Caray, Caray!

Ayer –
Conny arrives at Melissa’s apartment and is grateful to find a haven there
Boris arrives at the TL mansion to tell Roselena that he and Jana broke up—but doesn’t answer when she wants to know why.  (Boris said earlier or later that it was an old fashioned convention.  Sort of like breaking off an engagement used to be a big thing in the 19^th C.)
Luci tells the two moms about seeing the apartment Claudio bought.  It’s big enough for everyone.  She wants them to come and help them paint the baby’s room.  This is a segue right into hoy.

Hoy –
The Extended-Stay Hotel
Luciana is still on the phone with the two moms.  They are all talking excitedly about what they are making in the way of a layette for the new baby.  Luci says the barrio folks are making her the bassinet she can keep right next to her bed.  Paz says this baby is coming with lots of love.  Luciana answers dreamily, it’s my reason for being, my reason for living.  (Come on, girl, there’s more to life than having a baby, but those first few months are the sweetest on earth.)

The Dim, Dark, Uber-Decorated Mausoleum (Thank you JudyB)
At the other extreme we have Gala informing Rod sarcastically when he gets home, thanks for getting here on time.  She’s pithed because he wasn’t home when the baby crib arrived, so they put it in the gym.  Why there, he wants to know.  Well, where else, in the hallway, in the living room?  Rod says the crib should go in our bedroom.  Our? bedroom?  Well, ok, *your* bedroom.  No way, no how, she laughs.  I’m not going to take care of a squalling infant while I’m trying to get my beauty sleep.  It’s either the gym or the studio.  Listen, Gala, a newborn shouldn’t be left in a room alone, it should be at your side so you can take care of it.  That’s from your granny’s days; no need to lose any sleep, though, I’m hiring a nanny and two nurses, one for daytime and one for nighttime.  (Hey, those are twelve hour shifts!  Where is OSHA?  Where is the American Nurses Association?…oh, right, forgot, they’re in Mexico where employees can be exploited.)  Rodrigo can’t believe what’s she's saying, for heaven’s sakes, Gala it’s *our* child, not the child of the nurses.  What’s the problem, Rod es Mio, while we enjoy ourselves, they take care of the baby.

Rodrigo goes in to take a look at the crib—it’s right in the middle of his gym.  Note all the blue and the mobile for a boy—a blue-edged umbrella with all kinds of hanging balls (wishful thinking woman; and some of those balls belong to your husband-in-name-only).  Isn’t it swell?  Your mother picked it out, Rodrigo.  It’s nice to see how enthusiastic you are.

Changing topics, Gala mentions what happened the night before and suggests he needs to ask her for an apology.  He does and he hopes that what she did is not repeated.  As far as he’s concerned, she won’t have any more provocations.  Let’s hope so, dude.  Gala reminds him she didn’t want to fight, but he laid down the rules and then abused them.  Also, that on her part, she did not fail to follow them.  Rod suggests, why don’t we add a new rule: ratchet down this mutual abuse and see if we can’t live peacefully.  In return, Gala asks, you respect this home and your wife.  I think so (me parece), he replies in a somewhat non-reassuring tone.  She adds that they should live as husband and wife with the intimacy as it ought to be between them.  He doesn’t answer and just walks away and she’s thinking to herself—Gottcha!

Torreslanda House
Jana is helping Pato get ready for bed.  Obvio he still needs help getting from his chair to his bed and back.   It’s a minor beanie moment, but ni modo.  Jana is down in the dumps.  She can’t stand the way her mother talks about Lorenzo with such contempt and does the same about Luciana when she has a chance.  Wise elder brother says it’s because you like Lorenzo and mama bear is never going to let anything get started between you two.  That’s the reality.  Jana protests that’s not it and follows with a string of things she likes about Lorenzo including su sonrisa (his smile), su mirada (his glances).  Pato is sure, there’s no doubt, she’s in love with him.  She looks guilty as charged.  So, little sister, how did it go with Aunt Conny?  Well she had made up her mind to leave and mother didn’t try much to detain her.  At least we are still here.

Family meal, Conny-style
Conny, Aldo, Melissa and Oscar are having a nice intimate family meal out (pizza en paz).  Aldo is surmising that his stay at the TL Mansion may end very soon—he’s remembering getting wrung in the neck by Max.  They are talking about rooming arrangements.  Melissa says he can stay with her in the little room off the roof—it can be like a mini-penthouse.  He doesn’t quite see it that way.  Oscar mentions his extra room maybe he could stay there.  Conny doesn’t like that idea at all, though she doesn’t come right out and say why—it most likely has something to do with Oscar, intimacy and privacy.   Aldo thinks Max could come up with something he can buy, on an easy-pay plan.  Oscar wonders, on your salary?  Well, through working—after all he’s Max’s right hand man.  They leave it alone at that point and drink on it.  Oscar thinks it’s a great time to give Melissa the heads up on what he and Conny are planning to do—living together.  Melissa and Aldo are looking at their mother and Oscar carrying on like a couple of randy teenagers.  Aldo is trying to say something snarky, but Melissa covers his mouth.  Conny plays the indecision game and tries to postpone the conversation.

Torreslanda Three-Bay Service Facility for Tractor Trailers (Thank you Mike)
Rosa is up in the master suite, masterless, reading, or still reading Santa Teresa de Calcutta.  There is such irony here.  Mother Teresa is a selfless, humble woman caring for the detritus of humanity, while RE can’t bear to get close enough to a mugroso taquero to see what a clean-cut, good-looking, honest, hard-working fellow he is (as opposed to our dear Aldo who is none of these).  Max arrives.  She doesn’t even give him time to take off his coat and tie before she lights into him again about Lorenzo, El Taquero Raterillo, who is still sniffing around Princess Jana.  And how do you know this?  From Jana, from being in the house, but since you are too busy with work, your meetings, your lover…Max doesn’t want to hear any more…again.  Jana broke up with Boris because El Taquero is pursuing her, following her, spying on her.  Frigida saw him.  Boris himself told me they had broken up, although he didn’t say why and left.  What’s more important to you, your daughter or that mujer suela (inferior, ho-type woman) you’ve been boinking on the side.

Oh, BTW, I’m going to hire a P.I. to follow you.  And when we discover who she is, *then* your children will see how you spend your free time.  Go ahead, Roselena, do it, you’ll just be wasting your money (honey—unless you stay away from Vicky, it won’t be too hard to track you—you or your dimwit chauffeur drive everywhere in a big flashy car).

Max tries to get in a zinger of his own…and what about you?  Is this how you take care of Jana, you, the perfect wife, the exemplary mother?  So it’s on your watch, querida.  My fault?  You’re blaming ME?  Fed up, Max storms out (wind stuff was last week, but this man’s churning up an on-shore nor’easter).  Roselena gets the last word in as she shouts at his vanishing back, if anything happens to your daughter, it’s your fault (better grab your ego sanitizer and clean your mind of that one quick—can’t be your fault, nothing is your fault, right?).  RE looks exhausted after that tirade.  She picks up the book, as if she’s really going to be able concentrate on the venerable life of the sainted Mother Teresa.

The Extended-Stay Hotel
Luci is asleep, dreaming.  She’s quite pregnant at this point, wearing a hot pink maternity top with a white crochet yoke and matching off-the-shoulder sleeves.  She’s leaning over her baby’s crib, waiting expectantly for the baby’s arrival (while baby-dream music swells and the otherwise empty space is filled with dream-haze).  Through one door her Het Het family and Claudio arrive.  Through the other door Pato comes in his wheelchair, but miraculously, rises and walks toward her and takes her in his arms in a not-so-brotherly hug.  Then she sees Rodrigo over her shoulder in the doorway.  Pato steps aside and she reaches for Rodrigo es Mi Sueño.  She wakes from the dream, happy, wondering what her baby is going to be like.

The breakfast table is set with people on one side and flowers on the other.  Fresh orange juice for twice as many folks.  Max speaks first, what are you going to do Aldo?  Will you live with your mother or stay here with us?  Whatever you say, Uncle.  Pato el Sabio says of course he should stay, just because Aunt Conny and mama have had their differences, it’s between sisters, not cousins.  Jana also wants Aldo to stay in the house.  Max says if it were up to him everyone would live in the house together.  Aldo says he’ll stay.  Max’s first order of the day is for Aldo to go fetch Jana from school and bring her to the office for a little talk.  RE finally speaks up.  She’d like everyone to stay in the house, too, but she can’t do any more.  Conny made her decision and she, RE’s going to respect it.  So, wonders Max, if Conny isn’t around, who will go with you to your doctor’s appointment, since he can’t always be available.  RE brushes it off as if she were going shopping—Genaro can drive her there and pick her up.  End of table talk.

Peaceful Breakfast Elsewhere
Melissa and Conny are having breakfast together.  Conny sighs a contented sigh.  It’s the first time she’s had a good night’s sleep and waked up without any anxiety.  They talk about what it was like growing up with RE.  We always had to do what Roselena wanted, her way.  If not, you have no idea what was in store for me.  She’d throw a fit (coll. un berrinche) and no one could calm her.  Melissa responds that RE has always had that streak of arrogance (la soberbia).  In a way she feels sorry for her, living with all that animosity (el rencor) and those storms (las tormentas) in her head.  Conny reminds her that RE is sick and at any moment Conny will be running to her because one doesn’t know what she’ll do next.

TL Oficina
Rodrigo tells Arch. Cardenas to convert the studio into the nursery.  Cardenas will bring him some preliminary sketches of the layout that afternoon.  Ofelia knocks and enters and looky there, Cupid’s love-tipped arrow just hit Cardenas--bulls eye.  He stands and does a 240, following Ofelia as she moves around to Rodrigo’s desk to hand him some documents to sign.  Then, valgame Dios, she gets a look at Cardenas and it’s curtains for her.  He sneaks another look back and smiles and Ofelia is looking back, but shyly turns away.  Ofelia excuses herself to butt in because they are talking about converting the studio into the nursery and putting the baby in there and not in their bedroom.  She thinks a brand new baby needs to be with the mother.  Rod explains why that’s not happening.  Ofelia says, well, cada quien, or to each his own.  There is more eye contact between Cardenas and Ofelia.  (I’m sure he’s thinking, she’s cute and what a good mother she’d be, while she’s thinking, man, he’s hawt, has a good career and could help us get out of the barrio—maybe even build us our own house).

La Iglesia Grandota
Roselena is back for her regularly scheduled appointment to see the Padre.  Only here do I find solace (el consuelo); only here can I open up my heart.  Padre would like to >>FF through Roselena’s monologue.  He’s heard it before (so have we).  Some day, he hopes, she will surprise him by coming in with sincere repentance (el arrepentimiento—one of my favorite long words).  I wish I could, but I can’t.  Right now my heart is all in darkness (las tinieblas—also hell).  She’s wringing her hands, my sister Conny left the house because she said she’s tired of me, my arrogance, my injudicious actions (los desplantes).  (Even negatively, she can still make it all about ME.)  Padre has consejos today.  Make peace or you *will* be left alone.

Roselena continues, more anguished and agitated.  Now even my daughter Jana is giving me problems and I won’t permit it.  Lorenzo, Luciana’s brother is still after her and I know she likes him.  (Didn’t we hear this exact conversation last week?  The monkeys on Abismo must have gotten into the Refugio office and reshuffled pages of scripts.)  Roselena continues,  I can tell something is going on between them.  It’s an impure relationship.  Padre has done a Rewind/Play and is listening attentively now.  How can you say that?  Jana is a decent, pure, innocent girl.  Exactly!  That miserable Lorenzo Jacinto will ruin her.  That family is my Karma.  Padre is really irked, don’t blaspheme in the house of God (no maldiga en la casa de Dios).  RE gets up and looks at a statue of the Christ carrying the cross and says that if it’s not God helping her, then it will be the devil who will help her ruin that family.  For heaven’s sake, Roselena, you are in the house of God.  Yes, but sometimes I feel like I’m in hell.  She leaves before Padre can react to what he’s heard.  (Exorcism, anyone?)

Gala’s Office, Coffee yes, Work no
We see the gaggle of girls sitting around Gala’s office where the conversation has turned to babies—not about how welcome and loved this baby will be but of the unwelcome chores, and no way, no how, in answer to Val’s question, is she going to nurse this creature (in Gala’s defense—did I really say that? she didn’t want children, even with Rod and it was Juli who urged her to have it as an insurance policy).  Juli is in complete agreement.  Gala can’t afford to lose her figure.  Val wants to know if she’s going to have the baby naturally or by C-Section.  You can guess what her answer was.  The conversation moves to the products and exercises on the market to return a post-partum mother to her former svelteness.  Val accuses her of having ZERO maternal feelings.  In retaliation for her impertinence, Gala picks up the phone to call security to throw Val out.  Val says she was leaving anyway.  (I loved her night before last.  Keep it up girl—you are the only one telling it like it is in this little friends group.)

Luci’s TL Oficina
Ofelia passes on the non-chisme overheard in Rod’s office about where his baby is going to be and how they are planning to take care of it.  Luci’s not surprised.  Ofelia reminisces about Marianita’s infancy.  Luci is sure that’s why she’s such a happy girl.  Luci plans to do the same.  They chat away about what it’s like to be a mother and raise children until Selena appears to remind them of the meeting.  They want Ofelia there to take notes.  They leave for the meeting.

Pato’s TL Oficina
Violeta is in Pato’s office showing him the religious medal she got for Luci’s baby.  Since Luci liked it, he’s sure it is the right gift.  He asks her opinion whether he should give it to Luci now or wait until the baby is born.  Vi suggests waiting, because then he can engrave the baby’s birth date on it as a memento.  He likes that idea.

Tacos de Canasta Enterprise, Ltd.
The two guys are super busy on their taco corner, and I mean the place is teeming with taco-eating folks.  Aldo arrives.  He’s on his way to pick up Jana from school, per Max’s orders (little does RE & Max know what an aider and abettor Aldo is).  He wants Lor to come along.  Lorenzo doesn’t think he’s dressed right, but is persuaded that it’s not a fiesta or anything, just come along for the ride and we’ll talk business on the way.  He succumbs to love, not business.

The TL Conference Room
Max has turned the meeting over to Rod to bring everyone up to date on his projects before he leaves for Canada.  Gabe/Marcos wants to know how long he’ll be gone.  Rod says maybe permanently.  Caras de impactada; even Claudio is stunned by the news.  Holy smokes there’s an apparition right in the middle of the room.  With that long blonde hair one might think it’s Glinda the Good, but it’s really the Wicked Witch of the North in disguise who has appeared unnoticed just in time to interrupt the meeting.  She gives Rod an amorous lip tattoo.  He is obviously embarrassed by her behavior and discussing family matters at a business meeting.  Oscar, Gabe & Marcos get up to leave rather than witness any more inappropriate office behavior.  Rod wants her to leave and wait in his office, but Gala’s on a roll.  She charges Max with loading Rodrigo up with so much work they haven’t even had time for a honeymoon.  It’s obvio this teatrito is all for Luciana’s benefit-Not.  Everyone is uncomfortable at this PDA, but as long as Max stays put, they do, too.  Saying she’d only get bored waiting for Rod in his office,  Gala sits down saying, I’m not disrupting anything, am I?  Don’t let me keep you.  Max is amused.  Everyone else is aghast.  Luci is the only one with enough guts to get up and leave.  At the end of the meeting, the conversation is about investing in combustibles—that energy project that got Rod into trouble early on by going against his father.  Claudio sounds interested and it might be worth pursuing (Claudio, Claudio, if you only knew this will become another anvil poised over you—a 50lb. one on a nylon fishing line held by Max and he has scissors in his other hand).

Jana’s School Patio
Lorenzo and Aldo find Jana waiting.  Aldo hopes she doesn’t mind that Lorenzo came along.  He leaves to get drinks.  Lor and Jana approach each other.  He asks about Boris—he doesn’t want to run into him again.  Jana says not to worry about him, he’s no longer her boyfriend.  He very shyly asks how come, the two of them got along so well, they were the same social class…yes, Jana muses, same social class.  He comes over to lean on the table close to her and starts complimenting her and probes a little more about her status, sure that she will have a new boyfriend very soon.  No, she’s not interested in a boyfriend just then, she wants to finish her studies and see what happens later on.  Love is complicated.  Lor begins to woo her, very sweetly, saying yes, love is complicated, especially when one falls in love with a star so high in the sky that it’s hard to reach, but harder still to get out of one’s heart.  By this time, Jana knows he’s talking about her.  Were she living in hoop skirt days, she’d swoon, instead she trades deep lingering gazes with Lor.

We see Boris the Bull at the other end of the patio watching Lor and Jana.  We know it’s Boris because of the smoke curling out of his ears.  Jana wants to know from Lor if he’s going to go back to SFEA.  No, he doesn’t think so.  The business is going well and he wants to prove to his mother that he can get ahead on his own.  Jana asks him if he’s doing this for his mother—their fingers touching lightly on the edge of the table—Lor says, yes, for his mother, his sister, his father, but most of all for a special person that robs him of his sleep at night.  He realizes he’s a Mr. Nobody; he didn’t like school, so he had to work to get ahead, but for that special person I will succeed, you’ll see.  Jana thinks Luci would help him out.  Lor wants her to understand, that he’s going to make it on his own.  What’s Luci’s is hers and she works hard for it.  They’re standing now and he touches her hair.  The smoking bull nearly charges from across the way, but Lula restrains him.  She’s not worth it, Boris.  Aldo returns with drinks.  End of the fairy tale encuentro between the princess and the taco seller.

Dr. Hauser’s Pink Couch
Rosa is having her second session.  She tells DH she feels liberated.  DH cautions that they are just starting but as the sessions go on, she’ll be more aware of the advaces they are making.  RE says, how will I know with all this anxiety dancing around in my head.  DH assures her that as the sessions go on, this will come to light.  RE starts the session by asking DH a question, are you a mother?  Dr. Hauser patiently explains that patients can’t be friends; this is not a coffee hour chat.  She’s there to help Rose professionally, so please lie back down.  Rose starts recounting her very boring life story….my childhood, I was never happy….

We get to peek into the life of another princesa de su padre; but she wanted to be queen (now we know that Rose, from an early age suffered from envy and dissatisfaction—if we are to believe the crap she’s feeding the doctor).  No one understood the extent of my ambition.  I learned early that if I wanted anything I would have to fight for it against everyone and everything.  The only time in her life she was happy was with the birth of her three children.  She felt, finally, this was something that belonged to her, hers alone, that no one could take away from her, and didn’t have to share with anyone else.  She objects when DH calls it an obsessive, controlling love.  A mother’s love is unconditional, sacrificial.  My being revolves around my children and if something goes wrong with them my world will come tumbling down.  DH wants to know what else is in her world.  God….and sometimes the Devil.  DH understands the eternal conflict between good and evil.   That’s an antiquated misconception, says RE, her voice void of any emotion.  It’s not mortal combat, it’s complementary; in order for God to exists, there has to be a devil.  DH wants to know more about how the Devil sustains her world.  RE, still without any emotion says that sometimes God lets her down, turns away from her suffering and the Devil steps in to tempt her.  I try to ignore it, I’m going to live by God’s Word; I’m not going to die in sin.  Now the emotion creeps back into RE’s face, and it’s a devil’s grin, which the good doctor can’t see.  DH has a LOT of scribbling to do after this session!

Jana gets “The” talk from Daddy
Aldo is bringing Jana to the office.  He is teasing her about Lorenzo—you should see your face when you look at him.  In turn, she asks about Vicky and he says that’s going slow because he’s so busy becoming a big empresario.  Max gives her all the standard, you’re too young, young love is fickle.  He concedes that Lor is a good guy, hard worker, and kin to Luci, whom he likes a lot, but Lorenzo has nothing to do with the TL family.  She tries to tell him that the rumors her mother is spreading are not true.  She’s not going with Lorenzo, although she admits he’s a nice guy and yes, he has tried to approach her.   Max asks her to avoid future problems with her mother and not to see Lorenzo any more and keep away from him, don’t give him any false hope.  He makes her promise, though you can tell it’s a promise that she doesn’t want to make.  We’ll see whether love or a filial promise is the stronger motivator for future actions.

Luci’s TL Oficina
Luci is talking to her two moms again.  She wants to move up her doctor appointment so she can return to Het Het as soon as possible.  There’s so much to do there—no nothing’s wrong here.  Violet comes in and Luci hands her the phone to talk to Magda.  While she does that, Luci asks Ofelia to change her ob-gyn appt. to the soonest possible opening.  Vio tells mom that she’s going to come back with Luci. 

As unluck would have it, Gala is in the wrong place at the right time and heard Ofelia changing Luci’s scheduled appointment, so she knows the date, time and, claro, the place.  She relishes the moment and the nugget that just dropped in her lap to use against the two unsuspecting parents-to-be.  She makes a quick call to her secretary to do the same.

Luci and Vio are rehashing the situation and the meeting.  She’s tired of seeing Rod every day; tired of watching Gala waltz in and out as if she worked here.  She tells Vio she’s really broken up about Rodrigo leaving for Canada—and no, it’s not for a vacation it’s to live there, permanently.  He’s fulfilling his promise not to seek me out.  Luci is now more anxious than ever to go back to Het Het.  Claudio has arrived in her office and tells her their meeting with the notario is next morning.  She’s changed her ob-gyn appointment and could leave tomorrow.  Claudio surmises she misses Paz.  Yes, she misses everything in her pueblo.  He leaves to get ready to take them to lunch.

Alone again with Vio, Luci admits that despite the hurt she bears having to see Rodrigo on a daily basis, it’s something she looked forward to every morning; it’s quite another the pain of not seeing him anymore.  She has to accept the fact that Rodrigo is only the father of her baby and he must forever remain a memory.  Listening outside an open-door-for-important-conversations (TN Law #79?) is Patricio, a serious look on his face.

Vocabulario
Me parece = has several nuanced meanings: I think so; I believe so; it seems to me
Su sonrisa = his smile
Su mirada = his glances—not to be confused with the literal translation— his looks, as if we are asessing him; it’s what his eyes are saying when he looks at her (remember the Eva Luna theme song?)
Mujer suela = inferior, base, ho-type woman
Un berrinche = tantrum, really angry (coll.)
La soberbia = arrogance
El rencor = animosity
La tormenta = storm
Cada quien = to each his own
El consuelo = solace, comfort
El arrepentimiento =  repentance
Las tinieblas = darkness, hell
Los desplantes = injudicious actions
Un consejo = advice
No maldiga en la casa de Dios = don’t blaspheme in the house of God

Avances
Gala is arguing with Rod—I guess those promesas to llevar la fiesta en paz only lasted 1 hour.
The news reaches Roselena that Rodrigo and Gala are most likely leaving forever.

Labels: refugio