Caray, Caray!

Once he gets Sanson to calm down, Martin turns and asks Veronica if she is ok.  Their eyes lock and she smiles softly, barely giving him a glimpse of her dimples.  After the requisite several seconds of staring at each other, he takes Veronica’s hand and asks if it hurts.  She says except for the rope burn on her hand, she is fine.  She smiles again, thanks him and says he is “her hero”.  He continues staring at her.  They talk briefly about her over-confidence in handling Sanson.  Vero’s friend Mariana runs up to ask if she is ok.  Martin turns and introduces himself to her, but just as Mariana is about to tell him Vero’s name, the tour guide rudely interrupts and asks if they can continue their tour, thus depriving Martin of his first chance to find out Vero’s name.

Alfredo meets Martin at the club so he can sign some important papers.  He is glad to hear that Martin wants to join the club and notes that going there and meeting new people, like the girl with the dark hair he just saw him with, will help distract him and raise his spirits.  Martin smiles and turns, wistfully glancing in the direction where Vero headed off with Mariana, then saying to his friend:  “Yes, she is very beautiful.  She made a big impression on me…..But now I can only think about one woman, the one responsible for my brother’s death.  That’s why I came to this club, to get close to the Prado Castelos….To avenge my brother’s death.”  (Despite a lack of storm clouds, we hear another lightning strike.  “El cirquero” Mejia strikes again!!!!)

Vero and Mariana join Emi and V-snake (my personal nickname for Virginia, but feel free to use it as you please) at the clubhouse.  Mariana mentions Vero’s close call and Emi of course is concerned.  Vero assures them she is fine, except for her burned hand.  V-snake mentions that she and Emi were just talking about the welcome home party their family will be throwing the next day in Emi’s honor.

Salma visits Jorge at his office and says she is happy because she just met with some friends, who are all on board for tomorrow’s party.  But, she is also worried because she found out Vero was the one who convinced Jorge to let Emi go off to study in Spain.  (Ah, yes, Spain, the best place to study about pre-hispanic civilizations, since Spain is the one that destroyed them!!!)  Jorge is not the least bit concerned, but Salma makes it clear that she doesn’t want Vero giving her opinion and “convincing you or my son that he should do something other than what WE always planned for him.  That’s a matter only for us, for the family.” 

Emi is not terribly excited about his party, but Mariana is ecstatic and can’t wait to go with her boyfriend, Pablo, who coincidentally arrives at that precise moment.  V-snake already knows him, so Mariana introduces him only to Emi and Vero.  Vero tells him she has heard what a talented painter he is, then quickly says her goodbyes because she has to go back to her office to work.  Emi walks her out but plans to stick around to enjoy a bit of fencing.

Salma insists that their business should only belong “to the family”.  Jorge reminds Salma that Vero IS part of the family because they adopted her.  Yes, says Salma, adopted.  That’s why only Emi should end up with everything we own.  Jorge insists that he loves Vero like a daughter and points out that Vero has worked very hard helping him run the business.  Salma is sure it’s only because Vero wants to end up with part of the business, and she doesn’t think that’s fair.  Jorge already did plenty for Vero by taking her in, giving her a great education, and it’s time for her to find her own way, become independent, and leave the house.

Emi thanks Vero for changing the subject the night before when his dad started talking about business.  He repeats that he is not interested in that, but only wants to dedicate himself to pre-hispanic civilizations.  (We’ve heard it enough times already to suspect where “el niño” Emi’s storyline will lead us.  Perhaps Mejia wants to give us enough lead time to reinforce our beanies before that happens, so we should all thank him for the advance warning.)  Vero encourages Emi to consider other ways he could get involved in the family business, which she notes has grown quite a bit into various market areas.

Jorge asks Salma why she doesn’t want Vero in the house.  I just have a hard time getting along with her, she says, and I’m not willing to let her be “a bad influence” on Emi now that he is back.  (Imagine that!!!  She thinks there is still a danger that her “niño” Emi will grow up to be independent.  Perish the thought!!)  On the contrary, says Jorge, just remember that it was Vero who convinced Emi to study business before he studied anthropology.  “But she is always challenging me.  Yesterday she told me that our son is already a grown man and he can decide for himself what he wants to do.”  But that’s true, says Jorge.  “Well, yes….and no.” says Salma.  (Yes, she really said that!!!!)  She claims to be concerned that Jorge will be left to fend for himself running the business, while Emi will just continue to waste his time with Vero engaged in “distractions”.  (Her poor “niño” has been back all of two days and she already thinks he is slacking due to Vero’s bad influence!!!)  Besides, she says, she is not suggesting that Jorge stop supporting Vero – she only wants him to get Vero an apartment and let her find another job, that’s all.

Mariana breaks the news to V-snake that she and Pablo will soon be traveling to the jungle.  They are not going on vacation.  They are going because Pablo plans to create a series of “very special” paintings.  V-snake is impressed that Pablo could convince Mariana to go to the jungle and wonders how he managed that.  Pablo says he is excited about his trip and is sure that he will find there “many interesting motifs” to paint.  As Pablo speaks, we fade out and into the next scene – (what could this possibly mean?! Mejia, you are so subtle!!!)…..Ana Perla and her over-protective grandfather disembark from the riverboat taxi at the Mina Escondida dock, where they are greeted by Blanquita and Polo.  Once again grandpa bemoans Ana Perla’s need to travel to Mina Escondida.  Well, how else will I meet anyone, she asks?  Crescencio wonders who she could possibly want to meet.  Someone she might want to marry, suggests Blanquita.  No, says abuelo, you can forget about that.  When the time is right, I will find the right husband for her.  Cara impactada de Ana Perla.  Poor girl.

Mariana dreads the heat and the snakes in the jungle, but that’s what excites Pablo the most.  She tells him he is an “adventurous dreamer” but needs to land his plane already, because the only important thing is for him to make a name for himself so his paintings can sell at the highest prices.

The tour guide leads Martin to the club’s fencing area.  Within seconds, Martin and Emi (dressed in full black ninja get-up, while everyone else is in standard white) introduce themselves to each other.  Emi offers to engage in a fencing bout with Martin, and Martin happily accepts, without even knowing that this ninja dude forms part of the family he wants to infiltrate.  (Aaaah, such a happy coincidence…only in a telenovela.)  Martin immediately tells the tour guide that he will definitely join the club.  Emi must not have many friends, because he is quite happy to hear that his “new friend” (who he just met!!!!) was “accepted into” the club.  (Uh, Emi, it was the other way around….oh, never mind!!)  And since there’s no sense in wasting any time getting to know each other better, Emi and Martin will have their bout already, never mind that the membership forms have yet to be filled out.  And, oh, by the way, they finally exchange names, and we get Martin’s cara impactada when his new friend tells him his name is “Emiliano Prado Castelo.”

Mariana admits to V-snake that she loves to travel in comfort, but for love one must sometimes make sacrifices.  (How touching.)  Pablo excuses himself, and Mariana sighs and tells V-snake that she simply adores him, although he lives in the clouds.  He is like a “big boy” with “a man’s talent”, and she can’t wait to marry him.  V-snake reminds her that he has no money, but Mariana begs her to keep that a secret.  She doesn’t want anyone to find out, for fear she will have to sell his paintings for a lot less than they are worth.  V-snake can’t believe Mariana would fall in love “with someone like that” when her family has so much money.  Well, Mariana still can’t wait to marry him.  V-snake tells her she might not be the only one getting married, because now that Emi is back she is sure that she will marry him.

Jorge shoots down Salma’s ideas.  He wants Vero near him, at home and in the office.  Salma may prefer Virginia because she is her cousin-in-law’s daughter, but he prefers Veronica.  Salma begs him to at least be firm with Emi so he will take over the reins of the family business.  It wouldn’t be fair for it to end up in the hands of someone (like Veronica) who is not even their blood relative.

Martin and Emi are about to begin their fencing bout, interrupted by a flashback of Martin and his brother Demetrio ready to engage in their own bout.  Given the ashen look on Martin’s face, Emi wonders if Martin would prefer to leave their bout for another time.  “Oh, no, no.  It’s just that seeing you there in full gear, you reminded me of someone,” says Martin, insisting that they continue.  (Yeah, because somehow dark-haired Demetrio all dressed in white looks so much like fair-haired “niño” Emiliano all dressed in black.)  Just take a look at the next flashback and you will confirm their striking similarity.  (Well, not really.)  But you will hear Demetrio telling Martin he finally took up Martin’s beloved fencing “in order to impress a girl” he likes.  Martin is sure to remember now that the evil woman he hates is a fencing enthusiast.  Finally, his fencing bout with Emi begins.

V-snake tells Mariana she’s heading over to watch Emi’s fencing bout.  “I want him to feel my unconditional support at every moment.  This time Veronica will lose.”  She remembers that as soon as she likes someone, Veronica hooks up with him.  But not this time.  (Yeah, V-snake, not this time, but only because Veronica has standards and Emi is way past his prime.)

The fencing bout ends with Martin victorious!!!  Emi graciously tells Martin that he is a great sportsman and gets him to promise a rematch.  They’ve known each other for mere minutes, but Emi is ready to give Martin his card, with his home address on it.  Martin is welcome to stop by his family’s finca some day, Emi adds, so they can practice together.  They can even ride horses together, he suggests.  (Boy, the “bro-love” force is strong between these two, at least coming from Emi’s end.  He seems as much in love with Martin as he claims to be with Veronica.  Almost love at first sight, too.)  Martin assures him he will be happy to visit his home.  (Happier than you can imagine, Emi.)  Gushing like a preteen cheerleader, V-snake runs up and congratulates Emi on his win.  He corrects her, notes his new buddy is the champ, and promptly introduces her to Martin as “Virginia Prado Castelo.”  She offers him her hand, and as he takes it he says to her:  “So that’s your name?  Virginia Prado Castelo.”  As if that weren’t odd enough, Martin clasps her hand for so long that Emi once again wonders if something is wrong.  The requisite chit chat ensues, during which Martin finds out Emi has no siblings and Virginia is his cousin.  As Emi and V-snake leave, Martin says softly to himself:  “So you are the woman who caused my brother’s death.”  He stares at the V-shaped scar on his hand and utters “Virginia…Virginia” with a look of absolute hatred on his face.

Abuelo escorts Ana Perla all the way to the small schoolhouse and firmly reminds her to return on time to the dock.  He tells Blanquita to watch her cousin and never leave her alone.  Abuelo then greets the aging schoolteacher and tells her he hopes she will get well soon....“so Ana Perla won’t have to come help you anymore.”  Ouch.  When he leaves, Ana Perla tells the teacher not to worry.  She’s happy to help her.  In fact, the teacher is the one doing HER the favor, giving her the perfect excuse to get out of her house.

Another red alert for the ladies of the patio….this time we get a shot of the bare back and then the bare chest of a new character, Julio, who is busy freshening up by a small wash area.  A maid comes out and reminds him he should not cleanse himself in the patio, lest Ms. Ana Perla should pop in and see him like that….in the flesh.  Julio smiles and I suspect that’s exactly what he hopes will happen one day.  The maid warns him that he could get in trouble with Don Crescencio, but he is not concerned.  He knows both the girl and her abuelo are away.  He sighs as they talk about what a nice girl Ana Perla is, always trying to help everyone, not like her troublemaker brother Manuel, he always mistreats all workers.  We are then treated to a glimpse of Manuel at Mina Escondida’s bar behaving like the brute he is and manhandling the waitress, telling her she should be grateful that he set his eyes on her.  Lucky for her, his abuelo walks in and reminds him he has a responsibility to run their mine.  (El cirquero Mejia strikes again and inserts here a useless scene of NanC bathing in the river.  Of course, the male members of the patio may not find it so useless.)  Manuel complains to his abuelo that he is more an overseer than an administrator at the mine.  The workers are ALL a bunch of slackers and he can’t possibly do everything on his own.  He put them in his place but had to go get a drink to blow off some steam.  “Fine,” says Crescencio, “with slackers and with women, one has to have a firm hand.”  (LatinaInMD hereby officially declares that she despises this abuelo, and Mejia too, for throwing in right here yet another useless and horrendously green-screened scene of NanC bathing at the river, with poor Blanquita having to witness it.)

Emi visits Vero at the office and finds out that in his absence she took several courses in jewelry design and she is so good at it that their entire new mother’s day collection was designed by her.  In fact, don Jorge was so impressed by Vero's designs that he even wanted to produce Vero’s own branded line of designs.  And on top of that, we hear she also runs Jorge’s foundation and charitable works.  Emi is in awe of her.  Clearly, Vero can do no wrong in his eyes.

Claudia asks Alfredo what Martin is up to, if he is going out with someone.  She insists he has to know because he is Martin’s best friend.  Alfredo responds that she has to understand – even if he knows, he is not going to tell her.  She resents his tone.  She is not asking to be nosy.  She is asking because she is truly concerned for Martin, who she can tell is not well, even depressed.  Martin walks in and Claudia immediately wants to know what she can possibly do so he won’t be sad anymore.  Don’t worry about it, he says, but she keeps insisting on trying to help.  When she walks out, Alfredo tells Martin that Claudia is right, but Martin insists all he has to do is make the woman who caused his brother’s death pay for what she did, and he will not stop until that happens.  He hands Alfredo Emi’s card and assures him that tomorrow he will take the first step.  Today he met Virginia Prado Castelo and he is sure SHE is the owner of the V-shaped pendant.  (Lightning strikes again.  Curse you, Mejia.)

Salma and V-snake join Jorge in his office and lament that Emi didn’t join them during their delicious lunch.  Jorge reminds them that Emi preferred to have Vero give him a tour of all of the company’s new operations.  Salma complains it’s too soon for Emi to worry about the business, he should be focused on spending time with the family.  (Wait, what? Just the day before she was complaining about Vero’s bad influence keeping Emi away from the business, now her bad influence is bringing him into it too soon.  Clearly, Vero can only do wrong in her eyes.)  Vero and Emi come in, and all Emi can do is rave about how much the business has grown.  Salma and V-snake tell him to imagine how much more it can grow under his command.  Now his mom wants to know if he has made any decision about joining the business.  Yes, he says, after discussing it with Vero, I’ve finally made a decision.

The bar’s waitress is busy making a “special hot sauce”….just for Manuel the brute.  She wishes she could have smacked him, but since she can’t, she is taking it out on those poor tomatoes, smashing them with all the strength she can muster.  The bartender tells her there are plenty of people who wish they could smash Manuel just as much.

Blanquita shares with Ana Perla her embarrassing encounter with NanC bathing in the buff in the river.  Can you imagine if Ospin or another rower had seen her?  Nah, says Ana Perla, I doubt anyone would dare touch Nanciyaga, because it would cost him his hand for sure.  For sure, giggles Blanquita, she would chop up into pieces anyone who bothers her with that massive machete she carries around.  Ana Perla asks Blanquita if she thinks their abuelo is serious about finding a husband for her.  Blanquita is not sure, because abuelo has been saying that since Ana Perla was a little girl.  She suggests he is just saying it so Ana Perla won’t go out with anyone.  Ana Perla sure hopes that's the case, otherwise she doesn’t know what she will do.  (Meanwhile, the bar waitress is still fuming, hating the fact that no one dares to confront Manuel.)

Salma is not pleased to hear that Emi consulted with Vero first.  He tells them all of course he did, because he is convinced that Vero always knows what’s best.  Vero begs him not to give her so much credit, after all the decision is all his.  V-snake strikes with her poisonous tongue, reminding Vero that she has a tendency to put ideas in people’s heads.  (uhm, like convincing them to go off in search of a pot of gold, Virginia?!)  Emi ends the suspense and tells them all they should be grateful to Vero, because SHE convinced him to join the family business.  He promises to devote many hours to the business, but also to his other passion.  In fact, adds Vero, he is going to combine them both and they are going to create a new line of pre-hispanic jewelry together.  “So now we will be even closer than ever,” beams Emiliano.

Martin insists that Virginia is the evil woman, because she was at the club and talking about fencing, which his brother loved so much.  Alfredo warns him that his desire for vengeance is blinding him, and he is just making conjectures.  Martin tells his friend to stop talking like father Juan.  He fully intends to go to Emi’s home, get as close as he can to that woman, and use all weapons at his disposal to conquer that miserable woman who made his brother suffer so much.  He is going to take her to live where his brother lived, so she can suffer like he suffered.  “And I will be her worst torturer….I’m going to make her fall in love with me like a mad woman, because I don’t want her to be happy with any other man.”  Alfredo can’t believe what he is hearing and he can’t understand, especially after seeing how Martin looked at that pretty woman at the club earlier that day.  “I don’t even know her name, and I don’t care.”  Alfredo gives his friend one last warning:  “By condemning that woman, you will also be condemning yourself.”

Next episode:  Destiny has another surprise for Martin – his second encounter with Veronica.  Will he finally find out her full name?  Will he still be so sure that Virginia is the woman he intends to destroy?  Tune in and find out.