Caray, Caray!

What I believe is the refrito, as I could not watch the previous episode: Mateo is demanding explanations from Fausto about why he is coming out of Abi’s bedroom, and this isn’t even the first time Mat’s seen it happen. Fausto brushes him off like an annoying insect, plays the wife card to Mat and then goes to his room and shuts the door. “¡Idiota!” he exclaims. We know.

New?: Renata is going to cenar at the Enramada, having been invited by Helena. Enter Fausto, saying what a good time Abi had with him. Ren is so happy that Abi is happy. Fausto is definitely a changed man. Yep, no doubt about it. He tells Ren, “I love you so much, and I’ve waited my whole life to have you love me that way.” This is the side of Fausto that I like, when he gets his scam on and is willing to say or do whatever in his own interest (don’t worry, not a quality I would admire in real life), not the desperate old man trying to seduce a child. Another aside: It seems Fausto had successfully kept Helena and Renata separated for about 25 years. Does he know that now that they’re friends, they talk about him? I’m sure that’s exactly why he didn’t want them getting together.

Abi goes back to her room and sees a cute basket of flowers on the bed, which will soon send somebody into an asinine rage. She goes into the bathroom. If it’s for a shower, the door will be unlocked, naturally. But no, she comes back out and thank goodness Mat has come in! In a quilted blue vest, no less. He wastes no time raining down the slurs on Abi, accusing her of getting it on with her dad (that’s how it seems to her when he says it), and getting himself all worked up about it. The flowers on the bed make him think a lot of things. Mat, who cares what you think? Abi, the ‘love of your life’ sure thinks you are a slut and doesn’t mind saying it. But Abi isn’t overly concerned by the degradation of her character, she merely suggests to Mat that he can believe what she’s saying is true or believe the worst of her. Yeah, I think he already chose the latter, didn’t he? In an about-face, he says he believes her, but doesn’t trust Fausto. Fausto wants her as a woman, not like a daughter as Abi believes. Unfortunately, because Mat is always so stoopid, he isn’t believed when he is actually correct. He’s the boy who emoted stoopid too many times.

Meliton, Boring Benito and Padrecito Tomás  are at Diego’s house. Padre is ardently defending Fausto against the others’ accusations, saying injustice is being done. He is really a Padre-come-lately on the scene, though. Ben and Mel, who know Fausto quite well, don’t buy it for a minute. Domingo mopes in, and makes his way to the bedroom. Diego is lying in state, with his aloe-vera’d back on full display, which looks like grafts of lizard skin (or nopales) onto his back. Domingo wants his old dad back, and manages to break through Diego’s fog with his earnestness. Soon after, Domingo is spoon-feeding Diego some broth as Mel and Ben look on, beaming.

Epifenia has come to Mia’s old house, to see her lover(s). She has a flashback of Toño warning her she’ll regret dumping him so coldly, and she tells him she has a better prospect. In the present, she meets with Julian and agrees to marry him in four months’ time. I’m not sure why she is so somber here. She requests that he not tell Toño and that Toño not live with them, and before she can even get all the words out, Julian is like, “Done!” He in turn requests that she not tell her sister. Also done.

At the Enramada, Helena’s little dinner party gets underway. It’s her, Ren and Dr. Pat, with Nieves at attention, and then Com. Barragan shows up with flowers for Helena. Helena reveals that her whole party was just an excuse to get Ren and Barragan talking, and she takes Dr. Pat out to the patio. Ren and Barragan cram onto a loveseat, and Ren starts up her broken record, the Gold Lamentation Pity Me collection. It goes on for a while. Barragan listens with collapsed, Paul McCartney-style eyes, while Renata has really cute lipstick. By the end of the record she wins him over, and they are now going to ‘tutearse.’ Ren says that although she will opt for continuing to withhold the truth from Abi, because she doesn’t want Abi to get mad at her, she sincerely encourages Barragan to reveal that he is Abi’s grandfather. Yeah, he really should. Abi is going to feel so dumb when she finds out how many other people knew the truth about her, even though it’s not her fault she didn’t know. She has enough reasons all her own to feel dumb. Anyway, Barragan says he didn’t say anything before for the integrity of the investigation, but now that it’s been resolved that Bruno killed Pablo, and the case is closed, he is free to tell Abi. Ren promptly forgets about Abi and wants to defend her dad against those charges. She also starts begging Barragan to tell her the details of Pablo’s death, which he does. That can’t be easy to hear, about her loved one or her dad.

Once again Max walks the walk of his poor talk by hanging out with Teodora, Motor and Juanita in the mechanic garage. For some reason Toño is putting in an appearance, and being a complete swine to all present (though that’s an insult to swine). He says that Motor is just using Juanita to make Eduviges jealous, and that Max has always talked about messing around with Teo. Plus, Teodora is once again in second position to Abi, first with Diego, and now with Max. How does it feel to always be ‘plato de segunda mesa’? Both guys defend their gals rather gallantly against the cloddishness of Toño, who leaves in a huff. Why on Earth has his disillusionment with Simona extended to these people? Now he saves all his love for Julio, who doesn’t even want him around anymore. One more note: when Teo was talking about Motor and Juanita’s new relationship, she said that you suddenly find love in the least expected places. Then she looked at Max and looked away quickly. But I’m sure that didn’t mean anything, and if it did, it’s not something that will be complicated by the fact that Max’s dad raped her.

Meanwhile, Helena chats with Pat outside, expressing her full support of an adulterous affair between Ren and Pat. They are twin souls, both having lost a daughter. I’m not even going to point out the discrepancies in that particular comparison. Both Hel and Pat are worried about how Ren is falling under Fausto’s spell. Helena turns dramatic with fear, declaring that Fausto is very manipulative, and could destroy her and her son’s lives.

Fausto has a bad dream where Mateo is on his knees like Pablo, saying “No me mates,” like Lucio did. He is mad at Mat for taking Diana, but gives him a pass. But not when it comes to Abi. Mat emotes, which shows this really is a nightmare, that he LOVES Abi, she is the LOVE of his LIFE. Fausto blows him away to silence him, but not before revealing that Diana’s twins are his. He wakes up in a cold sweat.

It’s two weeks later. The only reason I can see that this is called for is so that Diego can have healed from his nopal wounds. In effect, he is up and about in his house, to the tune of Lone Ranger music in the background. Strange. Benito is so happy and inviting Diego to sit! Eat! I’m sorry Benito, I know you’re a really nice guy, but you come across as complete “blah,” no personality, no spark. It doesn’t surprise me that you are not a chick magnet. Then again, Renata, Ex-Crazy Con and Amanda have just arrived to Chez Diego! Ren is married and Dr. Pat has right of first refusal in case of divorce, but Con and Amanda are available. ¡Ándale, Benito! However it turns out that the ladies have not come a-courtin’. Ren has made a decision that Diego needs to know about, and she is not going to change her mind, so listen up! She is going to give him half of her inheritance. Diego is gracious, saying thank you but he doesn’t need or want money. He calls Ren ‘Patroncita,’ and she shuts him down with, “I’m not your boss. I am your sister. Ya no me hables de Ud. Háblame de tú.”

Fausto and Abi walk into the living room at the Hacienda, and they are all smiles as Fausto says the Center for Blind Children is ready. Abi gives Fausto a big hug. She is dressed in a leather mini skirt, and a transparent white blouse over a black bra/bustier. Fausto must be off his game if he can’t contrive of a way to spill water all over the front of her. While they are hugging, of course, Of Course, OF COURSE Mateo walks in. Fausto gives him a $&!#-eating grin over Abi’s shoulder, and Mat stalks back out.

House of Spinster: a quick filler scene with the ‘girls’ looking at a bridal magazine, and each commenting to the other that they wouldn’t be mad if Julian chose the other to marry him. They both believe they are the chosen one, and that they can afford to be magnanimous.

The hugfest between Fausto and Abi has morphed into a family meeting at the Hacienda. Fausto announces to all that the Zoolander Center for Blind Children shall be inaugurated. Renata totally steals his thunder by saying that she, too, has an announcement. Then Diego steals her thunder by walking in before she can make the announcement, and Fausto wants to know what the heck he’s doing there. Well, as Renata was trying to say, she is welcoming Diego into the fold, not only with half the money, but from now on he will be living at the Hacienda. Oh, brother! Just what Abi needs, a third pretender in the house. She has a guy whom she thinks is her dad, a guy who thinks he is her uncle, and a moron. Is there still room for Max “Dying Young” Ramirez Zarazua? Anyway, Renata wants to recognize Diego as her brother, and nothing is going to stop her. I’m thinking, ‘not even a DNA test?’ and Fausto is right behind me, voicing the same thought. Diana, who apparently wasn’t aware of this latest family tree development, focuses on the important angle, “O sea, ¿este peon (said in most contemptuous tone of voice known to man) es tu hermano?” Mat looks at her in impatience with her classist ways. Fausto asks Renata and Diego to come to his office for a private chat. And Diana calls Mateo away, too. Uh-oh, somebody is going to get it! Domingo is left quaking on the couch, saying he is scared of Fausto. Abi reassures Domingo that Fausto is just dreamy. Too bad Mat wasn’t there to hear her say it so he could misinterpret it, make a fool of himself and give Abi more of that emotional abuse she craves.

Diana wants Mateo to Do Something, to fight for what is his and their babies’. She agrees with Fausto that Diego is a gold digger and shouldn’t get any money. All of Mat’s brain cells fire at once, and he is able to turn the tables on Diana by saying, “None of this corresponds to me, and I don’t care about money like you do. That’s another good reason for us to get divorced!”

In the despacho, Fausto is up in arms, saying Renata must protect herself against this scammer. Everybody agrees that DNA tests will be done, and then Diego asks Renata, “Sister, would you mind leaving Fausto and me alone, please?” Then he lets Fausto have it with both barrels. Fausto immediately objects, saying, “How dare you talk to me de tú?” Diego says that Fausto is no longer his boss, he’s just a cuñado. And he is going to stay in the house, not because he wants a dang dime, but to protect his sister and niece from Fausto. He’s here to defend and to get revenge. Diego: “You will come to regret that you didn’t kill me.” Fausto: “You don’t know how I am going to destroy you.” They both say that they have never killed before (Fausto is lying, of course) but that there is a first time for everything and they are capaz de todo. As if the machismo weren’t already thick enough to cut with a knife, Diego closes with, “You will leave this house before I do. That’s not a warning, it’s a promise.” All that was missing was his spooky finger-kiss gesture. He wins this round.

It might be the next day, because Fausto is at Macaria’s. She is giving him the facts of evil life, saying he can’t touch Diego because that will undo the “good” façade he has been working so hard to create with Ren and Abi. He reluctantly agrees. But Macaria consoles him by telling him that he has made great progress, that he should hear how Abi talks about him when he’s not around. “Really?!!” perks up the 60-year-old teenager. Good one, Mac!

In Ren’s room, Abi tells her that Diego and Domingo are unpacking and getting installed. Ren asks what Abi thinks of her decision to cut Diego in, and Abi says it’s her money she can do as she likes, and that she thinks Ren is generous. Abi even one-ups her by offering to give back the Enramada so that can be shared. No, no, none of that. But please pass the deed to the Enramada, which is in that drawer over there. Ruh-roh, it’s missing! Why is this such a big deal, because as has been pointed out, merely possessing the deed doesn’t make a person the owner. It’s not a bearer deed; indeed no such deed exists. But for now this deed will go unpunished.

Last scene: Mat is at the church, in Padre’s office, ranting all out, as he is so wont to do. He won’t stand by as his uncle seduces the woman he loves. He will kill if necessary to prevent it. He goes on and on, even storming about the room, until he notices that Padre Tomás is trying to kill himself so he doesn’t have to listen anymore.

No Lucio tonight! Avances: Mat gets letter he can’t read, I think creepy stuff with Abi and Fausto.