Caray, Caray!

Friday: Bernardo is going through the trash at night, trying to fish out Fedra’s discarded things, when a man walks out of the greenery. Bernardo rubs his eyes – he can’t believe it! We gotta hand it to him, he recognized his captain in the dark, several yards away, whereas Fedra couldn’t recognize her old love just inches away in a brightly-lit jail cell. Bernardo falls to his knees in joy, then embraces his old friend. Eman tells Vicky that she ought to order dinner, since it seems she’s trying to take over the whole planet. Ilitia and Kristel get the same phone call: I need you right now, my love. Ilitia’s is from her mother, Kristel’s is from Lorenzo. They squeal and skittle off. The general comes abovestairs in his formal uniform to eat with the family for the first time in 27 years.

Whew.

Muñeca is distraught that Lorenzo has swiped the kids, and asks Brandon not to leave her alone. Brandon says the police have checked Lorenzo’s apartment and no luck. She clings to Brandon and begs him not to let Lorenzo make off with her kids, her son. (Always with the son! Poor Little Apple.)

When old pals haven’t seen each other in decades, you can bet there’s a lot to chit chat about, like right now Jose Maria is telling Brandon that that last night with Aristotle Curiel came off bad. Curiel didn’t want to pay. (I’m confused by the next part, so please jump in if you understood better.) Curiel wanted to give him something for the cargo, which was worth gold. They couldn’t come to an agreement, and that evening Curiel appeared on the deck of the Lirio.

Bernardo wants to know how the fire started, and JM tells him that Curiel was avenging the death of his wife Fedra. In turn, JM wants to know what really happened to her, and why the Curiel’s yacht sank. Bernardo, getting emotional, says he only remembers the Lirio on fire and sinking. I wanted to save you! he says, throwing his arms around JM. Okay, okay, says JM, peeling him off. You did the right thing, you saved Juana Felipa, as I ordered. Then I jumped and later a fishing boat picked me up and took me to the authorities in port.

(Golly garsh – an unexplained murder! Now, who could’ve done it? Who indeed!)

I was in prison for 27 years for the deaths of the Curiels, says JM, and I was innocent. Bernardo anguishes, then says Fedra will be ecstatic when she finds out he’s alive. JM tells him that she already knows, and she’s the same volcano as always. Both men chortle and share a hug. Bernardo is in seventh heaven – Let’s go sailing again! Let’s conquer the seas, let’s have rum and tobacco! They laugh and hug some more.

Brandon has kindly taken Muñeca’s hand and tell her she’s lovely inside and out, and that it’s a pity Lorenzo didn’t realize it. Muñeca says she’s always known what kind of man Lor was, but she loved him, plus she was afraid of being alone. She rants a bit about his having taken the kids. Brandon tells her she’s strong, and she must never go back to him (he takes her other hand too) and that Ilitia’s grown now, but Muñeca can be a mother to the kids.

She stands and he puts his hands on her shoulders, telling her she’s young and some good man will appreciate her. She thanks him and says whoever gets him will be lucky. He touches her cheek and Ilitia, who I thought would never get here, finally shows up and is shocked. Again? she says.

Kristel has showed up at Lorenzo’s apartment, where he tells her that he’s decided to leave his wife, he’ll sell the apartment because it’ll be too small for them, and he’s going to marry her. All this is delivered with little kisses while she looks calculating and wary. He promises her heaven and earth, and she makes a run for the liquor cabinet. Lor says that he wants to make up for Mauricio dumping her at the altar, and even worse, causing her to not be able to have children.

She says she’s cool with that, no biggie. Lo plants some smooches on her shoulder and tells her he’s going to give her the gift of motherhood – she can raise Christian. Fortunately he can’t see her jaw drop.

Maximo and Emil clink glasses and Max says he swore to stay in his basement until Fedra left (boy, that was showing her! so there!) and now she’s gone and it’s lovely to be up in the fresh air.

Jorge comes down and says Marianela will be glad to see Max with the family.

Here comes a vision in red – it’s Gretel, in a lovely Oscars-worthy dress, her hair styled and flowing. She says she’s glad too, now they can be a family. Emil rushes to embrace her. Max holds his arms wide for a hug, and she falls into his arms too. Smiles all around. Birdies chirp and there would be a rainbow, but it’s nighttime. Both of them out of the basement, awesome!

Emil comes down and is thrilled to see her and hugs her too. I just noticed he’s in a tux and bowtie and so is Emil.

Fedra in her cell grumbles that everyone must be in her house, celebrating her downfall. She blows a stray curl out of her face in disgust. Chema and her past have found her, and it’s dangerous for her, what with all her misdeeds, and drat, her in a cell not able to control what’s going on outside. She gets panicky thinking that by now Gretel must know she’s in jail, and will tell the truth about everything, about how she murdered Juan Felipe too, just to keep her in there.

And the gordita and Vicky – that two-headed monster, is going to destroy her. Bernardo, where are you? All is lost! Fedra feels frantic and claustrophobic.


Eman and Gretel gush over seeing one another again. She says Vicky invited her to an important family dinner. In comes Oliver also in formal attire, and Gretel throws him a severe look. Emil graciously pronounces that his daughter’s novio is very welcome.

Axel, also be-tuxed, arrives and says he has invited his novia. In comes Delicia, elegantly dressed. All the family smiles and hoots. She shyly says that it’s not one of Fedra’s dresses, Vicky gave it to her (obviously because it covers too much for Vicky to wear). Emil welcomes her graciously.

Vicky and Benigno arrive with festively attired Paula, who is balky and furious because she doesn’t want to see Max after he was caught with Nereida. All heads swivel to look at Max and have a whoo-hoo laugh at him. Gretel is on Paula’s side about cheatin’ guys. Oliver protests that it was all a misunderstanding. Paula and Gretel hug.

Atten…hut! barks the General and everyone stiffens. He walks toward Paula, saying he has before him the most beautiful woman in the world. I’ve waited over 20 years to offer you a life better than confined to a cellar. That promise is kept, and now I’m going to keep another one. He kneels before her and asks her to marry him. Paula doesn’t say yes and she doesn’t say no either. I have the feeling the church in the final episode is going to have to have a very wide aisle to accommodate all the upcoming nuptials.

Eman takes Vicky aside and thanks her for filling the house with good things. She smiles and Jorge looks daggers.

Bernardo has dropped by the comisario’s office, much to the latter’s surprise. The comisario tells him it’s too late to visit Fedra, and to come again tomorrow. Bernardo says he didn’t come for a visit, but to say that Fedra is innocent. I did it! I falsified the papers and Fedra didn’t know anything about it. He holds his hands out to be handcuffed, and when that gets no response, he turns his back and holds his hands behind him, hand-cuff ready. Arrest me! The comisario can’t keep a straight face.

Some ads, and then the comisario laughs that Bernardo isn’t capable of lifting a finger without Fedra ordering him to. Bernardo protests that everybody knew Eva was an alcoholic and Fedra, who is a great lady with a huge heart, gave her the money without ever asking her to sign anything. The comisario doesn’t believe it for one second.

Bernardo pulls up a chair and sits, telling the comisario that he’s a great forger, better than Rembrandt, and he holds a pen for the comisario to sign something so he can show him how he can copy the signature. The comisario laughs that Fedra could hardly have been unaware of the forgery. Bernardo says when Mari got her inheritance, the poor thing (that would be Fedra) had no way to prove that she had given Eva all that money, and she would have been out on the street.

I think I’m gonna cry, says the comisario.

Look, says Bernardo, I’m going to go to the judge and shout the truth from the rooftops, because you’re holding an innocent woman.

Ilitia is upbraiding her mother for having something going with Brandon and Muñeca defends herself, saying the one who had something going was Lorenzo. Ilitia scoffs that that’s it – Muñeca ran to Brandon’s arms. She says some ugly things, and Brandon tells her to knock it off, Muñeca is a great woman. Ilitia continues, accusing her mother again, and Muñeca tells her that she’s just made the worst mistake of her life. She arches an eyebrow at Ilitia and thanks Brandon and leaves.

Brandon tells Ilitia he’s going to give her and earful and she’s going to listen.

Fedra is setting her teeth on the jail bars like she’d like to chew them when Kristel shows up. Fedra is very glad to see her and Kristel sympathizes, saying it must be awful to sleep on that cot. Kristel tells her how happy everybody is that she’s in jail and how Emil threw a big family dinner. Fedra thanks her for not attending and for coming to see her instead. She tells Kristel that she’s all she has left, that she loves her, that they’re so alike, she’s a daughter worthy of her mother.

That’s right, says Kristel and I’m going to cheer you up. My love, come here! Lorenzo appears and Fedra’s smile evaporates. Tell her what you told me in the hotel, says Kristel.

Bernardo hands the comisario a written confession. Very good, says the comisario, but there’s something missing, namely a motive. This goes way beyond loyalty, it’s a declaration of love. I’m going to lock you up too, and not in a matrimonial cell.

Brandon tells Ilitia she was cruel to the most noble woman he’s ever known. She defies him to say he isn’t in love with her mama, she’s noticed it since the very first day. Brandon tries not to lose patience and tells her Muñeca is decent, wonderful, with a huge heart, always thinking of others.. and hopefully one day Ilitia will be a little bit like her. But she’s fake, pure plastic.

He heads off, and Ilitia tries to call him back.

Kristel tells her mother that she understands now why she was so hooked on Lorenzo, he’s the very best in bed! Fedra, speaking low and slow, points out to Lorenzo that he slept with her daughter. He mumbles around, then says he’s fallen in love like never before. Kristel excitedly tells her that Lor is going to do what Fedra always wanted him to – he’s going to leave his wife for her.

Fedra warns Kristel not to believe a word he says, he’s just saying things to get her into bed. Lorenzo, drooling on Kristel, says that he did just originally plan to have a little fling, but he’s crazy about her like he’s never been in his life, and besides Fedra could be in the slammer for a long time, so they’re over.

Fedra tells him he’s just making himself ridiculous, some old granddad after a young girl. Lor tells her to butt out, she’s going to be in jail forever, and she’s not young anymore anyway; she’s an old lady. Good thing she doesn’t have a mirror in her cell to see herself when she doesn’t have makeup to help.

Harsh, dude.

She tells him he’s a pig. He gives her Kristel a big kiss and says see that? It’s goodbye. He leaves.

Why are you doing this to me? Fedra asks Kristel quietly. Because you wrecked my life, says Kristel. If you hadn’t come between me and my punchunguito, none of this would be happening right now.

After organizing your wedding, after pressuring that pig to marry you, it wasn’t my fault that the coward left you at the altar for Victoria. Kristel tells her she didn’t insist enough wasn’t powerful enough, didn’t defend her enough against Vicky who turned out to be a thousand times bigger and stronger than the great Fedra Curiel. She even got the house away from her!

It’s your fault I lost Mauricio, and now I’ve taken your lover. We’re even! She bounces off.

Thank you for your visit, daughter, daughter worthy of her mother, Fedra says to no one, She breaks down.

At the pension, Gladiola tells Netty she should have gone to the dinner, since Marianela invited her, but Netty feels that even with Fedra in jail, Emil’s still married, and she’s a decent lady and doesn’t want to be the other woman. Gladiola laughs that she’s stubborn and heads for the kitchen. Netty soliloquizes that she hopes Fedra doesn’t do any more damage just as Jose Maria comes down the stairs to overhear her.

He says he couldn’t help overhearing – what did Fedra to do her? Netty says that she set out to destroy her (Netty’s) family, starting with her sister Eva. He wants to hear about it, so Netty, getting more and more worked up, tells him Eva lost her husband in a tragic accident and Fedra used her distress to turn her into an alcoholic, so that she could end up with everything. And then she started in on her daughter, Marianela, poisoning some chocolates because she knew Marianela loved chocolate.

Max and Paula are outside and it’s a full moon. Max is glad to see the moon after all these years, and wonders where the stars are. Paula observes that he’s been in a cellar for about half his life, they’ve been there all along, but they’re not visible due to the pollution.

He says he doesn’t need stars – she shines brilliantly for him. (Her sparkly top helps.) She says she didn’t think they’d ever live this again, the last time they were young and thought they had a future ahead of them. He says she was young, him not so much. She says it’s late now, all their time spent him in the cellar, her in the kitchen, and it’s too late for such foolishness. He hauls out that old chestnut “today is the first day of the rest of our lives” and sweetens it with “Señora Ruiz y de Teresa.”

She thinks they’re too old. He says there’s his love that has lasted all these years, and that he wants to live now that he’s out of the cellar. They have so many reasons to marry, they can recover their daughter. Our daughter! she remembers sadly. Gretel appears, out of focus, in the background.

Oliver comes up behind her and tries to talk her into making up like Max and Paula are doing, but she just gives him a cold look and says they’ll talk later and then stomps off. He gives himself a pep talk, saying if she drops her guard even a second, he’ll win her over again.

Axel is stealing a few kisses and Delicia is embarrassed saying that everyone is looking. Axel says nobody is, but so what? He wants them to see that they’re in love.

Nereida has probably seen, because she walks by, rolling her eyes. Benigno is telling Jorge that he misses Marianela, and when Jorge tries to escape, grabs onto him and asks him to tell him all about how she is. Poor Jorge, almost no lines tonight and all he gets to do is make pinched-face now and then.

Eman tells Vicky that he can’t believe a day that started off so horribly has turned into one of the happiest in all their lives. Max has asked Paula to marry him and look at Axel and Delicia! And his father and Gretel, hugging and hugging. Vicky says she’s sorry that for love to come into the house, Fedra had to go out.

Yes, says Eman sadly. He doesn’t want to talk about her tonight, he tells her, but Vicky, never good at social cues, says that she knows he loves his mother, and it must’ve been hard for him to learn about part of her, but there’s much more about his mother that he doesn’t know and she hopes that Fedra never comes back to wreck everybody’s lives. Vicky must’ve studied at the Lorenzo School of Tact.

He says that she caused so much pain, and it’s because of her that he lost Marianela. And look at what she did to Gretel, to Axel. I’m sure there’s a lot we don’t know about her, it torments me. He looks over to Emil and Gretel and says he’s worried that that man, who’s showing his daughter so much love, isn’t his real father. Vicky strokes his cheek.

Jose Maria asks Netty if she’s completely sure about Fedra. Netty says absolutely, and there’s her lap dog, Bernardo – the worst! – who sold his soul to the devil, namely Fedra Curiel, and who just lives to carry out her every little wish.

Jose Maria is astonished and says he finds it hard to believe. Netty says believe it, she’s a thief, she has no manners or morals, she’s destroys everything she touches, including her own children, she’s a witch, I hate her!

She can’t be everything you say! protests JM.

Still outside, Paula tells Max that the fresh air has addled his brain, but Max continues with his daughter point – their daughter is alive, and Paula saw her grow up, treated her like a mother, watched her running in this very garden.. Paula begs him to stop, but of course he doesn’t, dropping enough hints to bury her, then finally saying Gretel is their daughter and it’s time they both knew the truth. (It might be a good idea to tell Emil, too, Max.)

Eman tells Vicky he must love her a lot to tell her such private stuff. It’s just that it’s so hard to carry the load alone. Vicky smiles a wry smile, but a single tear courses down her cheek. She assures him that Emil is his father, that Emil was the one who loved him and raised him and was there for him always. He feels a little tearful too and apologizes for it. She tells him it pains her to see him suffer and he hopefully wonders why – is it because she cares about him? He knows that she’s fallen in love with him too – won’t she say it? It would mean so much to hear her say it. She lays her hand on his face, leans in a little and parts her lips as if to reply…

Avances: Mauricio kidnaps Vicky.

Labels: llena

Part I: In which Cruz gets told off, María M takes off, Vic and Bernie face off, and LindaHo gets stood up.

The FerBeast has had enough of the Cruz Robles Riding Academy for one day. She demands that Cruz help her down from her horse, (preferably without touching her). When she is finally out of the saddle and on her feet, he leans in as if to kiss her, then teasingly pulls away leaving her with nothing but air. Well the joke’s on him! He can walk back home, she tells him, cuz she’s not driving him.

María Desamparada watches Max at kayak practice. [Not that I’m not complaining, but a little of this goes a long way] He’s distracted. We’re distracted. She keeps her concentration like a champ.

LindaHo sets out to buy a dress for her tryst with OsvaldHo. She’s undeterred by Os’s failure to answer his cell, she tells Nathy. He must be with his witch of a wife.

Don Napo thinks it’s pretty funny that the FerBeast got the better of Cruz. But he warns him he’s playing with fire and if he’s not careful, he’ll get burned. (This cliché is a running gag, I think. Everyone will get a chance to say it before the novela is over.)

Cruz suspects that Milagros is onto Linda. He and Napo are unsure what to do. They’d like to warn JuanJo that Linda is a skank but they don’t want to break his heart.

The FerBeast laughingly tells Gaby how she put Cruz in his place. He needs to learn that social classes still exist. Gaby reminds her that classwise, ScuzzyBoy is lower than a pregnant ant. Fer corrects her. That was yesterday. Today his father has a cool depa, and he has invited her parents to dinner. How can her mother say no to the Padillas now? They are movin’ on up!

Max still has his shirt off. He paddles over to María, kisses her hello and introduces her to his coach, who now understands why Max seemed distracted.

Back in the barrio, Linda wiggles around in front of Nathy and admires herself in the new dress she picked up at the Skank Barn – a long clingy, blue polyester number with serious cleavage fore and aft.

Down the hall at Millie’s, everything is ready for Linda’s birthday party. The table is set with all manner of Jalisco specialties. JuanJo, his friends Sr y Sra Preggers, Cruz and Millie herself are all anxious for the guest of honor to arrive.

Max gets out of the kayak and he pulls María towards the manly expanse of his bare chest, water-dappled, lightly bronzed, and warmed by the sun… sigh… Oh. Sorry. He and María smooch while the other kayakers cheer them on.

As Os drives along, he thinks about Victoria and their amorous encounter. He still loves her but she doesn’t give him enough of her time. He sucks thoughtfully on his pacifier.

Vic stares in the mirror and thinks about Osvaldo. She needs to tell him the truth -- He doesn’t deserve to be deceived, she thinks. [Yes. Yes he does. He deserves that and much worse. But spit it out anyway, woman, so the damn plot can move forward!]

Os parks in front of his rented love nest. Just as he gets out of the car, Fer tools by in her little toy convertible on the way to the mall, spots him and runs up to him happily. She wants to join him but he tells her he has an audition and actors aren’t comfortable having anyone watch them at try-outs. No problem, smiles Fer. I’ll just wait for you in my car.

Now wearing her new blue Seduce-a-Shmuck nightie, Linda dances around the love nest, eager for Os to arrive. Too bad. No joy for you today, LindaHo. Os rushes in, explains that his daughter is waiting downstairs and he can’t stay, much less take her out. And he is out the door. Linda is miffed, with a capital P. It’s her birthday!

Max and María kneel in church before the image of the Virgen de Guadaloupe and promise each other fidelity and love.

At the Casa de Modas, Oscar and Vic are going over the preparations for the Miami show. Vic criticizes the design of the invitations for the event. Oscar explains that the graphics department was only following Toni’s instructions – and by the way, where the heck has she been all day? And there are still many details to be attended to. Vic brushes him off icily saying she personally will talk to Toni.

Before Oscar leaves her office, he asks if anything is wrong. He’s never known her to let anything get in the way of her preparation for a fashion show before. She will only tell him that she has something very important to take care of.

Fer and Os are doing lunch and she is sooooo happy to be with her daddy. It’s been a long time since he lavished any attention on her. Os and Vic spend so much time working that sometimes she feels very much alone. But they used to spend more time together as a family, she says.

It feels like something has happened, as if he and Victoria don’t love each other the way they used to. He tries to explain: love matures, it changes and sometimes it ends (se acaba). You mean you don’t love my mother anymore? (¿el amor se acabó?) No, that’s not it, he says. Like any couple, we have problems. But please know that whatever may happen, I’ll always love you, Fer, and I’ll always be there for you.

Max and María are still in the church. Osvaldo knows about their engagement, he tells her, and he is supportive. And Max repeats what he told his father: he is going to remain faithful to María, just as Os has been faithful to his mother. Uh oh. Let’s hope not. María can’t look Max in the eye. He asks what’s wrong. She will only say that whatever may happen, remember that she loves him.

[Well. Pase lo que pase, sea lo que sea, le pese a quien le pese, at least we’re learning a few subjunctives in this novela.]

María is on her way to Linda’s party. Max asks if he can come along.

Vic arrives at Toni’s and learns that María Magdalena walked away while Toni was in the shower. Victoria’s reaction? She flies into a rage and slaps Toni’s face. Whap!!! Seriously. She hauls off and slaps her only friend right in the kisser and wails: I’ve lost my daughter again because of you. Toni sobs. [And Victoria wonders why MaríaHo is afraid of her.]

María Magdalena is back with the scorpion guy in the pigsty, still spilling out of her gold supergirl corset. She doesn’t want anything to do with her new-found family. She’s afraid it’s all a trick to send her back to jail. But el Alacrán tells her these ricos are ripe for picking. And Doña Bernarda, being the priest’s ma and all, is going to be the easiest one to manipulate. And they’ll be rich! rich! [Wow. Turns out the scorpion is as stupid as he is mean. Poor MariaHo.]

Vic apologizes to Toni: I’m an ingrate; you’re my only friend. No worries, says Toni. We’re more than friends; we’re sisters. And we’ll find María Magdalena again. She’s probably back with that savage. They hug. They cry. We grit our teeth and soldier on.

The gang at the party takes Max in warmly. María D’s novio is always welcome here says Millie. Max corrects her. I’m not her boyfriend. (Yo no soy su novio.) The smiles fade. What the….??? [By the way, he attends the party bare-necked.]

MaríaHo – now spilling out of a hot pink corset – and el Alacrán are in St. Bernarda’s parlor. He’s eyeing up the joint. Bernarda, meanwhile, has been in her private quarters grooving to the Plastic Ono Band. Or maybe she’s been plotting Victoria’s complete and utter annihilation. I’m not sure, I get the two confused. Anyhow, now St. B rolls in with her posse, Fausto and Eva.

Back at Millie’s, Max lets the other shoe drop: He’s not María D’s boyfriend; he’s her fiancé (prometido)! And they’re getting married very soon! The chill in the room is replaced by a warm naco glow. Smiles and intros all around. (The small crowd has grown a bit even if the guest of honor is still conspicuously absent.)

Meanwhile Padre Juan Pablo arrives at Bernarda’s doorstep. Eva is instructed to hide MaríaHo and Scorpion Guy while Fausto goes to let in JP. (The padre is walking with a cane so apparently he suffered more than a little scratch on the forehead.) He’s come looking for the newly disappeared María M. Bernarda feigns ignorance and appeals to Eva to confirm her lie. No one here but us weirdos. Fausto lurks and listens.

Vic and Toni are in pursuit of María M. Vic is determined to protect her from the Scorpion. She gets a call from Fer – you remember, Fer, right? her actual daughter? – who is letting her know she won’t be home for lunch because she and Scuzzy are eating out. As usual, mother and daughter end up squabbling over ScuzzBoy.

Bernarda tells Juan Pablo that if María M has disappeared again, it’s God’s work. [That would be God spelled B-E-R-N-A-R-D-A]. Just one more proof that Vic is a bad mother. But JP’s not there to badmouth Vic. He’s only trying to find María Magdalena. Bernarda has one of her convenient Spells, clutching theatrically at her chest, but refuses JP’s offer to call the doctor. No no no no no! She’ll rest, she’ll pray, and she’ll drink some water.

Back in the Hood:
When he hears someone at the door, JuanJo rushes to open it, expecting LindaHo. My darling, my love, how wonderful you’re here he says. And then he finds himself staring at Nathy’s mortified face. Oh. It’s you, Nathy, says the big dumbo without even trying to disguise the disappointment writ large on his homely features . Come in. (Someone needs to smack him upside the head.)

JP asks one more time if Bernie is sure she’ll be all right. She’ll be fine, she tells him, with one hand still placed dramatically over her heart.

At which point we must pause, gentle reader, and we ask ourselves:
Which Juan is the bigger doofus?
a. JuanJo for believing in LindaHo?
b. Or Juan Pablo for believing in his sainted madre?

But I digress…

No sooner is Juan Pablo out the door, than María M and Scorpion are summoned back to the parlor for interrogation. Tell me why you escaped, demands B. MM confesses she was afraid Vic was going to send her back to jail. Don’t worry, says St B, you’ll be safe in this house. And MM says she trusts her. [And now we start to ask ourselves if maybe she really is Juan Pablo’s kid. She sure is dumb enough.]

Bernie wags a finger at el Alacrán, then takes a couple of hefty wads of bills out of a box on her table and hands them to him. He can visit MM, she tells him – MaríaHo’s pimp is always welcome in my home -- but he has to be discreet about it. El Alacrán is thrilled. María smiles and cracks her gum. And Bernarda turns away, seems to vomit a little in her mouth, and then rolls her eyes and executes a perfect eyebrow sweep.

JuanJo asks Nathy where Linda is. Uh… she’s not home, answers Nathy. Thinking fast, she says: I’ll have to give away her little secret – she went shopping for a dress for the occasion. The crowd relaxes while Nathy and María retire to a corner and fret about The Linda Problem.

Napo toasts María D and Max. Small talk about babies and weddings. Yada yada yada. And finally. Linda graces them with her presence. She is wearing the long blue polyester number, perfect for afternoon parties in the barrio. Or soirees in the Red Light district. JuanJo thinks the wait was worth it. It’s a minority opinion.

Max surprises everyone by formally asking them for María’s hand in marriage. They are, after all, like family to her. Milagros gives him her blessing.

Back at his church, JP tells the older priest that he’s surprised by his mother’s change of attitude. She’s left behind her thirst for revenge and now she wants to help María Magdalena. God works in mysterious ways, intones the older man.

Vic and Toni talk about how hard it is to be a mother – and how hard it is to be a woman.

María M is to stay in Bernie’s guest room. Fausto and Eva must make sure she doesn’t go out. Victoria’s daughter is a demon, she tells them. Bernie has to keep María in her house to save her soul. If she can’t save her soul, she’ll have to keep her locked up. Or even better, burn her alive. Fausto looks down and tenses his jaw slightly; Eva looks sideways at Bernarda.

Toni and Vic are back at the pigsty looking for María M. Vic knocks on the door, but no one answers. Then her cell rings. It’s Bernarda. Don’t bother looking for your daughter, she tells Victoria. I have her and no one will take her away from me.

Naturally, Bernarda’s words bring Vic and Toni to her doorstep. They muscle past Fausto and into the parlor where Bernarda and María M await them.

Oh my. In the brief time she has been in Bernie’s house, MaríaHo has been Bern-washed. She wants nothing to do with Victoria. She accuses her of abandoning her in the street – Doña B has told her all about it. Vic tells her it’s all a big fat lie. She didn’t abandon María, she lost her. (Yo te perdí -- Which sounds weird and misleading in English, as if she had misplaced her like a set of car keys. )

For once in your life, tell the truth, retorts Bernie. Tell your daughter that you didn’t want her because she was the child of sin so you threw her out in the street like garbage.

Now Toni speaks up. She is a witness that Vic never stopped looking for MM; she was mad with grief when the child disappeared. But the girl doesn’t believe a word of it. If Vic had wanted to, she’d have found her.

Vic begs MM to come back to her office where she has proof that she has been searching for her all these years. But Bernarda warns MM not to be taken in by Vic’s words.

How can you, a mother, be so determined to break the bonds between mother and child? asks Vic. You dare to ask me that, thunders B, when you’ve always tried to separate me from my son. Well you’ll never succeed. First, because I’m right. And second because God is with me.

Fausto puts a comforting hand on Eva’s shoulder, they look at one another, and Eva puts her hand on top of Fausto’s.

María M spits out her scorn at Vic and walks away from her. Bernarda repeats that this is Vic’s punishment for lusting after the wrong man. (Just like you did, huh Bernie?) Vic tells her she won’t get away with it:
Yo para recuperar a mi hija soy capaz de todo!(I’m capable of anything to get my daughter back!)
Leave and don’t come back, says B. Don’t come back here unless I ask you to.
(a menos que yo te solicite).


Part 2: In which LindaHo plays Os like an accordion – she knows how to squeeze him and exactly which buttons to press; and Nathy gives up her reputation to spare JuanJo’s feelings.
Millie’s party is still in full swing. She tells the gang she’ll soon be in business selling her famous tortas ahogadas. Applause applause.

Then JuanJo takes the floor. He has a big surprise for Linda. She closes her eyes and when he tells her to open them, there it is: a big, ruffly, sparkly white wedding dress. In fact, it looks a lot like the one she tried on for Millie, a real Linda La del Barrio number. Nathy’s the only person who seems to notice the furious look that darkens Linda’s face.

At Televisa, Os confides to Guillermo that Victoria was out all night. That fact combined with Bernarda’s phone call (she told him Victoria had a lover) makes him uncertain. A priest’s mother wouldn’t lie, would she? Well…

Pedro joins them and asks if Gui has told Os his plan yet…

Nathy covers her friend’s sullen silence by saying:
¡Le gustó tanto este vestido que se quedó sin palabras!(She liked this dress so much it left her without words/speechless.)
Milagros loves all the sequins (lentejuelas).
María says she’d be the happiest bride in the world if Max took the trouble to choose a wedding dress for her. It's a deal, he says – he’ll do just that!

¡Beso! ¡Beso! ¡Beso! the guests cry out and sour-faced Linda rises and permits JuanJo to place his lips on hers.

Sra Preggers announces that Nathy will be her baby’s godmother. More cheers and applause.

Back at Televisa, Os is surprised at Gui’s proposed plan:
¿Asociarnos para comprar un teatro?(We’d form a partnership to buy a theatre?)
Os thinks it’s not a bad idea but he’d like to talk it over with Vic. Gui mocks him, implying that only a wuss would need his wife’s permission. Os had better decide fast or Gui will find another associate. [Right. Like crowds of rich dudes are lining up outside Televisa begging Gui to take their money. Act now!]

JuanJo has one more big surprise for LindaHo -- A birthday serenade! Cruz enters singing and accompanied by a mariachi band! Linda sits and sulks. Nathy holds the wedding dress and tries not to cry. Everyone else sways and smiles and sings along with the music.

At lunch, ScuzzyBoy tells the FerBeast to make sure her parents are coming to Papa Padilla’s dinner tonight. He also keeps trying to sell her on a quickie wedding. So far, at least, she’s not buying.

Vic and Toni are back in the chauffeur-driven car. Vic is sobbing over Bernie’s latest dirty trick.

More singing and dancing at the birthday party. Linda blows out the birthday candles [which sparkle with pixie dust for no discernible reason] and they all eat cake, goof around and dance some more. Clueless JuanJo is ecstatic. Linda looks like she could use some PeptoBismal. And poor Nathy shuffles around holding the wedding dress.

Now back at home, Os phones Vic to discuss Guillermo's proposal. It would mean selling his shares in the Casa de Modas to raise capital to invest in the theatre. She shuts him down completely: it’s not a good time to talk about it and besides, it’s the wrong time to sell! He reminds her the shares belong to him and if he feels like selling them, that’s what he’ll do. He hangs up angrily.

When Vic complains to Toni that she can’t count on Osvaldo’s support when she needs him, Toni reminds her that Os doesn’t know about Vic’s troubles so it isn’t right to judge him.

Night falls in the barrio. The party is winding down and Max, like the other guys, is showing the effects of his tequila. They notice that Nathy is missing. Too bad, cuz Max wanted to say goodnight to her. María explains that Fabián invited her out for coffee. One final toast before calling it a night: ¡Arriba los bomberos!
Now Vic is back home too and feeling bad about the way she spoke to Os earlier. It’s not his fault she had such a terrible day, she says and then adds: Why don’t you come to Miami with me and I can make it up to you? He answers with some bitterness that he’d love to enjoy himself with his wife but he’s not interested in going as the lapdog (de perrito faldero) of the great designer, Victoria Sandoval. She can go alone!

Max and María are in the bedroom of her apartment. He wanted to see it because he wants to know everything about her. What was she like as a little girl? The days in the orphanage are a blur of sadness and longing, she says. As for her mother -- as hard as she tries, she can’t picture her mother’s face. All she remembers is a ragdoll she played with (una muñequita de trapo); and that she could say her name: María.

Victoria takes a small, worn ragdoll from a drawer, thinks of her lost daughter and asks the Virgen how long she is going to be punished for falling in love with the wrong man (de haberme fijado en un amor prohibido, lit. for having set her sights on a forbidden love.)

Now for any viewers late to the party, Victoria’s orgy of self-pity is an excuse to reprise the whole damn story, starting with the days of the giant braids. [OK. Deep breath. We can do this!]

♫♫ It was twenty years ago today ♫♪♪

Vic gives a small, carved crucifix to Juan Pablo as a farewell gift before he leaves for the seminary. [And we see how hot he looks when he’s clean-shaven.]
They do it.
He leaves the next morning as she watches and weeps.
Months later, Bernarda finds out Vic is pregnant, and slaps her around until she confesses that Juan Pablo is the baby’s father.
Vic appears to go into labor all alone, outside somewhere at night.
Her baby is born (perhaps in the Cruz Roja?). It’s a little girl and she names her María.
By this time, Toni is her BFF.
Toni has her own tsuris: her hair is a frizzy mess and she has no money for product.
Vic has no one to leave her child with so she brings the infant María to work with her in Padilla’s dress factory.
Even back then Padilla was pond scum. He rapes Victoria.

Three years later:Both Vic and María are nearly run over by a car that comes out of nowhere. We know that Bernarda was not only driving, she was aiming. But Victoria does not.
After the “accident” Vic wakes up in a hospital bed and Toni tells her María is gone.

Twenty years later:
Victoria meets María Desamparada at a benefit show for orphans.
Vic’s big braids are gone; interestingly, MD has little ones. (Braids. I’m talking braids.)
María D impetuously hugs Victoria and both are oddly moved. La llamada de la sangre. But the coverage must be lousy – maybe they use ATT -- because the call is dropped!

Now we’re out of Victoria’s head and back in María D’s bedroom. María, she repeats. She remembers that she knew her name was María. She turns down Max’s offer to help her find her parents. After all, they abandoned her so they must not have loved her. He tells her if she ever changes her mind, he’ll be there to help her.

Woo hoo! Nathy really is out having coffee with Fabián. They are both all smiles talking about the book she loaned him – he thought it was marvelous! [I love this scene. Tragedy-free. Well, unless you count Nathy’s hair.]

Max & María D kiss goodnight and he asks her to walk him to his car. This scene is doubly weird because:
a. Max is much too drunk to be driving (unless he and María spent waaaaaaay more time in that bedroom than I thought.)
b. Why would you leave your girlfriend alone in the street at night? There are some shady characters around. In fact, on her way back inside she bumps into one of them: Osvaldo. He takes advantage of their meeting to explain about that embarrassing scene with Linda in the apartment but she cuts him short. She knows all about it, she doesn’t approve, but she has no right to judge them. And she has no intention of telling anyone about their affair.

María goes inside the gate and Linda comes out ready for the real party to get started.

Unbeknownst to Linda, Milagros is heading her way carrying a brown paper bag and mumbling to herself about forgetting to buy bread for breakfast. Then Milagros sees something that makes her jaw and her shopping bag drop: Linda and Osvaldo making out in his black SUV parked at the corner of the block.

She leaves the bag on the sidewalk and walks away. She looks so dazed that a kind neighbor has to help her back to her apartment where JuanJo is waiting for her. [The jerk. Letting his old mother go out alone at night.] She tells him what she saw but he refuses to accept what she is saying. She must be confused. I don’t believe it, he repeats over and over. He walks out the door and meets Nathy in the hallway. Where’s Linda? he barks rudely. She stares at him. He kicks her apartment door open and asks the startled María: Where’s Linda? He repeats what Milagros told him. Do you know anything?

He then heads outside to find out for himself. If Linda is cheating on him, she’s gonna pay! The girls try to stop him. They delay him and tell him it couldn’t have been Linda that Millie saw. By the time he gets past them so he can see for himself, Os’s SUV is gone. And Nathy pipes up: It was me! I was the girl your mother saw, not Linda! I said I was going out for coffee but really, I was meeting my lover!

JuanJo’s homely expression changes from rage to scorn [or I imagine it would, if he had any facial expressions]: I’m disappointed in you, Nathy, he says. I thought you were different!

So let’s examine the weirdness of this scene:
a. Why keep JuanJo from finding out the truth about Linda? Isn’t it better to know BEFORE the wedding than AFTER?
b. What would be so bad about Nathy kissing a guy in a car? Millie doesn’t know the guy is Osvaldo. He’s just ‘un tipo’. And Nathy’s not the one who’s engaged to Dumbo. Are they all such prudes that kissing earns a girl a scarlet letter? If that’s the case, what are they going to do to María when she ends up alone and pregnant (as we all know she will)?
c. Why in the world does Nathy say she has a lover? Why couldn’t she say she had coffee with a boy and he kissed her goodnight?

Onward.

Os parks the SUV so he and LindaHo can talk. He doesn’t believe she’s really getting married. She’s just playing him, he says. She makes a show of reluctance when he suggests going to their depa, but shuts up fast when he says he has a surprise for her.

JuanJo tells Milagros that the woman she saw was Nathy, not Linda. Milagros is surprised but she then seems to believe the story. Gah!

In their apartment, María asks Nathy why she took the blame. Was it really to save LindaHo’s worthless skin or was to keep JuanJo from suffering?

LindaHo shows Os her engagement ring. It’s nothing special, she knows, but it was given with much affection. Then Os pulls out his gift, also a ring but worth, like, a gazillion times more, and tells her it is also given with much affection. And it proves he didn’t forget her birthday. Very nice, she says, but he can keep it cuz she’s not fooling around. She’s only here to tell him that it’s over between them. And it’s not for lack of love. It’s because he has no time for her, he won’t allow her into his life. JuanJo is prepared to devote himself to her. With you, someone or something else always comes first -- your daughter, your wife, your job. Well now I’ve had enough!

I never lied to you, says Os. You knew I was a married man. And you knew I was in the public eye and had to be discreet.

She replies: So divorce your wife and marry me. You’ve said many times that you’re unhappy with her. If you want me, you’ll have to leave Victoria!

In her bedroom alone, Vic recalls the earlier scene when María M allied herself with Bernarda and treated her with such scorn. Max comes to see her. Oy vey, he says, again with the crying! Tell me what’s going on already! She can’t bring herself to do it. The truth is so complicated and difficult, she fears it will only make them even more unhappy.

LindaHo is back in the barrio. She opens the apartment door with a big smile on her face and finds Nathy sobbing. Now everyone thinks I'm a slut, wails Nathy, because I told them I was the one kissing Osvaldo Sandoval in his car. Huh? Say what? Linda doesn’t know what she’s talking about.

Nathy explains that Millie saw Linda and Os and told JuanJo about it. Nathy took the blame so JuanJo wouldn’t know the truth. Then what’s the big deal? asks Linda. Nobody is really interested in what you do. It doesn’t affect anyone. Well it affects me (a mí sí me afecta) answers Nathy. They all think I’m the worst of the worst, especially JuanJo.

Linda flashes her feline smile. Ah, she says shrewdly, then you did it for him, not for me. Listen honey, it’s your problem, not mine. You fix it! [LindaHo is probably right, but it’s still ok with me if you hate her.]

For the last 12,894 scenes Victoria has been either very SAD or very MAD or both. Now she is very very BAD. She enlists the help of crazy, cheating Ximena in her plan to make Max as miserable as the rest of the Sandoval family. She asks Xi use the time in Miami to do whatever it takes to ensnare Max and get him to marry her. Ximena is happy to oblige.

Max calls María to say goodnight and they recite the lyrics of their song to each other: A partir de hoy… Smiles and sighs.

Cue the kayak and pass me the tequila!

Labels: triunfo

Adolfo runs to Yolanda's condo where the maid, Juanita, reports she left hours ago and without a customary note; in Yolanda's bedroom, he finds everything normal, except her cell phone remaining on the night stand. Using her speed dial, Adolfo gets Carlos, who jerks his chain with a chuckle, accusing Adolfo of some new offense to her.

In the kitchen at Mario's, Asunción practices reading, making Caramelo proud, who loves him regardless. On her way up to bed, Caramelo matchmakes a bit with Dora, enlisting her to help Asunción with his studies. Arriving back in the penthouse, Adolfo manhandles startled Bertha about spilling crucial details to crooks.

He throws Bertha out for stupidity, who shouts this is the last time that's going to happen as she exits; while behind, Adolfo agonizes over Yolanda's whereabouts. In Mario's kitchen, pleasantly surprised Asunción is tickled to have Dora help him with reading, over a cup of tea; while pint-sized matchmaker Caramelo nods in approval behind the door.

At the AFI, Leonardo's underwhelmed when Adolfo demands he find disappeared Yolanda, sure it's another crime of Adolfo; but at Adolfo's rough insistence and the doctored Hernández photo, Leonardo assures him he will investigate if she's really kidnapped. But he points out, such things are risks run by doing business with criminals.

Criminals such as Édgar Lopez, he adds. Leonardo disconcerts Adolfo by revealing he has the Juan José murder attempt weapon -- with Adolfo's fingerprints on it, bringing on a flashback of handing the weapon to Hernández. At Elsa's, she continues with her self-flagellation, maintaining nobody really cares about her.

She tells Ulises she won't take Mauricio's calls, certain he just feels pity for her; and Ulises assures her he himself really cares about her as a friend. But when Elsa contends her life feels out of sorts, Ulises divines she means out of sorts -- not with life, but with Juan José.

When Adolfo takes the doctored Hernández photo to Dante's, Dante wonders if Hernández hasn't conspired with Leonardo and turned Yolanda over to the Genovéses, which revelation makes Adolfo rise and swear to kill all of them: Mario, the son and that b**** waitress. Instead of rushing the house, though, he'll fight fire with fire.

At dinner at the Mirador, Carlos isn't buying it when Yolanda tries to impress him how proud his mother would be; he rejects justifying that she simply didn't want him, and that's it. Yolanda compares his mother's actions to her own, whom no one understands; but that she has her reasons -- that will come out at the proper time.

In the kitchen at Mario's, Gabriela and David have another escalating argument over his supposed secrecy and her indignation that everybody treats her like a dope; and things are worsening between them. Across town, Bertha pounds on Carlos's condo door begging to be let in, and he relents and does so.

She pleads for his help after being ejected for spilling the beans to Hernández, which amazes and distresses Carlos; and she must explain she was drunk, depressed and lonely at the time. Bitterly sobbing that all she wanted was a bit of financial security -- and what she got was everybody kicking her to the curb, Carlos thaws a little and exits to make her a cup of tea.

At Mario's, David and Dora promise each other to stay together from now on, no matter what. Back at Carlos's, teacup in hand, Bertha notes with self-deprecation that she behaved so badly to him and he so good to her; only Carlos would open the door to her, and she can hardly face him. She admits that she deserved the slap by Mina, in every way a better person than she.

When Bertha laments she's the worst person, Carlos points out there's no point in comparing herself; everyone is just like they are -- or rather like they want to be. She's suffering the consequences of her decisions. When he bitterly observes she'd rather marry his dad than have the love he offered, Bertha tries to explain.

She did it feeling threatened, she says, which Carlos dismisses. Didn't she think how deeply it wounded him to see her with his father? Confused Bertha offers she really had no idea why she accepted; she thought maybe it was a love she felt, which Carlos turns on her: yes, a love -- but for money.

Frustrated Bertha can't explain with words why she abandoned Carlos for Adolfo, and she must admit his accusation that she's ambitious; but when she cries that she's ambitious -- but not bad, Carlos has decided now that she is indeed bad -- and superficial and selfish! The worst is she didn't even leave Carlos for Adolfo, but rather for his money!

He strikes out bitterly that she left him for a load of cash and jewels! He's about to boot Bertha out again, when Bertha shakes her head and cries that no matter what, she still loves Carlos. He's still the love of her life, she swears.

Shocked Carlos is realizing Bertha has a more sinister weapon than he ever thought; and she takes up his hands and begs him to look into her eyes for the proof: they've both suffered and understand each other with just a glance. They've both been victims of his father and know the sorrow he's caused.

Bertha's begging him with her heart in hand, she says; and Carlos is watching and listening when she insists she truly still loves and desires him, despite all her damned ambition. And despite her shamelessness, Carlos admits, he still loves her, too; which makes relieved Bertha ecstatic, and Carlos kisses her.

In the sack at Juan José's, Alejandra frets that the ends of their current actions don't justify the means; and that if they back Adolfo into a corner, he's going to do something desperate. But Juan José blows off her concerns, insisting the three musketeers can handle anything he can bring.

Across town at a pool hall, Édgar explains to Valentín that the infamous shoes and murder DVD's are their life insurance against being next on Adolfo's list. Later at Carlos's, in bed with Bertha, he has now to consider Mina; who coincidentally phones while he's in the shower -- and gets some rude news from Bertha, who takes Mina's message that Carlos should go directly to hell.

Bertha conveniently fails to inform Carlos of her phone call. Presently, Alejandra is awakened by inconsolable Mina, informing her of that harpy b**** of a sister of hers and pig Carlos. Later, at the Mirador, Carlos catches Yolanda phoning Juanita and brusquely hangs her up, berating her for leaving a trail for Adolfo.

Carlos orders her to pack; while immediately in her condo, Adolfo reads the caller I.D. and discovers from the Mirador number with disgust that his suspicions about the kidnapping must be true. On their way out of the Mirador, Carlos anxiously reminds Yolanda that Adolfo already kidnapped her once, and she wonders when life will ever be normal.

But Yolanda is grateful Carlos loves her, and they embrace as they exit. Before long, Adolfo arrives and bribes a janitor to confirm a woman of Yolanda's description checked in, but just exited. Carlos deposits Yolanda at Juan José's and explains the situation; while at Dante's, Adolfo orders Édgar and Valentín to case Mario's neighborhood.

At Juan José's, he surprises Carlos with the bad news of Mina's reaction to Bertha; and Carlos promises to explain later. Carlos appears at Alejandra's architectural studio to apologize to bitterly sobbing Mina. She doesn't really want to hear it, but he confirms that although he'd been thinking his feelings for Bertha would be superficial -- they were not.

He assures Mina he cares about her a lot, and the last thing he wanted to do was hurt her; but he also doesn't want to keep her in the dark. Carlos asks her forgiveness, but Mina gives him a loud boot, leaving her weeping piteously and wondering to Alejandra why she was so stupid as to fall in love with him.

At a restaurant, Elsa confirms she can have nothing with Juan José, but also shouldn't go out with Mauricio for spite. Ulises counsels her to take time to figure what matters -- and assures her that she truly matters to Mauricio. Meanwhile, Édgar watches outside Juan José's house as Carlos enters.

Inside, Carlos explains to Alejandra and Juan José that he loves Bertha and that it's difficult when your brain tells you one thing and your heart another. He knows sooner or later he would have gone back with her anyway. Alejandra is happy if her sister is changing, but cautions against telling her their plans.

Carlos assures them that he may love Bertha, but he still doesn't trust her and won't say anything. Outside when Édgar reports Carlos arriving at Juan José's, Adolfo deduces his son is in on the kidnapping; and so feels better about it, knowing Carlos would never hurt her. Adolfo orders Édgar to wait for his instructions.

At the AFI, Ramón surprises Leonardo with news of Hernandéz's corpse encountered in a dumpster; and Leonardo exits immediately to speak with Adolfo, whom he suspects. Upstairs at Juan José's, Carlos insists to Yolanda that Adolfo's weak now and can't defend against his enemies, so she assents to another few days of hiding.

Carlos makes it much easier by offering to take Yolanda to Mario's to see the kids, whom she adores; they recall to her Carlos as a child. When Carlos mentions he can't take her to his place, since Bertha is there, Yolanda realizes Carlos loves Bertha a lot -- which he confirms, like no one else ever in his life.

When Yolanda points out she's his father's wife, Carlos assures her they are going to fix that right quick. Across the alley at Mario's, Gabriela's furious she once again can't raise David at work and drags Julieta with her through the tunnel to catch a taxi from in front of the tunnel house to confront David at the hotel.

Watching them and reporting their movements is Édgar, who follows in his car as the two sisters climb into a taxi; which we suddenly see is driven by none other than Valentín. They're wondering who the driver's phoning about their whereabouts when Édgar launches himself into the back seat, gun drawn, and making the girls scream their heads off.

Labels: verdad

Capitulo 231.
Read k-Fuego’s original recap, then come back here to discuss it.

1. Fern tells Carla, “I know Marcia wants me to break up with her. I feel it every time she gets close to me with the intention of making love. It frustrates her. It’s hard for her to be with a person she loves (querer) so much who doesn’t reciprocate. My coldness forces her to quit.” Carla recognizes that he’s cold with Marcia because he wants to be with Lety.

2. Fern says that in his intimacy with Lety, he discovered feelings/sensations he never imagined existed. He forgot about himself because he was so wrapped up in her. She gave herself completely, without reservation, with infinite tenderness.

3. Carla says Lety has moved on to another, and he’s staying with someone he can’t stand. He needs to find the right woman. She drags him to the bedroom, while he keeps looking back. He looks like he’s headed to the gallows.





4. Carla excuses herself, and when she returns, Fern is projecting Lety’s image on the window. He kneels in front of it and cries, talking to the image. He says, “You didn’t let me. But the night before I left, I would’ve shown you with my kisses, that don’t know how to lie, how much I love you. I’m desperate because you don’t forgive me. And you’re with Aldo.” Fern leaves. Carla recognizes that Lety is ugly on the outside, but she has the sweetness a man needs. She doesn’t compete with her man. She just gives her love.

5. Aldo arranges for “Leticia, I love you” fireworks. In the morning Aldo takes Lety for a balloon ride and Omar follows. Fern orders Omar to look for clues to know whether Lety slept with Aldo. Fern: Is she blinking? Omar: Yes (and that’s true, she is). So what? Fern: She has a nervous tick. If she blinks it means she’s not relaxed, so she didn’t sleep with Aldo. Omar: I was just messing with you. She didn’t blink. She looks very relaxed. I’m telling you, you need to forget about her!

6. Ali tells Marcia that Lety didn’t come in, so Marcia’s sure she went to NY to be with Fernando. Ali asks Marcia who’s in charge with Lety away. Marcia says, “It can be you for all I care.” Ali runs with it and tells Lopez she’s the president in Lety’s absence. In the meeting with Lopez, I think Marta might be eating Takis Salsa Brava. I LOVE Takis!!!

7. In the meeting, Carla invites Fern to spend the afternoon with her. Fern declines because of how things went last night. Carla says she understands how he feels (a rational person would think she’s promising to back off; is Carla rational?). Carla tempts him with, “it’s about Lety,” and Fern takes the bait.

8. Carla says she knows a foolproof way to forget lost loves. Fern makes sure it’s drug-free, then he asks, “What if I don’t want to forget Lety or what I feel for her?” Carla says, “Then you’ll keep on suffering.” She says he only remembers the good times, and Fern tells of their weekend in Cuernavaca when their souls met.

---

Capitulo 232.
Read Alma’s original recap, then come back here to discuss it.

1. Carla says that to forget Lety, first Fern has to remember the things he didn’t like about her. Fern can’t think of any – it’s as if Carla told him to remove any elephants that are in his pockets!

2. Fern denies that Lety is unattractive but he will accept that lately she has been sangrona (disagreeable, annoying) and she’s treated him badly. Carla says that every time he thinks about sweet Lety, he should remember that Lety rejects him and spent the night in Aldo’s cabin. Fern firmly insists that Lety loves him and wouldn’t do that because she’s a good person. He’s sure of it. Carla works to tear Lety down.

3. Omar sends a picture of Aldo and Lety in the gorge, and Fern decides he has to forget about her. Lety tells Aldo she wants to forget about Fernando. Fern sends Omar a picture, and Carla marks her territory by sneaking a kiss.




4. Lety and Aldo find Omar spying on them and drooling over Carla’s picture. Lety yells at Omar, then yells at Aldo to stop pressuring her. See the transcript. You go girl!





5. Saying he needs to forget Lety, Carla puts her head on his shoulder and tries to kiss him. He wakes out of his stupor. Epele! He says all her psychology, and the list of Lety’s bad points, was only because she wants him for herself (Fernando’s not dumb, just slow!). He tells her to stop manipulating him. He wants to be alone. You go guy! Carla determines to keep trying.

6. Tom tells the cuartel he’d never do anything against Lety. Ali gropes Tome and asks who Aldo likes, and she asks for a check for a million pesos. The cuartel decides to play along with Ali’s game so she’ll get fired when Lety returns.



7. Aldo realizes that he treated Lety badly, he was selfish, and he didn’t think about her feelings. He realizes that he’s very jealous of Fernando. Lety overhears him say he wants to show Lety how much he loves her, but she won’t let him and she pushes him away. She should let him kiss her and make love to her. (Aldo, here’s a hint. Rewind the tape to the “I was selfish” part!) Lety interrupts and says, “I’m angry. Very angry.”

8. Tom quakes with anger because Lopez is hoping for favors from Ali. Lopez tells him to calm down. He mustn’t make a mistake when he signs the check. Tom has an idea.

9. Fern ponders in his hotel room. Doesn’t he look more grown up at the moment? He drinks his water (not whiskey) and says, “I need to get free of all of this. Of Marcia, even of Leticia. This is important. This is the second most important day in my life. The first most was the day I made love with Lety. This is my day of liberty.” Today he will break the chains women hold him with. Carla arrives and says she never intended to manipulate him. “And I’ve got a bridge to sell you.” She’ll leave him alone and only talk about work. He asks her to stay.

---

Spanish Lesson, Confrontation in the Gorge
Lety to Omar: You and Fern are the worst.When will you leave me in peace? What’s it matter what I do with my life? Why do you spy on me? Why do you bother me?
Aldo: Omar, it’s better if you leave.
L: (turns on Aldo) Aldo, why didn’t you let me tell him all I feel?
A: It’s not worth it. It just makes more hate. Just let the matter rest.
L: I can’t. Not while Fern keeps following me.
A: He’ll keep doing that as long as you keep participating in his game. Your angry outburst only shows him that he still matters to you.
L: (crying) How can it not matter to me that he has a woman in New York?
A: (looks hurt) You just told me you were going to forget about him. (yelling) I can’t believe you keep loving someone who only hurts you.
L: (yelling back) Yes, I do still love him. I need to be alone. I need (XG) what I feel, Aldo. I want to forget Don Fernando. But I cannot endure that you’re pressuring me, Aldo. Please! Dejame en paz!
A: (dejected) Don’t worry, Leticia. I’ll leave you in peace (for what? 20 minutes?).

Labels: fea-2010

I owe you folks a huge apology, I haven't been the greatest at keeping up with recaps lately. I managed to work over 70 hours last week and about 85 this, and it's only going to be worse this coming week. Sigh...I haven't even watched the show. I didn't even get to post a note until now and I didn't ever get around to asking for a sub. Once this chingado proyecto is over, I promise to write you a really good one. Feel free to post your own summaries and comments. Thanks as always for your support...happy Oscars...I didn't see those either, I did get to escape on a little fun outdoor stuff in between working though, so all was not lost in front of the computer...

Labels: llena

Victoria and Bruno get it on.

Liliana and Daniel are having dinner and she brings up Eva. She notices how attracted he is to Eva. Daniel tells her she’s mistaken. Lillian tells him that if he can’t forget about Eva with Victoria then perhaps she can help. Suddenly Leo and Eva enter the restaurant.

More of Bruno and Victoria.

Lilliana invites Leo and Eva to dine with them. Eva declines, but Leo says it’s a great idea.

Alicia goes looking for Eva only to find out from Tia Matilda that she has gone out with Leo.

Eva again prefers to dine at another table. She doesn’t want to interrupt Daniel and Lilliana’s night out. Lilliana insists she’s not since she and Daniel have the rest of the night to spend together. Daniel agrees. Eva asks Daniel where his wife is. Out of town recording a commercial replies Daniel.

She’s out of town all right, but at the moment not recording any commercial. She’s getting it on with Bruno. Gross.

Justa thinks of Julio and can’t believe he’s still alive. She’s overcome with emotion and cries. Ricardo thinks it’s about him and reassures her that he will be okay.

Lilliana tries to make small talk with Eva. She comments that Eva and Leo make a great looking couple. Eva says I would say the same except I don’t think Daniel’s wife would like that. Leo explains that Lilliana is one of Victoria’s best friends. So Daniel is safe from any jealous tantrums from his wife. Eva tells Leo that no man is safe from his wife’s jealously no matter who he’s with.

Tia Matilda tells Alicia she thinks it’s a great idea that Eva has gone out for the evening. She needs more time to have fun. Alicia walks out mad.

Lilliana wants to dance, but Daniel refuses since he’s too tired. So Leo steps up. Eva says why didn’t you want to dance with her? Because I wanted to be alone with you replies Daniel. Why asks Eva? I have something to ask you says Daniel.

Alicia is looking at a picture of her sister and says why did you have to pick the man I love? Why do you always have to be in my life? She gets mad and crumbles up the picture. Tia Matilda comes in. She asks Alicia what’s going on.

E: What do you want to know?
D: Are you recouping the time lost.
E: What do you mean?
D: About the time you were away from Leo. The father of your son. That is what I am referring too.
E: And you?
D: And me, what?
E: Let’s just say that your marriage is so bad that you console yourself with your wife’s best friend?

Leo wonders what Eva and Daniel are talking about. Lilliana says it’s definitely not about us. Leo is nervous seeing them together. Lilliana asks if he thinks they still love each other. They deny it, but I’m not so sure.

D: I’m only here tonight accompanying Lilliana.
E: I don’t think Victoria would like it especially they way I saw you both acting tonight when I walked in.
D: Oh, yeah. And how was that?
E: Acting all romantic. Close together, talking.
D: Those are illusions of yours.
E: No, it’s not. It’s obvious she likes you.
D: Are you jealous?
E: Jealous, me? How many times do I have to tell you that you are in the past?
D: Because you are trembling with rage.
E: You are the one that should be trembling with rage. Knowing the woman you loved feels nothing for you.

Tia Matilda asks Alicia if she’s been crying. Alicia denies it. Tia says don’t deny it. I have watched you grow up. I sense that there is a secret love. Yes, its true says Alicia. I’ve never had a great love, but have watched other people cry over one replies Tia. What is happening to you is very serious. You have no idea how serious it is replies Alicia. Who is that man that is making you suffer so much asks Tia. Tell me.

Lilliana and Leo continue talking about the happy couple at the table. Leo’s main concern is that Eva accepts his proposal. He is very much in love with Eva. Lilliana thinks that tonight is the night to get that accomplished. Eva is very jealous. And even if in rage she would accept his proposal. Leo doesn’t care why as long as she does. Lilliana guarantees that at the end of the night Eva will accept.

Alicia tells Tia that she can’t tell her. She doesn’t want to talk about it. Tia reminds her that she needs to respect herself. And don’t go crazy looking for him to love you. Alicia insists he loves her. I am sure of it.

Lilliana comments about how wonderful a dancer Leo is. Leo says that Daniel is better. When he was single he could get any woman he wanted once he had them on the dance floor. Eva flashes back to the time they danced in the gazebo. Eva excuses herself.

Jackie and Fernando are eating lunch. Jackie wants to know if he wants to go to the movies with her.

More of Bruno and Victoria. She’s done and tells him to leave.

Fernando says we can bring Laurita with us. Jackie says I thought it could be just the two of us. Fernando says I have to ask you something. Why didn’t you tell me that Marisol came here looking for me?

Bruno is getting dressed and tells Victoria that he feels like a stud service. Victoria tells him this was just for fun and don’t’ you forget that. He tells her to call when she wants to have more fun.

Jackie says she was going to tell him, but…. You forgot right asks Fernando. Well actually the truth, no replies Jackie. I preferred not to tell you. I was scared that that woman was going to hurt you again. Wait, that woman is my wife replies Fernando. We are still married. And what you did was not right. Next time tell me. What do you mean next time asks Jackie? Well I am going to see her tonight.

Eva is in the bathroom giving herself a pep talk. Control yourself. You don’t care about Daniel anymore. That is why you have to show him that the only man that is important to you is Leo.

Jackie begs Fernando not to go to see Marisol. If you go that means you want to see her. I do replies Fernando and leaves. Jackie cries.

Lilliana finds Eva in the bathroom and asks if she’s okay. I’m fine. Why asks Eva. You seemed a little bothered when you left. I thought… You thought wrong replies Eva. You know we woman are good at hiding our feelings but sometimes the truth seeps out says Lilliana. I don’t know what you’re talking about replies Eva. About you and Daniel says Lilliana. Relax, I know everything. Don’t forget that Victoria and I are friends for many years. Well if they told you everything then you should know that’s all in the past replies Eva. Yes, but I’m not so sure. Your still in love with Daniel says Lilliana. If you’re so worried about how much competition you have, don’t worry. Between Daniel and I all that is left is rancor says Eva. He puts me in a bad mood when I see him. And if you are interested in Daniel the only competition you have is his wife. Your best friend. She is the one that you have to take out of the running not me.

Leo rubs Daniel nose in it that he and Eva are a couple.

Lilliana accuses Eva of being jealous. Eva tells her to think whatever she wants.

Victoria tells Daniel that she will not be returning until tomorrow. She tells Lilliana to take care of her husband.

Eva returns to the table. She sees Daniel and Lilliana dancing. Leo puts his arm around Eva and grabs her hand to kiss it. Daniel spots this and Eva plays along. Lilliana notices Daniel’s sad face and comments that he hasn’t forgotten about Eva. She knows the history between them. She also knows that his marriage with Victoria is not going well and she can help him forget Eva. She kisses him. Eva is jealous and Leo says well, well, well when he sees what’s going on.

Eva is furious and asks Leo how can he just sit there and let that happen? Do you not have any respect for your sister? Daniel tells Lilliana that he is a married man. Lilliana says you don’t love your wife. She has even told me. Even so what you did is not right replies Daniel. She is your best friend and I…. And you prefer to cheat on her with Eva, but not me is that right Daniel asks Lilliana? You know its best we end this conversation replies Daniel. Lilliana quickly apologizes.

Of course it bothers me replies Leo. I have to have a serious talk with Daniel. Not just because of my sister, but also for Lilliana’s innocence. She got caught in his clutches. You know Daniel is a ladies man. Eva tells Leo that she is getting a headache and wants to leave.

Renata visits Julio. He wants to know if she knew Justa was married.

Marcella reads a note that says she killed Julio. She says no one can prove that.

Julio yells to Renata to tell him. Yes, I knew replies Renata. Then why didn’t you tell me asks Julio. I didn’t think I had to tell you replies Renata. Justa married Ricardo because she loves him. It’s too late for you.

Ricardo thanks Justa for her love. Because of it, she saved him. Nothing and no one can ever separate them.

Marcella asks Tia if she has seen Renata. Renata suddenly walks in. Marcella asks her where she’s been. Buying a couple of things we needed here she replies. Do you need something? Yes, tea says Marcella. Do you know where Eva went? I saw her leave with Leo replies Renata. Good. That news makes me happy says Marcella.

Lilliana notices that the happy couple is gone. Probably to be alone. It’s there right, since their in love. Daniel comments that she has done her homework. Lilliana tells him that Leo told her everything. He also told her that they were going to get engaged. So my advice to you is to forget about Eva once and for all. You have every right to make a life with another woman if you no longer love Victoria. Daniel thinks its time to leave. Lilliana agrees and tells him to think about what she said tonight and forget about the kiss she gave him.

Deborah comes for a visit.

Marisol and Alicia talk about her problems. Alicia can’t imagine Eva and Leo getting married. A knock on the door and its JoJo. He has some great news.

Deborah sees Tia Matilde asleep and sneaks in to see her grandson. Tia catches her and asks “What are you doing here?”

JoJo gives her a card from a record producer. She has an appointment tomorrow to see him. Screams from Marisol and Alicia. Marisol gets nervous, but JoJo says it’s going to be okay. There’s a knock on the door and Alicia answers it. In walks Fernando as JoJo and Marisol are hugging.

Deborah tells Tia just wanted to come see the baby and didn’t want to bother her since she was asleep. Tia says Deborah can’t see the baby or her nieces. Deborah reminds her that she has rights. Tia says you have no rights. Marcella’s bedroom door is open and she hears them and goes outside to hear better.

Fernando asks if he’s interrupting. JoJo asks Marisol what that “naco” is doing in her house. Marisol says to JoJo to let her handle her problem with Fernando and they will talk tomorrow. JoJo agrees to leave, but is not happy and calls Fernando a liar. Alicia leaves also to give them privacy.

Eva and Leo arrive home and Eva wishes him a good night. Leo tells Eva he just wanted to have a nice night out. Eva apologizes. She just doesn’t feel good. Leo says that things would be easier if she would just let him love her. It’s what I want to replies Eva. You are so good to me. The first thing you need to do is forget about Daniel says Leo. Did you know he told Lilliana that you still want him? What says Eva? That is why we need to demonstrate to him that you no longer care about him replies Leo. Now look and me. Marry me.

Marisol says you came about the divorce? No replies Fernando. I came to find out if you still wanted to be my wife.

Deborah tells Tia that Eva and Alicia are her daughters and that boy is my grandson. I have every right to see them. Marcella tiene cara impactada.

Marisol doesn’t know. Fernando says that he can’t forget her. Marisol asks how would this work between us when every time one of us opens our mouth the other is wondering if we’re telling the truth. Fernando laughs and says you have a point. But we both know how we are. Why are you now proposing this after all this time asks Marisol? Because I’m still in love with you says Fernando. Do you still care for me?

More arguing between Tia and Deborah. Tia tells Deborah to leave.

The truth is I’ve tried, but couldn’t replies Marisol. I just don’t know if getting back together would fix any of our problems. Your right replies Fernando as he gets ready to leave. Marisol asks Fernando to let her think about it.

Leo guarantees Eva that with time she will love him. He will treat her like the queen she is. I also promise to have all the patience and love in the entire world for you. You know I have to close the doors to the past. So I accept says Eva. Leo says you accept? You accept being my wife? Can you say it again? Eva says yes, I accept. You will see replies Leo that marriage will be good. I will make sure that it will be good. I guarantee it.

Deborah walks into the lions den. Marcella recalls Deborah’s words to Tia “Eva and Alicia are my daughters. And that boy is my grandson.

Leo tells Eva how long he waited for her to be his. I love you Eva. And I swear I will fight to gain your love. Eva wishes that she respond to him better but he quickly shushes her up. I will not pressure you into anything. You are so good to me replies Eva. We have to celebrate this. I want announce our engagement. I want to put in the paper. I want to have a grand party. Eva tells him calm down. Small steps. Why asks Leo. I want to yell to the world that I love you.

Marcella tells Deborah that she doesn’t feel well and could they save their talk for another day. Marcella wonders what they are going to do with Deborah’s secret.

Eva comes to see her sleeping son and Tia. She tells Tia about running into Daniel and his date. Oh and I have accepted to marry Leo.

Leo visits his mom and tells her that he and Eva got engaged.

Why did you agree to marry him if you don’t love him asks Tia. I know Tia, but he’s really good to me and my son. I need to reconstruct my life like Daniel did with his.

Fernando tells Jackie that he asked Marisol if they wanted to give it a go at their marriage.

Bruno is happy about sleeping with mother and daughter. One you have fun with and the other take all her money. Marcella calls and needs his help.

Daniel is thinking about Eva and Leo being an idem.

Eva is thinking if she did the right thing agreeing to marry Leo. She still loves Daniel and he is the father of her son. But he killed her father and she has to seek revenge.

Tomorrow: Nothing was given.

Labels: eva

Tonight, Yolanda Andrade and Aleida Núñez are "Elvira y Mercedes, Justicieras" (Elvira and Mercedes, Avengers). Adal Ramones is the unkempt stepfather, Domingo. Geraldine Correa is Lupita, the frightened stepdaughter.

Apologies in advance for missing/incorrect material. The captions were virtually useless as usual and a lot of these characters mumbled.

Mercedes ("Meche") and her sister Elvira are led from their home in handcuffs. Lupita, daughter of Mercedes, is escorted separately. She's not in handcuffs, but her left hand is pulled back into the sleeve of her sweater, and she's holding the cuff in her mouth. She is a thin girl and doesn't look to be much past puberty. She looks curiously at the female DIEM agent who's holding a radio. (I'm sorry, I shold know her name but I don't. Aranda?)

The cop who's leading Lupita pauses to put a jacket over her head to hide her face before bringing her into the street to load her into the van. Maybe-Aranda radios Capellan that they've got the suspects, and one of them is a minor.

Elvira and Lupita are out on the patio, preparing some vegetables for dinner while Dirty Domingo lazes beside the table with a newspaper. (Backstory: Domingo lost his comb in 1987. It was the best comb in the entire world and he can't bear to put any lesser grooming implement to his head. He also has a very special razor that's way too good to use more than twice a month. He's apparently very thrifty about using soap, too.)

He keeps stealing glances at the backs of Lupita's thighs under a ratty old skirt that's too short for her. Elvira notices.

It seems that there's a baby on the way and Domingo's been out of work for a while. He insists to his Elvira, his sister-in-law, that he's been looking, but there just isn't any work - only little office jobs for errand-boys. (With combed hair.) He's gotta work out in the fresh air, baby!

He kisses Lupita on the top of her head and takes his drink (oh yeah, he's got a bottle) into the house. There is a look of intense loathing on Lupita's face as she watches him exit. Elvira expresses doubt that he'll find any job, either indoors or outdoors. Lupita says he's looking.

Elvira changes the subject. Hasn't Lupita noticed how Domingo looks at her? Is it only looking, or is it something more? Lupita weakly denies anything. Elvira angrily wonders why Lupita's mother is with him - he's good for nothing.

Meche shows up with some laundry and sends Lupita to put it away. Apparently this isn't the first time she's caught Elvira complain about her dear Domingo. She scolds Elvira for bad-mouthing him to Lupita. She's not supporting him; on the contrary, he's showing what a good man he is. Elvira replies, "just for impregnating you?"

Elvira asks what Meche is going to do with four kids and one more. More conversation about working and changing the way they live... sorry... help...

Elvira also suggests that Lupita should start sleeping in her (Elvira's) room. Meche rejects the idea. Elvira shares her thoughts on the way Domingo looks at Lupita. Meche says she's making things up and I think she says she's bitter. Elvira persists - Lupita is not a little girl any more.

Lupita enters the room. Meche angrily demands that Lupita tell them what's going on with her "papa." Elvira asks more gently for an answer. But they are both impatient for her reply, and Lupita just seems overwhelmed.

Meche and Lupita are taken to separate offices. Lupita still has her sleeve in her mouth. Aranda tells her to be calm and and tell them what happened to her and what she did. "I didn't do anything," Lupita sobs.

Lupita is no longer in the room. Meche tells Elvira that Domingo could never do something like that. He's her father! "No he isn't," Elvira replies. Well, he's like a father, Meche insists. And now that little brat is going to hear from her for saying things about him. Elvira says Lupita didn't say anything - Elvira did. She doesn't have to be sleeping in the same room; one would have to be an idiot not to realize that the girl is in real danger.

"Well, now it turns out that DOMINGO is in danger," Meche replies angrily. "Your bitterness [captions say "embarazada," I'm pretty sure that's wrong] is making you sick in the head." Elvira says she's got enough problems and doesn't want any more.

Night. Meche can't sleep. Some discussion with Domingo as to whether the baby is moving or not. She asks if he loves the kids even though they're not his. He says of course - he's supporting them, right? Er, not exactly, but he promises he'll find a job. He loves them as much as he'll love his own little Dominguita when she arrives. As for Lupita, he loves her most of all.

Next day, Elvira and Meche resume their argument whilst cleaning beans on the patio.

Elvira: Domingo doesn't love Meche or the kids.
Meche: You love to talk bad about Domingo. Lupita didn't accuse him of anything.
Elvira: That's because she was afraid.
Meche: He was probably just being affectionate with Lupita and she took it the wrong way.
Elvira: She's scared. If he lays a hand on her, I'll kill him.
Meche: If you threaten him, you threaten me.
Elvira: When your husband gets the urge to go to bed with your daughter, he's messing with you too.
Meche: You're a pig.
Elvira: I'd rather than be a pig than blind.

Elvira goes into the apartment. Lupita asks if they were fighting about her. Meche comes in and Lupita says she was just helping her aunt. "And who is going to help me with your brothers?" Meche replies. An increasingly flinchy Lupita pulls her hand back into her sleeve and her sleeve in her mouth.

Elvira asks if Meche hasn't reconsidered the sleeping arrangements. No, Meche says, Lupita will continue to sleep in her own place. And it's well and good if Elvira threatens Meche, but Elvira is going to have to stop threatening her husband. It's not her problem if Elvira's single - she should go find a man to give her what she needs.

Elvira: What for, so I can end up like you? No thanks, sis.
Meche: Better to have multiple men than be an old maid [una quedada is harsher and more colloquial than solterona].

Lupita is chewing her sleeve in Capellan's office. Capellan asks her to be calm; she doesn't believe Lupita's guilty of anything. But Lupita thinks she's in jail. Capellan assures her that it's only an office. She asks Lupita to trust her and tell her everything that happened.

Nighttime again. Domingo gets out of bed, picking a wedgie. (Gross.) Meche asks her Prince Charming what's going on. He can't sleep because his stomach is growling. Meche goes back to sleep. Domingo approaches Lupita's bed and lifts the covers.

Meche wakes some time later and notices that he's still out of bed. She hears creaking bedsprings. She finds him standing next to Lupita's bed looking guilty. He says she startled him. (He's fiddling with his underwear again.) He claims that he was just covering up the kids and before that he had some beans. Meanwhile, Lupita is sucking her thumb and clamping the pillow tightly over her head.

Next morning, there is more conversation between M and E, including mention of a man named Hugo who liked one sister more than the other and then Meche had Lupita. Then Elvira says she spoke to "Dr. Ceci." Meche angrily assumes they were gossiping about her, but the doctor merely said Lupita is an adolescent. Elvira feels they should be "taking care of her."

Meche says Ceci is only a nurse, not a doctor, and Elvira should mind her own business because Domingo loves the kids. The best way to take care of Lupita is to leave her alone (I think that's what Meche says.) Elvira mumbles something to herself about fixing it on her own.

Capellan asks Elvira if she thinks that she had fixed things. Elvira says, "At least I did something." Capellan: "Unfortunately, your decision was not the best." Elvira: "Well, whether it was good or not, it was certainly too late."

Lupita is sweeping in a courtyard or something. Two boys about her age are there, and she seems to be glad for their company. Domingo shows up and asks if the boys are bothering her. Without waiting for an answer, he sends the boys away. She gazes wistfully after them.

The wicked stepfather asks again if they were bothering her. Petrified, she answers "no, Domingo." Offended, he insists that she call him Papa. And, lifting her chin to look her in the eyes, he says that if anyone's going to bother (molestar) her, it'll be him. With a mouthful of cigarette smoke, he kisses her forehead. She scurries away.

Some time later, Meche is looking for Lupita. Elvira says she's been behaving strangely lately and might be sick.

Lupita is crying over the washtub on the patio with her sleeve in her mouth. Meche finds her and starts to talk about "what your aunt has been saying." Lupita hurriedly washes her face and tells Meche that she didn't tell Elvira anything.

Aranda lays her gun aside and sets up the voice recorder. She tells Lupita that although it's difficult, she'll have to explain in her own words what happened. She's safe here.

"If something were going on, you'd tell me, right?" Meche asks Lupita in a non-threatening way. Lupita nods and continues splashing her face in the washtub. Meche reminds Lupita that Domingo is such a wonderful, affectionate guy. Domingo spies around the corner as Meche goes into the house

A medical guy and Aranda(?) talk about gaining someone's confidence, taking evidence, an obstetrician, and a report.

In the kitchen, jobless Domingo waves the newspaper around and tells Elvira that someone's looking for a seamstress. Meche comes in and complains that Lupita's been in bed all day and isn't feeling well. Elvira says "I'm telling you, she's been acting strange" (or "she's not well"). Domingo smirks, unnoticed, and takes another drink from his big bottle.

Meche is tired. Domingo says something about the baby. Elvira asks how he's so sure it's a boy. "I know everything," he replies.

Not true. He obviously doesn't know he's going to be a red butterfly soon. He continues to drink out of that giant bottle while they enjoy their candlelit dinner.

I think there's some banter between Elvira and Domingo where he says she needs to get laid (actually that she needs an alignment and balance) and she asks if he's volunteering and throwing someone to the dogs. Whatever, we can tell that it's not the best relationship. She calls him a "mantenido" (dependent; kept man) and he protests that a kept man shouldn't have to eat beans.

Elvira also calls him a "rabo verde" (green tail, i.e. horndog, pervert). Now he isn't amused at all. He takes another big drink from his bottle and walks out. Meche is offended by "rabo verde."

Later, Elvira finds Lupita barfing in the washtub with her underwear clutched in her hand. Lupita cries in Elvira's arms as Elvira stares into space with steely resolve.

Next day. Domingo's got his big bottle with him again. Meche asks him about some plumbing job and he grumpily says no. He obviously has a hangover but claims it's indigestion caused by her sister's cooking. He goes out on the patio and pours his bottle into a glass - classy!

That's when two cops arrive to take him away. Domingo realizes that it's because of Elvira, but he also says they must have mistaken him for someone else. Meche slaps Lupita, knocking her to the floor. Meche blames Lupita and Elvira for everything. The two women struggle, and Meche demands that Lupita say that Domigo didn't do anything to her. Lupita mumbles in agreement through her sleeved hand. Meche marches off, satisfied. Elvira leaves too.

Lupita follows Elvira, wanting to know where she's going. "To get your papa out of jail, and see if they don't arrest me for making up things that aren't so. Lupita asks Elvira's forgiveness. He didn't do anything to her. Elvira loses it and screams "idiot, liar! It's your fault he's in jail!" But then she comes back and takes Lupita's hand. Well, sleeve.

"That guy deserved everything that happened to him," Elvira tells Capellan. "He was nothing, nobody." Capellan asks what Elvira is laughing at. "Right now, everything."

Elvira takes Lupita to the clinic for an exam. Lupita reveals that the abuse has been going on for three years. More crying and sleeve-biting. Someone comes in with some paperwork - test results. Lupita is pregnant! .

"What I have here is a murder with three suspects, one of them a minor - your niece, no less." Elvira is still smirking at "everything," but her smile fades as Capellan continues: "Your niece, at 16 years old, has to make the decision to become un degrado [I don't think this is correct but can't tell what it should be]. Does it seem to you that we can continue beating around the bush?"

Meche visits Prince Charming in jail. He's grateful for the lunch she brought. She tells him Lupita's pregnant - and at the same age when Meche had Lupita. It's being investigated because she's a minor. Domingo blames Elvira for starting all of this, and blames the neighborhood boys for the pregnancy.

"You haven't been fooling around with Lupita, have you?" she asks. She makes him swear to la Virgencita.

"I believed him," Meche tells Capellan. Capellan asks, "What were you afraid of? Being alone? Being abandoned? I don't want to offend you, but there are many cases like yours." Meche answers, "she was a little girl." "Living under violent threat," Capellan says. "Victims that age never completely understand the reason for the abuses that were commited against them. Never."

Lupita is feeding her brothers on the patio. Meche comes out and says that until the lab test results are all in, Domingo has to stay in jail. So, who's really the father? Lupita says it's Domingo. She didn't think her mother would believe her.

Meche still doesn't believe her. She knocks Lupita to the ground and sends the boys into the house. Elvira asks Meche, didn't she ever have any doubts? Meche says no, he's my husband! Elvira says thank God the authorities are looking into it now.

Evening. Meche is in hysterics. Lupita is crying in Elvira's arms again. There's a piece of paper in Meche's hand: apparently, the test results have arrived and the evidence suggests that they're going to need a bigger bottle because the unkempt drunken horndog slob has produced another heir. Meche begs her daughter's pardon for not believing her.

Meche goes back to the jail with another lunch. Domingo complains that it's too cold, and where's she been for the last three days? She assembles his lunch patiently and tells him she hasn't been feeling well. But the baby's okay. Domingo says that's good, because he's not okay. Boo hoo, jail is icky.

Meche calmly tells him to eat, and watches with a grim smile. She flashes back to earlier that day (same dress). She's stirring some mole. Elvira wants a taste. Meche won't let her try it.

Domingo tells Meche that the food here is filthy. She asks if she likes the mole, and doesn't he want to know what she discussed with Lupita?

He flashes back to the day he interrupted Lupita's sweeping, then chased her into the hallway and raped her. "What do I care?" he asks Meche. Meche calls him a dog, an animal, for doing that to Lupita all that time, since she was 14.

He swears to Virgencita that he didn't do it. "Don't you know what they do to rapists in prison?" Meche asks him. (He flashes back to Lupita sobbing in the hallway, begging, "ya.")

He's still stuffing his face. "Eat," she says, shoving it at him. He doesn't notice her smirk. He insists that it's all lies from Elvira.

Then he changes tactics. "You want to know the truth? Your daughter offered herself to me. Just like you! Know why? It was the call of blood."

Meche stands. He puts down his tortilla and jumps up, saying he was just joking. "You're making me nervous. I don't want to spend the rest of my life in prison. You won't let me rot here, will you? Not really?" She comforts him and says no, he won't rot here.

I think he should, but another plan is already in motion.

Meche flashes back to the kitchen and the mole. Elvira is holding a box. Meche takes out a dainty spoonful of powder. As she stirs this into the mole, Elvira pours in the rest of the powder from the box, and we see that it's a box of rat poison. (Is anyone surprised by this? Did anyone not see this coming?) Elvira taps the bottom of the box for good measure.

Domingo is starting to feel it. (Then again, he never did like Elvira's cooking.) He's gagging and choking and retching as Meche stands by with a cold smile. "I told you," she says...

"...that I wouldn't let him rot," she explains to Capellan.

In a separate inteview, Elvira says that he died like a rat.

Meche holds him down to keep him quiet as he convulses with blood trickling from his ears and nose and mouth. The red butterfly takes off, and Meche leaves, wiping flecks of blood from her face.

"The wretch deserved to die that way," Elvira tells Capellan.

"Domingo Martinez murió por envenenamiento. Mercedes y Elvira Gonzalez fueron encontradas culpables en primer y segundo grado de responsabilidad, respectivamente. El embarazo de Mercedes, así como su situación emocional, se consideraron atenuantes para su condena. Fueron sentenciadas a 24 años de prisión. Lupita fue declarada inocente y se le permitió abortar, segun las leyes vigentes. Actualmente trabaja en un almacén y se ocupa de sus hermanos."

Domingo Martinez died of poisoning. Mercedes and Elvira Gonzalez found guilty of first and second degree murder, respectively. The pregnancy of Mercedes, as well as her emotional state, were taken as mitigating factors in her sentencing. They were sentenced to 24 years in prison. Lupita was decared innocent and was allowed to have an abortion as permitted by law. Currently, she works in a store and cares for her brothers.

Next week on "Parade of Assholes": Tune in for another inspirational tale starring Belinda, Isabela Camil (spelled "Issabela" on the MA website, I don't know why), and William Levy in "Annette y Ana, Nobles."

Labels: asesinas

Alternate Title: Hernandez is Too Dangerous and Crazy to Live

Hernandez has used his subtle powers of persuasion to convince Adolfo to do business with him, Edgar, and Valentin. The fact that Hernandez has just killed all his goons and has a gun pointed to his head, may have something to do with his quick agreement.

At Casa Genoves, Juli is filling Gabi in on the shoot-up at Leo’s and Adolfo’s appearance. Gabi had hoped all this would be ending soon, but now she’s not sure. Both girls are happy that with Juli living at Casa Genoves, Leo can better keep them safe, and their little family of three is all back together- through the good and the bad.

Eddie and Valentin are enjoying lunch on the curb and speaking about their new partner Hernandez. They agree that the guy gives them the creeps. Eddie thought he was a bit strange before, but now thinks he’s dangerous and abusive. (You know you’ve got a problem when Psycho Eddie thinks you’re crazy.) Eddie wants to carry on with their blackmail plan. Since JJ doesn’t know Valentin, Valentin will be responsible for squeezing him. He’s sure Dante won’t remember him (Eddie), so he’ll take him on.

At Adolfo’s, Bertha has just let in Hernandez who claims to be Adolfo’s business partner (socio). She’s feeling quite social and begins to spill Adolfo’s personal business- especially about those near and dear to him. He has a son, but the person he most loves in this world is Yolanda, who happens to live in this building. Adolfo comes home, quickly assesses the situation and drags Bertha up to her room. He then sets her straight that Hernandez is not a business partner, but an employee. He cautions her to keep her mouth shut and not do anything else stupid.

When he returns to the living room, he orders Hernandez to his office. It appears that Hernandez hates taking orders even more than Eddie. Adolfo scolds him about speaking to his mujer and screwing up a second time in an attempted hit- first with JJ, and now with Leo. Hernandez answers him by throwing his brandy glass across the room, pimp slapping Adolfo, and manhandling him on top of his desk with a gun pointed to his head. He then spits on the living room floor on the way out for good measure. Bertha listens to the altercation from behind a column in the living room, but does not come to Adolfo’s aid when he stumbles, gasping for air, out of the office. She doesn’t even go to him as he struggles half way up the stairs, calling for her out of fright that Hernandez has done her harm. When he passes out on the stairs, she calls out to him but does not call an ambulance.

Instead, Bertha ends up on Carlos’s doorstep. She explains to him what happened, expecting her knight to jump into action. But his only response is, “And?” He hustles her out the door since his girlfriend is about to come over. “Que?!” This is something Bertha didn’t expect. As he’s pushing her out the door, said girlfriend, Mina, arrives. This just adds insult to injury, so Bertha decides to dole out some insults to Mina. Bertha calls her Ale’s lackey (“gata”/ pet). This earns her a Hernandez-worthy b!tch slap from Mina. (Yes!)

Adoflo finally comes to on the stairs, and resumes calling for Bertha. He pours himself a drink and stumbles into his office. In their architecture office, Mina explains to Ale what happened with Bertha- the slap (which Ale thinks she deserved) and the reason why Bertha was asking Carlos for help. Ale become very worried for her sister and decides to call her.

Bertha finally returns to her home, but Adolfo is in his office and in no mood to speak. “Leave me in peace!” Bertha returns to her room in time to get a call from her sister. They make an appointment to meet in a café nears Adolf’s in half an hour. At the café, Bertha reveals that she is now married to Adolfo, and she can’t leave him because she’s scared. Bertha begs her sister not to judge her, and tells the story of all the info she spilled to the scary guy who came to the condo earlier. When Bertha recounts what Adolfo said about the failed hits, Ale knows immediately that she must be speaking of the real Hernandez.

A still shaken up Adolfo calls Dante, realizing he needs help. Dante says it was Adolfo that caused their breakup in the first place. He’s ready to reconcile. Adolfo explains the latest with Edgar and Valentin, who have teamed up to make them think Garnica is alive. It’s all clear to Dante now. Adolfo assures Dante it was all them. He’s incapable of betraying Dante in that way. (Yeah right!) Adolfo thinks their mutual survival depends on them staying united. Right now Adolfo has another person to worry about. Dante lets him know that if it’s Carmelo he’s worried about, he’s already sent him to the next life. Adolfo knows all about that, since he found that particular gift in his car. And he got the video that Edgar sent him. Dante is shocked that Adolfo got a video too. But Adolfo has a bigger worry right now- a cop named Hernandez.

Ale has called a meeting of the Fab Four (Herself, JJ, David and Carlos) in JJ’s office to share the news of Hernandez’ appearance. She explains the whole Adolfo/Bertha/Hernandez situation, which Carlos confirms, and JJ backs up with his own Hernandez sighting. Ale explains all that Big Mouth Bertha revealed, which sends Carlos flying out of the office to protect Yolanda. He later convinces Yolanda to come with him to a safe place- the Hotel Mirador.

Back in JJ’s office, David and JJ speak about Dora. JJ understands Dora’s fear of Adolfo and wants them to find another way of bringing Adolfo down. JJ thinks they can use a fake kidnapping of Yolanda by Fake Hernandez as leverage against Adolfo. They explain the scheme to Carlos when he returns, but Carlos doesn’t think Yolanda would ever go along with it, out of loyalty to Adolfo. They decide to create the ruse without her knowing. Abelardo later brings David’s Hernandez costume and nearly has a heart attack listening to the new plan. In the hotel lobby, after Carlos leaves Yolanda to check her in, a gentlemanly Hernandez approaches her for a light, as Abelardo and JJ take the money shot. Once he returns, Carlos convinces Yolanda to stay for a few days and think of it as a vacation. He’ll inform his father that she’s staying there.

Back in JJ’s office, Ale uses Photoshop to change the background of the picture and to replace the cigarette in “Hernandez’s” hand with a gun. Everyone is pleased with the result. They decide to send the photo to Adolfo, although it’s still a mystery to them why Yolanda is so important to him. Abelardo finally remembers to hand David his cell phone, where he’s missed MANY calls from Gabi.

In his office with Adolfo, Dante receives a visit from Edgar and Valentin. The two mafiosos welcome the two prodigal sons back into the fold. They need to come to agreement on a few things. Adolfo and Dante have been impressed by their daring and genius. In fact, they’re willing to pay them well for the originals of those videos they shot, as well as those other items they had bargained for earlier- the shoes and photo. But right now, they have a more pressing issue- Hernandez. He’s a danger to all four of them. Eddie and Valentin are in total agreement. That guy is dangerous and untrustworthy. The mafiosos have a plan, and the goons are willing and ready. Later at his condo, Adolfo hands Bertha a wad of cash and makes sure she gets out of the house for a while.

Leo’s visit to Juli and Faustiago is interrupted by a call informing him that Hernandez has been released from the big house. Now Leo knows that one of his worst enemies is on the loose. He then learns from Faustiago that Dora has returned. He is not happy to be the last to know. (Hmm. How many other developments and plans can we think of that the gang has not informed Leo about? Leo is the new Gabi.) When David enters, he turns his ire to David. Holding back this info is preventing him from doing his job! David tells him that they’ve all (including JJ) decided that Dora will not be testifying against Adolfo. Leo understands. But he’s on edge that Hernandez has left prison. David looks thoughtful, but does not tell Leo what he knows about the latest escapades of Fake Hernandez and the real Hernandez.

Real Hernandez is being lured into Adolfo’s lair by Valentin with a suitcase full of cash. He urges the beast to enter Adolfo’s office, where he is drawn in by the site of another case full of cash, held open by Adolfo on his desk. He misses that the desk, the floor, and all the furniture are covered in white sheets. But it soon becomes apparent that Adolfo intends to give him a bullet instead of dinero as a parting gift when he pulls a huge gun from behind the case, and Edgar steps from behind the door with an equally large gun. Hernandez’s short reign of terror is ended with a bullet from Adolfo’s gun to his chest. Eddie and Valentin clean up the mess easily by rolling up the body in the sheets.

In their bedroom, David is met by Gabi’s pregnancy hormones, who have taken over her brain and made her sad and suspicious of David’s movements once more. He and Viewerville heave a big sigh of frustration. His phone was off; he didn’t know she’d called; he was busy and had things to do; he was in JJ’s office; he was doing things to fight Adolfo; he can’t tell her what those things are because it’s dangerous; he can’t explain right now and he doesn’t want to. He leaves in a huff.

Back at Adolfo’s condo, he’s having Bertha explain exactly what she said to Hernandez. When she explains what she said about Yolanda, he nearly goes ballistic. She can never again speak about his personal life to anyone! Juanita, Yolanda’s maid, calls to ask Adolfo if he has seen Yolanda. He then receives an envelope, with the doctored photo of Hernandez holding Yolanda at gun point. “It can’t be! Yolanda!”

Labels: verdad