Caray, Caray!

Capítulo 155: In which Alonso learns the truth


Reprise: The Sandoval family gathers in María’s hospital room. She holds one baby in each arm, the infants so placid one wonders if someone might be dipping their binkies in great grandma’s sherry.


Part One: Alonso’s Story


Beware of Grinches Bearing Gifts
Alonso is in his studio admiring the generous bouquet of red roses he plans to bring to his ternura when an unexpected – and unwelcome – visitor appears. It’s Ximena, in full Grinch mode. She just stopped by to give him a little wedding gift, she tells him. And she smilingly places an envelope within the bouquet. Her parting shot:
Disfruta tu boda y vive y goza cada uno de tus días como si fuera el último. Bye!
(Enjoy your wedding and live and enjoy each day as if it were the last. Ciao!)

The envelope, please.
When she is gone, Alonso opens the envelope. As he reads its contents, his eyes widen. Then we watch as all his joy vanishes and is replaced by uncomprehending horror. Now he knows the truth: he is dying. In the light of this truth, he makes new sense of María’s apparent change of heart. Now he understands why she chose him over Max and why Max stepped aside unprotestingly. His response? Rage and anguish. He sweeps his photos off the table and repeatedly slams the bouquet of roses until the petals carpet the floor, all the while screaming with increasing violence: ¡No puede ser! (It can’t be!)

Alonso sinks to his knees and appeals to heaven:
¿Qué hice? ¿Qué te hice yo para castigarme de esta manera?
(What did I do? What did I do to you to make you punish me like this?)
It was all a lie! God, no!

He curls up on his side, claws at the floor and sobs as he holds a photo of María: ¡Todo fue una mentira! (It was all a lie!)



TIEMPO DESPUÉS (SOME TIME LATER)

A wedding that feels like a funeral
The wedding guests gather outside the church. They chat in small groups.

Millie knows there’s something fishy going on (A mí me huele muy mal, it smells bad to me). Why is María marrying that photographer when she’s obviously in love with Max? Both Napo and Millie turn to Nati: You know something, don’t you? But Nati just chatters nervously and feigns ignorance.

The vecindad gang is there, laughing and flirting, oblivious to the dark undercurrent.

Fabián, accompanied by Luci, asks Cruz and Fer how married life is going. Mal. Muy mal, answers Fer (Badly. Very badly). And then she adds unpleasantly: I suppose that makes you happy.

Luci is stung by Fer’s unexpected nastiness and hastens to assure her that neither she nor Fabián would take pleasure in her unhappiness. Fer’s response: ¡Tú cállate hipócrita! (Shut up, hypocrite!) Cruz squirms.

Leonela straightens Max’s tie. He looks so handsome, she tells him. She can’t understand why he isn’t the groom. He brushes off the remark so irritably that she wonders why he even bothered coming to the wedding. Then Osvaldo walks up, puts an arm around Max’s shoulder and tells him he’s very proud of him. You don’t really know what a great person your son is, Os tells Leo.

Victoria holds Dr. Voice’s arm and laments that María has still not forgiven her. Heri advises Vic not to judge her – remember how much María has suffered . Yes, Vic readily acknowledges. And unfortunately she herself was her tormentor (verdugo, literally executioner).

Toni offers an interesting theory to explain why Victoria didn’t sense the llamado de la sangre when she met María: Bernarda jammed the bloodlines. (Se interpuso volviendo sordo tu corazón, she came between you and deafened your heart.)
[For a moment, I’m distracted by an image of a shrunk-down wet-suited Bernie speeding along the superior vena cava directly to Victoria’s heart where she places a small signal jammer. Raquel Welch in Fantastic Voyage, anyone?]

Vic still can’t understand why Bernarda, the most perverse human being she has ever known, isn’t in jail for Tomasa’s murder. It’s because they saddled all the blame on Fausto, says Oscar.

Fausto, in his jail cell, has heard that today María marries Alonso. He prays for their happiness.

Bernarda lets her hair down.
When Juan Pablo comes to call, his mother is still in her jammies, her hair loose down her back. (Maybe she’s so depressed over Victoria’s and María’s escape that she no longer has the energy to put her hair up in its scary Doña Demente rolls. Hold the phone... Is that a half-empty carton of Chunky Monkey she kicks under the bed when he comes in?) Each expresses surprise that the other isn’t going to María’s wedding but neither is willing to say more than “I have my reasons”. Juan Pablo is there to ask two things:

His first question: How does she feel?
Her ill-tempered reply: How do you think I feel after being in that terrible prison?
JP doesn’t blink. He reminds her she was there for good reason, but that’s not what he wants to talk about.

His second question – and he wants the truth: Did she have anything to do with kidnapping María Desamparada and Victoria?

This question unleashes a torrent of self-righteous rant – How dare he ask such a thing! She raised not a priest (sacerdote) but a crow (cuervo), a vulture to pluck her eyes out! [cuervo vulture, specifically ‘crow’ or ‘raven’ can also be a derogatory slang term for ‘priest’.]

JP is impervious to the rant and not susceptible to her emotional blackmail. Unfortunately, he knows the extent of her wickedness even if he is constrained by the seal of the confessional from speaking out. In the end, it's not he but God who will be her judge.

Bernie raises a hand to smack him but he grabs her wrist and tells her: You’re not going to lay a hand on me again. I won’t permit it. It’s a failure of respect for me as a man, as a son and as a priest. She jerks her fisted hand back and glares at her son.

Now we’re back at the church in time to see Alonso drive up in the wedding jeep. Max watches sadly as the smiling groom walks jauntily towards the church only stopping to greet Dr. Heri with a handshake and a hug. Alonso is ready to marry ‘til death do us part’, he tells the doc. And he thanks him for everything. Heri senses something isn’t quite right.

Meanwhile Fabián and Luci try to make sense of Fer’s earlier outburst. It reminds Fabián of the old, snobby, bratty, capricious Fer. She and Cruz must be having problems. [Obvio, Fab! Sheesh.]

Pip dances up to them (and brings his silly song with him). You’d think this was a wake, not a wedding, he says. Check out the long faces! Fabián says he feels for Vic – after everything she went through to find her daughter and now the girl rejects her.

Toni tells Vic to be strong.

Osvaldo and Heriberto agree they need to talk. It’s time for them to stop behaving like a pair of adolescents.

Cruz asks Max why he let María get away when it’s obvious they still love each other.

All eyes turn to the black car decorated with white flowers that pulls up in front of the church. Max steps forward, opens the door and extends his hand to help the bride out of the car. But Alonso moves in: Allow me, Max, he says. This is my moment. Max steps back. The small crowd applauds at the appearance of the bride. I’ll see you at the altar, says Alonso and he leaves María with Nati.

María explains to her friend that Juan Pablo won’t be officiating – he wouldn’t lend himself to this farce, he said – but Padre Jerónimo was more understanding. He’ll be performing the ceremony.

Now Osvaldo steps up, and, telling María how lovely she looks, offers to walk her down the aisle and give her away.

The two proceed slowly and gravely to the altar while we hear an instrumental (thank God!) rendition of Ave María.

Rox and Xi slip into the back of the church just as Jero begins to read the vows. First he addresses the bride:
María, ¿aceptas por esposo a Alonso, para serle fiel y estar a su lado en lo prospero y en lo adverso hasta que la muerte los separe?
(María, do you accept Alonso as your husband, to be faithful to him, to be at his side in prosperity and adversity until death separates you?)

There’s a long pause. For a moment, Max looks like he’s going to charge right up to the altar to reclaim his woman but Cruz puts a reassuring, “down boy” hand on his shoulder and he subsides. Finally we hear María’s response: Sí, acepto.

Alonso’s star rises... and sets.
Now it’s Alonso’s turn. The question is read. There is an even longer pause as he looks at María, then upward, then turns away. The Alonso song plays (♪Ya no puedo quedarme un minuto más sin ti...♪). And then at last we hear his answer: No. No acepto.

Gasp! Jaws drop open all around the little chapel, except at the very back where Rox and Xi giggle. Jero, incredulous, thinks maybe Alonso didn’t hear the question. But Alonso assures him he heard just fine: You asked me if I wanted to marry María Desamparada and I answered ‘no’.

Then Jero gets angry. How dare Alonso answer so cynically! Why did he agree to this mockery (farsa) in the first place?

Because of ignorance, Alonso answers, and he holds up an envelope. I didn’t pay attention to some lab tests. And then a friend (and here Rox and Xi can barely control their delight – oh, this is going so much better than they expected!) did me the favor of cluing me in to what was going on.

He goes on:
Thank you, friends, for being here and for sharing an unforgettable day with me. I’m sorry I didn’t say anything before but then Max and María’s sacrifice wouldn’t have the value it does right now. This envelope contains a terrible (horroroso) truth.

For a long time, I was estranged from God. I rebelled against everything. But now I feel at peace. I’ve accepted Him. And I’ve moved beyond all feelings of evil, anger and rage – anything that blackens and taints the soul.

(These words of light and faith send Xi and Rox scurrying out of the church like roaches. They grouse about the stupid turn of events.)

Al continues:
I know now that a person’s destiny is guided by designs that many times are beyond our comprehension.

If I’m not marrying my ternura, it’s not because I don’t love her –

Here he turns to María and brushes a tear off her cheek: I adore you, he says. And I know you love me – although not the way I would have liked.

Still addressing María directly he breaks off for a goofy aside, a mishmash of literary allusions:
You weren't alone in your odyssey. You had your faithful companion, your Sancho Panza – and that’s Max: the person I thought was my enemy, my nemesis. I never gave him a chance to show me the goodness of his heart. I’ll always be grateful to him.

[What does this crap even mean? But by now even the normally curmudgeonly Mr Maven is ferklempt and willing to cut the guy some slack: “I know it’s shlock... and yet ... sob...” And that, Ladies and Carlos, is when you know you’re being manipulated by the best – You know it’s shlock ... and yet... sob]

Turning back to the congregation:

-- The real reason I don’t want to marry María Desamparada is because I don’t want to do this couple harm. Theirs is love’s real triumph.

He holds up the envelope:
It says in here that I’m dying. I understand that you two just wanted to give me a few more minutes of happiness. And you accomplished that, ternura, and I’ll be forever grateful to you both. He ends:
Con eso me quedo... y discúlpame, con eso me voy.
(With that I’ll abide and... excuse me, with that I’ll leave you.)

Alonso walks slowly back up the aisle, pausing to exchange a tearful, filial hug with Dr. Heri -- Dr. Heri the father Alonso never had, Alonso the son Dr. Heri lost. Flanked by shadowy images of his best times with María, he walks toward the light and fades into whiteness.


Part Two: A few pesky details still outstanding

Grrrr....Why did I let you talk me into leaving María?
After that tearful epiphany in the church, it’s a little anticlimactic to get back in the car with Osvaldo, Vic and Fer.

[Pues, ni modo. Pull yourselves together, would you? There are still lots of cranky, cruel, crazy and confused people running around in this novela and they are counting on us to sort them out.]

Vic grouses that Os convinced her to leave when she should have stayed back with María. Fer notices that Os didn’t seem all that surprised by what happened. He admits that Max told him about the plan from the beginning – although he never thought it was a good idea.

Victoria asks the driver to take them back to María’s place. Her daughter needs her. Fer chimes in that she wants to be with her sister too.

Meanwhile, Max brings María back to the vecindad. He gets the curious neighbors to back off. He’ll be there for her whenever she is ready, he assures her. He understands she needs to be alone right now. Nati will help her change out of the gown.

Sadistic Girls Just Want to Have Fun
Rox and Xi are in their car too. Xi suddenly cracks up – What a hoot that was! Mama’s reality check: with Alonso out of the picture, there’s nothing to keep Max from marrying that girl. Xi’s not worried. She’ll think of something.

Rox thinks they should head to Bernarda’s and give her an update. She’d be glad to hear the latest. And it's worth the effort to keep her happy; after all, they are still living with her. Xi grimaces at the thought.

All Sales are Final
As it turns out, Bernie isn’t home right now. She’s closeted with Gui in his retreat and the two are watching a movie together. It’s a private screening of the doctored DVD he sent to the police, the one incriminating the three thugs for hire – and only them.

She appreciates his gift for placing blame but isn’t distracted from her own agenda. Before he can ask if she wants her popcorn buttered or plain she tells him she wants her money back since his kidnapping plan tanked. No can do, says Gui. It’s all invested in the opening of Othello. Not my problem, says the Bernster (who, by the way, is back in fighting trim, hair rolls, pearl earrings and all). Pay up!

In that case, says Gui, I guess I’ll just have to be honest with the authorities and give them the other DVD, the one that shows who was behind the whole thing.

And here he plays the version starring La Dementa.

You’re trying to blackmail me? she asks.

Take it however you like, he replies. It’s not in your best interest (no le conviene) to pressure me.

The Bernster looks at him appraisingly, perhaps mentally measuring up his coffin size: You’re cleverer than I thought.

Gui looks satisfied with himself.

No hubo boda (There was no wedding).
When Jerónimo gets back to the parish church, Juan Pablo asks him how the wedding went. There was no wedding, he says. Alonso refused to marry María Desamparada.

The eternal ebb and flow of Sandovals and their groupies
And back at the vecindad, Max leaves and Victoria arrives. Fer hangs back a little to give her mother and sister some time alone.

María hears a knock at the door and tells Nati that she doesn’t want to see anyone. Not even your mother? asks Vic, poking her head inside. María turns away.

Back outside, Osvaldo takes the opportunity to ask Fer what the heck is going on with her and Cruz. She wheels away, telling him she doesn’t want to talk about it. And she’d prefer to be alone.

Now Dr. Voice comes along. Os wants to know what he’s doing there.

♪A partir de hoy...♪
Victoria tries to console María. She knows it’s not the first bad patch in her life and she’s sorry she couldn’t be with her for those hard times in the past.

Now she sits down across the table from María and takes her hands. She says:
Pero a partir de hoy quiero ser parte de tu vida. Puedo brindarte todo el amor y todo el apoyo que en tantos años no te di.
(But from this day on I want to be part of your life. I can offer you all the love and support that I didn’t give you during all those years.)

I want to be alone. I think...
María insists she wants to be... needs to be ... alone. So much has happened in such a short time. She needs time to think.

Victoria respects her decision. She’s her mother and she’ll be there waiting for her. Always.

Victoria quietly heads for the door, dabbing away a tear. María looks up and for a moment it seems as if she is going to call her back. But she says nothing, just lets her leave.

Credits roll over scenes from the past and we realize how much we have aged since this all began.

Labels: triunfo