order to keep him close, knowing the wedding would never happen.

Carlota writes some note, admiring her own cleverness.

In the school courtyard, Paloma tells Liliana she’s been thinking about Iñaki a lot. His death affected a lot of people. Paloma mentions that Romina suspected that Carlota may have killed him. Liliana says that’s crazy; only a sicko would even think such a thing.

Arcadia’s niece goes to the Iparraguirre home and explains to Alonso her connection to him without giving her name. She gives him the envelope and says she found it in Arcadia’s things and it was meant for Carmen, but since Carmen is no longer around she’ll give it to him instead.

Carlota puts the letter in an envelope and shuffles through her so-not-incriminating photos of Cris with Natalia, gloating out loud that she is such a genius and Cris will never see this coming, and now everything will change.

Natalia and Alonso talk on the phone with their invisible daughter Sagrario, who has somehow been away at camp when it’s still a school term for everyone else. Fortunately, she seems to want to go stay with her friend Ximena for a few days now that camp is over, so her parents still needn’t be bothered with her.

Carlota puts the letter in her purse and takes the two belladonna bottles from the cabinet. She pours more belladonna into the small bottle and says now it’s perfect.

Orlando tells Emiliano he knows things are difficult and their relationship has changed, but he’s glad he’s giving him a chance. Emiliano is over being mad at Orlando, now he says he’s becoming more disillusioned with his mother every day. Camila is a good person and doesn’t deserve the way Diana is treating her. Orlando is super diplomatic and says Diana is just impulsive and doesn’t think about other people. Fortunately, despite Diana, Rafael did a good job of raising Emiliano. I guess Orlando can be gracious now that he’s getting what he wants.

The shop ladies gossip about Diana. Some customers come in and then rudely sneer at Camila and leave, remarking LOUDLY that they heard the shop owner is a husband-thief.

Rufi calls Carlota and says she would have returned by now, but she’s been too sick. Carlota is nasty to her at great length and says they no longer need her services. Rufi is very distraught. Carlota says to herself that Rufi must never return; she’s the only other one who knows that Cris is Paloma’s father.

Paloma goes to Gabriel’s workshop to ask for a list of materials she’ll need for class, and can hardly bring herself to enter the room because then she would be In!A!Room!With!A!Man! Gabriel thinks she’s weird and says he doesn’t know how he’s going to teach her if she won’t come inside. Paloma reaffirms her bold new independent stance and takes a few more steps. Gabriel says he doesn’t know why she’s so sad, but she doesn’t need to wear armor around him.

Carlota visits Romeana and critiques her bedroom décor, which Romi does not appreciate. She would rather have advice on how to make Emiliano fall in love with her; she thinks he’s still hung up on Paloma. “Too bad for you; all the Espinosa de los Monteros women are hard to forget,” says Carlota. Romi thinks Paloma should go away and never return. Cruel says Paloma will never ever leave. No way. “But Paloma said she is leaving, and she doesn’t lie,” replies Romina. “Del dicho y hecho, hay mucho trecho,” says Cruel (there’s a big stretch between what’s said and what’s done). She recommends that Romina use witchcraft on Emo, or, better yet, ask her mother for advice. After all, Camila managed to inveigle (engatusar) both Rafael and Orlando and the whole town is talking about how immoral she is, so she must know how to do it. Romina looks furious. Insulting Camila is HER job.

Samuel calls Misery Manor and leaves a message for Carlota, saying that her admirer called and wants a date and won’t take no for an answer. After he hangs up he says to himself that if she doesn’t cave soon he’ll have to go back to the capital. He’s running out of money and Camila is proving even more difficult.

Carlota is changing clothes. She seems to think she looks very sexy in her sparkly sleeveless button-up gunny sack.

Gabriel gives Paloma a schedule of when he is available to work with her, calling her “princesa.” She tells him not to call her princesa or mystery woman. He says he sees a lot of mystery in her artwork. Oh, I’ll have to remember that euphemism for “lack of skill.” She says she doesn’t think it’s mysterious but he may interpret it however he likes. He must sense that he’s not winning her over because he says he has to get back to work. She sure is copping a lot of attitude considering he’s her teacher and really doing her a huge favor.

Felipa gives the admirer’s message to Carlota. This pleases Carlota so much that she tells Felipa she’s hired for good as Rufi won’t be returning.

Padre Mateo is heading out to bless someone’s house and Padre Benito is in Pachuca, so Cris is left alone in the rectory. UH-OH. So much for changing the locks. Carlota slips in immediately, and we get a full horror-movie zoom on Cris’s face as he turns around and sees her. When Cris walks into the other room to get away from her, she pours the belladonna into his drink. Then she gives him the letter “Macarena” wrote to “Juan” which proves Carloca’s claims.

After she leaves, he absentmindedly sips from the glass while deciding whether to open the letter, then swigs the whole thing and starts to open the envelope. Carlota spies from behind the door.

Paloma stomps home, griping about that awful Gabriel and his presumptuous friendliness. Emiliano sees her since he now lives in the street, and runs up.

Cris reads the letter and staggers around and clutches his throat. He collapses on the floor and loosens his collar.

Tomorrow: Will Cris survive? Also, Paloma wears more ugly new clothes and moons over Emiliano.

Labels: amor