Caray, Caray!

Like a lamb to the slaughter, Camilo has just been ushered into the lioness’s den (Casa Curiel) by the She-Wolf Maripaz. He explains to Lucrezia that he’s there to talk to Carlota, on behalf of Toni, about the approved loan, and finding an administrator for their ranch. Lucrezia gives him one of her typical scorn filled glances, while Maripaz checks out his décolletage and other assets. Cleto gives Carlota the 411 about Camilo’s presence as she enters the front gates.

At the hospital, the doctor gives Lucia a clean bill of health and allows her to take off the sling (cabestrillo). She’ll have to be careful and do some exercises to strengthen the muscles, but she’s psyched to get rid of the darn sling.

At Casa Curiel, Lucrezia’s giving Camilo the third degree about how they can trust that he’s a decent person and qualified for the job. Carlota puts an end to Camilo’s torture by interrupting and politely introducing herself. She thought he worked for the McGuires and wonders how he’ll have time to help them. Camilo explains that this is a special Toni request, and although they’ll hire a good foreman (capataz) for the ranch, Camilo will take on the administration. He’ll make sure everything is on the up and up. Lucrezia wants to know how they can trust that he won’t rob them like the rest. Camilo declares his honesty and honorability, despite his humble roots. Even Maripaz stands up for him! (She must find that flannel hoodie, unbuttoned down to there, endearing.) Carlota thanks him. Lucscreechia screeches her protest, but Carly puts her foot down. Camilo thanks her, and Maripaz expresses her approval of his new position by feeling up his arm. Carly sends her to do something useful, like get them something to drink, and sits down to get the scoop on Toni.

At the hospital, Ivan runs into Lucia and the two make moony eyes at each other. She tries to make her escape, but Ivan stops her to ask if she still loves him. “It’s no longer any use./There’s no longer a point.” (Ya no tiene caso.) Ivan admits he can’t live without her and she’s all he thinks of. She doesn’t waste time getting to the main issue. She loves her mother and grandmother, despite everything they’ve done. Ivan is left speechless. She politely says she’s happy to see him and to know that all is well with Toni, and leaves a conflicted Ivan standing in the hospital hallway. She wipes a few sad tears away once she gets outside, but looks pretty decided.

In his hospital room, Toni and Ivan discuss how to distribute the checks to the Curiels and the other ranchers. Toni can tell, from his clenched jaw and worried expression, that something is up with Ivan. He tells Toni about the run-in with Lucia and how the only thing she told him is how much she loves her family. Toni thinks this is totally normal. Would Ivan want to be with a woman, for example, who hated him (Toni)? “This is totally different! You’re incapable of doing anyone harm.” Toni points out that we all commit errors and injustices. If Ivan really wants to be with Lucia, he’ll forgive. He needs to figure out if his resentment (rencor) is bigger than his love (amor). Ivan goes back to the still unknown whereabouts of his son. The baby could not have just disappeared without at least one of those women having something to do with it. Toni wonders if he thinks they murdered the baby. No, but one of them must have given the baby to someone and knows where he is. Toni says he’ll ask Carlota and he’s sure she’ll tell him the truth. Ivan highly doubts she’ll tell him the truth if it means protecting her daughter. That family’s as thick as thieves (closer than bees in a hive/mas pegadas que abejas en un panal).

In Casa Curiel, Carlota is basically giving Lucia the same advice Camilo gave Ivan. When a woman marries she leaves her family to start her own. Sure, but Lucia can’t live with someone who hates her family. Carlota thinks time will heal Ivan’s wounds. Anyway, Ivan will eventually go back to the States (I’m assuming she believes Lucia would go with him), and the distance will help. Lucia is not convinced. Carly tells her about Camilo’s visit to the house.

Camilo is at that moment giving the same download to Ivan. He’ll head out to Ranch Socorro tomorrow. Ivan asks Camilo to request that Carly meet with Toni personally to receive the check. Camilo calls Carly right away and Lucia stands close to listen in. Toni won’t be able to meet with her for a couple of days, when he’s out of the hospital. Carly is very happy to hear he’s doing well. She passes the phone to Lucia. (She has spoken way more to him in the last few days than she has to Ivan. Hmmm…) Lucia thanks him for all the help he’s giving them with the ranch. She then moves on to the inheritance business and asks Camilo if Ivan has dual citizenship (doble nacionalidad). “What are you up to?” (En que estas metida?) She assures him once again it’s nothing bad.

Her loveliness and goodness must have won him over again, because in the next scene she’s calling the notary/lawyer to let him know Ivan has dual citizenship. This is good news and the documents can proceed in the name of Ivan Villagomez. BUT, he still needs Ivan’s current address. They decide to use the hotel address, or that of the house they just rented.

At Casa Galvan, the bros are knocking back beers while Celia cooks. Antolin is shocked that the McGuires are still going to give a loan to the Curiels. That’s how they roll! They’re good and generous people, Camilo assures skeptical Antolin. Antolin wants to know exactly how much they’re going to give the Curiels. Both Celia and Camilo tell him to mind his own business, but Antolin cleverly baits the info out of Camilo by saying he’s sure it’s a ton of money considering Lucia is Ivan’s novia. Camilo sets him straight, and tells him exactly what he wanted to know, by saying it was just 10,000,000 pesos. Celia laments how two women alone running a ranch must have been repeatedly fleeced by bad men. Antolin sips his beer and contemplates how he’s going to fleece those two women out of 10,000,000 pesos.

The next morning, Maripaz breaks away from admiring herself in the mirror (are we sure she’s not JJ’s child?) to answer her cell phone. It’s Tubby Thug, at a pay phone, being coached by Antolin. He knows she had a baby out of wedlock 10 years ago and wants 4,000,000 pesos, or else all of Alamos will know! Click! Maripaz runs in a panic to her mother. She tells mom she got a call to blackmail (chantajear) her about the baby secret. Lucrezia can’t believe it, since only the family knew. She seems to be forgetting about all of Ivan’s family and friends AND Marripaz’s big running mouth when she’s had a few too many appletinis. She thinks it must have been that darn servant in Guaymas! MP automatically thinks of using part of the McGuire money, which makes Lucrezia suspicious. Did MP cook this scheme up with someone to get some quick cash? MP freaks out. She’ll be a pariah of society! Grandma has to speak to Toni about giving them the cash. Lucrezia has a better idea—MP has to speak to Ivan about it. It’s his kid and responsibility too, after all.

In the pool hall, Antolin tells Tubby Thug to cool his jets and wait for the Curiels to get the cash. In the meantime, he’s going to put his gray cells to work figuring out where the kid could be. He smells more money in this.

In the morning at Casa Curiel, Lucia is rushing off to teach and will drive for the first time since her run in with that chair, wielded by Saul. Lucrezia drags herself to the dining table and asks Carly when the McGuires are going to start doling out the cash. Carly lets her know about the upcoming personal handover from Toni to her.

Toni’s is moved to a real hospital room, and is growing more grouchy and impatient to leave by the minute. He forces Ivan to give him his cell phone and wants the check for Carlota today, despite Ivan’s protests. Ivan asks Benito to make sure Toni doesn’t work too much and takes it easy. When Ivan heads off to work, Toni immediately sends his babysitter Benito away so that he can call Carly. They do some geriatric flirting and he asks her to come to the hospital to see him and get the check. She’s worried about his health and would be happy to wait a few days. He wants to send a driver for her, but she assures him she can take a taxi or wait for Lucia to return and take her. They agree to that.

Lucrezia skulks behind a column listening to the call. She then tells MP to get a move on talking to Ivan, because she does not want to waste their loan on this blackmail business. MP thinks that if Carly weren’t so set on giving Ivan his part of the ranch, they could just sell that part and have the needed money. Lucrezia repeats her order. Talk to Ivan! “Si mama.”

Ivan’s cell phone rings just as he gets to the Agricultural Association. Maripaz actually has enough manners to start with standard pleasantries. Ivan’s not buying it. She tells him something horrible has happened. “To Lucia?!” (LOL!) “Why do you always have to think about Lucia?!” Lucrezia coaches her to tone it down. You read that right. Lucrazya is actually coaching someone else to take it down a notch and act civilized. Maripaz says it does affect Lucia because it affects their whole family. Ivan doesn’t give a rat’s patoot about their family. MP whines about how important it is. He’s busy but gives in to meeting her that night at 8. Lucrezia reminds MP of the importance of this meeting and orders her to stay sober.

At the Association, Ivan sends David off to get the Curiel check to Toni. Buttinsky JJ wants to know why. Why do those women get so much consideration? He wants to know how much he gets before the other ranchers and is surprised by the small quantity. Ivan explains that his ranch, despite being big, is in pretty good shape. But he has needs! He’s so insulted by the small quantity that he rips up his agreement and check and heads to the waiting room to badmouth the McGuires to the rest of the ranchers. He tries to convince them to walk away too, which confuses them all since he was the head cheerleader for the McGuires. Ivan comes out and explains that although JJ is richer than the rest of them, and his ranch is in really good shape, he wants more than the rest of them. Ivan asks the other the ranchers to see for themselves what they’ll get, and THEN make a decision. JJ continues to spew hot air and threatens to go to the Ministry of Agricultural Affairs (Recursos Agrarios) to make a complaint. He leaves in a huff. The ranchers argue about whether to follow JJ or see what the McGuires are offering. The ones who think they should follow JJ are idiots.

Lucia drops Carly off at the hospital. Inside, Carly meets Benito and sits down to chat with Toni. First business, and then other stuff. Benito hands her the check and makes a hasty retreat. Carly is shocked by the large quantity. She doesn’t think they need so much. Toni says it was Ivan’s decision, which shocks Carly. He hasn’t forgiven them, but he’s a fair man. Carly has no doubt. He inherited his goodness from his mother. Toni reveals that he knows who Ivan’s bio dad is. There are no secrets between them. He even knows that Alicia died from a botched abortion. He asks Carly if she thinks JJ was the baby-daddy. Carly doesn’t think so, and tells Toni how she threatened JJ to keep away from Alicia years ago when Ivan was a young teen, when JJ tried to pressure Alicia to be his lover.

Ivan and David chat about JJ’s latest antics. David is sympathetic towards his father, but Ivan is not hearing it. David is either with them or with his father- his decision. David is firmly in the McGuire camp, and feels that his dad deserves to be in this situation. All these years he’s been the association president, JJ’s authored many scams/fraud ( tranzas). Ivan wants to hear the details. David starts with the high interest rates his dad has charged the members. We don’t hear the rest.

Outside the hospital, Lucia is waiting for Carly in her car and is surprised by Ivan at her window. She turns down an invitation for coffee, since Carly may be coming out soon. Ivan calls Benito to see if Toni and Carly are wrapping up. Since they are not, Ivan extends the invitation to Lucia once again. She can’t refuse his pleas.

Toni and Carly continue the discussion of Alicia’s mystery boinker. It must have been another man, but they can’t figure out whom. Carly calls Toni Ivan’s guardian angel. Toni takes no credit for the man Ivan is. He was always this way. Carly wishes she had done things differently, but at the time she was incapable of yelling to the four winds that Alicia was her late husband’s child. It would have done damage to Lucrezia and her daughters. Had they lived in the capital, where no one cares about other people’s business (obviously she doesn’t watch those tns that take place in D.F., where everyone is worried about appearances or being left in the “calle”), then she would have done things differently. She would have told the whole truth. Toni doesn’t need justifications. He understands. The real injustice of it all was done to Alicia. Toni thinks the only thing that can help Ivan move on is the love of Lucia. They agree that those two crazy kids still love each other, so they need to carry on with their plan to get them married.

In a nearby café, Ivan and Lucia chat over coffee. He talks about his bad day. They handed out the checks, but only some of the ranchers accepted them because of JJ. Lucia says JJ’s greedy and ambitious and she’s never liked him. Ivan’s in agreement. What’s more, there are times when he hates JJ. Lucia wants to know why. Ivan explains about the young girl who once worked on JJ’s ranch, whom he seduced, impregnated and abandoned. He admits this girl was his mother and he is JJ’s son. And he’s not proud of it in the least.

Toni questions Carly about what happened to the baby. She swears she doesn’t know and asks him to believe her. He does. He’s sure she’s a good person and he’s honored to have her as a friend. She feels the same. He proposes that after he’s feeling better, the two of them go on vacation together. Carly blushes. What will people think? He wasn’t thinking just the two of them alone. Ivan and Lucia would accompany them. Carly doubts Lucia would accept since she’s studying at uni. Toni is sure they will find the right time and opportunity soon. The two giggle like school kids at their super cool plan.

Lucia wants to know why Ivan is telling her this. He just wants her to understand the full extent of his suffering. Lucia gets it, but we all suffer for different reasons. “What are yours?” Lucia knows they aren’t as grave as his sufferings, but growing up, the divorce of her parents really affected her, as did the anxiety of her mother and grandmother when they saw their assets dwindle, the constant arguments between her mother and grandmother, and her disappointments in love. Ivan wonders if she’s speaking about him. He puts his hand on hers and tells her he can be hers again, whenever she wants. She wants to know for what? So that he can fight with her family all the time? Ivan tries a new tactic. They can go back to being friends, like when they were kids. Lucia points out that she was in love with him back then too. “And now I’m in love with YOU.” He reminds her of their old times hanging out together, eating ice cream, and playing with Pipo. He thinks they should buy a dog to relive old times. They both smile. He promises not to try anything. Boy Scout’s honor. (Uh huh.) Looks like she’s falling for it when his cell phone rings. It’s Benito telling them Carly is ready to leave the hospital.

Ivan’s still pressing his case for “friendship” as they approach the hospital. Lucia promises to think about it. Ivan politely greets Carly. He takes his leave and asks for an answer soon. Carly’s all for this “friends” plan.

Inside Toni’s room, Ivan gives him the update on JJ’s tantrum, the rancher walk out, and what he learned about JJ’s fraud schemes and possibly even theft. He explains about the sky high interest rates. This is a huge crime and Ivan will happily throw JJ’s ass in jail, despite the fact that he’s his father.

Previews: Camilo presses Ivan to think about the possibility of Alex being his child. Ivan wants to talk to Gerry about his mother and his child. Ivan refuses Maripaz’s plea to pay the blackmailers.

Labels: Fuerza