Caray, Caray!

One daughter found:

The family watches nervously as Mohamed paces and mutters terrible threats against Samira. Then the door opens: Tío Alí has brought Samira home. All – Latifa, the Naz, Zoraida, Amin and especially Mohamed – rush to kiss her and welcome her back.

And one daughter lost:

A servant brings Said the shocking news: Jadiya is missing! Even though she was driven right to the door of the school, she never went in. Said’s nostrils flare and he breathes heavily.
Rania and Amina exchange mean little smiles.

And one son still in limbo:

Enrique is in court presenting Lucas’s argument to the judge. You can’t equate genetic identity with parentage, he says. Daniel was cloned from a cell taken from Lucas. No parental link exists between Daniel and Leo. And if Leo is not Daniel’s father, then Lucas isn’t his brother.

In fact, Daniel does have a family, continues Enrique: his mother is Dora; and his father, en el sentido socio-afectivo del término, is Dr. Albieri. Albieri created him and has always been a father figure for him.

Daniel turns accusingly to Albieri: You said they weren’t going to mention that I was a clone!

A servant brings a bouquet of flowers to Said along with a note from Jade asking his forgiveness. But it isn’t fair, she writes, to keep her from seeing her own daughter.

So Jade took his daughter! Said is beside himself with rage. I’ll kill her, he roars. This time I’ll give the lashes myself and no one will be able to save her!

Luisa follows Albieri in her car. [She seems more adept at it than she was when she thought he was cheating on her with Dora.] She sees him join Amalia at an outdoor café. Albieri is still being cagy with Amalia, but she cajoles him with just the right amount of flattery mixed with honesty into acknowledging that he created a clone. She knows he is brilliant – and vain! And they both laugh. But Luisa’s not laughing: Ya verás, Albieri! she says. (You’ll see!)

The second courtroom of the evening:

The judge gives Fernando a choice of standing trial and most likely doing jail time or entering rehab. He chooses rehab, much to the relief of Clara and Escobar. And it is very nice to see the smirk finally wiped off Fernando’s face.

Enrique is nervously preparing himself for a more personal trial. He is going to see his children. Carolina offers to go with him but he prefers to do this on his own.

He takes a taxi to his family’s house. Unfortunately he loses his nerve when he gets there. He tells the man who comes to the window that he was just checking an address.

The story moves to Fez:

Jade reassures Jadiya that they are safe in the medina: discovering them there would be like finding a needle in a haystack (aguja en pajar). And then they spot Tío Abdul tormenting… I mean educating little Zumaya. They run back to their lodging.

Back in Miami, Said questions Zoraida and Alí but they don’t know anything. Besides, says Alí:

¡Yo nunca apoyaría una fechoría como eso, Said!

(I would never support villainy like that, Said!)

Said figures they must be in Fez because it’s the only place Jade really knows well. He’s going to track her down and when he does, he’ll show no her mercy. And Rania, now happier than a pig in potatoes, has to work extra hard to hide her smirk.

Enrique has taken refuge in a bar. Whiskey doble!

Carolina tells Clara how excited Enrique was about seeing his kids and how good he felt about his decision.

The man Enrique spoke to earlier (stepfather, employee?) now tells a young man and woman (his children?) about his brief visit. The girl asks him to call her if he comes back.

Caro is trying to call Enrique but he doesn’t pick up.

The mood is gloomy at the Del Valle home. The second DNA test came up positive and Lucía is left with the inescapable conclusion that her Roberto did indeed father a child with another woman.

But change is in the air at Casa Ferrer. Marisa gives Lucas permission to go on with his life and make the changes he needs to be happy. She tells him not to feel guilty about Natalia: they both tried, they gave her their best.

I’ve suffered so much in my life, she tells him. And to shield herself from pain, she invented a story, she says. But the truth is this: her mother didn’t die: she was lost to drugs and alcohol when Marisa was very young. And she never even knew her father. She blamed herself for her mother’s problem, the same problem Natalia has now…

This confession is cut short when Rosa rushes in: Natalia is having a crisis! Lucas finds his daughter distraught, restless and craving drugs. Take the baby, she pleads. She wants to be left alone. She doesn’t want anyone to see her like this. She is frighteningly out of control.

Roberto is unhappy to hear that Enrique is away. And when he sees that Lucía has packed up his belongings and sent them to his office, he looks like he could use a whiskey doble too.

Alí and Zoraida are greeted by Zumaya and Abdul upon their arrival in Fez. Zoraida tells Zumaya that Said is on the warpath and she’s afraid she’ll be blamed for Jade’s sins too.

Jade and Jadiya are in their room in Fez. Jadiya misses her father. Jade understands but says that if he finds them right now, she and Jadiya will never see each other again.

The glowering Said stalks the medina with Amina, Rania and Munir trailing behind. Jade’s not going to escape this time, he vows.

In Miami, news of The Kiss has gotten around. At the gym, Vicki asks Pablo if he is falling in love with the Naz. It was just a kiss, he says. But it was a kiss so… one more kiss like that and I’d be in love!

Then Vicki congratulates him. For what? he asks. He got the job in Morocco!

Enrique, now falling-down drunk, shows up outside his family’s house. The two young people decide to follow him.

Rogelio hasn’t fired Malicia yet but as she stands before him, he looks as if he is smelling something very unpleasant. Diana comes in to say that a friend of Malicia’s is looking for her. And in walks Aurelio.

Malicia turns away from Rogelio and hisses to Aurelio: ¿Qué diablos haces aquí? (What the hell are you doing here?) And we know that her past has come back to bite her en el trasero.

And back to Enrique – now so drunk that he is ill. Seeking help, he taps on the window of a patrol car and the officers drive him away. The two young people are watching him; they hail a cab and follow the police car.

Amalia shows up at Albieri’s house and teasingly warns him not to run away from her this time. Oh, no, he says, he’s ready to tell her everything – how he made a human clone. And he proudly shows her photos of Lucas and Daniel. ¡Dios mío! say Amalia softly, muy impactada.

The boy and girl – his children! -- have followed Enrique to a hospital. He lies on a narrow bed, barely conscious. The go up to him and say: Papa? Papito! Why did you abandon us. We missed you so much!

Monica, his daughter says: In spite of everything, he’s our father. But Ricardo, his son, is unyielding: Oh yeah, why didn’t he remember that fact all the time he was gone? Forget it. For me, my father is dead.

Alí and Zoraida are settling back into the house in Fez, but it feels oddly empty to Alí:

Me siento como un barco viejo abandonado en medio mar.

(I feel like an old boat abandoned in the middle of the sea.)

Zoraida reminds him of his three wives and his children but he tells her they are no comfort to him. Why did Allah ever permit him to marry those tres vendavales (three gale winds)?

Sólo tú me haces reír de mis tristezas, Zoraida.

(Only you make me laugh at my sorrows, Zoraida.)

Zoraida goes into the kitchen to make sure that the lamb is being prepared the way Alí likes it. One of the servants, Karima, splashes drippings on Zoraida’s veil. She removes the veil so she can replace it with a clean one. At that moment, Alí opens the kitchen door and catches a glimpse of Zoraida with her lovely long dark hair free of the veil. And from his expression, it is clear Alí está flechado! (He’s in love, that is, struck by Cupid’s arrow).

Another kind of love story is playing out at Casa Ferrer:

Who packed my suitcase? asks Lucas. I did, Marisa tells him. It’s time for you to go to Jade. Don’t use Natalia as an excuse. Let’s give her a good example by the way we live our lives:

Te amé. Te amo. No te voy a culpar porque no me hayas amado. Ve por ella y se feliz.

(I loved you. I love you. I’m not going to blame you because you didn’t love me. Go to her and be happy.)

The final verdict in Leo’s paternity case is in: The judge finds in Leo’s favor. Based on the DNA evidence, Leo is Daniel’s father. The cloning will be investigated separately by the medical authorities. And the appropriate action will be taken against Albieri. He may go to jail.

Dora’s cries out at the injustice of the ruling – ¡El juez es un desalmado! (The judge is heartless, literally ‘soul-less’) -- and her lawyer has to escort her out of the courtroom. She promises Dora they will appeal the ruling.

Early on in this novela, Andrea seemed to be a Miami version of a Valley Girl. It turns out, she’s actually Nancy Drew, Girl Detective.

It’s funny that you know those two sKanks, I mean, women, she says to Consuelo. Oh no, they’re just conocidas del barrio (acquaintances from the neighborhood), answers Consuelo. Well then it’s really weird that you brought these ‘acquaintances’ here to meet my mother – as if my mother were some kind of celebrity!

While Rosario and Andrea are conferring about the situation – A mi esa historia no me encaja en la cabeza (this story doesn’t make sense, lit. it doesn’t fit in my head), says Rosario – Consuelo sneaks out with her suitcase. Rosario sounds the alarm and Andrea rushes out in pursuit. We have to catch that woman!

Mohamed and Samira are sparring over the boyfriend issue, when sweet Carlos shows up wearing tradition Muslim garb. He tells them:

Fui donde el Sheik como me dijo el tío Alí, él me convirtió y me pidió que le dijera que me enseñara leer el Koran.

(That sentence has more verbs than any sentence should: I went to the Sheik just as tío Alí told me to; he converted me and asked me to tell you to teach me to read the Koran.)

Andrea has captured the sKank! Single-handedly! She returns in triumph dragging Consuelo by the arm. Talk or I’ll call the police, says Andrea. And Consuelo talks. Hilda forced her to take used condoms from the trash…

And now Planet Lucía is back in its orbit and harmony is restored to the Del Valle family.

Malicia’s blast from the past, Aurelio, turns out to be a very bitter, not quite ex-, husband. He shows up at the apartment with a list of everything she owns. Since they never legally separated, he has a right to half of it.

Jade and Jadiya are in the medina selling jewelry. Said’s men see them and they run away to the ruins.

Alí announces to his family that he has decided to get married again. ¿Con quién? (with whom?) He answers enigmatically: Ya lo sabrán. (You’ll find out.) Zoraida’s eyes well up with tears.

One father found and one daughter find each other:

Enrique’s daughter, Monica, comes looking for him. He asks her forgiveness and they hug.

Natalia says what everyone has been waiting to hear: I need help! She wants to enter rehab. And when she gets there, she sees a familiar face: Fernando.

It’s time for Marisa to leave Casa Ferrer and start a new chapter in her life. As she is saying her goodbyes to Rosa and Cristina, Cristina excuses herself. She doesn’t feel well.

The family is gathered at Alí’s house in Fez. He tells them that he is getting married and this time, he’s marrying the right woman. Who? asks Zoraida. He answers:

Eres tú, Zoraida, me quiero casarme contigo. ¿Te gustaría?

(It’s you, Zoraida, I want to marry you. Would you like to?)

Zoraida’s response: She faints.

Things are getting complicated for Albieri. He tells Julio that he feels good about entrusting his story to Amalia. Her book will present his actions in the best possible light. But Albieri panics when he hears that Luisa will be spilling his story to reporters before Amalia’s book comes out.

And Luisa has, in fact, arranged a press conference (una rueda de prensa) with the clear intention of doing as much damage to Albieri as she can.

Now Albieri is scared. For all his bluster, he doesn’t want to go to jail. He decides he’ll escape to Morocco.

Daniel, in full clone identity crisis, shows up on Albieri’s doorstep. If Albieri is going on a trip, Daniel is going with him:

Yo no voy a separarme de ti hasta que tú construyas un mundo para mí.

(I’m not going to part from you until you build a world for me.)

Hilda sKank and Karla sKank are basking in the sun and dreaming about how they will spend Roberto’s money (Hilda wants a leopard-skin themed décor – so chic!) when Consuelo sKank bursts on the scene with tragic news: We’re done for! They know everything!

And unfortunately, Jade and Jadiya are done for as well. Said’s thugs close in on them and they have nowhere to run. Said glowers.

End Part I.