Caray, Caray!

Episode 113

In a secluded corner of the town garden, after Gabriel asks Jimena on bended knee to marry him, she pulls him back to her and wonders if he's sure it doesn't matter that he's white and she's a gypsy. It doesn't, Gabriel answers. Holding her face and looking into her eyes, Gabriel tells Jimena he loves her for the way she is and for the way he is with her; for the countless, small unforgettable moments that made him understand her, care about her and love her. He loves her so much, and he's willing to face the whole world to be with her.

With a look of wonder, Jimena answers that she loves Gabriel; that when she's with him she's not afraid of anything. Gabriel returns to the red rose he put in her hand and pulls a sparkling diamond ring from its petals, and Jimena agrees with all her heart to marry him. Winding her arms around his neck, they embrace and seal it with a kiss. Gabriel slips the ring on Jimena's finger, and they vow their love to each other.

At the honeymoon cottage, Regina is just bringing Juan some tea and kisses when they hear Clemencia and María del Rosario returning, laughing and chatting. Juan gets a chuckle out of startling his mother with a Boo! as she enters; and she enjoys it, too. Juan can't get enough of hugging his mom as they all greet each other.

María del Rosario relates how walking around the port brought back so many memories, especially of his father. When Juan asks if they saw anyone they recognized, she coyly wonders who they would have seen. Clemencia exits to return to the notary office, but María del Rosario says she wants to spend all the possible time she can with them and remains.

A very solicitous Juan seats his mother to coax her into eating the soup Regina's been working on all morning, and María del Rosario is pleasantly surprised Regina knows how to cook, since she herself never learned. Regina explains Clemencia taught her; the soup is good, and María del Rosario jokes that Regina can get married now.

Rodrigo seeks Aimee out in her rooms, but finds Celia, who fills him in on the argument yesterday where Aimee told off Leonarda. Aimee arrives and gives Celia the boot. Turns out Rodrigo needs a shoulder to cry on over seeing María del Rosario, but Aimee's got no time or inclination for it. She's got her own fish to fry.

He's begging her to listen to his worries, but her aggravation over Renato is all she can think of. Rodrigo says it's her own fault -- and his own for spoiling her as a child. When he admits he should have punished her disobedience, Aimee turns to him smartly and bites out that perhaps he should have!

In a short, sweet scene at the cottage, Juan rests his head in his mother's lap and looks blissfully happy as she reads love poetry aloud while Regina looks on. Back in Aimee's room, Rodrigo is mulling over the fact that Aimee should have had a stricter education. He takes her by the shoulders and begins to say that now she's going to be a mother -- when Aimee interrupts him.

And if the child is never born? she asks. Confused, Rodrigo wonders if she might tamper with her child's life; but a sudden suspicion impels him to ask if she would dare to invent...? Aimee interrupts him again, insisting it was just an innocent comment.

At Raul's, Mariela's dad insists to her that they are leaving Veracruz that weekend. When Mariela objects, he assures her she'll soon forget about Jimena; but Mariela denies it. She'll never forget her, and it has no effect on the love for her "daughter"; but she's going to give up fighting the move.

The doorbell rings, and Lulu goes to greet Noel. He enters and tells Alberto he has an urgent matter to discuss. Meanwhile at Dr. Pablo's, Clemencia has stopped by there to tearfully consult him about breaking her promise to María del Rosario not to reveal her terminal condition to Juan.

Remigio, who is listening at the door, overhears that Clemencia wants her to see the doctor without arousing suspicion. When Remigio enters and suggests they say María del Rosario is coming to visit him, Dr. Pablo agrees it is a good idea. Out on the beach, Regina, Juan and his mother gather sea shells and gleefully romp in the surf.

Back at Raul's, Noel admits that he has no proof yet, but says he suspects that Salma is not their granddaughter, much to Alberto's surprise. In the bedroom, Salma looks sad and wistful, doubtless thinking of Branko, not far away.

Consequently, when Mariela enters to inform her they're leaving on the weekend, instead of enthusiasm, Mariela is confused to encounter a decided lack of it from Salma. Salma meekly agrees and claims she has a headache and would like to rest. Mariela moves to touch her, but oddly pulls back.

Alberto doesn't understand, and Noel reiterates that he has no proof; but that Salma would be in it for the money and that she was being manipulated by Griselda -- whom Jimena insists that Salma actually barely knows. Alberto can't stomach the thought of the missing-granddaughter nightmare beginning all over again and dreads Mariela finding out; but Noel assures him they must not speak of it, rather wait in town a short time to observe and discover the truth.

At the notary office, Phillip is dressed in a nice suit and dives into righting what he thinks is a big mess of law books and papers, just putting things on shelves and in cabinets wherever there is space. Clemencia enters and is horrified that Phillip shows no regard for the order they should be stored; but in a nice twist, she actually intends to help him, and he's bursting with gratitude.

In her rooms, Aimee plans for Celia to take her right away that night to see Kuma, the witch doctor Celia recommended earlier. At the honeymoon cottage, Juan and Regina get some time alone in their bedroom in the twilight. They stand together; his strong, brown hands hold and caress her while his lips trace the line of her shoulder to under her ear; and they both smile with pleasure before joining in a kiss.

Under a stormy night sky, Aimee and Celia duck into a dark, crowded little hut with bubbling cauldrons, where a spider crawls, an owl hoots, a raven caws -- and they are startled to find a small, shrouded figure ensconced in the middle of it all. Aimee begins to give instructions, but the witch doctor takes orders from no one, she says.

In the cottage, Juan and Regina make love again and declare their devotion. Juan tells her she's his whole life, and Regina assures him no one will ever separate them. Honey gold in candlelight, their bare bodies covered only by long, blond tresses, linens and each other, they clearly dance the age-old rhythm of the joining, rising and falling.

Alone in his bed at the townhouse, Rodrigo suffers through one horrifying nightmare of María del Rosario after another, moaning and rolling in pain. He remembers the terrible suffering he willingly caused her, Leonarda reporting her dead, and the shock of seeing her that day on the street, alive and defiant. Rodrigo half awakens and repeats in delirium that he must find María del Rosario. Must find her, must find her...

In her hut, the little witch doctor knows why Aimee is there; that she's concerned about the baby she's not carrying. And the woman gives her a potion that will make the man of her choice her slave. A few drops will do it; and be careful, because too much will kill him, she warns. When the witch doctor bids Aimee come near her cauldron, she reads in it punishment and tears for the Montes de Oca; but especially blood! Blood and death for the Montes de Oca.

Servando waits in the darkness outside Eloísa's dressmaker's house for Eloísa and Federico to appear, which they presently do -- together, in a farewell embrace, leaving no doubt they had a tryst. Not to mention they both look supremely satisfied. When in a moment the dressmaker also appears, Servando steps out and bids her not be frightened; he has a nice business proposition for her.

Meanwhile, Aimee and Celia return to the farm, where Aimee goes about in the dark, carefully dropping minute amounts of the potion into all of Renato's cognac bottles. At Fulgencio's, a chirpy Eloísa returns home to a glum husband, claiming she had a very entertaining night out; but Fulgencio did not, he says. When he explains that he's been bored since the casino closed, she happily offers to host card parties for his friends there at home, which he thinks might be a good idea.

In the cottage bedroom, Regina and Juan linger before sleep, talking. He says he's less good at pretty speeches, having spent most of his life fighting or just surviving; but now that all that is behind them, he has a chance to thank Regina for how wonderful she's been with his mother -- even if it is just for a little while.

He wants to thank her for showing him what love is, because he was really afraid he was never going to experience it. He's grateful that her love changed him and saved his life. And not only that, he chuckles, but what she said at the trial did, too! They both laugh; and taking her by the chin, he observes that she was very brave.

He admits he did wonder if she had sent a warning to Renato, which Regina vehemently denies. She would never do that, she insists. He should know her heart belongs to him, she says; and he does know, Juan says with a smile. He found that out during her testimony; only a woman in love could defend him so intensely.

She agrees but says he needn't thank her: everything she said is the truth. She means so much to him; so much! Juan says. Never leave him, he asks; and she won't. She loves Juan de Dios, Regina says; and Juan calls her his princess, as he gathers her in his arms again.

Next morning, Rodrigo attempts to go out about town, but instead keeps encountering face after face that all look horrifyingly like María del Rosario. At the finca, Aimee pours Renato a glass of potion-laced cognac just as he's descending the staircase to go out. Amazingly, he is not in the mood for a drink and starts to exit when she stops him and prods him about how nice it must be to do whatever he wants without explanations.

When he warns her not to provoke him into saying things she'll be sorry to hear, Aimee shoots back that she can say nasty things, too. He stops and throws his briefcase down, complaining that she's so different than when they got married. Now we see her real personality, he says. Why did she fake a love she never had? Why did she make herself out to be such an innocent, weak, little girl, Renato asks, mockingly.

You're just a tramp, he adds. At this, Aimee hauls off and smacks him hard with her fan; but he doesn't care. He just draws back and smacks her with his open palm across the face. What I'm never going to forgive, he yells, either you or myself, is that you set a trap -- and I fell into it! You can have my position, my name and my fortune; but not my love.

In the plaza, Rodrigo's hallucinations continue; he sees María del Rosario in every face -- and now they are closing in on him and surrounding him. There's no escape, and he falls to the ground, clutching his heart. Back at the finca, Aimee holds her stricken face as Renato tells her he's not concerned about her anymore. Not only does he not love her, he says, but he doesn't care what happens to her.

As Renato exits, Aimee heads back to the cognac decanter, laughing; as if she cared what happened to him either! Little man! she snorts. Pulling the vial of strong, dangerous potion from its hiding place in the cleavage between her breasts, she upends it and splashes the entire contents into the cognac, turning it blood red.

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