Caray, Caray!

Episode 88

Lightheaded from the revelation that Regina loved him, Renato turns rapidly to the front of her diary and earnestly reads from the start. Today she begins this diary to confess her biggest secret, she says. With book in hand, Renato rises from the bedside, eyes glued to the text.

She loves Renato with all of her heart! I've loved him since I was a girl, she admits. Our games, his patience and sweet disposition filled her with happiness, she says. Renato smiles, remembering. But that's why her father's decision that they study in Europe was so painful, she continues. Renato flips the page anxiously.

Regina knew she would miss Renato every moment; but one bright spot in all the sadness came when Renato gave the girls their medallions, to keep them safe while away -- and keep them thinking of each other. Renato looks up from the distant shared memory, melancholy, possibly noting that Aimee gave her medallion away.

Since that moment, Regina continues, she always carried the medal; we see a vision of her holding it now like the precious keepsake it is. She wanted to be wearing it when they returned one day, to show him that she never forgot him. Renato looks up again in wonder and pleasure, realizing that Regina truly loved him; how could he never have known?

Just then Clemencia knocks at the bedroom door, and she enters, concerned and offering to bring him something since he's been locked up there all day. Renato is kind to her but gently backs her out into the hall, insisting he doesn't want anything except to be left alone. He turns and locks the door, with Clemencia begging to be let in.

Back in town on the street, where Noel (looking very dashing) and Lulu have settled on a bench to talk, Noel asks her how her relationship is working out. She says it's going pretty well; that before Remigio left town, he stopped by to discuss their getting married upon his return!

Noel, surprised, asks guardedly if she doesn't intend to be frank with Remigio beforehand? But Lulu isn't sure; she's anxious that if she does, he'll never forgive her. Noel points out that she really shouldn't marry him without saying anything, though.

He counsels her pointedly: Truth above all, Lulu. He gestures with a book he's carrying and says he was just going to read something by Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, a very beautiful poem (Hombres necios) about men who judge and accuse women. Noel begins in his gruff whisper:

Silly, you men -- so very adept
at wrongly faulting womankind,
not seeing you're alone to blame
for faults you plant in woman's mind.

After you've won by urgent plea
the right to tarnish her good name,
you still expect her to behave -—
you, that coaxed her into shame.

Lulu pays rapt attention, and Noel continues reciting from memory, gazing into her eyes; but behind a pillar some distance away, Rodrigo peaks at the two of them in surprise and makes a nasty remark about Noel being with that slut. Back on the park bench, Lulu has been moved by the poem and thinks she should tell Remigio the truth. Noel tells Lulu that in his experience, feelings -- especially love -- need to be born in honesty in order to grow strong.

In the girls' bedroom, Renato continues reading Regina's diary. She tells him there that in all the years in school in Europe, she never stopped thinking about him and dreamed about returning. And she was sure he would be thinking about her, too, in the same way.

When Renato reads Regina say she couldn't marry anyone but him, he looks up and concludes sorrowfully in tears that he was her "secret love," for whom she endured scorn and sacrifice. Regina never worried about Rodrigo's shipboard plan to marry her off to Federico, she says; because she was sure when Renato and she were reunited, he would love her, too.

But instead he greeted her cooly, and for the first time she was afraid. Renato holds the diary at his side and paces the rug, rubbing his face, and whispers: She was afraid, because from the moment he saw Aimee, he only had eyes for her! Reading again, Renato is astonished to learn that despite their friendship, Regina could only bring herself to confess her secret to Clemencia. Clemencia? he asks himself. Clemencia knew!

Across the hall, Clemencia bursts into Leonarda's bedroom in alarm. Leonarda's very testy with a headache, until she hears Renato's locked himself in and won't budge. In the girls' room, Renato now is understanding what Clemencia said: he never really knew Regina! Outside in the hall, when Leonarda rattles the doorknob and pleads to no avail, the two women set off to find Aimee to see what she can do.

Back at the diary, Renato reads that awful passage where he breaks Regina's heart by confessing his ardor and love for Aimee -- and enlists her to help him! How she must have suffered, he says sorrowfully. But since she only wanted him to be happy, she agreed and kept silent, Regina says. Of all the women, it had to be her sister! Aimee...he repeats.

Meanwhile, Leonarda and Clemencia try to drag some answers out of Aimee in her room, but she's at a loss. Leonarda's sure she's at fault and insists she find out what's wrong with Renato. He's up to the part where Regina explains her resistance to marrying anyone who is not him and preference to become a nun rather than marry without love.

Renato ponders the awful truth that he was the reason Regina went to the convent and sits weeping for her suffering. The diary tells him that her solitude there only made her focus on her misery. Rising, Renato stumbles around, cursing himself for an idiot, remembering she tried to tell him she loved him -- and he said nothing! His love for Aimee made him blind -- blind and crazy! he laments wearily.

Outside the door, all three women are knocking; and when he hears Aimee, he orders angrily that she go to their chamber and not move a muscle! They have some serious talking to do. Leonarda turns to her and grimly accuses that whatever she's done, it'd better not be serious.

Before Renato leaves the room, he reads where no matter how she tried, Regina could not forget him -- and how Aimee knew and taunted her cruelly. Renato muses regretfully how Aimee was always capricious and tyrannical. He learns his own father knew Regina's secret, having been her confidant when in disgrace, and is distraught to learn she only planned to marry Federico due to Rodrigo's insistence.

At Fulgencio's, Servando tries desperately to convince him no one knows what happened to Jimena or where she is; but Fulgencio doesn't believe him and won't take no for an answer. If Servando doesn't want to wind up dead, he'd better produce the girl. Branko meets Gabriel on the beach, both having no luck. Gabriel insists Griselda is at the bottom of Jimena's disappearance and says Branko better believe him and deal with her.

On the Luzbel, Regina and Juan are on deck, with Juan at the wheel. When she asks for Remigio, she learns Remigio is off duty and that they all take their turns around there. Everybody's equal; but Regina teases Juan a little, saying it looks more like everybody jumps at Juan's whims and desires. Juan gets her back, pointing out very infrequently does his will change the whims of other people.

It sails over Regina's head, though; and she thinks he's trying to confuse her, who knows little about boats and sailing. Juan takes the opportunity to show her, in that case, and makes her take the wheel. Regina seems to be enjoying Juan's tender tutelage, as he takes her chin and draws her eyes to the sails, where she must pay attention, he says. They depend on the sails.

Soon they will come to a pretty island with a peninsula and lagoon, Juan says temptingly. When Regina observes that Juan knows the Caribbean very well, he smiles broadly and agrees, like the palm of my hand! At that, Regina reaches down and takes his hand, noting how strong they are. Juan looks slightly dazed and speechless as Regina observes his hands look like working hands. His is big and tanned against her tiny white one. Juan is taken aback when Regina admits that she's beginning to understand him.

Back at the finca, Aimee waits fearfully in their rooms for Renato, who presently enters, carrying something. Aimee is no doubt horrified to hear it's Regina's diary and quickly offers to keep it in case Regina comes back. But Renato's having none of that; the book is practically his -- his name is written on every page, he tells her. And he wants her to confirm something: Regina was in love with him? Aimee does not even fake surprise.

Below decks in the Luzbel, the boyz play a raucous game of cards, except for Remigio who lies front and center, brooding and missing "Malu." She's the prettiest, sweetest and most decent girl in port, he says. When the boyz learn what ails him, they lampoon him all over again for being in love and take the deck of cards and shower them over his head as if they were scented rose petals, having a big time. No rest for the lonely.

Meanwhile, at the casino, Lulu has borrowed Noel's volume of poetry and is reading to the girls and Philip more of the poem heard earlier:

Or which is more to be blamed—
though both will have cause for chagrin:
the woman who sins for money
or the man who pays money to sin?

So why are you men all so stunned
at the thought you're all guilty alike?
Either like them for what you've made them
or make of them what you can like.

Fifi moves to stand by Lulu and notes that Sor Juana understands their suffering very well; Lulu says it seems like every day just confirms more and more how kind Don Noel is. And she thinks he's completely right to insist she should tell Remigio the truth. Philip groans behind her; but she continues, saying the next time she will tell Remigio who she really is. Brigitte hopes doubtfully that he will understand and forgive her.

Federico meets Servando at the camp to discuss business. Servando is going to have to bring Griselda to Fulgencio's house to vouch for Jimena's whereabouts or lack thereof. Servando insists they're going to have to get rid of the weapons and that Federico has more connections along those lines than he. If Fulgencio starts investigating and finds out they betrayed him, it will go very badly for them, he says.

In Renato and Aimee's apartments, Renato presses Aimee for an answer. She admits Regina was obsessed with Renato -- thinking, talking, about only him. She always thought she'd marry him; but when Renato wanted Aimee, Regina went into the convent. So, it's true, Renato says. She went into the convent for love of him. Aimee wonders if he doesn't remember Regina's change of demeanor and attitude toward him?

Well, truth is, Regina was always pretty starchy; shipboard she monitored me constantly, Aimee says. In fact, so much, that one day I got so tired of all that...that... What!? Renato demands. You did WHAT?! Aimee backs off, claiming nothing but silly girl stuff. They two were not even a couple then. But...anyway, Juan...sort of began following her around and looking her up. But of course, she was never interested in him.

So he got interested in Regina. And Aimee sort of...encouraged it. Like when she wrote the note in Regina's name. Aimee insists that was her only transgression -- she toyed with the affections of both. Later when Juan found out the truth, he wanted revenge. Renato is wiping his brow in thorough confusion and waves off the details. You mean that Regina was never in love with him -- nor was his lover?! Aimee swears, Never! That's why she was so worried and upset (!), Aimee declares, when Renato forced them to get married!

Aimee says she confessed the truth to Regina and was terrified that Renato would murder her. So Regina accepted! She accepted the sacrifice. Aimee knows she's a bad sister, but it's her one and only sin, she swears. Aimee's positive Regina will never forgive her, she says weeping crocodile tears. And on bended knee, Aimee "begs" Renato to forgive her. Renato looks almost stone-faced, except for a modicum of perplexity mixed in.

Finally, on the Luzbel, with Regina and Juan still at the wheel together, when Regina remarks what a tranquil night it is, Juan tells her it's she who has brought a measure of tranquility and that he feels more relaxed with her around. And if she wants to know, he thinks his life has taken a turn for the better now.

Regina is very pleased, and when she starts to ask him about it, Juan says he doesn't really want to answer questions at the moment -- much less about the past. He'd just like to concentrate on how she's feeling right now. And how is she feeling? he asks. I don't know what to call it, she ventures; it seems most like happiness. Grab the rudder, he reminds her, as he hangs back, pondering her seriously. Then he can't help a grin breaking out on his face.

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