Caray, Caray!

I thought it might be fun to look at New Year's superstitions and I found this interesting tidbit about how your choice of undies can affect your New Year:

"Wearing yellow underwear attracts positive energy and a year of prosperity for the new year, while red underwear will bring a year of romance and passion. Blue underwear is said to bring a year of good health, green, a year of better luck than the previous year, white for a year of peace, joy and happiness, and pink for luck in love.  In Italy they believe red underwear will bring you luck as well as make you fertile.  (In Italy they throw away the underwear on January 2nd.)  If you happen to have polka dots or circles on your underwear, even better as the round shape symbolizes coins/money. Oh yes, one more important fact that should go without saying – they need to be clean underwear."

There was no information about what you'll get if you "go commando" (other than discomfort.)



Onward to our story!

Leftovers:
Arturo dons his thinking cap and figures out that Sonia has helped Aranza run away from home.
Gaby is still fuming because Nicolas thought she was a Rice-A-Roni* date. (* both cheap & easy!)
Mauricio is thinking about Andrea who is thinking Mauricio can't possibly be thinking about her.


The Main Course:
Arturo has had enough of Sonia's crapola. He tells her she has to stop lying and filling his daughter's head with nonsense. "We both know you were in Puerto Azul. What's wrong with you?"
Sonia grabs Arturo's arms and sticks to him like gum on a sneaker. She wails, "I was in the hospital. I was muy infirma." Aranza appears in the bedroom doorway as Arturo peels Sonia off himself and shoves her aside. Sonia spins around and throws herself onto the couch. Arturo gets Aranza's things and herds her toward the door. Sonia sobs to Aranza, "Everything will be okay. I love you." The door shuts behind Arturo and Aranza. Sonia wipes a fake tear and smiles gleefully at her flawless performance.

Still in Puerto Azul, Gabi gets a call from Bruno who tells her Arturo's daughter has run away from home. She tells Isabel the news. Isabel grabs the phone and asks if they should come back and help in the search. Bruno says that's not necessary and he'll keep her informed.

Arturo phones home to tell everyone he is with Aranza and they are on their way home. Tita says "Caigamos en oracian".  Arturo tells Aranza he was going crazy with worry. Why did she do something so foolish? Aranza says she is sorry, she won't do it again and asks his forgiveness. Then in a surprise move, she asks to meet Isabel. Arturo looks puzzled.  "She's a good person and I hope you'll like her." "Me too."

Gonzalo is furious that Dante left his ID at Isabel's place. He's afraid that someone will make the connection between him and Dante. (There was something here about them being related, but I didn't get what it was.) Dante says the drops he put in Gema's drink were very effective. She probably won't wake up until mid-afternoon tomorrow. She may still be sleeping when her boss gets back! They share a big laugh over this.

Arturo and Aranza arrive home. Lucha and Gabino gush and fuss over her. I know this isn't their kid, but shouldn't there be some kind of consequences other than "You poor little thing! What can I do for you to reward your rotten behavior?" Aranza goes to her room. Arturo tells Lucha and Gabino that he found Aranza at Sonia's. "I told her to stay away from my daughter. But I think it's over now." Lucha hopes that's true because Aranza has been a nasty little PITA ever since that day Sonia picked her up from school.

Arturo gets a call from Isabel. Lucha's eyebrows go up when she hears Arturo say "Mi amor". She looks at Gabino and he whispers, "That's what he said." Arturo tells Isabel that Aranza's friend put the idea into her head that Arturo abandoned her and Sonia ran with it. "She came here to seduce me, not because she cared about my daughter. She played being the loving aunt. But I do have some good news. Aranza wants to meet you." Isabel is nearly speechless with delight.

In the morning Bruno calls and offers to pick Gaby up from the airport. She can't seem to help herself. She's excited to see him.

Sonia, aka Elsa, has brought a lawyer with her to visit Fernando. "This is Licensiado Buitron." Fernando tells the lawyer that he has a Public Defender and his case is ready to come to trial. Buitron says he will only agree to take the case if Fernando tells him the truth. "You were charged with forging checks. I think if we get a handwriting expert he could argue that it wasn't you who signed those checks."
In an unheard of moment of honesty Fernando confesses. "That won't work because I did sign the checks."
Buitron wants to study the case. As he is leaving Fernando jerks him close and growls, "Your first responsibility is to get me my freedom."

In the schoolyard Aranza approaches a very sad Esteban and asks, "What's wrong?" He tells her that he found out his mother lied about his dad. "My Mom said he couldn't be with us because he was working far away, but the truth is my dad is in prison. He robbed a woman." Aranza isn't surprised. "My Dad lied too. All parents lie. Turns out the only one who didn't lie was Dafne."

Bruno interrupts his drawing to check his watch. "I have 20 minutes to get to the airport."
"Why are you going to the airport?"
"To pick up Gabi."
"Ahh. And you weren't going to tell me?" Arturo decides to go along to surprise Isabel.

Andrea is slaving over a hot calculator. Mauricio brings her a cup of coffee. "It's black, not too hot, not too cold, and with two sugars."
She smiles, "We've only been for coffee once. I can't believe you remembered how I like it."
He holds the cup out to her and she reaches for it. Their hands meet, then their eyes meet. For a sweet moment it's just the two of them. Mauricio comes back to reality and tells Andrea the prison warden is going to restrict Fernando's phone calls. He takes Andrea's hand in his. "Fernando won't be able to hurt you again."  She confesses, "I feel very protected when I'm with you."

Isabel wheels two large suitcases across the airport. Arturo steals up behind her, wraps his arms around her waist and presents her with a white rose. Isabel is delighted by his surprise appearance. Besos! Arturo says the surprise was Bruno's idea. But Arturo has another surprise. He is taking Isabel to meet Aranza at school. As they leave hand-in-hand Gabi looks after them wistfully. Bruno needs to step up his game!

At the lawyer's office, Buitron tells Sonia he won't take Fernando's case. He won't risk his own reputation or that of his firm defending a confessed criminal. He warns Sonia to stay away from Fernando unless she wants real trouble. As Sonia leaves the office she bumps into another man. The papers he is carrying fall all over the floor. As they pick them up he looks at her closely. He knows her.

Meanie calls Andrea to ask what time she'll be home from work. Could she also pick up some tacos for Esteban on her way home. He really likes them and it's been a long time since he's had tacos. Agatha listens skeptically. "Since when are you so understanding with your daughter and concerned about your grandsons? You're up to something." Meanie denies it.

Arturo and Isabel arrive at Aranza's school. Isabel recognizes it. "This is the same school where Andrea's son Esteban is enrolled." Arturo is puzzled. "Andrea. She is Fernando's ex-wife. It's quite a coincidence that her son and your daughter go to the same school." Arturo doesn't believe it's a coincidence. "It's destiny," he says pulling her close.

Aranza comes out of the building and sees her Dad and Isabel holding each other close and talking. She thought bubbles Sonia's instructions on how to act around Isabel, "Be nice to her when you're around other people and be nasty if you're alone with her. That way people will think Isabel's making things up about you if she says anything." Sonia pulls out her biggest lie, "Isabel was Arturo's girlfriend before Eugenia died." She slaps a hand over her own mouth and gives Aranza a shocked 'Ooops! I wasn't supposed to say that' look. Aranza starts to cry, "My Dad stopped loving my Mom because of her?" Sonia nods, "But if we work together we can ruin her life."

Aranza runs toward Arturo, falls and skins her knee. He picks her up while Isabel gets her backpack. They take her to the doctor (Really? A doctor for a skinned knee?). Dr. Elias says the injury isn't serious. Isabel offers to help Aranza down from the table, but she barks, "No! I want my Dad."

Gabi and Bruno enter a very, very lavender apartment. He fake complains about all her luggage, she gushes "I just can't resist buying lovely things at cheap prices." She fixes her lipstick as he moves toward her. "You know what I can't resist? I can't resist you. I can't. " He plants a big kiss on her lips. Gabi says she isn't ready for a formal relationship. Can't we keep it casual? Bruno says her kiss betrays her. Nobody who wants a casual relationship kisses back like that! "All I ask is that you give us a chance." She agrees. They seal the deal with another hot kiss.

Lagunes, the bearded man who recognized Sonia, is talking to Lawyer Buitron. "I know that woman. Her name is Sonia."
Buitron shakes his head. "No, her name is Elsa Quevedo."
"I don't believe that. I'm certain her name is Sonia Arenas. I know her stepfather, he's a friend of mine. He's a retired military officer. His name is Gilberto Cervantes. I wonder why she's using a fake name?"
"Well she must be using it because she doesn't want her dad to find out what she's up to." Buitron explains how Sonia came to him seeking help for a friend. "He's a check forger and I'm sure she's involved with him."

Gema finally wakes up. Her headache turns to horror as she gets out of bed, still in Isabel's dress, and realizes that the apartment has been cleaned out. "No! No! No!" She rushes from room to room. "It was that bastard Dante! What am I going to do? Isabel will fire me! I have to go. No! She'll think I did it! I have to stay. She'll still fire me." Gema runs from the room.

Tita wants to join the biker group, but they insist she has to learn to ride a motorcycle. "Me, ride a motorcycle?" She laughs nervously and takes a drink of beer from the glass of the biker sitting next to her. One of the bikers asks, "Are you afraid?" The guys cheer in unison, "Tita! Tita! Tita!"
"Me, afraid? No." She thanks them for the invite, but no... she's not dressed for it, her hair, her jewelry... no, just no.

Osvaldo has phoned for Arturo. He's not in. He calls Tita and has to leave a message. Balthzar enters with coffee and cookies. (Every time I see this guy I'm reminded of Mr. French in Family Affair.)
"If I may sir, you seem very downcast since your Granddaughter left. Maybe you should go visit her." Osvaldo protests, "We can't go for movies and hamburgers every day."
"I notice you only call your son and granddaughter during the hours when you know they won't be home. Maybe you're afraid that they won't talk to you?" Baltazar urges Osvaldo to overcome his fear of rejection. He tells him to call again, this time when his family will be home.

Gilberto is surprised to see his friend Lagunes. "It's been a long time. It's good to see you."
"I wouldn't bother you, but I think this is important. It's about your daughter Sonia. She contacted one of my associates to help a friend of hers who is in prison. He's been charged with fraud and he's guilty for sure. He admitted it. She even took my colleague to visit the guy in prison."
Gilberto is shocked, "My daughter was at the prison?"
"She claims she didn't know he was guilty, but neither one of us believes her. Fernando Cordoba is a dangerous criminal."

Arturo offers to take Isabel's things up to her apartment. The security guard tells Isabel that Gema took her things and left earlier in the afternoon. "It was very strange." Aranza calls to Arturo from the car. She's hungry, she wants to go. Isabel decides not to kiss Arturo and hugs him instead. Isabel waves a happy good-bye to Aranza. She just stares back silently. If looks could kill Isabel would be stone cold dead.

Isabel enters her apartment and looks around at the debris. "I've been robbed!" She asks the security guard if anyone was around. "Well, a guy named Dante came and fixed stuff. He was here every day. He fixed the pipes."
"Do you know who he was?"
"I have his identification card downstairs."
Isabel calls her lawyer, "My house has been robbed. Gema robbed me."

Sonia tells Fernando she'll have to find another lawyer. She reminds him to call her "Elsa." Fernando wants a lawyer he can use to bribe his way out of prison. Sonia is angry, "Where are we supposed to get the money now? Your ex-wife ruined my plans. Isabel got in between me and Arturo."
Fernando asks if the relationship is serious.
"Yes, it's serious. Arturo even introduced her to his daughter. But I have plans for my revenge. And YOU are going to help me."

Advances:
Arturo and Isabel have front row seats at Fernando's trial.
Aranza drops a bombshell on Lucha.

There is no show Tuesday due to a New Years Special on Univision.
See you all in 2014!

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