Caray, Caray!

Fernando, aka Mr. Too Little Too Late, tries to use logic to convince Alex that maybe the whole Mario-Aguirre-renting-the-room scenario needs some questioning. Alex says he's already kicked them out. So maybe he should make sure it's justified, then? Alex just sits there looking tortured. Or maybe thinking "you couldn't have copped this attitude before I kicked them out?"

MaryJo shows the fam their new digs. Paula is not pleased, but MaryJo tells her to suck it up since getting kicked out was her fault. Paula stomps off. MaryJo and Pedro both say they'd rather go back to Saqui, but that will have to wait until they find out what's going to happen with Paula. MaryJo explains that she only ordered them breakfast and dinner to help save money. Pedro notices that MaryJo looks pale. She blames it on being tired. He's tired too and his knee is bothering him, so he's going to freshen up and then rest. MaryJo leaves and Pedro puts his head in his hands.

Mercedes and her brother (whose name I can't remember) start spinning their tale to the cops. Bro's doing most of the spinning. He says he was out on that street two days ago, at night, maybe around 9. He was dropping off a girl he met in the mercado (could mean marketplace, grocery store, strip mall, just depends). No, not a "señorita de familia" (rich girl), a girl from the not-so-rich neighborhood right nearby. But he didn't walk her to her house because she had a jealous brother, yeah, that's it. Her name…um…Marianela or Anabella maybe…uh, the neighborhood, not sure he remembers which one exactly. But no, he swears he only had two beers, that's all. And then he was walking back home and a car ran him over. Make? Model? Color? Plate number? No, sorry, he really didn't see. Couldn't see if it was a man or a woman driving either, or how many people, you know, cause of the street lights. The cop is frustrated that he really can't tell them anything. Mercedes pipes up and says look, her brother is hurt, and someone has to pay, don't they? The cop asks if they can at least say where on the road this happened.

Paula complains some more about the rat hole they're in. She does at least blame herself for it, but now MaryJo says there were a lot of reasons for them being kicked out. But, hey, they've been poor before and they know how to do this, right? *sigh*

Erick's cousin gripes Mercedes' brother out for being an idiot. He didn't give the cops enough details to connect him to the girl who was supposed to have run him over. So now that guy's going to want his money back. They should have done what they were supposed to, blah, blah, blah. Mercedes is so over it. She's getting a taxi and taking her brother to a hospital. She brushes off the question of how she's going to give the money back if she does that. She goes off to the corner to get a taxi and Erick's cousin says to his wife that he warned them not to mess with "those people." Woo hoo, new depths of tantrum-throwing and threatening from Bruno.

Ulises pumps iron and talks on his cell phone. Maura wants him to remind their Mario Aguirre to call MaryJo and throw another log on the fire. She reminds him she's paying, so he agrees, against his, uh, better judgment. He leaves a message for Mateo to call him ASAP. Then he says "to hell with this" and pumps some more iron.

Raquel gleefully shows Robert the latest headline about scandal in the Lombardo family. Roberto is so over it. Raquel is upset that everyone is going to think they're like "those people." Roberto sagely asks her who keeps leaking all this fabulous information to the press as he walks off. Raquel asks him where he's going. He keeps walking as he says "A ti que te importa?" (what does it matter to you?). Raquel steams and calls Ulises to gossip with him. He commiserates and says he knows how she must feel. Raquel complains some more about how everyone's been gossiping about them since the Samaniegos showed up. If by everyone you mean you and Maura and Lisette, sure. She wants to see him later for some physical consolation. Ulises is repelled by her Eau de Clingy. Finally she wears him down. Man. Gigolo-ing ain't easy.

The lawyer goes to Alex's office to tell him that they found the guy who got run over.

At the hospital, the doctor reminds Mercedes and her Bro that he's got a lesion on his hip (?) and the head of the femur is cracked and he'd need a hip replacement. But in all likelihood he won't be back at 100% after just one surgery. And he'll walk again, but he'll need some physical therapy. Well, sign me up, doc, and let's get this over with! The doc leaves to start making arrangements to have him admitted and get the pre-op bloodwork done. As he's leaving Mercedes ecstatically cries that she's got the money right here. The doc grins uncomfortably and shuts the door. Bro is worried about what's going to happen to "that girl" but Mercedes is sure she's just some rich girl who'll get out on bail and nothing will happen to her. Hm…do I hear wedding bells for Paula and Bro? Just a guess that one day he'll tell her he was so worried about "that girl" but he never dreamed it was her, etc.

The lawyer tells Alex that the guy's report was very vague and in fact, the only thing connecting him to the accident Paula had was the date, time, and place. The lawyer had already given the cops Alex's info as the person who would be responsible for any fines, hospital fees, etc. All Alex needs to do is sign some paper and then Paula's home free. Alex asks when he has to sign as ominous music plays. Oh, come on, he's not going to back out now, sound people, and you're not going to convince me otherwise.

MaryJo and Paula walk through a plaza. MaryJo wants to go down to the police station and inform them of their new address. But Paula is too chicken and is worried they might have changed their minds and will lock her up after all. MaryJo tells her to quit whining like a little girl…and then she gets dizzy. Paula walks her to a bench to sit down. Paula has put 2+2 together, and unlike everybody else on this show, doesn't think it adds up to the square root of pi. She knows where babies come from and she's guessing MaryJo has one on the way. MaryJo finally admits it to someone other than herself, but swears that if Paula tells anyone, even their dad, MaryJo will take off and not tell anyone where she's going. What's she going to say, "Yeah, dad, I've just been so depressed about Alex that I've put on some weight?"

Mateo finally calls Ulises back. His orders are to call MaryJo from a pay phone and gripe her out for not going to the motel and then threaten her and say he's going to tell everything he knows about her. Mateo rolls his eyes, but finds a pay phone right away to get it over with.

Ezequiel answers the phone as Victoria is walking in. When she hears that it's Mario Aguirre on the phone, she takes the call and informs him that MaryJo doesn't live there anymore. Mateo is surprised. Ezequiel, trying to score points, tells Victoria that this time there's no number on caller ID, but last time he used a cell phone and Ezequiel wrote down the number. Vicky would like to see it.

Mateo passes on the news. Ulises is surprised. He hmms like it's interesting that Mateo heard it from Victoria Lombardo.

Ezequiel shows the number to Victoria as Bruno walks in. She's all excited to show the number to Bruno. He takes the page out of Ezequiel's book, says he's going to track down Mario Aguirre, and says not to tell Alex. He's out the door before he can tell Vicky why. Ezequiel begs to differ, but he thinks that Alex should be told. Vicky looks worried. I could say something nasty about Vicky and her attitude toward a lot of things that isn't what I think it should be, but I won't. Y'all will take care of that for me in the comments. I'm just going to sit here and fume quietly. Heifer.

Short pointless convo between MaryJo and Paula again about dad being tired, MaryJo being pregnant, and her not wanting Alex to know. Again, heifer.

At the police station, MaryJo and Paula tell the guy at the desk that Paula is out on bail and is here to inform them of a change of her address. The guy tells them to wait. As they go to get some water, Paula notices Alex. He and MaryJo stare at each other while the drippy music plays. She walks off to avoid him, but Paula says hi to him. Paula tells them that they're there about the change of address. The lawyer is surprised to hear it. He breaks the news that the guy Paula hit has been found. Paula is afraid this means jail. Alex leaves the lawyer to explain it to her as he goes to have a probably fruitless and frustrating conversation with MaryJo. MaryJo tries to give him the brush-off, but he just has one question to ask. He wants to know how she got the hotel room key, but she's not going to tell him again. She's sure everybody is happy now, thinking that Bruno is innocent and that she was lying all along. She throws his "I never want to see you again" back in his face. She tells him that if he's so sure she was lying, he should just turn her in now, after all they are in a police station. He won't do it, though. She laughs that it would be another scandal for the famous Lombardo family. But he says that's not it. She tries to leave, but he wants her new address since he's at least going to have to find her to finalize the divorce. She gives him the name of the alleged rat hole they're living in and says something about it being a rat hole like they deserve. Now she gets to leave and he gets to furrow his brow.

Bruno calls Mateo. He lets him know that he paid a pretty penny to Mateo's cell phone carrier to find out his name and address. He also knows that Mat has been calling the Lombardo house claiming to be Mario Aguirre. He assumes someone has been paying Mat to pretend to be Mario and Bruno wants to offer him double if Mat will play for Team Bruno. We hear Mat squeak "double" through the phone before Bruno gets in his car, hangs up on him, and drives away.

Alex goes down to the hotel to give back the key and interrogate the desk clerk. He gets basically the same story Fernando did. Mario made the reservation, sent someone to pay in cash, was given the key a day early because he'd already paid, but never showed up.

Paula tells Pedro that Alex signed, so she's free, but she has to come back every week for two months. She complains that she's not going to move back to Saqui and take the freakin' bus every week, nu-uh, no way! MaryJo's emotional pendulum has swung back to bitch and she tells Paula that's too damn bad, this is all her fault and they're sure as hell not going to waste the little money they've got living in the pensión without having jobs. And they're not going to get jobs just for two months so that Princess here doesn't have to take a bus. Me. Ow. Pedro offers to take the bus with Paula, but it depends on how his knee is doing. Paula starts to say that if MaryJo had just told Alex…but MaryJo shuts her up and says Paula wanted her to beg Alex. Well, no way to that, Pedro agrees. He asks about the guy who got hit and Paula tells him that St Alex-of-the-steamy-showers will be paying for all the medical expenses. Well, he's a good man, that Alex. MaryJo mourns that he just never believed in her. She's sure that Pedro and Paula had a good time in Candyland, but that's all over now. They'll leave tomorrow. Pedro just wants to make one last stop at the house to say goodbye to Chucho.

Paula and MaryJo retire to their graffiti-ed room ("Carla was here 2009", oh really?) and continue their ongoing argument. It boils down to: MaryJo is in love with Alex; MaryJo is hurt that Alex didn't trust her and said nasty things to her; no one is to know that MaryJo is pregnant; Paula thinks MaryJo is stupid and should just tell Alex she's having his baby.

Mateo, aka Fake!Mario, calls Bruno from his cell. Bruno tells him to walk into the restaurant facing him. They hang up. Bruno calls Erick and tells him to get a move on finding MaryJo, but forget about Mario Aguirre, cause that's already taken care of.

Yay! Ceci's back! I love this actress. I think she was last Florencia's sister on Guapos. Before that she was Ceci on Amar Sin Limites. So, this is Katia, Fernando's sister. And she really, really, wants to go to the Lombardo house to say hi to everyone and see if Alex and Bruno are as handsome as ever. On hearing that Alex got married, and not to Maura, she shifts her sights to Bruno. Ew. She doesn't want to talk about what happened with school, cause it will ruin her homecoming. Fer gives in to her whininess and says they'll go over to the Lombardo's, but just for a little while.

Bruno and Fake!Mario have a meeting. Bruno demands absolute loyalty and silence, and no, he won't pay up front. He threatens to turn Fake!Mario in for identity theft if he doesn't talk. Fake!Mario tells Bruno how the whole thing started. Bruno seems pleased with the explanation. Fake!Mario almost kind of made it sound like Roberto was in on it, based on him being at that party with Maura and Ulises.

Alex tries to go and talk to Mercedes' brother, but he's intercepted by Erick's cousin's wife, who tells him that Gabriel (that's the brother's name) isn't there because he's at who knows what hospital getting an operation on his leg. Alex is a little suspicious that they would have the money for that, but what's-her-face says maybe they borrowed it or something.

Bruno's orders are thus: to Ulises, Maura, et al, Fake!Mario is now dead--he may not speak to them again; since they never knew where he lived he is to go back home; Bruno will be taking Fake!Mario's current cell phone; Fake!Mario will be taking a large wad of cash to buy himself a new one; Erick will go to Fake!Mario's house tomorrow (aha! Never asked for the address, though!) to give Fake!Mario 500 thousand pesos, as he will continue to do every month that Fake!Mario is working for Bruno; for now, Fake!Mario is to get a new cell phone and give that number to Erick, then he is to await further orders. And who is this man who is giving Mateo his orders now? Bruno smiles and says "Mario Aguirre." har, har, har. Mat digs it.

Vicky is happy to see Katia. Vicky still remembers her as a little girl. Fer outs her for whining to be brought over the whole way from the airport. Katia says that they were like her second family after their parents died. Katia runs out to go say hi to Raquel and Roberto. Fer tells Vicky that he doesn't know why Katia is back so early since they haven't had a chance to talk yet. Vicky spouts some crap about being patient. Fer thinks she needs a mother's touch. Vicky says moms aren't all they're cracked up to be. Now she wants to know how Alex is doing. Fer thinks Alex is sad and has never been in love like this before. Vicky tells him about Mario Aguirre's cell number. Fer thinks it's suspicious that Bruno took it and doesn't want anyone to tell Alex. Vicky says maybe Bruno just wanted to keep Alex from getting upset again. I can almost see the light bulb go on as Fernando asks, "really? Is that really what you think is going on?" The reigning Queen of Denial says "Well, what other explanation is there?"

Raquel and Roberto ooh and aah over how big Katia has gotten since the last time they saw her. Roberto seems especially pleased. Raquel can't wait to tell Katia all the gossip. Roberto tries to cut her off, saying there's really nothing to tell, but Raquel insists "Alex's fake marriage, that drunken dad, and you think that's nothing?!" Roberto rolls his eyes as Katia looks more confused than intrigued. For someone who gripes and complains about all the gossip, it seems to me that Raquel is doing the most spreading it around.

Alex shows up at the hospital, looking for Gabriel. Mercedes hears him ask at the desk and tells him that she's Gabriel's sister. Alex tells her he's a family member of the woman who ran her brother over and that he's going to pay for all of Gabriel's medical treatment. She falls all over herself thanking him, especially after he brushes off her assertion that just the room would cost an eye out of his head. Alex asks to see Gabriel. Mercedes takes him to Gabriel's room and introduces them, explaining that Alex is paying for everything. Gabe also whines about how expensive it all is. Alex tells him he's sure everything will turn out fine. Alex tells them that "the girl" is out on bail. Gabe is happy to hear it. Alex and Mercedes start to leave to go give Alex's credit card number to administration or whoever. Gabe tells him to tell "the girl" that he's sorry. Alex is suspicious. "Isn't she the one who should be apologizing to you?" "Oh, uh, yeah I guess." They leave.

At the house, Chucho is in the kitchen, mourning the loss of his bosses. One of the maids tells him to help her peel potatoes so he doesn't get bored. Not gonna happen. He only peeled potatoes in the army. The phone rings and since Ezequiel is taking drinks to Raquel's visitors, Chucho answers it. It's MaryJo, calling to give him the address so that he can come visit Pedro. He doesn't write, so he can't write down the address, but he can remember it. As she's telling him, she faints. Paula comes running over as Chucho keeps calling her through the phone. MaryJo isn't coming around. Paula shouts for help.

Mercedes tells Gabriel that she feels terrible. She can see that Alex is good people. Gabriel tells her to give the money back to that other guy, that if he'd known good people were going to get hurt, he never would have lied in the first place. Mercedes says it's a done deal. She also wants to give the guy his money back, but she doesn't know where to find him. Gabriel reasons that Gregorio and his cousin Erick must know.

MaryJo applies a cool compress and continues to blame her fainting on the heat. The lady who runs the pensión tells her to go rest and she'll bring up some tea. Paula keeps mocking her for blaming it on the heat.

Felipa is also happy to see Katia. Roberto points out that he and Katia can play tennis, since Raquel sucks at it. Bruno comes in and actually, for once, is happy about something not evil. He picks Katia up and swings her around. Roberto teases her for cheating on him so soon, but Katia says there's enough of her to go around. Ok. Ezequiel brings in appetizers. Raquel goes off to meet Ulises, but she lies about it. She makes a date with Katia to go dancing tomorrow. Fernando tells Katia it's time for them to go, too. She wants to wait and see Alex, but he insists. Katia says he's going to interrogate her now. She says he's grumpy and that's why he's never gotten married. Fernando very pointedly doesn't look at Vicky. And Vicky barely looks at him. Katia says her goodbyes to all the males. Fer says goodbye to Vicky, who asks him to call her. Bruno gives Fernando a nasty look, then turns it on his mother. Well, there's the Bruno we all know and loathe. Unfortunately that's where my DVR cuts off.

Labels: sortilegio

Repeats: Carlota insists to Rufi that it’s better for Paloma to think her father is some jerk who wants nothing to do with her and her mother was a qualquiera; besides, that’s what Mac wanted. Rufi gives up and leaves. Carlota thinks it’s high time Rufi took her leave of this world.

New: Diana bulldozes through to Emiliano’s office despite Angélica’s protests that he is not in. Orlando comes in to see what all the fuss is, and Diana dramatically whips off her huge gaudy sunglasses, revealing her bludgeoned face. He is shocked.

Emiliano is still in Rafael’s office getting reassured that Daddy loves him. He’s still not sure what’s going on with his mother, though. He has figured out that Diana must have been hiding from Orlando and that’s why she wouldn’t go to the company celebration and why she didn’t want him working with Orlando in the first place. He also remembers the story Orlando told him before finding out who his mother is, about the mother of his child who ran away after framing him for a theft and putting him in jail. So Emo wonders what other lies she has told, and whether Orly really pounded her. Rafa seems willing to say that Orlando is violent and dangerous, but Emo tells him that now Orly refuses to say anything bad to him about Diana. Rafa approves of that gracious policy. Emo asks him what he thinks Diana is really up to, and Rafa says he can’t put his hands in the fire for her anymore.

Orlando angrily accuses Diana of setting up a trap and lying. She accuses him of having a wild imagination and lying. He says the truth will come out eventually and she will pay, and it’s a good thing she chose a good father to raise her son because Rafa is surely the only reason he turned out to be decent. Ange watches their fight and looks very upset.

Camila wails and sobs, wondering why Rafa has left her and gone back to Diana.

Samuel receives the message (asking him to call) from Camila at his swish hotel. He takes a moment to gloat and thought-bubble that first he will get Romina firmly on his side, then he will bring Camila to the point of absolute desperation, and then, bwahahahaha, down she falls. He gets the hotel clerk to send flowers and chocolates to Romina and smugly smugs.

Emo wants to find out what his mother is all about; he is sooo confused. Diana has always been so strict and upright and unforgiving of others’ weaknesses, and now it seems that was all an act. Rafa doesn’t want to say anything, so he tells Emo he needs to talk to Di to clear things up. He also reassures Emo that whatever else Diana may be, she really loves her son and he is the center of her universe. Mr. Centro Universo believes that, of course, because how could anyone not love him? Still, he needs to cram in an awkward title reference and state that people do terrible things in the name of love. Has anyone kept track of the number of times the characters have said “En nombre del amor?” It’s starting to sound very silly. So anyhoodle, Emo doesn’t want to see Diana. Rafa offers his apartment and says Emo will have it to himself since Rafa is staying with Diana while she recovers from her scare.

Diana tells Orlando she’s never felt for Rafa what she did for him. “So what? Now I can’t stand you,” says Orly. Diana asks him to please never say anything bad about her to their son. Orly can’t believe her nerve in asking that, after she accused him of beating her up.

Carlota storms into Germán’s office and yells at him that a gentleman stands when a lady enters. He obligingly stands up. He does not ask where the lady is, or, for that matter, the gentleman. She wants her papers that are coming from the D.F. He says they haven’t arrived. She wants Licenciado Rosas to fix things; Germy says he’s on vacation. “And who do you think is paying for that?” Carloca asks. She tells him to make it happen. The purple cow leaves and Germy is muy intrigued.

The flowers and chocolates are delivered to Romina. She squeals and says they must be from Emiliano. If that were true, the chocolates would probably be poisoned. Romina has a phenomenal capacity for self-delusion. Paloma watches from her window and wonders who’s sending Romina flowers. Emiliano calls Paloma and they agree to meet at Rafa’s apartment, providing Paloma can manage to sneak out of the house. Emo just wants to leave and go far away and take Paloma with him. She agrees that sounds delightful. (A note from me, though: if you end up in the hospital in the next town over as you flee, do not let anyone inform Carlota. That was Iñaki’s fatal mistake. Just run like hell.)

Diana breaks down sobbing when Rafa tells her that Emo doesn’t want to see her. Rafael rolls his eyes heavenward.

Paloma tells Rufi she wants to sneak out because Cruel surely won’t give permission. Rufi says she needs to be very careful so Cruel won’t find out she spent the night with Emiliano. Unfortunately, Auntie Maim has appeared and heard that last part. “You did WHAT?! You slut!” She slaps Paloma really hard. Much yelling, and Crueloca flails so much she looks like a cartoon Tasmanian devil. Paloma insists on explaining, at high pitch and lightning speed: she was just talking with Emo, and they fell asleep, and next thing it was morning and Padre Juan woke them up. “Cristóbal is involved in this cover-up (solapar = to overlap, conceal)?!” Cruel bellows, looking ever more rabid. “Who is Cristóbal?” Paloma asks. “A priest who is going to pay!”

Crueloca locks Paloma into her room and Paloma throws a fit. You’ve still got a balcony door, sweetcakes.

Out in the hall, Cruel yells at Rufi for letting Paloma out of prison and conspiring with Padre JC to cover up her lies. Cruel will not permit this! Paloma begs Rufi to let her out, but she can’t because Carloca has taken the keys. EVERYONE PAY ATTENTION NOW; THIS IS GROUNDBREAKING: Paloma does NOT fling herself down on her bed for a cry. She heads out onto the balcony!

Rafa tells Diana that Emiliano just needs time to assimilate all this news. Diana can’t understand why he doesn’t need his mommy. Where has he gone? Rafa says Emo is staying in his apartment, but to leave him alone.

Paloma goes over the balcony rail and makes it down the wall to the sidewalk. She takes off running.

Camila sees the flowers and asks Romina who sent them. Romina says they’re from her father, and accuses Camila of jealousy. That is just ridiculous. Cami says she tried to see Sam, but he wasn’t in, and she wants nothing to do with him and this is just another game he’s playing. Romina tearfully says it’s not a game. She is going to marry Emiliano and make him fall in love with her, and Cami should do the same with Samuel.

Padre JC gives Padre Benito the new keys; the locks have finally been changed. PB asks him if he and Mac wanted to have a child. “Well…we were too old for that,” says PJC, confused. “No, the first time you were together, a long time ago,” clarifies PB. PJC says they would have loved that, but their lives went in another direction. “But, ahem, were you two…eh…intimate enough that it could have happened?” PB pries. “Well…yes. Why the nosy personal questions?” “Oh, no reason. Never mind.”

PJC starts to leave, but the crazy purple thundercloud storms in (should have used those new locks!) and asks him what he’s doing, covering up her niece’s sluttiness. Both priests are taken aback.

Paloma runs through the town, upstairs and downstairs in her ugly flowered gown. She pauses to call Emiliano and update him.

PJC tells Carlota to stop overreacting. She thinks he’s immoral and a poor specimen of a priest. He says nothing sinful happened between Paloma and Emiliano. She wonders how he can be sure. PJC says he would put his hands in the fire for the two of them. (Second mention of that this episode! I was mostly kidding last week when I said Paloma is so dimwitted she would probably keep putting her hand on the stove if she cooked, but now I see that this is apparently a popular pastime in Real del Monte.)

Carloca demands that Padre Benito make Cris stay away from Paloma. Cris tries to explain how things really happened, and apologizes. Carloca says that doesn’t make it okay and he had better stay away from her niece. Oh, he’ll have the hots for her now, for sure. They’re both yelling until PB says, “Basta! Ya!” and makes Cris leave so he can talk with Carlota privately. Carloca smirks and Cris asks when she turned into this.

Paloma shows up at the apartment. She and Emo commiserate over their mutual parental confusion. Emo doesn’t know what to do—now he has no home, no job, and no friends. Paloma tells him not to think about that now. She distracts him with kisses.

Carlota whines brattily while Padre Benito supplies her with tea which unfortunately probably doesn’t have belladonna in it and tries to calm her. She thinks it’s unacceptable that PJC seems to have a weakness for Paloma. PB thinks that’s all the more reason to tell them the truth. “Never!” she says, and threatens him as she leaves.

Cris is out in the garden when Carloca passes through. He tells her he only lied to protect Paloma from Cruel’s crazy vicious wrath. He says she is playing with fire. She says she likes playing with fire because she knows she won’t burn. Ha! She is a demon! She just admitted it! He tells her there are much nicer ways to live but she isn’t interested. She says his punishment will be the guilt he feels about every tear Paloma will spill over this, or some such. Oh yes, crazy lady, he will just fall into your bed now. What exactly is her end game now? Does she even have one anymore, or is she just straight-up nuts?

Diana calls Romina for help. She wants Ro to go to the apartment and convince Emo to go visit Di.

Paloma worries that Carlota has gone to rage at Padre Juan but Emo says he can defend himself. Emo does feel guilty about causing this whole fight, though. Paloma says it’s not his fault, and she’d do it again regardless of how angry Carlota gets. Emiliano says he’ll make it all up to her when they’re married and everything’s okay. She wonders if they’ll actually ever marry and he says they definitely for sure will and they will be very happy.

Romina tells Camila that Emiliano called and wants her to come visit. Then she rubs in that Rafael has gone back to Diana. Romi says probably Emo wants her to see the apartment because that’s where they will live after they are married, but not to worry, she’ll let Camila take care of the baby all the time. Not that Cami needs to live alone, though! If Rafa can go back to Diana, surely Camila can get back together with Samuel, says Romina. Camila looks more and more fed up in every scene.

Germán is waiting on the step when Romi leaves the house. She spins the same story for him about going to see the apartment. Dream on, he says, we both know you’re going to end up married to me. He wants to go get the test results. She says to stay out of her life. Germs shakes a baby rattle at her and she smashes it on the ground.

Padres Benito tells Cris that in this case Carlota was right; he takes too much interest in Paloma. Cris says he was just trying to help her avoid Carlota’s completely disproportionate punishments, and he won’t abandon her because he promised Mac he would take care of her. Benito says he’s going to talk to Obispo Calixto about Cris, and to stay out of trouble.

Paloma tries to cheer up Emiliano, but he says now he doesn’t believe anything his mother says, and he feels bad about that.

Orlando is upset because he has no way of proving that he wasn’t the one who hurt Diana. Ange says she believes that Di was just trying to sling mud on him. He seems touched by her faith and asks her to stay there while he calls Emiliano.

Emiliano is politish and tells Orlando he will finish the work he has pending and then leave the business. Orly asks him to stay, even if he can’t accept him as a father. Emo cries. Ange gives Orly an encouraging nod.

Paloma strips off her sweater and walks slowly over to Emo as they blather about nothing important. She kisses him and we see lots of replays of their entire courtship. Looks like they could go on awhile, but the doorbell rings.

Avances: Looks like we’ll finally get the paternity test results. The announcer wants us to believe we’re in high suspense, but I think we all know how this is going to go. I’d love to be wrong.

Labels: amor

Man, another delightful evening spent with the Gancho crazies. You had to love the twin passion scenes between Monita and Mauricio and Beto and Connie. And let's admit it, Connie and Beto are soooo hot together they make our "stars" look downright tepid. I was taken aback at how raw and visceral and appealing our scruffy Beto was tonight. Whew! Sign me up for the low road. I'm ready.

Better get back to business. We start with a tenderly humorous scene between Mauricio and Aldo. Aldo's apologizing for his part in the mess that's led to the forced marriage with Constanza, but also softening up dopey old forgiving dad so he can cop some money for more drugs. "Te alcanza con eso?" (Is that enough?) asks dopey dad, opening up his billfold immediately.

We shake our heads ruefully as we switch to a wine-tasting scene at the office. I loved this one because it reminded me of a gruesome blind date I had with the German brother-in-law of my Deutsch professor. This pretentious guy kept noting the woody, saucey blah blah flavors of the wine we were having with dinner and c'mon...give me a break. It's wine. I've never tasted a hint of raspberry in my life. Have you?

Anyway, Beto, bless his heart, hasn't either. He slugs down the first (hint of wood and raspberry), slurps down the second (just a bit of a citrus note) and over Lalo's protests and hysteria, Connie advises letting Beto drink all he wants (keep him sedated!) even though when the "strong, aggressive, just the way I like it" cabernet sauvignon is uncorked, Connie looks like she's ready to cancel the wine-tasting and just jump the Cromagnon's bones. Yeah baby!

Lalo can't take it anymore (he's an artiste and deserve respect!) and flounces out, leaving Connie to rub Beto up and down (is this supposed to sober him up) while he begs her not to marry Mauricio. Why? Because Beto loves her. You what!? Connie gasps. The camera does a closeup of her puzzled, panicked face. Hmmm. What should we make of this?

No time to ponder. We see a big shot of the sun. Then clouds passing. And in case we haven't gotten the idea, the words "several days later" appear. Okay then.

Constanza, looking somehow both wan and triumphant, is having the final touches of makeup before heading off to her wedding. Lalo is ecstatic. She's the most beautiful bride ever. Ximena is tactless. Hey, I was the most beautiful bride ever. Okay now it's your turn. But wait. Monita was fabulous in her wedding dress. Connie...you look.... alright (se ve bien, pasable). Wow, talk about being damned with faint praise. But our iron maiden doesn't wilt; Teresa arrives to say the limosine is waiting and off she goes.

Down in the boondocks (sorry,that song's going through my head) Paula and Estrella are attempting to console Monita by taking her out to...say...the zoo, for instance. As fun as that sounds, Moni would rather stay home in bed and just sleep until the wedding's over.

Suddenly. Yep. You guessed it. Mauricio appears. Looking like death warmed over. But Monita's in love so she says "Que guapo te ves!" I feel like I'm dying, going to my own funeral, sighs Maurio. Give me one last kiss. Big bodacious smooch while Paula and Estrella, Nieves and Alicia, all get that ahhhhhhhh look on their faces.

Back to reality. Lalo is bidding Connie farewell at the limo, chortling that at last they've reached their objective. And furthermore she's the prettiest, most glamourous, skinniest bride in his whole wedding career. (I can hear Mike saying "where's the beef?" right now). Connie hops in the limo and tells the driver briskly to hurry, she doesn't want to be late. Driver turns around. Beto! You'll be late, honey, so late you're never going to arrive at your wedding at all. Shazaaaam.

Barrio time. The Greek chorus of barrio ladies weep and wail and declare that Monita and Mauricio are meant to be together. Don't give up. True love conquers all. Celestial music plays. Put yourself in God's hands. Etc. etc. etc. Mauricio thanks them all but sez if it's all the same, I'd rather be alone with Monita right now. Greek chorus fades away, but not before one member, Nieves, worries aloud about Beto. He's been gone four days now. Where could he be?

Well, we know where he is now. Kidnapping the bride. You're crazy, wails Connie. Crazy with jealousy, he snarls. You're nobody. You're nothing but mine. Those lips, those legs, mine mine mine. Ya!

After the ads, the temperature drops 'cause we're back with Mauricio and Monita. Frankly, he's just being downright tedious. He looks dopey, he's apologizing for being "egoista" and then goes on and on about how he'll be under the same roof but not "with" Connie and Moni must WAIT for him, be PATIENT, PROMISE ME! ZZZZZzzzzzzzzz

On the other hand, things are hot in the limo. Has Beto been drinking for four days? Hell no, he drank for three days and then spent the fourth sleeping off the hangover. But he's in love with Connie. Really in love. Not from the head, but from the heart, the soul. Pause. Connie, softly, I'm in love with you too.

Oooey, ooey ooooey, Beto pulls the limo over. He's ready to jump in the back and consummate that love. Pow. A well-aimed kick to the nether regions and Connie's free and ready to hail a taxi. What a woman!

Back in Monita's room, Mauricio is STILL talking. (If I were Monita, I'd reconsider at this point.) Her side of the conversation is more interesting. She promises to wait even until they're both old and ga-ga and living in the same nursing home. He'll get mad and chase her. By the time he catches her, he'll have forgotten why he was mad. We'll give each other our medication, adds Mauricio. They chuckle at the thought.

Quick. Back to Beto and Connie. No taxi. She tries boarding a bus but is repelled by three smelly guys hopping on ahead of her. Beto's recovered enough from his wound to give chase. She hurls her shoes at him. He hurls back, knocks her out with one well-aimed heel, does a little gorilla chest-thumping and hauls her back into the limo. Now there's a romance with some juice to it!

And now to another fine couple. We see Sal and Gaby wandering around a room of bored wedding guests, all wondering where the novios are. Sal is twitching madly, but at least he's in a suit and tie and back to paying elegant compliments to Miss Gabriela. She's beautiful, strong, charming (yes, yes, when I look in the mirror I see all that, she agrees) and the conversation ends with a very thorough very grownup, get-the-job-done kiss.

And alas, it gets the job done too well. Lorenza sees it and is further inflamed with desire for revenge and serious poisoning. Oily Oscar sidles up and encourages her to throw the whole darn bottle in Sal's drink the next time. And just wait, we'll have him locked up in an asylum pronto!

Back to our tepid lovers. Mauricio, looking quite disheveled, says he must go. One last big kiss. He turns, murmuring that he feels like he's going over a cliff. But wait. Monita runs after him. Jumps up. Hugs him. Wraps her legs around him. Wow. She finally found the light switch. So what if I'm late! he exults. They dive on the bed. Do you want me to hold back? he asks. Her only answer is more kisses. Clothes start to come off. Bueno. Nothing like having the wedding night before the wedding. And with a different bride. Works for me.

Same thing in the limo. Only better. Much better. How are you bad? Let me count the ways, Beto muses. She's bad like sour milk. I missed the rest. But there were a number of bad's. And what's more, she kneed him in the balls. No se vale. Me dañas. That's for sure. Connie comes to and starts to complain that Beto loves Monita. Sure I love her. I love her fighting spirit, her heart, her feistiness. But I love you too. Your kisses. Your lips. Your passion. Your skin. Your fragrance. You're like a wolf in heat. YOU CAN'T LOVE TWO WOMEN AT ONCE!, Connie snaps. I CAN, Beto snarls, pounding his chest. I can love two women. (You just know Beto is speaking for all macho men everywhere at this point. The poster child for a pair and a spare.)

Oh heck. We're back in Monita's room. Our lovers are in a state of "après l'amour" torpor. Mauricio is still lamenting though. I can't tell you good-bye. I'll come for you as soon as possible. Don't risk losing your kids, cautions Monita. Find a way to keep them and then get a divorce. And don't say "adios" " Hasta luego". Mau runs off. And the Greek Chorus enters. (Hope they weren't just outside the door listening. But they could have been.) They're all quite blue and a lot more tearful than our Monita who at least has just enjoyed some intense criterion behavior.

Speaking of...fire up your engines baby. "Cause Beto's gettin' ready to ride. He's messing up Connie's hair and wrinkling her dress. She protests. He starts to tear the dress apart. Shred, shred, shred. I'm going to make love to you until you forget your multiplication tables, he snarls. And we're off! (Now, c'mon. Isn't that a better preamble than a depressed "do you want me to hold back?"Mauricio-style? You betcha.)

Alright. Cool off while we have a little comic relief. Lalo is having a meltdown. Ximena's tipped a waiter so he'll wheel Rolu around in his chair and bring back happy memories of being on the racetrack. She volunteers to massage Lalo's precious, sculptured body. It doesn't work. He's still tense. Well, make your mind a blank, she advises. I don't know why people think it's hard. It's easy for me! Our dear Ximena goes right into her white fluffy trance but Lalo's still on the verge of tears. Pobrecito.

Back to our steamy limo love nest. Our nefarious lovers have clearly had congress as well, but no torpor ensues. Instead, Beto, looking quite swarthy and sexy, I must say, is demanding an admission of love. Don't tell me I'm crazy and just a pasttime...a sexual object. You bite your lip every time you see me, you tremble, you melt, you can't stand seeing me with another woman....if that's not love what is it. So say it...SAY IT! SAY YOU LOVE ME!....Yes, sighs Connie. I love you. Pause. Neta? (really?) Yes. But I'm going to marry Mauricio.

She head butts Beto. Leaves him on the street like so much road kill. Fishes the keys out of his pocket. Jumps behind the wheel of the limo and off she goes. Simply divine.

Our morose Mau arrives at an equally lugubrious wedding reception. Gaby and Sal run up. Where were you? No answer. Mau just wants to get it over with. But Connie's not here either. Suddenly he brightens. Sal thinks she's been kidnapped. Gaby feels sorry for the poor kidnappers. Sal goes into another major tic fest. Mau continues to beam hopefully.

Brief scene with the kids. The crazy hairdressers have finally curled Katia's hair and she looks lovely. Luisa and Dany are bored. Teresa is beginning to think her prayers have been answered and the wedding is off. Ivan has gone to the bathroom and found Aldo taking drugs.

Our ubiquitous policeman Christian has retrieved Beto and is slapping him back into consciousness. Who did this to you? he asks. A bad bad woman. Not worth it. Lucky to have escaped her clutches. Back to my mom. The only woman who's ever really loved me. For sure, Beto.

Good ol' mom is still in the barrio, trying to console Monita with cheerful remarks like "Life's not like a fairy tale. " Those pudientes (powerful rich folks) aren't for the likes of us. Those romances never last.

Oh come off it, snaps Alicia. Just because you were "embarazada y plantada en el altar"....Monita and Mauricio are different. He really loves her!

Lalo is as stricken as Nieves is with her memories. He worked and worked with Connie to make this the wedding of the year and now we're like the village fiancee, "vestidas y alborotadas". Ximena flaps around him, trying to be consoling, but to no avail. Sal comes up and tells Mau the judge has to leave. Then turns to inform the crowd that due to "causas ajenas" (things beyond their control) the wedding is off.

Noooooo. Don't call it off, shouts a voice in the distance. And here comes Constanza. Ripped and disheveled (acutally her hair looks better all tumbled around her face), with a lot of silky leg showing. Charging full speed ahead for the wedding of her dreams.

Gasp. That's all I can take for this evening. How about you? Previews show Monita arriving and standing in the wings, watching the wedding vows. Mauricio turns towards her as if saying the words to her and her alone. Connie looks worried.

Vocabulary

una cata = a tasting, as in a wine-tasting
chompeta = cabeza
hasta la maceta= up to "here"
pegarme en los huevos = knee me in the balls
vestida y alborotada = lit. dressed and agitated...but refers to brides left in the lurch at the altar
los pudientes = wealthy, rich, powerful
embarazada y plantada = pregnant and dumped (at the altar in Nieves' case)
causas ajenas = circumstances beyond our control
te alcanzas con eso = is that enough?

Dicho of the Day

No hay mal que por bien no venga.

lit. There's nothing bad that does not come for good. In other words, "Every cloud has a silver lining."

Monita and Mauricio, Connie and Beto. Things were looking grim indeed, and yet both couples found ways to enjoy the evening. Good for them!

Labels: gancho

Fair warning: My generally cranky mood and Jacqueline Bracamonte’s atrocious acting are converging today in a really unfortunate way. I apologize in advance to fans of MariaJose/Jacqeline Bracamontes !

Roberto and Ulises are talking and Roberto tells Ulises the news that MariaJose was going to meet the supposedly non-existent Mario Aguirre in the hotel. Ulises says that he never told Mateo to do that, and Roberto warns Ulises to be careful because Alex is a “perro de presa” (a kind of herding dog that can be vicious) and won’t stop until he finds out the truth; if he does find out things could go badly for Ulises. Ulises talks to Mateo and Maura and calls an urgent meeting.

Bruno is also busy on the phone and calls the social column of the local newspaper to give them a lead: Alex Lombardo’s sister-in-law has been arrested for a hit and run accident while driving drunk.

At the delegation Alex comes out to tell the waiting family that Paula will get out on bail, though they can’t leave right away. MJ tenderly thanks Alex, who coldly stares at her and then brushes past her, telling her he has things to do. MariaJose looks worried – she knows something is up but she’s not sure what. What could it be, what could it be? Yes, I know my hair is its usual mess and I look like I’ve been dragged through a hedge backwards, but probably that’s not it. My pants are so tight you can see my lady parts coming and going, but the faux-hooker look certainly didn’t repel Alex when he was with Maura, so that’s probably no it. I hid the key and all, but we made up after that so what could it be, oh what could it be? The lawyer tells them they still have some paperwork to fill out, and that they should pray that no wounded or dead person shows up. Don Pedro noticed that Alex is upset and asks MariaJose about it. Yes dad, he is upset, but that’s normal. Pedro agrees – of course it is – we’ve caused him a lot of problems.

Roberto, Ulises, Maura and Mateo are poolside. Maura denies having made the reservation in Mario Aguirres’ name, and they wonder if it could have been Bruno. Roberto worries about how complicated things are getting and Ulises wants to put an end to it, but Maura wants to keep going and even apply more pressure because it might lead to a divorce between MariaJose and Alex. They ask Mateo if he has talked to anyone about it but he assures them that he is to be trusted. The camera zooms in on a smirk on Mateo’s face that even a dog would know enough to run from, and the scene cuts out.

Now we have a couple of fast takes to let us know what’s going on concurrently elsewhere. Alex arrives at Fernando’s house, where Fer is on the phone with his sister Katia. Fer is surprised and thought her school had a couple more weeks to go, but yes, he will pick her up at the airport. Now to the front of the police station, where a crush of photographers and reporters are waiting for MariaJose and her family. They fight their way through, with Chucho valiantly defending the family against an aggressive reporter.

Back with Alex and Fer at Fer’s house, Alex is raging at having been taken in by MariaJose’s innocent country-girl act and is furious. The problem, he says, is that I fell in love with her. She wasn’t the prettiest or the most glamorous but she sure was the smartest, because she made me believe all her lies. If she were here in front of me I’d kill her! Fer acknowledges that he was on Victoria’s side in the beginning, but now he wants to play the devil’s advocate for MariaJose. He urges Alex to talk to her. He wonders about Bruno’s involvement in all this, and why he helped MariaJose and her family escape. He points out that the person who planned the wedding must have been someone very close to Alex. Alex thinks it could have been anyone at the office. He’s been turning things over and over and can’t figure it out. He’s fed up. Poor Alex is clearly unable to distinguish the lies MariaJose tells from the lies others tell about her and he’s ready to bag the whole thing. I hope he does, as I really think JB is a rotten actress and I’d like to see Levy paired with someone who can move her facial muscles. (Fair is fair, though, JB has good voice control and faints and falls quite well. Maybe she should be a comic actress.)

Now Eric is explaining to Bruno what happened back at the police station: He and Paula were questioned at length, and they are free on bail unless someone shows up dead or wounded. Well, someone will tomorrow, Bruno reminds him. Eric asks Bruno not to go through with it – Paula is just a kid and the whole thing is just a fabrication - but Bruno refuses. He reminds Eric that he, Eric, is in this up to his neck with Bruno in this.

Eric is pleading with Tomás to let him out. Tomás doesn’t want to – Alex said not to let Eric off the compound – but Eric explains that was just until he was able to make his statement, and won’t Tomás p-l-e-a-s-e let him out because he’s got an emergency with his sister. We see Tomás thinking it over, but no resolution.

Chucho is talking with Don Pedro, MariaJose and Paula. He’s offering to get them some delicious chilaquiles, as that may help them calm down after their upset. (I love Chucho.) They refuse his kind offer, and he leaves alone. Pedro comments on how upset Alex was and suggests they all leave this place. Paula doesn’t want to go – obvio. While they are talking Ezequiel comes and tells MariaJose that Alex has returned and wants to talk with her, though he doesn’t know why. Worried looks all around. Pedro offers to go with her but she turns him down, sure that it’s nothing to worry about. Still, it looks like MariaJose tries to frown, which is impossible given Jacqueline Bracamontes’ wooden face (Or is it botox? At her age she needs botox?) and we see that she is in fact worried. What could it be, oh what could it be? She has cleared up all her lies and doesn’t know that behind her back others have been lying for her.

In Alex’s office, MariaJose puts on her most sincere face (which, unfortunately, we can't distinguish from any other face) and thanks him again, but Alex informs her he did it not for her but for his family. She looks as stricken as a bad actress can and Alex gives her a check for the money for the apartment minus the amount he paid Rufino and the deposit (?didn’t catch what this was). What’s left should be enough for them to find a hotel or a boarding house to live in during the time it takes MariaJose to find another idiot to swindle. He wants her to leave tomorrow, and early. (Don’t hang around for breakfast, we won’t squeeze any orange juice for you.) MariaJose widens her eyes but her face is frozen. Is that due to her tremendous shock, or is it just another sign of Bracamonte’s inability to express emotion? The camera zooms in on her face, and I think it’s to provide the sense of drama that she can’t express with her facial muscles. Alex goes on to say that he’s tremendously happy that she is not expecting any child of his. When the shot returns to MariaJose we see they’ve had time to insert some teardrops or glycerin in her eyes, and now tears are trickling out of each eye and coursing their way down her cheeks. It’s being poured on thick, and I’m sure we’re supposed to feel sympathy for MariaJose, but her character is such an unfortunate combination of adolescent liar and spineless milquetoast that I feel no spark of sympathy for her. (Please no comments about how she is being forced into this and how she is sacrificing to save her family. I’m not interested in yet another telenovela about trapped women who can only be saved by men; I’m more interested in women who would chew their own leg off to get out of a trap. Sorry for that image.)

Anyway, I digress. My real point is in fact another digression, and it’s about my grandmother, who used to tell her nine children, when they got punished for doing something that wasn’t their fault, “if you didn’t do anything wrong this time then it’s for something else you did that I just didn’t see.” It’s hard to feel sympathy for MariaJose because it seems like she’s finally getting her just due for past idiocy, but I don’t know if this is what the writers had in mind for our reaction. The mournful music and tragic looks rather make me think they were targeting our sympathy. I think by this time it’s clear that William Levy’s acting ability and looks are the reasons we watch the show, so they’ve given up on improving MariaJose’s acting or hiring writers to imagine novel reactions from the characters. (Though many of the minor actors, like Paula, Raquel, Roberto, Chucho, Ulises, Maura…do a great job in their respective roles. Sorry, another digression.)

In spite of her suffering MariaJose valiantly tells Alex to take out the money for Paula’s bail. A martyr to the end, she thanks him for everything he has done for them. She bites her lip but no facial muscles move. She leans her head forward for emphasis, but still no facial movement. Finally she kind of puckers her lips, the way you do when you suck on a lemon but you’ve just been to the dentist and the Novocain hasn’t worn off yet, and a slight groove appears on either side of her mouth. I think this is meant to convey utter despair, because she turns and walks away, so distraught and noble and good that she forgets to take the check and Alex has to remind her. She leaves with a jangle of bracelets and some panting that I think is meant to convey that she is crying. Alex takes a mighty swipe at his desk and a box goes flying. He puts his head in his hands and begins to cry.

Alex makes his way out to the living room and Victoria lovingly approaches him to offer comfort. Now that that girl is finally gone she can be loving and supportive at how much it hurts her son that that girl is finally gone. She feels his pain.

Fer calls Victoria to see how she’s doing and she tells him her heart is broken - broken, I tell you – to see how sad her son is. And isn’t it hard to believe how a sweet-looking girl like that could be so deceitful? Fortunately, things were discovered just in time! Why did that girl do this to us? My son is so good - please support him, he needs it so much. After hanging up we see her musing. THough her brain seems to be in standby mode there is enough energy flowing to allow a lonely idea to find its way through to the one brain cell of hers that seems to be functioning and she murmurs to herself: “No sé por qué pero tengo mis dudas.” (I don’t know why but I have my doubts.) What could it be, oh what could it be?

MJ is now back with her family and telling them that they have to leave. Paula, of course, takes it personally and to heart – what, Alex is abandoning me to my fate? Why oh why oh why? MariaJose explains that they have caused too many problems, though Alex will still help Paula in this legal affair. She thinks it’s for the best and she has asked for a divorce (though not in their last conversation, so I don’t know if that’s a continuity error of if she’s referring to one of the many times she asked for a divorce when they were first married). They’ll leave early the next morning. She instructs her family not to take any gifts they received with them. She is all that is good and noble, and maybe pure, too, but tragically misunderstood due to a few little lies (hers and others).

Lisette is telling Maura to stop breaking her head (do we say that in English?) over who could have made the hotel reservation. Maura still thinks it’s Bruno. She’s sure Alex must be furious about MariaJose, and begins to plan what she’ll do once MariaJose is out of the way and she has another chance with Alex. For one thing, she won’t mess it up this time. Lisette wonders if he’ll be ready to be with another woman after what he’s just suffered, but Maura’s plan is foolproof and it is this: she’ll be honest and sincere so that Alex sees that not all women are the same as MariaJose. And frankly, at this point, I prefer Maura to MariaJose, whose self-induced suffering is really wearing on me. (Yes, I do know she’s not responsible for this latest lie. It’s her general deceptiveness that makes Alex unable to trust her, though, and not this one lie fabricated about her and Mario Aguirre.)

Roberto and Ulises are wondering if Alex will get a divorce. Ulises is happy about something which I missed, so if anyone has it recorded and can listen again and tell us that would be great. While they are talking Raquel calls Ulises. Roberto wants to know if they are seeing each other and Ulises insists they are not. She calls him because he’s got the latest and best gossip. Roberto tells Ulises not to tell Raquel ANYTHING about Mario Aguirre.

While packing MariaJose tentatively approaches the jewelry box containing the necklace Alex “lent” her. The memories are so painful – dare she open it? She does, and is overcome by rage at the injustice of it all. We know this because we see her bosom heaving and hear her panting as she hurries to Alex’s bedroom. She flings the necklace at him, scornfully telling him that he’ll regret it. Her lips are kind of drawn back and her teeth are bared, but we can’t see what muscles in her face are controlling her mouth because nothing else moves. She is proud, she has been wronged and we know this because her head bobs up and down as she speaks. MariaJose, did I ever tell you what my grandmother used to say? It’s hard to feel you’ve been wronged – only that you’re being justly punished for the wrong reason. At first Alex follows her, calling her name and asking her to wait, but he soon comes to his senses and turns back, muttering to himself that it’s just another one of her tricks and he won’t be fooled again.

It’s night and Gabriel and Meche are in bed, but Eric bangs on their door until they open. He tells them that when they go to make their statement the next day they should say that it was dark and they couldn’t see very clearly who the driver was. Meche says the “senor” was very specific about what they were supposed to say, but Eric tells them he doesn’t want Paula to go to prison. If they say they didn’t see who it was, someone from the family will still pay for Gabriel’s care and they can give Bruno back his money (seeing they didn’t fulfill their part of the bargain). When the scene ends the question of what they will declare in their statement is still unresolved.

The next morning Roberto is finishing his run when he sees MariaJose plus family plus luggage all coming toward him. What’s this? Why, it’s MariaJose and her family, kicked out of paradise. Don Pedro tells him that their vacation is over and it’s time for them to go back home, where people of their station belong. Oh, oh the nobility of poverty! Roberto offers to help MariaJose with her luggage but she refuses. He tries again and she refuses again. Oh, oh, the dignity, the nobility - she is poor but valiant and doesn’t need the help of anyone from Alex’s parasitic family (no, of course she doesn’t say that. I’m filling in some extra schlock where I feel that the scriptwriters put down their trowel for a moment). Don Pedro emphasizes that they are leaving but can’t go back to their village until Paula’s legal affair has been wrapped up, so they will be staying in Mérida for a while.

They approach the house and Victoria tells Arturo to take them where they want to go – now that she’s rid of them she can afford to be gracious. MariaJose, martyr that she is, says that they can go in a taxi. Music moans softly and sadly in the background in case we don’t get the tragedy of the moment.

Upstairs, Alex watches sadly as MariaJose and her family wend their awkward way to the house, MariaJose’s luggage banging at her knees. Roberto did get Don Pedro’s luggage, so that’s good. Now all the servants are saying their goodbyes, and Felipa (the one character I am in any sympathy with today) warmly and sincerely tells them how much she will miss them. Upstairs, Alex sheds a tear but it’s hard to feel sympathy with someone who fell in love with a woman who is such a bad actress. Eric, watching from the side, is clearly upset.

Back in the kitchen Chucho talks with Felipa and Ezequiel about the events He can’t believe that Paula’s accident would be enough to make Alex kick them all out and wonders what is really going on. Ezequiel angrily refuses to talk about “los patrones” and stalks off. Felipa agrees with Chucho that it was unfair but doesn’t spill what’s really going on. When Chucho continues worrying about where they will go and what they will do she tries to soothe him with the comforting thought that God may squeeze people but he doesn’t strangle them (dios aprieta pero no ahorca). Well, ok then. I know I’ll remember that if I’m ever lying under a bus. This is actually a very touching and well-acted scene on Chucho’s part about everyone’s lack of concern for the Samaniego family’s being on the street with no money and nowhere to go.

Arturo, MariaJose and her family are in the centro in front of a rather forlorn looking building. Arturo offers additional help but they turn it down, of course. They come up with a plan, which is this: they will look for inexpensive accommodations. My, how poverty and suffering sharpen the brain.

Meche and Gabriel go to the police station. Eric’s cousin and his blowsy looking wife, whose names I forget, warn them not to listen to Eric because it could only lead to problems – they’ve got to stick to what they agreed to with Bruno. Gabriel says he was hit by a truck and it’s not fair to blame a girl who hasn’t done anything to them. The issue still hasn’t been resolved when they are taken in to give their statement.

Raquel, Roberto and Victoria are at the breakfast table, and Raquel is going on in that whining, insistent voice of hers that makes you wish someone would reach right over the table and strangle her. (Wouldn’t be God, of course. He would only squeeze enough to scare her.) She briskly trashes MariaJose and then assures everyone at the table that Alex must have had a reason for kicking them out. Just as she is saying it Bruno comes in and wants to know where MariaJose and her family are staying. Raquel hopes they’ve gone to hell and Roberto wonders why Bruno is so anxious to know where MariaJose is, rather than the dirt on how she done Alex wrong.

We see MariaJose and her family in the centro, making their way across a plaza. Don Pedro’s knee is painful and MariaJose is tired so they have to sit down to rest. Paula goes to buy them some fruit popsicles and water while Don Pedro and MJ stay with the bags. MariaJose spies a likely-looking boarding house and goes to check it out. When Paula comes back with the water and sees what MariaJose is considering she is outraged and tells her father not to make up stories. Paula looks so revolted that for a moment it seems like her breakfast might come back up. (Oh wait, they didn't have any because they left early.) MariaJose doesn’t see her dismay because she’s inside arranging with the manager or owner to rent two rooms with meals. When the landlady wants to know how long they want the rooms for MJ is unable to say.

Eric is telling Bruno what he found out from Arturo: that he doesn’t know where MJ and her family are. He dropped them off in the center of town and doesn’t know where they went after that. Bruno tells Eric to go check all the hotels and boarding houses to see if MJ is registered there, making sure to ask for them under her maiden name, Samaniego. Bruno also reminds him (crankily, of course – just like me) to find out what’s going on with the whole Mario Aguirre thing.

Fer has to go pick up his sister but before he leaves Alex’s office he wants to point out again that some things don’t make sense - there is something wrong with the whole business of MariaJose meeting with Mario Aguirre at the hotel. Aguirre reserved over the phone, and then sent someone to pay the deposit it cash. Fer also points out that no one knows how MariaJose got the key – do they know if MariaJose left the house that day, or know who went in and out of the house and might have given her the key? He says that if he were Alex he would give it some thought, but Alex says he’s already already kicked her out. Fer suggest that he’s suffering so much he should at least know if he was justified in doing what he did.

Labels: sortilegio

Friday: Padre Mateo tells Rufi that anybody wanting to be in the higher church echelons, like, say, Bishop, can’t have a direct descendant. Chris tells an angry Padre Benito that he couldn’t very well leave Paloma in Carlota’s clutches if Carlota knew she was out all night. Padre B says So you approve of the two of them staying out all night together? Chris says he knows them well and there was nothing amiss. Padre B says Chris has to stay away from Carlota and Paloma as well. Chris says but why Paloma? Padre B says because Carlota will use any excuse to compromise you. Chris says do you doubt me? Padre B says she called herself and said it was you who wanted to come into her house. Look out for her, she’s very tricky and could make you look really bad.

****

For somebody with no money, Samuel sure has picked out a fancy hotel. Camila goes to the front desk to look for him, but he’s not in. She writes a message for him.

At school, Paloma can barely conceal her high spirits. Lili wonders if the test shows it’s German’s child, would Romina marry him? Paloma says Romina doesn’t want to be a single mother, so maybe. Paloma wonders if that would bother Lili. Lili says she can’t help it, she just can’t get him out of her system. Paloma sympathizes. Lili says she’s just sure it’s German’s.

Inez walks into the dispensario, muttering to herself about her empty nest syndrome. She spots the priests’ dorm keys on the floor and thinks she must’ve dropped them. She puts them in her purse.

The law partner is going over things with German (the partner in a suit and tie, German in a down vest, his loudly-striped shirt open down to there, and sleeves rolled up – great way to make an impression, G.) to see how things are going. German says Fine, but the will for the Espinoza de los Monteros that Rojas told me to expect hasn’t come from Mexico City yet. Odd, says the law partner. Why would the will be coming from out of town when they’ve always lived here? I dunno, says German. The partner says keep me informed on that.

The partner adds that it’s probably Paloma’s – her folks were from there. German says he knows her and he hopes it’s some good news.

Carlota shows up to talk to Padre Benito, who tells her he heard Chris’s side and it was completely different – it had nothing to do with her. She tells him Chris keeps showing up, and why is he so attentive to Paloma? He needs to stay away from Paloma, because if they get to talking, Paloma may tell him she’s Mac’s daughter and he’ll start drawing conclusions. Just think – Paloma would really suffer if she knew she was the bastard child of the local priest.

The things that come out of your mouth! says Padre B. Carlota says I know you’re on Chris’s side, but if you want to avoid a scandal, you’ll keep them apart.

Lili is taking art class too now. Paloma asks her if she’d like to help with the classes for the neighborhood girls at the church. Lili doesn’t think she paints very well, but sure. Another young lady overhears and says she’d like to help to.

Rufi is in her pew, praying out loud. She wonders if Padre M was sent to her to stop her from telling Chris about Paloma. But gosh, she thinks, Chris really should know. She wants Christ to let her know, and in the meantime, she’ll zip her lip.

The three art musketeers have a giddy, optimistic, naïve talk about how the neighborhood girls may have problems with drugs or alcohol and how their creative efforts will maybe bring out these stories. Yup, they’re going to save the world. One of the urchins might while painting might let drop that she’s strung out on crack cocaine and then they can swing into action.

Here comes Carlota down the street, smiling confidently because she spots Chris coming the other way. (Fashion alert for Carlota: a plaid coat doesn’t go well with a leopard top.) Twice in one day, she gloats to him. He demands to know what she thought she’d gain by telling Padre B about his coming to her house. She says she wanted to demonstrate to him that he’s better off working with her rather than against her.

She says Mac is dead and gone, but they are still among the living so they might as well enjoy themselves, and, right there in the church plaza, with people coming and going, she rubs his chest. Far in the background, Rufi watches from the church entrance.

Chris backs right up and says that’s never going to happen.
Carlota: (brightly) I never say never. I always get what I want.
Chris: Not this time.
Carlota : What if there was something I had, or knew, that would make you do anything? Chris: There’s no such thing; the only thing you and I ever had in common was Macarena.
Carlota: How wrong you are! Even though you’re trying to annoy me, I’ll tell you we do have something in common, something I guarantee you you would do anything for. But I won’t tell you yet.
Chris: Why not now?
Carlota: Because I want you to love me for me.
Chris: You’re obsessed about something that’s never going to happen.
Carlota: I’ve waited 19 years, I can wait a little bit longer.
She smiles and winks and sashays off.

Inez is visiting Diana. Inez hopes something good will come of this – maybe Emiliano will move back. Diana sadly says she hopes so. As her son, she hopes he’ll be forgiving. Inez says it would be easier if Orlando were some stranger to him, but they’re business partners, friends.

Diana says Em ought to believe me more than Orlando, to believe that Orlando is the one who hit me. He will show me all his love and realize I’m the only mother he has. Inez rubs her knee consolingly.

Aron has come to see Romina, who didn’t realize he had been sprung. She says she did everything she could to help him. And he says yeah sure right. Anyway, I’m not up for an argument, I just came to say goodbye – I’m leaving Real del Monte. Romina says so you’re running away? You’re such a coward. Aron says I am so sick of all your lies and your tricks. I really regret getting tangled up with you in the first place. Romina says I didn’t make you do anything – you did what you did because you wanted to.

Aron says there’s some truth in that. But one thing I know I’ll rue for the rest of my days is that I ever knew you, and that I thought you could help me. I see why Emiliano wanted to get away from you, and German too. I wish I’d backed off earlier because, Romina, you destroy everything you touch. That’s why you’re alone. And if you don’t change, and you go on being so egotistical, you’re going to end up alone.

He leaves and she sits, stunned, for a while and then, tears in her eyes, says without much conviction Stupid.

Angie comes out of the plateria or Orlando’s house, I’m not sure which, and sees Em leaning against his car. He says he came to talk to Orlando but he’s not sure he wants to. Angie says life hands us surprises- at least listen to him. Em rings the doorbell.

Camila has called Rafa at work to see how he’s doing. He hints that he’s busy. She says she doesn’t want to bother, but she heard about Emiliano. Rafa makes an impassioned speech about how Em will always be his son. Camila says she just wanted him to know that if he ever needs a shoulder to cry on, a friend, she’s there for him. Thank you, says Rafa, and thank you for the call. Gotta run! He hangs up. They both look sad. Rafa squeezes his eyes shut.

The do-gooders Lili and Paloma come laughing into the dispensario. Paloma tells Padre Chris that Lili wants to help with the maybe-waywards girls. Chris is thrilled – he will round up the girls and buy the materials and they can start on Friday.

Em comes into Orlando’s office unannounced. Hijo! says Orlando, thrilled. Em juts his chin and says to start off, don’t call me hijo.

Rafa sits at his desk, and holds a framed photo of Emiliano. He says I can’t lose you. I wish you’d call. I’d tell you that the best thing that ever happened to me in my life was you.

Orlando tells Em that when he heard he was expecting a son, he was the happiest guy in the world. Em says and when you hired me, you knew, didn’t you? Orlando says no, I had no idea. Em says it seems like a lot of coincidences. Okay, he says sarcastically, sitting down and folding his arms, let’s hear your version.

Orlando says I’d like to tell you, but I don’t want to destroy the image you have of your mother. Em shoots out of his chair and shouts You sure didn’t mind beating her to a pulp! Orlando says it wasn’t me! I don’t know what happened, but I don’t want you to get a bad opinion of me. Too late, says Em.

Orlando says I’m not going to say anything bad about your mother, because she’s your mother. But I’m asking you to think about it. You know me! I’m not a stranger. We can’t change the past, but I’d you to give us the opportunity to act like what we are: father and son.

I already have a father, says Em. Orlando says I know, and he’s been good to you. But please don’t shut me out because I’m your biological father. I don’t want to cut you off because I know you’re my son, because I really care about you.

How do you know I’m your son?

Orlando says When I saw the photo of Gudelia at your house … He confesses he had DNA tests run using Orlando’s hair, his toothbrush, a half-eaten apple in the trash. This has a definite yuck factor and Em looks creeped out.

Em says you told me about the pregnant woman who left you. That woman isn’t my mother. Orlando says wipe that from your mind. I don’t want to say anything bad about your mother. I’m just asking that you make a little space in your life for me. Let me be near you, give you all my love. Is that asking too much?

Paloma is coming home and Romina greets her warmly on the sidewalk. Paloma tells her it’s almost time for graduation and Romina wants a front-row seat, though, she observes, she’ll probably be married by then. How everyone’s jaws will drop when they see her on the arm of the man she loves.

But the thing I’m really excited about is my wedding! You have to be my maid of honor!

Rufi is stirring a pot and wondering what Carlota said to Chris that made him look so grim. Carlota bursts into the kitchen and wants to know if dinner’s ready. Rufi says not quite, she’s had so much on her mind. Like what? Carlota wants to know.

Rufi says Padre M told her Chris is up for Bishop. Carlota says I know, but it’s never going to happen, he’ll be staying here. How’s that? says Rufi. Are you going to tell Padre Juan about his ties to Paloma? Paloma walks in just then and says what ties? Rufi and Carlota get wide-eyed. The spooky music plays and apparently even Paloma can hear it, because she looks back and forth between the two, and says Tia, you tell me.

Carlota says well, the love of God. Paloma says the love of God unites everyone, not just me and Padre Juan. Rufi says we were just commenting that Mac’s death created ties. You two were the last ones to see her alive.

Paloma says I’m just thinking – why did my mother like him so much? Rufi laughs well he’s a charmer. Paloma says but I think they knew each other before. He was so affected by her death. Carlota says we all were very affected. She was so young, and her accident so shocking.

Diana’s maid runs into Meche in the market and blabs that Rafa has moved back in.

Paloma says how did they get to know each other before he was a priest? Carlota says I don’t remember – they were so young. He was probably one of the long list of boyfriends she had. Anyway, he became a priest.

Paloma says you mean she had something going with him before he was a priest? Carlota says don’t misinterpret what I said. Paloma says well anyway I’m glad he’s a priest here now. I feel so comfortable with him. He’s so protective of me, almost like a father.

Meche, the biggest grape on the grapevine, comes into Camila’s shop with the flowers she bought and asks if Camila has heard from Rafa. Camila says no, and it’s bothering me. Meche says I don’t know if I should tell you, but Juanita told me he’s moved back home. I didn’t think it was right that you didn’t know that he has other plans. Camila thanks her and gets teary.

Now I understand why he’s been so cool. I’ve been so stupid! I really believed in him. Meche says I believed in him too. What does Diana have that he would go back to her? He was so miserable with her.

Carlota is on the phone and says tomorrow the results come in? She hangs up then punches enough numbers to call China, but she’s just ringing Romina to tell her. Romina is nervous. Carlota says Romina needs to pick the results up personally. She did her part and she hopes everybody else did theirs. Romina says is there any chance something could go wrong? Carlota says there’s always a margin of error and that’s why Romina needs to go all by herself to make sure that everything is as they plotted.

Romina says what if something goes wrong? Carlota says look, I’ve done what I can. Romina says but this benefits you too, Paloma and Em have to be driven apart. Carlota says they will be, one way or another, don’t worry.

Rufi talks to herself and the caged birds at the same time. She feels terrible about Paloma. But Mac (who appears in flashback and talks with a ghostly echo) said over my dead body will Paloma every find out that Chris is her father. (Hey, wait, Rufi – there’s the loophole!) Rufi says but if she had known was Carlota was doing, and that Chris is up for Bishop….. What to do???

Rafa is moved when he looks up and sees Em in front of him. Em is near tears and tender with Rafa. He wants to know when Rafa knew and Rafa says from day one- Diana was pregnant. He fell in love and adopted Em as his own son. Em says why didn’t you tell me? Rafa says I don’t know; it wasn’t important. I might not have been your biological father, but I was your father in every other sense of the word. I never thought your biological father would show up.

Em says you’ve been a wonderful father. It’s just hard to think we’re not really related, because we always got along so well, I always felt you were so proud of me. Rafa says you were always my son, and I have loved you since you were born. You made me a father.

Em says I love you more now than ever. It’s an honor that you have been my father.

By now both are drenched in tears, but they are men, so they just do the trembling chin thing from a across the desk and don’t fall weeping into one another’s arms.

Rufi brings Carlota a tea and Carlota tells her off for mentioning Chris + Mac + Paloma to Paloma. Rufi says Paloma ought to know. Carlota explodes that she’s paid to be a servant and the only reason she’s allowed to be around Paloma is that Paloma’s known her all her life. Rufi says I’m like her grandmother. Carlota says well, you’re not. Her real grandmother is dead.

Rufi says I’m going to tell her today. Carlota glances around the room – no handy poison on the desk apparently – and says are you going to betray Mac? She didn’t want her to know. I don’t like to hurt Paloma, but I made a promise to God, says Carlota, gesturing at her Virgin statue, to keep the secret. If she keeps thinking that creep is her father, she’ll forget the whole thing.

Rufi says you’re right. I’ll respect Mac’s wishes and protect Paloma just as you’re doing. She leaves.

Carlota’s face freezes. She says You’re becoming too much of a threat, Rufi. You know too much. You go get some rest, like in the other world. Then only I would know.

Avances: Carlota overhears that Paloma spent the night with Emiliano and slaps her. Paloma is escaping over the balcony.

Labels: amor

Labels: gancho

I didn't have a chance to recap and it looks like no one else did, either, but here's a place to discuss the episode in case anyone wants to.

I can't even remember what happened. Paloma and Emiliano slept in his car after lots of purple prose and smoochy smooching. Padre Juan/Cris found them and helped Paloma sneak back into her house. He had another uncomfortable conversation with delusional Carlota.

What else?

Labels: amor