Caray, Caray!

Carolina has just broken the happy news to Antolín that she has a bun in the oven and he needs to chill out with all the twirling he’s doing with her in his arms. He is sure that any baby of his will be big and strong, and able to take a few whirls. They are both over the moon and celebrate with kisses (and hopefully more).

At Rancho Curiel, Ivan has come to visit Lucia to come clean about the conversation he had with Camilo about his intentions towards Lucia. Ivan initiated the conversation because he wants to be friends with Camilo again. He tells Lucia that Cam has accepted that Lucia is not for him, but admitted that he is still really in love with her. Ivan’s hoping that Cam will get over it. Lucia isn’t so sure it’s that easy. Either way, Ivan knows this situation is none of their faults; it’s just life. He apologizes for getting jealous. He trusts her and she’s free to do what she wants and befriend whom she wants. He was just being stupid.

MP interrupts them to report on Lucrezia’s continued weakened condition and vomiting. She asks Ivan if she can come see Alex that day, but he will be at Caro’s. MP gets permission to visit him tomorrow instead. She does all of this politely and then immediately leaves, to all of Viewerville’s surprise. Lucia seems to be softening too, because she tells Ivan of MP’s seemingly sincere desperate need for Alex to start loving her. Ivan doesn’t know what to do because Alex is scared of her. “We each reap what we sow”, says Lucia. (Cada quien cosecha lo que siembra.) Ivan tells Lucia about Carmen and Lichita’s disappearance.

Camilo and Anto have met up at a restaurant to discuss the same thing. They’ve had no luck with their inquiries of taxi drivers. They are sure Carmen went chasing after Saul, and if they are together they are probably hatching some plan to get money, like kidnapping someone. Anto thinks Cam could be a potential target (with his new job and all) so he should get his hands on a gun for protection.

JJ meets with a lawyer to see about formally acknowledging Carmen as his son’s woman and Lil’ Alicia as his grandchild. The lawyer wants him to be careful of this young woman living with him and asking for money. And on top of it, she’s Antolin’s sister! It all might just be a scheme to get money out of JJ.

In their new bedroom, Carmen has more important things to do, like watching her telenovela and filing her nails, than listening to her daughter. Lichita wants to go to school, instead of being cooped up in a room all day. Carmen ignores a call from Celia and Lichita questions why she hung up. She lies to Lichita that it wasn’t her grams and tells her to shut up. (Mother of the Year material, that one.)

Ivan visits Celia and tries to assure her that Carmen wouldn’t do something stupid (ha!), and is probably just with friends. The Galvan boys return home with no news.

At Casa Less-Meandragon, JJ has brought back a bag of new toys for Lichita. She’s initially pleased, but then complains that she already has plenty of dolls. What she wants is a toy dish/tea set (vajilla). JJ says he’ll get on it. He then orders Carmen off her lazy butt to the kitchen to help the maid prepare dinner. He actually does it fairly politely (for JJ), but there’s no doubt it’s an order. Carmen is still in enough doubt about her position in the Mondragon house to agree and hops to it.

Anto gives Celia something to be happy about by sharing the pregnancy news. Hugs all around from his mom, brother and Ivan. They all think that Carmen is a grown woman (mujer hecha y derecha) and can do what she wants, but Lichita is the real concern. Ivan wonders if she has a galan elsewhere. Celia thinks it’s her fault Carmen left because of their last big fight. She’ll check Lichita’s school tomorrow to see if Carmen has taken her.

MP cuddles her mom in bed and whines about how no one loves her, and how Lucia and Tony are saying things against her to Alex. Lucrezia urges patience. MP swears she’s sorry for the things she’s done, but now SHE needs love/affection (cariño). She NEEDS people to love her. The love of Lucrezia, who has always loved her no matter what, is not enough. Lucrezia advises her to behave and do good deeds. Having never attempted good deeds, MP even needs advice on what those could be. Lucrezia shakes her head.

Gordo and Saul get together in a bar in Hermosillo and discuss the addition of Gordo’s cousin to the plan. Soon, Saul will be able to leave his little rat buddies behind and live in luxury. They discuss the kidnapping plan. Gordo thinks Alex staying with blind Caro (guess he doesn’t know about the surgery) so often is the key to getting their hands on the kid.

Judith comes home and for the first time meets Lichita, who is having a fine time playing cards with her abuelo. (It’s kind of cute actually. Never thought I’d say that about a scene with JJ.)

Judith is even more shocked to see Carmen emerge from the kitchen decked in an apron and announcing that dinner is ready. JJ tells Judith that the house won’t feel so lonely anymore and bids them all to go to the dining room to eat.

David is just as shocked to hear this news from Judith later on the phone. Ditto Esther, when he passes the news on to her. Esther wonders if JJ is messing around with Carmen, but even David thinks that would be going too far for JJ to get involved with his son’s woman. He thinks it’s more likely that Carmen is holding something over JJ to blackmail him. Esther agrees that he sure as heck is NOT doing it out of the goodness (bondad) of his heart. (They both are underestimating the power of loneliness.)

Camilo tries to calm her, but Celia can’t sleep because of her worry about her daughter and granddaughter. David pays them a late night house call to break the news about Carmen and Lichita being the newest additions to the Mondragon household. They all think Carmen must have done something or is holding something over JJ to convince him to take her and Lichita in. Camilo takes off immediately with David to bring them back home. Celia insists on going too.

Ivan and Lucia have a pre-bedtime phone call, exchange love talk, talk of marriage, and gossip about Anto and Caro having a baby. Lucia asks Ivan if he’ll make any distinctions between Perla and Alex and any children they may have together. Of course not! Ivan is all for making their own version of “Yours, Mine and Ours”.

JJ’s peaceful night is disturbed by Camilo and Celia barging their way into his home and starting a screaming match with Carmen. Both Camilo and David start interrogating him about his reasons for letting Carmen and Lichita live with him. He says he doesn’t have to give them explanations. (I agree with him. Carmen’s a grown woman and Lichita’s his grandchild.) Celia says that Carmen DOES have to give her an explanation. Carmen says she’s tired of being treated like a second class citizen at home. (I don’t think she’ll like being treated like a servant and the nanny of his grandchild by JJ either.) She refuses Celia’s and Cam’s demands and pleas for her to return with them. JJ tells them to get out and pulls a gun on them all! Celia yells at him to shoot (dispare)! Shoot so that he can be hauled off to prison! Lichita is awakened by all this noise and wanders into the living room. She looks on in terror when she sees her new grandpa holding a gun to her beloved grandma.

Saul and Gordo sarcastically toast to a long life for JJ. (Anvil alert?)

JJ immediately lowers the gun under Lichita’s fearful gaze, and says he only wanted a better life for the little girl and to fix Saul’s error. Celia doesn’t think the way to do it is by buying her off with gifts and toys, but not with love and affection, which he’ll never be able to give her. Camilo insists they are taking Lichita with them. Carmen begs JJ to let her stay on her own, but his only interest was Lichita. He tells her to pack her stuff and go with her family. He says farewell to Lichita and tells her to behave. Carmen continues to beg, but Lichita is ready to go home and also encourages her mom to pack their stuff. (You know you’re acting a fool when a six year old is acting more mature than you are.) Lichita hugs her uncle and grandma, and Camilo thanks David for his help. After they leave, David and Judith wonder what JJ could have been thinking. Judith thinks it’s loneliness and mentions JJ’s request that she and Carlos live with him. David says he offered him the same thing with Bernie.

In Casa Galvan, Lichita says JJ is a good guy, but she wanted to return home. She says goodnight to Celia and Camilo, who tells her he NEVER wants her to leave this house. Lichita drags her wayward mommy off to bed. Celia asks Cam what they are going to do with Carmen. Cam doesn’t know. She can do what she pleases, but they sure as heck won’t let her take Lichita with her again. Celia can’t help but be worried about them both. Cam decides to call Anto with the news so that he can stop worrying and just enjoy the news of his baby with his wife.

Esther talks to the McGuire family lawyer, who I guess is now her lawyer, about her divorce case outside the judge’s chambers. JJ arrives for the appointment. He doesn’t bring a lawyer, but asks for some time alone with Esther. JJ admits that he learned too late what he was losing. He accepts that he was a blockhead (torpe). She doesn’t let him off the hook and reminds him how he continued his old ways, even after she came back to care for him. And to top it off, he was willing to frame her for his fraud! It’s better that it ends this way. She asks him to not make it more difficult. “Our relationship (lo nuestro) is over forever.” JJ accepts this as the last word and goes with her and her lawyer into the judge’s chambers.

Saul and Gordo discuss how to avoid a run-in with Anto when they attempt to kidnap Alex. They both want to get rid of him. They figure that he must be working regular office hours at the Ag Association now that his brother is the president. They decide they need to contact Carmen to get the inside scoop.

Lucia hangs out with Alex in his room and asks him to give MP a chance- tell her his stuff, share his music with her, and such. Ivan comes in to tell Alex MP has arrived. Alex agrees to chat with her for only a bit (un ratito). Once he’s out of the room, Lucia and Ivan discuss the situation. Ivan adored his mother because she was good and loving. But Lucia also loves her mother, who is anything but those things. They chuckle about this. Lucia loves her mom because they’ve shared some good moments, and Lucia understands her faults (defectos). Plus, she’s her mother. Ivan doesn’t think it’s good for Alex to be afraid of his mother. If he can get over that, he will be better off for it.

In the living room, MP is asking Alex if Tony or Lucia have been badmouthing her. She presses him when he denies it and asks if he’s lying. “I don’t lie!” (A trait he did NOT inherit from her. Actually, his looks are the only thing he inherited from her.) MP tells him she regrets the things she did and wants him to love her, because she’s his mother. “And that’s the only reason why I should love you?” “All kids love their mothers!”

Ivan waits nervously with Lucia in Alex’s room for the MP-Alex session to end. He finds the picture MP gave Alex of herself, turned face down on his shelves. In the living room, things are going a bit better, as Alex has taken Lucia’s advice to share about his favorite things with MP. He wonders why she doesn’t like Bruno. Because, he’s an animal. “Bruno is not an animal; he’s my friend!” MP is not impressed by friendships with perros. You would think she would be, considering she’s a perra. (Oops! Did I just say that out loud?) Tony interrupts before this argument can escalate. He has Alex take Bruno for a walk and sits down to chat with MP. She immediately starts accusing them of badmouthing her, and that’s why Alex won’t warm up to her. She’ll show them all that she’s BETTER than Lucia! As she’s leaving, Tony freaks her out by pretending Bruno has wandered back into the room. MP jumps half a foot in the air, causing Tony, and most of Viewerville, to chuckle.

Gordo stuffs his face as usual while he keeps an eye on Casa Galvan. Also as usual, Celia is cooking up something delicious in the kitchen. Camilo kisses her goodbye, and Carmen gives her plenty of sass before going out. Gordo follows her. She’s not happy to see him or to know anything about that good for nothing rapist Saul, but Gordo tells her it wasn’t like that.

MP is cuddling her mommy and whining, AGAIN. Lucrezia tells her to resign herself (resignate) to the situation, but MP refuses to let Lucia “win.” Everyone sees Lucia as being “buena, noble, generosa” and MP is sure she can be those things too. Lucrezia wonders what it is she wants—to win Ivan back by winning the heart of Alex? No, she just wants people to think she has changed and that she’s not a bad person. Lucrezia says she never thought she was a bad person. She just thought she was a bit wayward (descarriada) and different/odd (rara). She kisses her favorite child on the top of her head as they cuddle.

Speaking of wayward daughters, Carmen has decided to believe Gordo and Saul, of all people, above Lucia’s version of events. She knew Lucia offered herself up! She complains about how hard her life is and then readily offers up gossip about her brothers. This includes the news that Anto is married, that Caro now has sight, and Anto is working on Camilo’s ranch.

Gloria can’t lure Lucrezia out of bed nor tempt her with Jello and chicken soup. Just as Gloria is taking the tray of food away, Lucrezia cries out in excruciating pain and clutches her side while writhing on the bed. Lucia and MP come running. Lucia goes to call an ambulance as Carly comes in on the upsetting scene.

At the hospital, the Curiel women, minus Lucrezia, and with Ivan, meet with the doctor. It’s not good news. The treatment is no longer effective, her kidneys have totally failed, and a transplant is needed as soon as possible. Carly offers hers up. The doctor rules her out because of her age. Ivan and Lucia next offer their kidneys. MP seems to feel the peer pressure and hesitantly offers to donate hers. The doctor asks if she’s married or planning on having kids. Nope. Since Lucia does plan to marry and have more kids, the doctor warns her about all the dangers having one kidney poses on a pregnant woman. He warns her to think about it carefully. Ivan says they can also find other potential donors. They’ll begin to test everyone for compatibility. The ladies go in to see Lucrezia and Ivan gives Lucia a kiss for luck.

Lucrezia is in bed and on pain meds. When they tell her about the need for the transplant, she says she doesn’t want them sacrificing a kidney for her, given what a bad mother she’s been. Lucia says she’s made mistakes like everyone else, but she’s not a bad mother. (Lucia is a far nicer person than I.) MP says she has nothing to complain about. (Very true.) Lucia says they love her and they’re family. Lucrezia’s having a real redemption moment now. She is tearful and feeling very unworthy, especially considering how she tried to manipulate their lives. Lucia reminds her that she gave them life and stayed by their sides. MP says they need her. Carly urges her to be strong and fight. She’s important to all of them. She kisses her only daughter on her head and strokes her face.

Ivan accompanies Lucia and MP home. They will go do the compatibility studies tomorrow. If he’s a match, Ivan would much rather donate so that Lucia can be healthy to have children in the future. He’s sure Camilo and Antolin would also be willing. He knows she has the last word, and he’ll support whatever choice she makes. It doesn’t change their love for each other. They already have two kids anyway- Alex and Perlita.

Gordo reports on the conversation with Carmen to Saul. The fact that Anto is now living with his wife Caro, and therefore sleeping in the house at night, complicates things. Anto might recognize him, even if he’s masked. Considering his girth, Saul doesn’t think this would be so difficult for anyone. Saul thinks they should just kill anyone who gets in the way, and just be done with it. They think about what a good time they’ll have with lots of women (viejas) once they have their money.

Ivan discusses his desire to have a baby with Lucia with Tony; it’s his dream. To have a child with the woman you love is a blessing. But he is also pleased with the children they already have- Alex who is his, and Perla who is Lucia’s. “And like they say, what’s yours is mine.” Tony points out how he lost both his only child and the woman he loved, but look at him now. He has the son he chose. If all fathers could choose their sons, Tony bets JJ wouldn’t choose Saul. Benito announces Camilo. Ivan called him over to ask him something important. First, Cam tells him where they found Carmen.

Carly asks MP about her hesitation in offering to donate her kidney. She’s pretty sure Lucia is going to be the one ending up donating hers. MP gets offended. “Lucia, Lucia, always Lucia!” Doesn’t Carly think she’s capable of doing something so noble (digno)? “Well, are you?” MP wants to show the whole world that she can be better than Lucia. Carly doesn’t understand this obsession with competing with Lucia when Lucia has always loved MP. MP says it’s not true; Lucia has always envied her! She took her man and her child! “Ay Maripaz, Maripaz.”

Camilo accepts getting tested for compatibility; Tony’s age and heart condition prohibit him. Camilo is concerned for how much Lucia must be suffering.

Well folks, time has passed, and the results are in! (Drum roll please…) And the lone compatible person is…..Maripaz Lomeli!! Come on down!!!!! Oh wait, MP’s face does NOT look like someone who has won a coveted prize. She looks downright terrified, in fact. Lucia asks about her own compatibility, but she is not a match. Ivan offers himself, Camilo and Antolin, but MP seems resigned to her fate. They’ll get started on the paperwork right away.

Carly checks in on Lucrezia and gives her the news about MP’s compatibility. Lucrezia starts to cry. She would prefer to die than have her daughter go through that. Carly gives her a pep talk. She and MP will be fine soon, but of course they will then have to take certain precautions. MP will give Lucrezia life, just like Lucrezia gave her life. “It’s not fair mama. It’s not fair.”

Avances: MP thinks she’s won the nobility game and gloats to Lucia. MP kisses Alex, who wonders if perhaps she isn’t as bad as he thought, and he visits her in the hospital. MP and Lucrezia hold hands before surgery. Something goes horribly wrong during the procedure and the doctor says we’re losing her! The doctor comes to the waiting room with a grim look on his face. Did one of them not make it? Who could it be?

Labels: Fuerza