Caray, Caray!

This recap almost didn't happen - my cable was out until about 5 minutes before the show started. Then, the captions are unreadable tonight so I'm winging it.

Pilar tells the witches to let Rodrigo work in peace, and to stay away from the hacienda until the guests have left. She stiffly creeps out of the room, moving only her legs, like that really low-budget animation we used to see on TV at 6 in the morning.

Sofie barks at Frankie: she forbids him to go to the hacienda. He must stay behind with the women and children. Isa whispers to him, "we'll find a way to make the time pass."

Jose and Clara continue their argument, eventually Clara takes pity on poor Jose, who is leaking tears of self-pity. "My boy always wanted the finer things, I'm a poor illiterate mother, nothing I could provide was good enough for him."

Hilario has scrammed to Manzanilla leaving a note for SanJuana: "Go home, it's over between us, here's money for your expenses." At the airport he tells Cassandra he's having trouble with a stubborn ex-girlfriend. Cassandra remarks on his bitterness, he says he fell for the wrong woman and is paying for it.

Cassandra does that annoying thing that those of us who are unlucky in love hate: "Oh, just wait, the right one will come along, take me and Christian for example, we're so happy together..." blah, blah, blah

James shows off all the fine agaves to Rodrigo. Rod is, in turn, in a lather to show off his empire for the impresarios - perhaps the impending pack of foreigners comprises venture capitalists?

In the midst of talking about visiting the distillery Rod has a sudden spasm of jealousy and calls Gaviota's hotel - the group hasn't yet arrived...

We get a PSA from the Manzanilla Chamber of Commerce, no, it's Gav and Dr. Blondie giving a boring lecture on the glories of Manzanilla, Important International Port.

Aaron calls Minerva, finds out she won't be coming on the trip, says it's just as well because there shouldn't be a bloody battle in front of guests. He hangs up and calls one of his women - "Plans have changed, come on down!"

In exile, the witches are glad Aaron is on the trip to be their spy. There's talk of some bar-hopping, but Isa decides to stay home "to be with Rickie." She gives the nurse a few days off and whispers to the baby: "tonight we'll visit Daddy." Frankie says he has "business" and can't tell Sofie when he'll be back.

Sofia snarls at Daniela: "You poisoned Grannie against us." Dani is unmoved. All exit.

Ah, the important visitors have arrived. They are like a herd of buffalo roaming across the linoleum floor of the hotel lobby. And Rod calls again - he's impactado to discover Gav and Dr. Blondie have adjoining rooms! He shouts at the receptionist! Get a grip you dimwit!

Rod now commences barking at Roman and Ofelia: There must be flowers for the visitors, and local food, and lovely locals in native dress - and James should go check out the distillery. Roman and Ofelia agree the patron is nervous because Gaviota is coming.

Here we are on the set of Hilario's photo shoot - he appears to be mountain climbing in order to advertise toothpaste. Teams of experts are fluffing his hair and improving his makeup so he will look natural and rough-hewn. Cassandra, in charge, is wearing one of those belts the guys at Home Depot wear so they won't get hernias. Hers is much tighter.

The sun sets. Our herd of buffalo is being loaded into the cattle car and taken to dinner. Some picturesque place. Gaviota isn't going. The receptionist has a message for her, from her ma: "I am beyond devastated to be missing your birthday!!" There are no messages for Dr. Blondie.

Receptionist: "Oh, and, a guy called, he wouldn't leave his name but he sounded kinda desperate and wanted to know if you and the Doctor arrived together ..." "We know who it is." Dr. Blondie in that annoying I'll-take-care-of-everything mode says: "If he calls again, let ME know."

Well, Rod does call again - and the receptionist passes the phone to Gaviota. She doesn't inform Rod that the phone has been passed. He is rattling on with his requests for information (much like Isa and Elvira) until Gav snaps and says, "Why don't you hire a private investigator? Or if you want to know what I'm doing, why not ask me?" He says insincerely that he didn't want to ruin her romantic night with Dr. Blondie... Soon it's the same old same old until she says she won't go to Montalveña and then he says HE won't go to Montalveña and he hangs up on her. Spoiled baby.

After the commercial, he is scowling and whining in the cantina and James is patiently explaining in his no-longer-tolerable atrocious accent that Rod HAS to be there when the VIPs come, otherwise he'll lose business, but more importantly, he'll lose ground with Gaviota - and if he misses her birthday she won't forgive him. Rod sheepishly admits his jealousy got the better of him. Again. Then he blames the whole situation on James who indignantly refuses to shoulder the blame.

Isa strokes her legs and throat. She is wearing a satin kimono and smiling a knowing smile.

Dr. Blondie drones on, to the herd of VIPs, about, what else, tequila. The Doc says his favorite of the new ones is "Ardiente Pasion." Aaron says the name is twee, undignified, and femme. They get into a little spat and then Gav shows up, the only woman, the buffalo all rise happily upon seeing her.

There is blah blah about exports and Europe and Aaron interrupts to say, "Gaviota, you know all about Europe, in fact you 'know' a whole lot of Europeans, don't you!"

The buffalo will be grazing at a romantic seaside restaurant. Gav says she isn't going. Aaron makes snide revelations: "Gaviota spent a whole lot of quality time here with my ol' cousin Rodrigo."

The bus comes for them. Aaron makes snake eyes at Gaviota and leaves. She tells the Doc she'd like to string Aaron up. "Your killing him would not be good for the Institute's prestige," the Doc mildly suggests.

Rod calls AGAIN. He is overjoyed to hear that Gaviota is alone. She's summoned to the phone and is treated, as are we, to the loud and tuneless duo of James and Rodrigo, two idiots baying along with the mariachi band. [I would say it was ghastly except I taught a course called "Songs for Non-Singers" for twenty-five years and have heard worse. -Ed.] Gav likes it. "We're in Carmelo's cantina, where you sang for me the first time." They both apologize. They each say, "Never forget I love you," the sound of anvils whistling through the upper atmosphere can be heard, her eyes fill with tears...

... and here comes the herd again, crossing the plain! I thought they went to dinner already!

... and here comes Frankie with champagne and he and Isa land in the bubble bath!

... and here comes Aaron, telling Gaviota she will never set foot in the hacienda, and there is some horn-butting with the Doc, who says, "Then we can cancel the event," except that would hurt Rod more than it hurts Aaron, who tells the Doc, "If you knew her black history, you'd agree with me," and Gav wants to tell the whole story to the Doc, who is curiously uninterested but offers to make her a cup of coffee so miraculous she will forget all her troubles, but miraculously she doesn't want any coffee. She repeats: "If he comes to you with his story, at least let me tell my side."

Next time: Sofie questions the condition of Frankie's usually-immaculate clothes; the buffalo come upon Dr. Blondie breathing down Gaviota's neck; Rod shouts at Gaviota.

Labels: Destilando

I haven't been watching Destilando, so imagine my surprise when I was flipping through channels a few minutes ago and saw the end of Destilando. There was Amar's own villainous Rene Strickler, playing what appears to be a nice doctor. I looked at the latest Destilando recap, and Julie seems to have identified some character as Dr. Blondie. Is that Rene?

Isn't it unusual for a big star to be in two shows at once? I suppose they must have finished Amar before he started appearing in Destilando, even though Destilando started earlier?

Labels: amar, Destilando

Thanks to a series of petty mishaps (most of them not work-related), I was filled with snark and rage by the time I knocked off work earlier today. This pleased me, since I know from past experience that snark and rage usually inspire a better recap.

Then I went shopping and found everything that I wanted, in exactly the right flavors and/or colors and sizes. Now the snark and rage are gone. I'm sorry. The recap will suck. But you should see the awesome shoes and groceries I ended up with.

The brujas are staggering festively around the living room when Rodrigo and Panchi- er, Frankie arrive. Minerva scurries to turn off the music. "Here comes the love of my life! Hi, my love!" Isa cries with mock giddiness, throwing her arms around Rodrigo's neck. (I am impressed that she landed on the right man. Perhaps she was aiming for Frankie, but being so drunk, she missed.) "How'd it go with the love of your life?" she adds. Rodrigo tries to peel her off of him.

Sofia similarly throws herself at Frankie, who fends off her affectionate attack. "You went to the party?" Sofia asks, hurt. "Sure, with his 'pantera,'" Minerva jokes with a Mundo de Fieras hiss. "Or with Gaviota," Fedra laughs with contempt. "As manager of the plantation, I had to help out. Business is business," Frankie explains pompously. Then, in Pepe-Le-Pew French, he adds, "That's how it is, my love."

"Negocios son negocios. C'est comme ça, mon amour," Fedra mocks him in a deep voice, prompting a lot of sodden laughter. (I wish there were some way to frame this moment and hang it on Pilar's wall, as it perfectly captures both Fedra's personality and Frankie's.)

Minnie wants to know who her husband was hanging around with. "No one," Rodrigo assures her in blissful ignorance. As he takes his leave, Minerva starts slurping at yet another strawberry margarita.

At this point, it would not surprise me in the least if she is indeed pregnant and doesn't know it yet. Getting so hammered this early in the pregnancy probably isn't harmful because there are no actual organs to damage, but you know how it is in soaps. Anyway, she proposes a toast to her faithful husband. Ahahahaha. Isa turns her head so as not to laugh directly in Minnie's face, but the clueless cuñada is way too plastered to ponder the significance of Isa's sardonic mirth.

Meanwhile, back at the CRT, Aaron is dealing with Pamela, who has been anticipating this confrontation for months, while Aaron has apparently never given it a moment's thought or preparation. "Uh... Minerva made me do it," he offers feebly. "I swear on my mother that I had no idea she was going to publish those photos." Pammy pushes for a more satisfactory answer. "Why'd you go back to her? Maybe I'll understand." He weakly says it was due to family pressure about a business deal. "So my father was right - I was just an accident in your life. A bad business move. Right?"

He insists that he really did love her, and now he feels nostalgic about the nice life they had together. ""Nostalgic?! Your feelings have faded so quickly?" She reminds him that he swore he'd forgotten about Minerva, and wanted to marry Pammy and have a baby with her. He answers that he can't explain clearly - he can't say that he loves her, but he can't exactly say that he's stopped loving her, either. It's just nostalgia - that's the best way to describe it.

"At least it's something," Pamela replies sadly. Aaron says he can't even hope that she'll forgive him, but he does hope she believes that he never ever meant to do that to her, and he's sorry. She tells him not to worry - he'll have a chance to make it up to her. She wants to see him again. He asks if she doesn't think it would be useless. She says if he really doesn't love his wife, he can at least spend time with someone who makes him nostalgic. Is that so much to ask after all he's done? She's not asking to marry him - just to see him.

He reluctantly agrees to call her. "No - I will call you," she insists.

Their fathers are conferring in front of a booth for Sangre Brava tequila, which either does not exist, or isn't easy to find in the US (or on Google). Bruno is trying to smooth things over ("it's a matter between our kids") with Gaspar, who towers over him with restrained indignation. Gaspar says the only thing he asks of the Montalvos is to leave his daughter in peace.

Aaron ambles up and asks his daddy if they can leave. Bruno brushes him off and tells Gaspar that he wants to be pals again, with Bruno's apologies in the name of his whole family. Gaspar coldly excuses himself and walks away. "This situation sucks," Bruno tells Aaron in polite terms. Aaron opines that Gaviota probably engineered the whole thing. Bruno verbally rolls his eyes at this and asks how it went with Pam. Aaron says there's nothing tougher than explaining to a woman why he left her at the altar. She bombarded him with questions and it was a challenge to answer all of them.

Bruno reminds Aaron that he went back to Minerva because he loves her and he needs her to live. To this, Aaron replies only that he's exhausted. They leave the party.

Gaspar goes to Av* and says some stuff I don't quite get, but it sounds as though he plans to keep Av* informed on some monkey business that he suspects has been going on. (I think we all know what this is in reference to.) He then finds his daughter and calls her a fountain of stubbornness for tolerating Aaron's humiliation and even seeking him out. Pammy assures him she knows what she's doing. He disagrees and says he doesn't want her to contact that creep any more. Instead, she should go to Europe with him to look for that information she wants. "What are you going to do now, forgive him??" With sad but firm resolve, she answers, "That's the last thing I'd ever do, Papa."

Thus is Aaron's doom sealed; Pamela Torreblanca has been dissed for the dead-last time. I can see it in her eyes. Aaron Montalvo is less than toast. He is the droppings of the microscopic bugs that eat the crumbs at the bottom of the toaster. No, scratch that. He is the fungus that grows on those droppings and causes strange stains on the countertop than can't be removed even with a powerful and expensive bleach gel. Eventually you say "That's it, I'm going to replace this counter with granite, NOTHING stains granite," but then you look at that stain and you think, well... what if? Granite is expensive - what will you do if the bleach gel doesn't get the stain out of it? And then you decide not to spring for the granite after all.

Because that is the effect Aaron has on people, until someday he gets run over by a pie truck, or more likely a swimming pool chemical supply service van, mostly likely driven by Pamela Torreblanca. Mark my words. (No, don't really. I've got my snark back, but that usually means my judgment is unreliable.)

What was I doing? Oh yeah, the recap. Right. Sorry.

Elsewhere at the decreasingly enjoyable party, Doña Jose is sobbing to Gavi and Clarita that when her precious little boy called her his Nana, she felt as if the earth had opened up and swallowed her.

Great. Now I have to come up with what kind of nasty microorganism Frankie the Grifter is. Okay. There's this stuff which, if your property has a cesspool instead of city sewer, you're supposed to flush down the toilet periodically. I think it contains enzymes and such to help break down the, literally, crap and whatnot to prevent gases from building up. Francisco de la Vega is the stuff that...

You know what, I'm stumped. Here I am with my mind in a cesspool, and I still can't think of a substance or fate worthy of Frankie for the way he made his mother cry. Is it okay if I just call him a douchebag?

So Josefina is sobbing that she totally gets why he blew her off - after all, how can he admit that she's his mother, a lowly and illiterate woman? Clarita and Gavi try to comfort her. Gavi tells her that a child must never deny the family that gave him life. (I'm catching a whiff of irony. I can't place it just yet, but let's memorize the aroma so we can recognize it later, okay?) They converge in a three-way hug.

Back at the brujas' lair, Sofia asks Frankie if he met Gaviota. Yep! "Did she seem pretty?" Isa asks sarcastically. "Eh, more or less," douchebag Frankie answers in his first-year French. Fedra asks how she looked. "Adequately made-up," Frankie replies with great restraint. "Let's just say she was elegant enough."

Fedra drunkenly protests that a migrant worker could never make herself look "elegant." Fortunately, the arrival of Bruno and Aaron brings this painfully ironic conversation to an end. Isa stifles another laugh as Minerva complains that she thought Aaron would spend the night at the CRT. "Did you have a lot of fun without us?" Isa giggles.

"It was an evening of business, not a party," Bruno answers. (Now that I think of it, not only did he, Aaron, and Frankie all fail to have fun, they also failed to get anyone to conduct any business with them.) He's pooped and wants to turn in, but Fedra's got a burning question: Did the other women ask about them (the brujas)? Did anyone comment on their absence? "Oh, yeah, everyone," Bruno humors her.

"You're wrong, Papa," Aaron interjects. "Somebody specifically did NOT miss the women - Gaviota's mother." The brujas are as impactadas as you can reasonably expect from a bunch of women who are barely conscious. At the word "mother," douchebag Frankie closes his eyes and probably hopes no one will remember any of this tomorrow. Aaron hugs his own mom, either to comfort her or to prevent her from slumping to the floor.

(I believe Aaron missed out on the Jose/Frankie confrontation, unfortunately... he's the one person who would have figured out the entire thing in the blink of an eye.)

Minerva is particularly offended that they were snubbed just so that husband-stealer's mother could attend instead of them. (No, no, Minnie - you were excluded because you're a bitch. Clarita's attendance was an unrelated insult.) "I'm Fedra de Montalvo," Fedra slurs, "and that name means Tradition in the world of tequila!" She breaks down weeping. "So much humiliation!" She ambles out of the room in tears.

(Sofia rests her head on douchebag Frankie's shoulder, but backs off when he again doesn't respond.)

Minerva asks Aaron how the ex-migrant-worker treated with him. He tells her Gavi invited the Torreblancas. "You were with PAMELA??" Minerva asks, shoving him like Elaine on Seinfeld saying "GET! OUT!!" "Yep, but don't worry. Nothing happened. I'll explain later." He tries to kiss her, but she dodges him and storms out to join Fedra.

Aaron yells after her, but does not follow. Isa grabs him (a bit more eagerly than necessary) and asks if he knows whether Gavi will be visiting at the hacienda. "Of course," he answers, extricating himself angrily. Sofia gets up swiftly and declares that she will not allow Rod's little woman to invade their precious Montalvania.

She pauses, as if receiving a psychic message from a distant planet. It's actually a message from her digestive tract. It's remembering what it's supposed to do when it's presented with more poison than it can deal with. She rushes to the bathroom, heaving. Douchebag Frankie is so concerned, he almost swivels his head 90 degrees to watch her retreat. Bruno asks Isa to ask Enriqueta to get Fedra a coffee. "She's not used to drinking like that." Isa agrees and staggers off, even though she's got a massive headache herself.

The two men and one douchebag are now alone. Frankie complains that Aaron ruined the party for them. Bruno agrees. Aaron whines angrily at this, causing d.b. Frankie to smirk discreetly.

Back at the party, Gaviota is expressing concern to Dr. Blondie that she may have made a mess of things with the Montalvos. He tells her not to worry, and that if anything happens, he'll say he was the one who invited Clarita and Jose. "Since you invited us, why don't Jose and I get another tequila," Clarita slurs at him coyly. Gavi says they've had too much already, and she's going to get them some coffees and a taxi, because she still has to take some of the guests back to the hotel.

Dr. Blondie offers to take them (Clarita and Jose) instead. Clarita loves this idea - she wants to talk to him about this trip he's going to be taking with her little Gaviotita. "Clarita, do you think I'm five years old?" Gavi asks. Clarita informs her that she's never too old to be her child.

Dr. Blondie tells Gavi to leave now and show up early at the office tomorrow with her bags packed. She agrees to leave the ladies in his charge, and reminds Clarita to behave herself. Jose is still sobbing and pretty much out of it when Gavi leaves to take the guests back to the hotel. Clarita absentmindedly tries to follow Gavi, but Dr. Blondie calls her back. (You've heard of trying to herd kittens? Try herding just one drunken Clarita.) He assures Clarita that Gavi will be well taken care of. Clarita replies (with a slightly threatening edge in her otherwise unsteady voice) that Gavi grew up in the agave fields and can pretty well take care of herself.

Clarita then reveals that she's bummed that she won't be with Gavi on her birthday the day after tomorrow (pasado mañana). At this, we get a close-up of Dr. Blondie making an inscrutable face.

Rodrigo is in bed, telling himself that Gaviota's birthday is the day after tomorrow. (Okay, okay - I can take a hint. I guess now if anybody shows up without a gift or at least a card, we're going to look like jerks.)

Elsewhere in the DF, Sanwanna dozes lightly in her underwear on Hilario's bed, which is strewn with rose petals. The door slams, waking her up. She douses herself in Isa's stolen perfume and hides in the closet. Hilario enters the bedroom with two women, who go straight for the bed. He tells them, "First we're going to watch a movie, and afterwards..." He trails off, ever the shy and wholesome farmboy.

Sanwanna charges out of the closet, enraged. Hilario seems surprised to see her, and asks what she's still doing there. "I told you to go away!"

"And I told you I'm not going!"

He tells her to cut the crap and get the hell out. She counter-demands that he throw out his painted women. "I'm in my home and I'll do as I please." Sanwanna argues that she won't be thrown out. "Hili"'s lady friends are only mildly concerned and wondered where the heck she came from. He says he knows her from the hacienda, where she considers herself quite the thing.

"Don't be such a blabbermouth, Hilario! I'm his fiancee," she informs the amigas. "Get out or I'll throw you out!" She starts throwing stuff at them. They reluctantly get up from the bed and pick up their shoes, scolding Hilario as they leave.

Triumphantly, Sanwanna tries to comfort Hilario. With his back to her, she cannot see the maroon rage spreading across his face, nor the great effort he is making to control himself.

Isa joins Rodrigo in the bedroom and civilly asks what time they'll leave tomorrow to go back to the hacienda. He tells her it's strictly business and he'll be back in three days. She sourly observes that Gaviota makes all of his decisions now, and the Montalvo women aren't allowed to accompany him. "Does that include our child too?" He tells her to leave the kid out of it - and he's the one who decides who does and does not go. (If anyone was contemplating an angry comment about Rodrigo, now is the time to make it!)

"Fine, I wouldn't think of insisting. Montalveña is more hers than mine." She asks what he's going to do about Sofia. She's going early tomorrow too, and no way is she going to let his lover in.

Rodrigo gets up to leave the room. "None of you are going. NONE." Isa tries to hold him back and says she is surprised by his cynicism. "Don't you remember that we spent our honeymoon at the hacienda, my love?"

(I remember. I think he slept on the couch.)

Rodrigo reminds Isa that he is well aware of what she and his sister have done. They didn't support him in his project, they made all kinds of trouble for Gaviota, and that's why they got burned. That's why Gaviota didn't invite them to the party.

Isa clutches her skull and asks him to keep his voice down and complains that he's so concerned about "her." Rod says it's because he loves "her." And, he wants his guests to be well received and for things to go as planned. He doesn't want some trifulca (trifle?) to ruin his and his father's years if work on the organic tequila. He's going to go tell Sofia and Pilar to leave him in peace. "DID YOU HEAR ME? TO LEAVE ME IN PEACE!" Isa moans again, holding her head.

Over at Hilario's, Sanwanna is blabbering about how he should be grateful that she chased those nasty skanks away. She tries to tempt him with shrimps and cider to sooth his rage. And she tells him that Isa (there's someone Hilario does not need to be thinking about) says that seafood will "arouse his spirit."

Hili slowly turns to face Sanwanna. Honestly, he looks like he's going to bite her. She shoves a shrimp at him, and he leans away. She leans forward and demands that he smell her, because she's put on some perfume. He is wide-eyed with bemusement and exclaims that her shrimps and her damn perfume are not going to do her any good. He stomps out.

Alone, she gloats something like "we'll see who's tougher." She opens the bottle of cider and toasts the thin air. "To us, Hilario!"

Aaron and Minerva are just getting home. Aaron scolds Minerva for drinking when she's supposedly (even if only fictitiously) pregnant. "Well, you're SUPPOSEDLY my husband," she retorts, but instead he put on a big show in front of the whole world with his ex-lover. Their reconciliation must have been quite the spectacle.

She flops down on the bed. Aaron hauls her back up. "I told you we only talked." Pam wanted an explanation for what he had done. Aaron tells Minnie that he told Pam that he went back to Minnie because he loves her.

Minnie seems not to be paying much attention. She says she's thirsty, and sends Aaron to get her some aspirin. Glad for the change of subject, Aaron tries to lecture her on the perils of too much alcohol, but Minnie is not so easily derailed. She asks how Pamela took the news. "Did she congratulate you?"

Aaron tries to dodge the question by giving her the aspirin. Minerva hiccups and says she's sure that Pamela is in cahoots with Mariana Franco. Aaron angrily says no, Gaviota saw her chance to play a joke by inviting Pamela, and that's all.

He complains about some stray garment in his drawer. I don't know what that's all about.

"Did you really tell her you love me?" "Ah, with women you can never tell the truth because they never believe you!" He backpedals and tells Minnie the truth: He told Pam he went back to Minnie because there was a deal that would be very profitable for his family. (Minnie frowns, either at his words or at the turmoil in her innards.) And that maybe he does feel something for Pamela: Nostalgia. Pam said she wanted to see him again, and he agreed.

"Do you like that version better?" he smugly asks Minerva. She does not.

All Minerva can think about is the gossip that will be flying around the tequileros' union. That, plus a glass of water.

She asks if the homewrecker will be traveling with them (the men, not her) tomorrow. He says yes, and he is going to trash her reputation in front of everyone, including her boss.

Minnie tells him that all of the women are going to be at the hacienda to make sure the homewrecker doesn't set foot in Montalveña. She spanks him playfully. He tells her to quit the subject of Gaviota and get in bed. She wants to know how she's supposed to sleep, knowing that he's going on a trip with that woman, knowing that he's had relations with her? (Wait, I thought we already resolved this??) He ignores this. "I am going to sleep."

Frankie makes Sofia an Alka-Seltzer, which nauseates her further. She describes her plan to get up early and enlist Pilar's support to keep Gaviota out of the hacienda. He tells her he has to go back to the hacienda with Rodrigo to take care of operations there. Sofia is woozily impactada that he's planning to go back there without her. She doesn't want to leave him alone with Gaviota. She warns him that he doesn't know what she's like. She might flirt with him.

Frankie takes mild offense that she thinks he's such an easy guy. Sofia doesn't try to deny it. "How little you know me!" Frankie protests. He starts with the first-year French and "I only have eyes for you."

Throughout this scene, Sofia has been battling severe nausea. As he leans in to kiss her, I half-expect her to throw up. Instead, her stomach suddenly seems to settle. (Mine, not so much.)

Now it's morning. Clarita gives Gavi a blessing and asks the santos and Virgencita not to let the airplanes break in midair, and not to let Rodrigo and Dr. Blondie to argue over Gaviota. And not to let the Montalvo women show up at the hacienda. Gaviota adds, "and keep those fieras way far away, because wherever they look for me, they find me."

"And above all," adds Clarita, "protect her in the hotels." (She reminds Gaviota to double-lock all the doors.) She also asks them to give Gavi a happy birthday.

She's still bummed about missing Gavi's birthday. She says she'll say a prayer at the very hour that Gaviota was born to her. (That sounds like a pretty explicit statement that they are truly mother and daughter.) "You are my pride. You are the best child in the world." They hug and cry. At Gavi's request, Clarita manages a shaky smile. Gavi leaves with her luggage.

Hilario sneaks out of his own apartment, leaving a note for Sanwanna, who's asleep, possibly passed out, still clutching the cider bottle. "In my world, there's no room for you," Hili mutters.

Rodrigo asks Imelda to go wake Sofia because he wants to speak to her right away. She groggily comes out to join him. He says he's aware that she's planning to go to the hacienda, but he'd like her to wait three or four days. She says no can do, she's going with Frankie this afternoon. "Anyway, I know why you're asking me to cancel." They argue. She says it's her home too and she doesn't need his permission to go there with her husband. And, he's not her father and he can't tell her what to do. He says it's okay, he's not trying to deprive her of her rights, it's just that there will be guests and he wants things to go well.

Sofia knows he wants to have Gaviota there too, and she is not going to permit it. "I can invite anyone to Montalveña I want!" he hollers. Anyway, he claims, the "guests" will just be there for one afternoon, and after Monday they'll be gone.

Sofia says he's wasting his time. She's going this afternoon, period.

Rodrigo says fine. In that case, he'll cancel the event and give up Montalveña. She can do whatever she wants with the place. They argue some more - actually, it's just him yelling and Sofia holding her head - until Pilar shows up, wanting to know what's going on.

Sofia quickly summarizes the conversation. Rodrigo tries to "clarify" the situation - he's not threatening to quit. He is quitting, if he can't be with Gaviota there. He just wants a place where he can receive his guests the way they deserve. Sofia and Isa only want to go so they can interfere with Gaviota, and he won't allow it.

They bicker some more and Rod tries to stomp out. Pilar won't let him leave until they work things out. Sofia gets mad and starts yelling at Pilar, thinking that Pilar is going to give her blessing to Gaviota moving in.

Daniela wanders in and adds her two pesetas: she thinks it's swell if Gaviota does live at Montalveña. She proposes a vote: all three siblings have the right to enjoy the hacienda, so it's two to one. "What, doesn't Granny's opinion count?" Sofia asks in alarm. "She has the definitive word!"

"Thanks very much for including me," Pilar answers dryly. She says as long as she's alive, she'll give the orders. She says the CRT people can certainly stay at the hacienda. That includes Mariana Franco. All she asks is that Mariana not stay any longer than the duration of the CRT event. Nobody else from the family can go to the hacienda until the event is finished.

Sofia bitterly tells Pilar that she just helped break up Rodrigo and Isadora's marriage, and storms out. Pilar sits there serenely, brushing off Rodrigo's enthusiastic thanks. She reminds him that she's not authorizing him to take advantage of the situation. She trusts that she'll behave himself.

Rod tells Dani he doesn't think he'll see Gavi right away, because he has things to do in Tequila. But her birthday is coming up. He tells her about the book that Dr. Blondie gave her with the mushy inscription. Dani teases him about his jealousy and tells him not to worry so much or he'll miss his plane. She reminds him that if he doesn't stay calm, he could end up without Gaviota. (Again.) Rodrigo is seriously threatened by Dr. Blondie.

Now Gaviota is in her office, giving orders to Nancy. She is almost as demanding with Nancy as Dr. Blondie was on Gavi's first day, but at least she can remember Nancy's name. She asks Nancy to go to the IT dept and get her a laptop for the trip. She's going to do all of her press releases on it. Nancy's already on the case. She asks Gavi if she'll take a nice long bath (baño de tina?) at the hotel. Gavi says this trip is for business, not pleasure. (Gaviota seems to be the absolute only person who thinks so.) It's important that their offices in Washington, Brussels, and Madrid all share in the festival's success. (I Googled this, and while the CRT does have offices in Madrid and Washington, I couldn't find any reference to a place in Brussels.)

Dr. Blondie comes in. He's in a good mood and tells Nancy he's leaving her in charge of the department. Gavi says she has everything she needs except some cards for some overseas companies, or something. Dr. Blondie says they don't have time and tells Nancy to email them. Nancy takes off to get Gavi's laptop.

(In the last two paragraphs, I see like half a dozen things that could go horribly wrong for the CRT.)

Dr. Blondie asks Gavi if she's considered that she might run into all the Montalvo women. It won't be easy. Gavi says she knows Aaron probably thinks she invited his ex-girlfriend just to be mean, but in fact, only Pamela's parents were invited, and not Pamela. But she sure got a kick out of it when Pam showed up in front of Aaron!

Gavi says she'll be ready for anything. And she still sort of thinks of that place as her own turf. If anyone touches her, she'll make 'em dance!

Nancy shows up with the laptop. I think someone should take a peek inside that laptop bag before they leave just to be on the safe side, but as we all know, yelling at the TV accomplishes nothing.

Isadora and Minerva are on the phone, comparing hangovers. Minerva says that ever since she spoke to Sofia, her liver's been in her mouth. (Our equivalent would be to say that our heart is in our mouth.) She tells Isadora about Pilar's decree. Minerva is furious with Pilar and is hoping that Fedra will make a difference. They're going to meet with Sofia in half an hour.

Doña Jose is still smarting over what her douchebag son said to her last night. She's trying to excuse his behavior because she had caught him between a rock and a hard place (a sword and a wall). If the Montalvos knew what kind of mother her Panchito came from, they'd make him divorce that woman. Clarita says it's not her fault, it's his father's fault for letting her raise him alone. Jose disagrees. Frankie is where he is, among all those fancy people, because of the way she raised him. He looked like a prince.

"And what's that worth to you," Clarita asks, "if he denies the woman who gave birth to him? Gaviota would never do that!"

"And how's that been working out for her?" Jose answers angrily. "How many years has she been getting scorn from the Montalvos? And breadcrumbs from that Rodrigo? But him, he's married to a great lady!"

Clarita asks Jose not to compare their children, but Jose just has to point out that Gaviota doesn't have any hope of taking the Montalvo name. Clarita tells her that her daughter isn't in it for the surname. She's worth more than that. She's gotten to where she is by using her head, and not by being ashamed of her background. "THAT is the difference between YOUR Panchito, and MY Gaviota."

The brujas, including Fedra, are now assembled at Granny Pilar's house. "We want to know what you have against us," Isa begins.

"How long are we going to have to pay for our mistakes?" Minerva asks.

"It'd also be nice to know whose side you're on, Grandma," Sofia adds.

"Not only have you withdrawn your support of us, but now you're opening the doors of the hacienda to that woman," Fedra complains.

"It seems that you've become my enemy," Isa continues, "because she's allowed to go to Montalveña, and I'm not."

Pilar tries to reason with them, says it's about work and the CRT and the tequila, and tells them about the stipulation that Mariana must not stay any longer than the length of the CRT event. She tells them to let Rodrigo work in peace.

Sofia wants to know when they can regain her support. Pilar says that's a great question - it'll be just as soon as they can behave with some grace. And if there are no more questions, then great, everybody have a nice day! She excuses herself and walks out. I bet her virtual foot is still tingling from the virtual and extremely classy ass-kicking she has just delivered unto these dingalings.

Frankie comes in and tells Sofia they're going to miss their flight. "We're not going," she answers. He informs her that he is going, regardless. He gets up.

Isa smirks behind her glass and quietly asks Sofia if she's just going to let him leave. Sofia barks Frankie's full name and insists that they're not going. He argues. She stands up to him. He is flabbergasted, thunderstruck, dumbfounded, and, needless to say, muy pero MUY impactado.

It is awesome.

Isa pulls Frankie aside and tells him it'll just be for a few days. They'll find a way to pass the time.

---

Miércoles

• At the CRT event, Aaron tries to get Gaviota to talk about her adventures in Europe. I hope she tells them every last sordid detail of her laundry-folding days at the convent.
  
  
• Isa and Frankie get dirty in the bathtub.
  
  
• Rodrigo gives Gaviota a long-distance birthday party.
  
  
• Rodrigo goes out of his way to discover that Gavi and Dr. Blondie have adjoining hotel rooms. He does not approve.
  

Labels: Destilando

Highlights only today, guys. Feel free to jump in and add details!

It turns out that Max wasn't shot, it was only a nightmare that Diana was having. He picked up Maxito without incident.

Marcela's still planning to leave town, and tells Max that he can either get a divorce now or later he'll want a divorce and he won't know where to find her. Then she goes to see Diana to let her know that she's free to be with Max.

Paco's leaving Miami - he's going to Puerto Rico to open a bar and forget about Fedora. Jorge and Lorenzo will buy his bar in Miami. Yolanda's super sad to see him go.

Pedro's starting to realize that Marfil's only after his money, and confronts her, so she has to go back to the "viejito lindo" talk to convince him that she loves him. Meanwhile, she tells Camila that she'll wait a month before she kills him so that the police won't suspect her.

Ignacio is about to rape Octavia, but she grabs a steak knife and kills him instead.

Labels: acorralada

Opening scene: same as Monday's closing scene, where GSD is trying to get Azul to tell him how she felt before she fainted. She wants to go home, but Mo won't let her drive, so GSD offers to take her. Then we get a repeat of Mo's talk with Leo regarding Azul's rapid decline and Leo's inability to control Andres.

Then we get a second look at the talk/kiss between Ceci and Andres, and Leo's reaction to it.

Jacinto brings Leo's yogurt to the maid (Chonita), who thanks him and tells him how nasty Leonarda is. Jacinto confirms that Leo is the only one in the house who eats yogurt. Synthesizers of doom remind us that the yogurt will be Leonarda's downfall. Chonita seems to be smitten with Jacinto.

Efrain goes to Isela's bar looking for Diego and tells her that he thinks that the people who Diego works for are behind Paco's disappearance, and he wants to talk to Diego before something happens to him. Isela is impactada, she can't sleep because she's worried about Paco, and now Diego could be in danger! Silvana is in the background listening to every word.

Diego's still wearing the lovely pink sweater when he goes searching for Ivan. It's hard to look tough when you look the Energizer bunny! Ivan's men tell him that Diego is outside, and does her order not to let him in still stand... she tells him that it does, so Ivan's boys tell Diego that she's very busy and can't see her now. The bunny stomps off.

Ceci tells Andres that she likes him, but can't be with him like this. They can be friends. Andres doesn't like this, but Ceci puts him in his place when she tells him that he only comes looking for her when she has problems with Leo. A tear of pure dolor runs down her cheek as she leaves. Leo watches the scene from behind the trunk of a palm tree, and tells herself that Ceci will not take him from her.

Arnaldo's crying a river at Inez's bedside as he tells her that what happened between her and GSD is in the past, and she was always like a 2nd mama to him. She always supported him.

Eva's throwing back a little tequila with Ivan while she tells him that love is not for people like him, and he tells her that there must be someone who knows who they really are and can accept them. The background music sounds like it's being played on a little tikes piano. I'll go out on a limb here, folks, but I think that Ivan is suggesting that maybe they could love each other.

Arnaldo tells Inez that he knows how it feels to keep a love hidden, and he understands her. He hopes that she will get well so that he can tell her how much he appreciates her.

The Engergizer Bunny arrives at Isela's place and learns that Efrain was there and scared her with his suspiciouns. Diego tells her that he suspects the same, but he seems to be more upset about Azul being in the arms of Mo than the death of his BFF. Isela tells him not to do anyting stupid that will put him in danger.

Andres tells Mo that he saw Diego at Azul's place in his boxers. Mo comes unglued and tells him to get out. Leo enters to say "I told you so." She knew that he was really in love with her. Really in love, for the first time. Mo looks like he's about to have a stroke - his face is red and he's breathing heavily as he says that Azul is his, and he will get her back! He just needs to get rid of Diego and Eva!

At Isela's bar, Paco's dad arrives and tells Diego and Isela that Paco's dead. Isela says "It can't be!" Diego is impactado.

Leo and Mo seem to have calmed down. He's laying on the couch while she sits in a chair and talks to him. They look like a therapist and patient as she tells him that his first priority should be finding a cure for his illness. He says that is his first priority, but he's also detemined to make Azul forget about Diego.

Azul is in bed at her apartment, talking on the phone with Emilia and offers to pass the phone to GSD, who's there with her, but he gives her the international symbol for "don't tell her I'm here" -- criss crossing his arms several times. Azul doesn't understand why he didn't want to talk, are they fighting? He says they're not fighting, but they've been a bit distant. Anyway, he's glad that Emilia's coming over because he doesn't want her to be alone, and he needs to go see Inez. He tells her about Inez's suicide attempt.

Arnaldo's in the waiting room of the hospital with Jose. He tells Jose that the longer she's in the coma, the less chance she has of waking up. Pobre de Arnaldo looks crushed.

Azul wants to know why she didn't hear the news sooner, and GSD tells her that Arnaldo called her cell, but she didn't answer.

Isela's bar: Paco, Chucho, and Efrain are mourning Paco's death while Silvana the ghoul listens from a distance. Isela cries, Silvana tries to comfort her, Diego is speechless over having to mourn his best friend's death while wearing the ugliest sweater ever made.

Azul tells GSD that she can't forgive Inez for what she did to her mama, but she didn't want anything bad to happen to her. GSD tells her that he's going to the hopsital. Azul asks him why he's working for Mo again, and GSD says that he wants to find a cure for the virus. If she only knew!

Moppets's still dressed like a princess, playing with the doll that Azul gave her. Creepy!

Flavio approaches Silvana and is flirting shamelessly, totally oblivious to Isela and Diego's grief. Silvana tells him that it's not the time for this. Why not? We're novios. Diego tells him that Silvana is a good woman and he wishes them the best. Then Isela drops the bomb -- Paco's dead!

GSD tells Azul goodbye, and is a little too serious about it. She asks why he's talking to her like she's dying. She needs to know what's happening to her. When will he have the test results? He says he needs to get back to the lab to find out. Emilia watches all of this and is clearly uncomfortable. She follows him out and tells him that it's not easy to hide things from Azul, who's very intuitive. GSD says that he must stay close to Mo so that he can find the cure for Azul. The have a moment of hand holding before he runs off to the hospital to see Inez, who's in a coma.

Flavio offers to take care of the bar while Isela and Diego go to the funeral home. Diego can't believe that these people have taken his grandfather, his BFF, and the woman he loves. Isela tells him not to jump to conclusions until he's talked to her about why she was at Mo's place. He says that he and Azul have nothing to talk about. She's a liar, and maybe she's part of all of this.

Lidia brings Clemencia and Manuel the wedding pics, and they stay for some delicious mole. She tells them of the plan to honeymoon in Europe, and they congratulate her and say that finally someone in the family will see something outside of Mexico. I'm not sure of the significance of this statement, but Piero looks perplexed and Lidia a little embarrassed.

Ivan is tudying the pictures of the paintings that he took. I'm a little confused here -- he's talking about classifying the colors, the theme, etc. of the paintings and feeding the data into some software that he's programmed. It will convert the words to numbers and look for patterns. HUH????? Eva's impressed by his crazy plan.

Manuel wants to know when he'll start working. He likes collecting a check, but he'd like to be earning it. Piero tells him he'll have more information in a few days. Deigo arrives in the middle of dinner and tells them the news of Paco's death. Lidia runs from the table as Manuel and Piero continue eating their dinner as if nothing's happened.

Azul tells Emilia about how upset Caty is over the breakup, and Emilia tells her that she's with Diego now and shouldn't be going to Mo's house.

Leo's having a little snack in bed - and hey! This is the first time I've noticed that she has a picture of the St. Louis Arch hanging in her bedroom! I can see the Arch from my terrace! -- sorry, I'll get back to the show... Andres wants to know why she didn't come down to eat, and she tells him to sit while she reads him the riot act. He needs to keep his distance from Ivan. Oh, and she's learned that Mo's in love with Azul. Andres is impactado, and isn't happy to hear that Mo's determined to win her back.

Ceci's surprised to see Emilia at her apartment, and tells Emilia about her encounter with Andres. Ceci wants to see Azul, but she warns her off, saying that she doesn't want Azul to have a relapse. Ceci's impactada - why would Azul have a relapse? She knows that Emilia isn't telling her something.

Jose and Arnaldo are still at Inez's bedside, but Jose needs to go becuase he knows Alfredo is on his way. Too late -- Alfredo's arrived, and he dosn't want to shake the hand of his son's boyfriend.

Labels: amar

Monica wants to know if CL knew that Paula was going out with her chauffeur. CL denies that Paula is doing any such thing. He insists that Paula said that she was coming to dinner with a friend, not a boyfriend. Monica wants to know why CL is so insistent. CL points out that Juan is just a chauffeur.

Paula denies that Juan is just a chauffeur to her; she claims he is a very good friend. Juan points out that now he has to deal with the problem that CL and Monica saw it very differently. Paula gets defensive and says she won’t ask him for any more favors. Juan won’t play that game. He’s not saying that he doesn’t want to do anymore favors, but the position he is in right now is very disagreeable. Paula understands and points out that it’s not easy for her either. Juan thinks that Paula made it look easy. Paula replies that Juan knew perfectly well what was going to happen at that dinner. Juan spits back that he wants to know why Paula wants to cause such hurt. Paula says that she’s confronting a fantasy. Juan asks her if she’s still in love with CL. Paula falls silent.

Monica defends Juan. “He’s not ugly.” She tells CL. CL glares at her. Monica continues to point out all the good physical qualities of Juan. She thinks he’s attractive, even if his wardrobe lacks. CL again points out the economic difference between Paula and Juan. Monica replies that Paula is still just a single woman. CL doesn’t think this matters. Monica thinks that loneliness can cause a woman to do crazy things. She switches on the TV and ignores CL’s question. He asks her if she really thinks there could be something between Paula and Juan.

Paula tells Juan that she’s not sure. Juan replies that with love one always knows. Paula doesn’t agree. She’s really confused. Juan doesn’t argue but he points out that it’s nevertheless dangerous to play such games. Paula wants to know why Juan is telling her this. He retorts that she’s very important to him and that he doesn’t want to see her suffer.

Monica asks CL if he didn’t notice how Juan looked at Paula. CL thinks it would be normal for Juan to be like that with Paula, but that the sentiment wasn’t there in reverse. Monica points out that Paula was very attentive to Juan. CL says that he didn’t notice. Monica points out that CL is not very observant. Monica’s sure something is there.

Paula tells Juan that it’s the consequence for loving someone she shouldn’t have loved. Juan thinks Paula should put her efforts into forgetting the whole thing and starting over. Paula says this is what she wants to do. This night was her good-bye to CL. She promises not to accept anymore dinner invitations. They “high-five” and Juan promises to always be there whenever she needs him. Paula gives him a sweet hug and exits the car.

Paula enters the house and her mother immediately comes charging down the stairs to find out how everything went. Paula doesn’t want to talk about it right now. Paula says that she doesn’t feel good; she feels like she’s mixing up things with CL and with Juan. Paula admits that she’s using Juan. Paula’s concerned that Juan will now have problems on her account. Ana asks if this relationship with Juan is really just a simple friendship. Paula replies that Juan could never think of it as anything more; that would be impossible. Plus, Juan has a secret love. Ana warns Paula to be careful.

Julia sleeps with the phone at her side, but Kike hasn’t called.

Kike attempts to exit Yadira’s room but Yadira and her cotton bunny tail won’t let him go. She starts to yell and say that he’s abusing her. Kike spits back that it’s she who’s abusing him. Kike tries to get her to cover, but Yadira resists.

Julia continues to sleep. She knocks the phone to the floor, and that wakens her. She looks at her watch and then glumly settles back into the couch.

Kike wants to know if Yadira will let him leave. Yadira says she won’t; she wants to get back the time that they lost. She wants him to want her again. Kike says it won’t happen. Yadira accuses him of being afraid. He effusively denies this. Yadira and her blanket rush over to Kike.

Juan reflects on his day. He has a lot of things to think about, like how to interpret Paula’s words. Juan thinks that if this good-bye for CL then it could be hello for him. He rushes over to his mirror and thinks that he’s in love with Paula and he thinks she’s starting to fall in love with him. The one thing of which Juan is sure is that he’s about to lose his job.

Nidia tries to wake Alirio for work. Alirio begs to be allowed to sleep. She guilt trips him. He decides that he would like one thing more than sleeping. She shoves him away. He loudly protests.

Kike and that awful pillow they make him wear get dressed. He rushes out Yadira’s door, but sees that Nidia’s about to leave her room. He’s worried that he needs to get to work. Yadira says that if he’s worried about not being seen then he needs to wait. Nidia will go back to sleep after Alirio leaves.

Marely and Juan share an awkward breakfast. Marely wants to know about last night. Juan’s not a man of many words. All he can say is “good.” Marely accuses him of allowing himself to be a puppet. Juan thought bubbles that it was gutsy for Marely to call him a puppet. He thinks that things are just now starting to heat up.

Juan picks up his Paula. She warns him that CL will asks about last night. Paula tells Juan not to say anything. He may only say that she invited him and he said yes.

Nidia wants to know why Alirio was so late the night before. Alirio blames it on work and on being the “right hand” for CL. Nidia asks if Alirio spoke with Gutierrez. Alirio gasps.

Paula and Juan take their leave of each other in the garage. Juan goes for Fernando, but accidentally pops a petite blonde on the head first. Fernando mentions that CL is as though he got up on the wrong side of the bed. Juan looks worried.

Paula goes to her office and finds CL waiting for her. They coldly greet each other. She wants to know what he wants. He wants to know how she had the nerve to bring Juan to his apartment. Paula imitates Scarlet O’Hara and arches her eyebrow in defiance.

Sparks fly. Paula says that she doesn’t have to answer. CL wants to know what is her game; why did she bring Juan. Paula demands that Juan deserves respect. CL doesn’t agree. He thinks the whole thing was a joke. Paula denies this. She really is going out with Juan. CL says that he doesn’t believe it. He wonders how Paula could have fallen so far. She calls him out. She doesn’t need a rich man with nice suits. She needs someone with whom she shares an attraction and who gives her respect. CL accuses her of committing the worst error of her life. She says that it’s her error to make. CL warns her that these games can be dangerous. She retorts that she loves danger.

Alirio promises that he was calling Gutierrez the whole day, but couldn’t get a hold of him. He thinks it’s a good idea to hook Gutierrez up with Yadira. Nidia can’t believe what Alirio’s saying.

Kike paces the room, which annoys Yadira. He’s worried that Alirio’s not going to work. Yadira knows that Alirio will go. Kike asks for the phone to make a call. Yadira seductively offers the phone, but Kike won’t take it.

Nidia rushes after Alirio and accuses him of wanting to deceive her. Alirio denies this and tries to calm her. He wants to explain his idea. Nidia won’t hear it. She throws a pillow at Alirio and calls him a monster. Alirio points out that Nidia herself thinks that it’s time for the girls to prepare themselves to leave the house. Alirio thinks that Gutierrez can give Yadira a sufficient life and help her mature. Nidia can’t argue with Alirio’s logic. Alirio finally leaves the house.

Marely’s on the phone apologizing to a Mr. Rios because Kike hasn’t appeared. Ummm…I have that outfit that Paula has on. One, it’s a coat, not a dress. Two, I put a shirt on underneath it. Just a personal observation there. Marely and Paula discuss Kike. Marely’s worried about him. She continues to call Kike’s house.

Fernando and Juan are also wondering about Kike. Juan wants Kike to arrive so that he can tell Juan about class the night before. Fernando laughs about Juan already missing class. Juan says that he had an important date. They continue their game until Paula comes to the garage. She wants to talk to Juan. She tells Juan that CL is making a big scene about last night. She makes Juan promise to give CL the explanation that CL wants to hear. Juan doesn’t understand this instruction. Paula says this means to tell CL the truth. Juan says that he’s a gentleman. Paula doesn’t care; she wants him to admit to sleeping with her if asked. Fernando slyly listens in the conversation.

Kike finally gets out of Yadira’s room, but he’s caught by Nidia.

Juan wants to know if Paula really wants him to tell CL everything. Paula strongly confirms that she does. Juan doesn’t think that CL will like that. Paula goes into a tangent about CL not being her father. She gets Juan when she says that what they shared was something sweet and important and that it should not be hidden. Juan’s speechless. All he can say is that he’s really happy. Paula happily leaves. Juan dances and thanks God for his luck. Fernando laughs at Juan’s antics. Juan jumps into Fernando’s arms. Fernando wants to know what’s going on, but all he gets is a kiss on the cheek. Juan shouts that he’s the happiest man in the land.

Nidia can’t believe what happened. This is how Yadira and Kike pay her back! Yadira tells her mother not to exaggerate, it’s not like this is the first time. Nidia cuts off Yadira and won’t hear a word from Kike. She again says that she was deceived. She wanted Kike to treat Yadira like a gentleman would, not like a Don Juan. She insists that Kike leave immediately and not return. Kike finally gets to leave the room. Nidia glares at Yadira and says that Yadira’s forbidden to leave her room. Yadira refuses to abide by this rule. Nidia warns that she’s not playing. She tells Yadira to forget about a car. Yadira play throws a pillow and mumbles unhappily to herself. She reaches down and finds a paper that describes Kike’s academic plan.

Paula tells Marely about the fight with CL. It was like he was at the point of a heart attack. Paula looks a little too gleeful about CL’s possible impending death. Marely looks as disgusted as I feel. Paula won’t allow Marely to ask any questions. Paula says that if CL wants to believe that Paula is Juan’s girlfriend, then Paula’s going to be Juan’s girlfriend. Marely looks stupefied.

CL pow-wow’s with Pastor. CL wants to know everything about Juan. Pastor doesn’t know where to start. CL wants to know if Juan is attractive. Pastor doesn’t want to answer. CL insists. Pastor admits that Juan could affect a woman. Pastor begins to list all of Juan’s attributes. CL says that he doesn’t want details. Pastor continues to list different good qualities of Juan. At the same time we get to see Juan dancing with a woman. Kike walks onto the scene.

Everyone applauds Kike’s arrival. Juan feels the need to immediately tell Kike about his good fortune. Kike knows that it has something to do with last night. Juan starts to tell his story, but Kike cuts him off and rushes to work. Kike comes back to give Juan the notes from the night before and to tell Juan that they had homework. Juan and Fernando silently look at each other.

Kike rushes through the lobby to Marely. He explains that he had a problem that he could not get out of. Marely gives him his assignments for the day. Kike tries to rush away, but Marely stops him to ask about Juan. Kike tells her that Juan’s very happy. Kike runs to the elevator. Julia can’t even catch him.

Juan reviews Kike’s notes, but he’s having a hard time reading them. Fernando thinks that Juan and Kike should take a handwriting class. The phone rings. It’s CL and he wants Juan to come to his office. Juan puts on his game face and prepares to go. Fernando wishes him luck. Juan thought bubbles that the hour of truth has arrived. He boldly prances off the elevator into the lobby. Paula gives him a thumbs up. The rest of the office watches.

Juan enters CL’s office; it’s empty, but not really. CL insists that CL drinks. When Juan refuses, CL has Juan sit. CL says that Juan needs to answer him with total honesty. CL wants to know what’s going on between Juan and Paula.

Paula very maturely watches out the window in her door. She talks to Marely about Juan’s interrogation. Paula tells Marely about her plan. Marely can’t believe that Paula wants Juan to tell everything. Marely whips around and tells Paula that she can’t believe that Paula would use Juan for vengeance. Marely accuses Paula of fighting dirty and being unjust. Why, oh why, can’t Marely be the protagonista? Marely storms out. Paula looks stupefied.

CL wants to know if the facts are so grave that Juan has to think about them so much. Juan says that he will only speak about himself and what he feels. CL repeats his question to Juan. Juan tells CL that he and Paula are in love. CL laughs and asks Juan if he really believes that. Juan confirms that he and Paula haven’t gone out together much, but that they’ve shared something very important. CL wants an explanation. Juan tells CL about the night he and Paula had sex. CL’s face noticeably drops about two inches.

Wednesday: Has Juan sealed his fate? Will CL get rid of both Juan and Paula? Will Kike make it through his delivery route? Tune in on Wednesday!

*Lily Tomlin

Labels: Juan

We start out with the rehash of Dona Jose trying to pry the secret knowledge of Gavi’s father outta Clarita.
Clarita vows she will never break that secret, cue the muy impacto music…Thus leaving us to wonder once again about the deep dark secret regarding the birth of Gavi.

Meanwhile now over to the party of uninvited mujars or the “Where the Boys Are”, cocktail party. Once again I cringe as Sofie tries to be one of the A-Team. Props to Isa for not just thumping her a good one. The ladies continue to drink. Isa could go totally “No one loves me, well except your two husbands”, in reference to Aaron boinking & Frankie boinking of the past. Fortunately, in her drunken state Isa realizes that this really wouldn’t be the time and once again is swigging on booze and laughing it up with the girls. Minnie comes up with the idea that “Hey I’m gonna go to the event & kill Gaviota”. This does seem like a logical plan, until the older & wiser Fedra points out that Minnie has no invitation and won’t be allowed in the festival. Minnie is forced to acknowledge the truth of Fedra’s statement and decides to stay & continue to drink with the girls. I believe this was a good idea, because at this point mixing Tequila with the already huge quantities of most likely Rum that has been consumed would not have been prudent. I also feel it would be sheer laziness on my part if I did not point out that Minnie’s outfit is not her best. No do not attend the function wearing a satin Muu-Muu.

Now we go back to the festival. Clarita & Jose are throwing down the Tequilas. Now we get a Dr. Blondie commercial on Tequila cocktails. Dr. Blondie offers them drinks made with "Ardiente pasión", orange juice, lime juice, grapefruit juice, pineapple, it is a kinda of little paper umbrella drink. Don’t mix the Tequila with sweet, the hangover, I waste my breath these TeleNovela people never take my advise. I thought my days of the “Sabor of Life”, was over but Damn you TeleVisa. Clarita & Jose are thrilled, why they will have another. This is turning into a Saturday night at Golden Corral, only it is drinks not sides of beef.

Rod later comes over to Clarita & tries to con her into forbidding Gavi to go on the trip. Rod says Gavi is a big executive, new friends, a swell boss. Well she is free to do what she wants, after all she is single and so is the doctor. Hey Rod, here is a grown woman who is allowed to think for herself, Hmmmmmm, doesn’t happen much with your family does it, Mr. Married the Wrong Woman?
Clarita says Rod needs to have confidence in Gavi, he shouldn’t doubt her just cause Dr. Blondie, is a swell guy and has very pretty eyes. She does not however, mention that he is about as exciting as C-Span at two in the morning. Rod is jealous, sets his finely chiseled jaw and marches off. Clarita & Jose giggle..oh yes, have a few more drinks.

Now more FUN TEQUILA FACTS: brought to courtesy of that wizard of fun facts Dr. Blondie.
FYI Mescal in the language of the Nahuatl, signifies the House of the Moon, the Spanish Fermented the drink and named it Tequila. Now then let’s move on to 1910, well the mean old aristocrats who ruled Mexcio, well they were all European like and drank only fine European liquors. Now the troops of Pancho Villa & Emilio Zapata, drank Tequila.
Rod walks up and interrupts, “Indeed the heros of our country have always drank Tequila”.
And if I may interject here, without little fruit slice and fairy umbrellas….Anyway carry on Rod.
Rod continues, “You should always look for the best, like with Gaviota”.
Blondie answers, “Gavi is brilliant”
This is a bit awkward & Gavi does the “Con Permiso” walking away. Just think how weird this looked to those buyers that were listening to Mexican History 101, the Revolution Years. I would have indeed paid a dollar to see one of those foreign guys ask, “What happened to all the Aristocrats?”. Oh, they now own all the Tequila manufacturing, Capitalism at it’s best, the descendents of the troops, well they harvest the Agave, indeed a win-win situation.

Rod follows her across the room. Rod is most upset that Gavi will be traveling with that “Sex God”, Dr. Blondie. Gavi is trying to get him to see reason. Av* walks up and asks if everything is fine and Rod says yes, they are just talking about the wonderful trip she is going on with Dr. Blondie. Av* oblivious to the underlying tension wanders off. Gavi is like it is a business trip not a vacation. Rod says it is like a Honey Moon. She even queries, “What kind of woman do you think I am?”

Gavi alittle advise here… See this is such a no win question, cause you know any guy would say, “A couple of Tequilas & you were easy enough for me.” Thus leading down a road of truth & bad feeling. Don’t open that door, just let him continue to lie to himself and believe, yes he was that special.
Rod answers a beautiful, sensuous, woman. He leaves out the part about, who has been screwed over by me for about four years now and might just want to hook up with a single professional guy.


Rod & Gavi get in another conversation. He says he bets she threw away the painting he sent her, so Dr. Blondie wouldn’t think there was anything between Rod & Gavi. She says she didn’t. A bet ensues, if she can show him the painting, she will let him decide if she should go or stay. They walk off to her office area, they are watched by Dr. Blondie & Aaron.

Now we go to a room where SanWanna is in a robe and towel on her head. She is smearing the Patrona’s good perfume all over. Quick jump to the Hacienda, Ofelia is telling Roman that SanWanna stole the Patron’s perfume before the little crack whore ran off. Wow what are the odds, that she would notice that at the same time SanWanna is rubbing it on? Roman doesn’t believe it. Roman damn Dude, first you trust the Patrona, now SanWanna. It was sheer luck that he got a decent wife cause this guy is no judge of the female character.

She takes Rod to the office area, he looks around the lobby & is all like “See I knew, you threw it away”. Damn he is so stupid, like AssHat she knows if she has the painting or not, this isn’t poker, she isn’t bluffing. Gavi takes him in her office. Rod is all shades of excited that the painting is on the wall, see it right there, behind her little desk.

Aaron & Bruno are drinking Rod’s Tequila, Aaron thinks it is a bit Cursi (pretentious) to name it Ardiente pasión. Bruno says he likes the name. Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Aaron we all know you only named your 's Turquoise cause “AmanteNoon Delight”, was already taken.

Now then Frankie signs in…he comes in and says hi to Bruno & Aaron, who look none to pleased to see him. Frankie introduces himself to Av*. He says he is the husband of Sofie and Actual Administrator of the Hacienda. Damn Frankie lays it on thick, Av* walks away rolling his eyes. This was awesome and I know I am not alone in wishing to thank TeleVista for allowing us to see what it would have been like had Eddie Haskell been Mexican and wanted to worm his way into the world of Tequila. Thank you TeleVista Thank you.

Gavi has the little dedication Rod wrote her on her desk. Now Rod is one happy guy.
A Rod remembers Margarita gave him a card for Gavi. He gives it to her. It is her birthday on Sunday. Rod wants to be the first to give her a birthday hug. No No No…Yes Yes Yes. This leads to some serious kissing, and who should be prowling around the of course open door? Dr. Blondie, he stares and stares and stares, until the image is burned into the synapses of his brain where it is likely to remain, until surgical removal, a brain hemorrhage, an advanced state of Alzheimer’s or some loving down by the beach removes the image. Oh no, now I have that mental image of that ED commercial where the people are sitting on the beach in bathtubs, with the phallic symbol lighthouse in the background. Only in my image the guy has a cup of coffee perched on the side of the tub. Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Hee-Hee now we have a commercial break where we see the crazy eyes of Dr. Blondie playing that other role on Amor..not to be exended..see he has crazy eyes.

Now we come back to “The Office Embrace of 1000 future promises”, ending. Rod sees the shameful rip off book of Tequila smells. For those of you who saw “French Kiss” with Kevin Kline & Meg Ryan, you know what I’m talking about. That little science project about wine, that Luc (Luc, Luc damn he was hawt) had lying in his bedroom that he showed to Meg Ryan about wine gets its flavors from the earth. How come I thought it was so wicked good when he did it and “Myth Busters” when Dr. Blondie did it? I know I should try to be fair and balanced, but well that just isn’t in my list of priorities.

At first Rod thinks this is an awesome project, oh no he see the gushy message. He reads it out loud. Rod is mad, Dr. Blondie, LurkMuch? Who just happened to be outside comes in and says Rod misunderstood the tone of his message. Rod says he understood exactly. Then and this is just beyond the pale, Rod picks up Rod's little dedication off the desk and rubs his mouth all over it and crumbles it up and throws it down. How Gavi & Dr. Blondie kept from laughing in his face, I’ll never know, but he just screamed thirteen year old drama queen. Rod says he hopes they have a nice trip and marches out.

Gavi tears up and everyready Dr. Blondie hands her his hanky. He is so sorry Rod misunderstood his dedication. Why he will just explain everything. Gavi says no, Rod must stop the jealousy. Yeah Gavi I agree Rod needs to get a grip, but Dude was right on (and in his case that is a miracle in itself), he called it on that cheesy prose the Dr. wrote.

Now Clarita & Jose continue to drink, Dona Jose asks Clarita to go with her to the bathroom, but Clarita being uninformed on “Drunk Chic Etiquette” won’t go. Dona Jose wanders off to the bathroom a bit unstable in her gait.

Rod is talking to Frankie, Frankie wants to see MariAnne Franco.
Gavi walks up and tells Rod she hung the painting cause he is important to her and he is the only guy in her life. Rod scoffs at this. He calls Frankie over and introduces MariAnne Franco. Now we have a doble Muy Impacto Moment. They shake hands. Rod says Frankie or James will handle the visit to the ranch. Rod won’t be going and in fact he is leaving now.
Frankie comes back to talk to Gavi..They both agree to keep their mouths shut. Gavi throws in a dig that his mother is here and she will be happy to see him. Frankie with a shocked look turns to leave and Gavi calls him a coward.

Gavi see Clarita who yes is still drinking and she tells Clarita about Rod and about Dona Jose.
They decide to go find Dona Jose before Frankie can sneak out, but wait, Clarita see that enemy of decent folk Aaron.

Aaron is talking to Bruno, Bruno wanders off and Gavi and Clarita walk up. Aaron says Gavi must just be so pleased with herself. Gavi says indeed about the people who attended. Aaron starts in about how his family is so frickin important and they will not be marginalized by the CRT. He turns to walk away. Clarita comes up and in a voice of 1000 shots of Tequila tells him he will listen to her and she basically tells him what a low life he is. He asks who Clarita is and Gavi says her mother. Aaron is like you ask your mother here (meaning instead of my awesome mother)..Gavi just laughs at him and he is like just you wait. Aaron has a big ol grin and Gavi is like keep smirking AssHat. Aaron turns around with that big ol smirk on his face until he sees.…….Pamela. Yep Gavi was right the smirk is gone.

Pammie cuts a fine figure in her unnatural Red Hair, new tan & bright blue dress. I wonder whatever pool our little mermaid stands by motionless each day is now in the sun? Cause she is sporting a tan, ummmm unusual for a red head. Pammie greets Clarita & Gavi, they are very cordial and I can see a friendship based on Aaron hating could easily arise. Gavi & Ma take their leave, Aaron is left standing there with Pammie. He says he has to go and tries to do the cheek kiss, Pammie pulls away and Aaron walks off. Not so fast buckoo. We need to talk.

Rod, Frankie and Bruno are standing talking in the lobby, Dona Jose, finally figures out how to exit the bathroom, she see her little Panchito, she comes up and greets him and introduces herself to Rod and Bruno as Frankie’s Ma. She scolds him for not inviting her to the wedding. Rod and Bruno are looking way uncomfortable. Frankie covers by saying this is the Nanny that raised him while his parents were off on business, have a nice life and they leave. Poor Dona Jose is left clutching the wall sobbing by the bathroom.

Av* comes up to chastise Gavi for not inviting the coven to the party. Gavi nobodies fool, directs Av* gaze to Pammie and Aaron and says not only for herself, but for Pammie she couldn’t invite that evil bitch Minnie. So true So true. Av* rushes off to inquire if everything is okay with Pammie and Aaron. Oh Bien they answer. Av* walks away looking like “I am getting way too old for this”.

Pammie still tries to talk to Aaron, but he is trying to walk off. Gaspar, Pa of Pammie comes up and says no explanation is necessary. Bruno comes up. He wants to leave. He and Gaspar walk off.

Now over the real party the girls are dancing, in come Rod & Frankie. Isa is all over Rod with a Hello Love of My Life. Sofie tries to hug Frankie who pulls away. Minnie wants to know who Aaron is banging. Rod says no one and he is going to bed.

Pammie asks why Aaron went back.

I have to say I am so grateful to see Rod come home empty handed. I was in fear he would return with a jizz sample, a turkey baster and his brother-in-law to add another unwanted child into the mix since he and his best girl Gavi broke up at the Homecoming Dance.

And see I called it...like all good "John Hughes" movies the couple always breaks up at the big dance..fear not they will reunite.

The End………………….

A Total Shoot-Out to TeleVista for making me realize what I was missing giving up Tequila for two weeks. You are the devil, but in a good way.

Now then in an unexpected move tomorrow evening SanWanna is wailing on two girls Hil brought home..Hil a threesome? Ewwww

Gavi & Clarita are crying…

Rod is this close from a Sofie smack down..she doesn’t want Gavi to come to the Hacienda..
While I do not condone sibling abuse I would be willing to look the other way in this case.

Labels: Destilando

We being where we ended last time with Eva and Diego in their unfortunate sweaters discussing how Diego really likes Eva…but Eva already knows that he’s in love with somebody else. Diego still seems to be suffering from gripe (a cold) or at least that’s what he sounds like.
Eva says she’s tough, and she leaves, sniffing a bit to get get some documents she says.

Meanwhile at Mo’s palace of malice, Mo himself is giving a tour to some guy, explaining that there are people who want to bust into his crib. “Anybody in particular?” The guy asks. “You’ll find out eventually, “says Mo. “I don’t want the people who work here to be bothered.” It does sound like a job interview for Andres’ replacement.

Azul scoots past and Mo runs up all smiley and happy, pretending to be the desperate dumped boyfriend. Azul has her back to him and pouts and scowls. “It’s so good that you’re here” he beams.

Meanwhile back at the hotel, Diego finds Paco’s ID in Eva’s purse and stares at it, flaring his nostrils. I guess that’s impactado for him. He hastily puts it back and pretends to be reading the paper when Eva comes back. She hands him the documents and he leaves on the errand.
After he and his unfortunate pink sweater go, Eva thought bubbles tearfully about how much she needs him. Now more than ever.

Back at the Mansion, Azul explains that she’s only there because Caty called her crying. Mo pretends to be surprised and shocked. (Of course we saw him in the last episode put the nanny and Caty up to the call). Caty runs in schreeching her little head off. She’s wearing a princess outfit complete with Tiara. Caty is still upset that Azul won’t be her mommy. Mo tries to make like he and Caty already had the discussion about Azul but Azul brushes him off and leaves with Princess Caty. After they go, Mo smiles slyly. Whatever he’s got planned, it’s working.

We switch to the hospital, where Arnoldo is grimly waiting outside the ICU where Inez is after her suicide attempt. (He does look much better without the beard.) GSD shows up and asks for an update. Just then the Doctor shows up and the news isn’t good. She took a lot of [some kind of] drugs. Her respiratory system was affected. The kind of drugs she took only rarely cause death, just a lot of damage and even permanent coma. (THUNDER!) GSD is incredulous. Arnoldo asks for clarification. “Are you saying that my Aunt, even if she wakes up, could remain damaged? “Not be able to walk or talk?” The doctor agrees, and gives the traditional we’ll have to wait and see answer.

Over to Isela and Silvana, who is explaining that she had a fight with her mom over whether Mom should go have a face to face meeting with one of her phone sex clients. Isela is surprised to hear about Mom’s side business. At first Silvana is embarrassed but Isela says it’s not too common to meet someone in this line of work, but hey, she’s open minded. Silvana says that at first she thought it was awful but her mom says that she “helps” a lot of people. Isela says phone sex operators are sometimes the only women who will listen to these guys. (Really? Phone sex operator=psychiatrist? Who knew?) Silvana is more worried about mom meeting this guy. Isela agrees with her that the guy could be an ax murder or something. But the fight didn’t turn out well. It ended up with Mom packing a suitcase and leaving, saying that she was tired of being stuck at home. Now Silvana is really worried. Isela is sympathetic some more. “She’ll come back.” Silvana goes into her litany of woe. Her mom never loved her, she lost her son…etc. etc. Isela tells her to cut it out. Not to dwell on her injuries but not to be trapped in them. She’s young and should move on. Besides Flavio really likes her. And just then, there’s Flavio waiting on a table nearby, grinning at Silvana like jack-o’-lantern. A handsome one.

Back at the hospital Arnoldo is lamenting that his Aunt is a vegetable. GSD is ticked that she took the pills, that she wouldn’t move on from their affair and then he’s ticked that Arnoldo might be blaming him. Arnoldo says no, he’s not. A nurse comes in and says GSD can go in and visit her for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, Arnoldo calls Azul and leaves a message to call him, that there’s bad news about Tia Inez. GSD uses the opportunity to upbraid the comatose Inez for taking the pills. He tells her he wants her to get well.

We are back with pink sweatered Diego who is with Efrain, still hounding him about Abuelo’s murder. Now Diego is linking Paco’s disappearance with Abuelo’s murder, thanks to the ID card he found in Eva’s purse. He brings this information to Efrain who at first thinks he’s crazy. When Diego tells him about the ID card, Efrain gives in and tells him that Ivan threatened his son. Diego is about to go off and confront Ivan and Eva and Efrain tries to stop him, saying “you just told me these guys were a much of mafiosos and killers!” Diego wants to avenge Paco, his best friend and won’t be stopped.

Lidia is walking along carrying her wedding photos, trips and drops them as she stoops to pick them, someone picks one up and hands it to her, saying “You missed this one, honey…” It’s none other than Piero’s ex-whatever, Lucia. She confronts her about her lying to her earlier about having an affair with her husband. Lidia tells her that she initially thought they were just having fun but …but your boyfriend found out about it, finishes Lucia. She also tells Lidia that she left her poor boyfriend for Piero, who she thought was rich but she’s about to find out that he’s got nothing. Lidia counters that he’s already found a job and even gotten a job for her dad. Piero’s ex seems impactada by this. Lida puruses the photos and remarks about how nice she looked as a bride. Another slight to the startled erstwhile Mrs. Piero whose eyes are open wide.
Our Diego is now on the march, back to Eva’s hotel room. If he was going for a confrontation, he really should have changed out of that pink sweater. He gets to the door and one of Ivan’s guys is there who tells him that she’s not in. He doesn’t buy it and starts screaming for her outside the door. Another of Ivan’s guys shows up and asks if there is a problem. Diego decides it’s better to go and come back later. He screams that he knows she’s in there, and that she just doesn’t want to show her face to him. He walks off. Nearly immediately Eva pokes her head out to give the security guys a figurative pat on the back and to let them know that she still doesn’t want him back.

Now a new venue—Anibal is on the phone, in a suit in his office. The phone rings, he answers it and looks surprised. Shortly after, another guy in a suit enters. I guess he’s a police detective because he tells him that they’ve found some bodies…and one of them fits Paco’s description. (THUNDER!) Anibal asks if they are sure and he says no, that’s why he’s there, to get Anibal to come down to the morgue to ID the body. (Ewww! Gross! Paco’s been dead for weeks now-- underground in a hole then left out for the animals to feed on. Come on, aren’t there dental records? Clothing? You’ve got to be kidding me!) Anibal looks grim, then nods and gets up to follow the detective.

Meanwhile, Lidia is whining to Piero that Lucia came and dissed her. Piero is all lovey dovey and claims he wishes he had been there to defend her. Then they get all disgusting kissy face as Lidia wants a roll in the hay and Piero says he has to go to work. He promises her that they’ll go on a honeymoon to Europe instead of Los Cabos as they planned. Lidia complains something about her Dad signing a contract with him but not actually starting his job yet…why is that? And Piero says something about “awaiting orders” from his new boss. All the while they are sucking face out in the open in what looks like a park.

Over at the casa malicia, Leonarda is upbraiding the maid/nanny that she gave her a yogurt with a past expiration date. “What, you want kill me?” She demands that she get her a new one. The maid is all apologetic. This is hilarious. For one thing, can yogurt actually go bad? It’s already kind of fermented anyway. Also, here is Leonarda, who has been shot with a lethal virus (or so she thinks) worrying about whether expired yogurt will kill her. Leonarda, honey, lets look at the big picture here… Meanwhile, Ivan is lurking in the background. Leonarda insultingly tells him that Mo isn’t in his office and asks where he is going. Ivan tells her never to speak that way to him again. “would you dare hit a woman?” challenges Leo. “A woman no, says Ivan but a witch, yes” replies Ivan. Leo has nothing to respond to that. Ivan asks where Mo is. Leo tells him that he’s busy. Ivan yells at her to call him and that he’ll be waiting in the office. Leo huffs off.

Diego and his pink sweater arrive at casa Azul and Ceci. He has something really really important to tell her…about Paco. Ceci stalls him a bit but then tells him she’s at Mauricio’s house. He won’t listen to the rest. He takes off. (This is the scene that we saw in the previews yesterday that Chris documented as a sure precursor to Diego and Azul breaking up for the millionth time.)

Meanwhile, Azul is trying to explain to Caty, that although she and her daddy aren’t getting married, and don’t love eachother THAT way anymore, they still have happy memories. Caty is pretty dense and asks if Azul can still be her mommy even if she and her daddy aren’t going to get married. Azul tries to give her a hug and reassure her. Outside, Mo is lurking and listening to this conversation. Leo shows up and tells him that Ivan’s waiting for him. Mo tells her to tell him he’s busy—this is more important than anything else. Leo looks puzzled but leaves. Mo goes into the room and flops on the bed next to Azul and Caty who are sitting on the floor. Caty asks him if Azul can still come and visit her. Mo says, sure, “the doors of this house will always be open to Azul.” He leaves, telling them that he’ll let them play. As he turns and walks away, he’s got an evil grin.

Leo is talking elsewhere with Andres. Andres is looking a little worse for wear these days with all the beatings he’s been getting. He’s got a black eye and a bruise on his broken nose that makes him look like he’s wearing a mask. She’s bitching that Ivan wasn’t just happy with infecting her with the toxin, now he’s treating her rudely. (Lady, por favor, get some perspective!) Andres swears that Ivan will pay. Leo tells him that Mo is busy with Azul. Andres says he’ll give Ivan the reception he deserves. (Not a good idea, Andres! Seems like you’ve been on the short end of all of the previous “receptions.” )

Ivan isn’t just sitting around, either. He’s been busy planting more bugs in Mo’s office. Then he starts taking pictures of all of the paintings in the office with his cell. (I am remembering now that he discussed something about these paintings with Eva but I can’t remember exactly what).

Azul is trying to leave and whiney Caty is boohooing about how lonely she will be when Azul goes. Azul gives her a doll and tells her that when she’s lonely she can talk to the doll and the doll will tell Azul everything while Caty is asleep. (That actually sounds a little creepy). Caty will call the doll Marazul or Mariazul or something like that. Azul gets up and Caty starts in with “When are you coming back?”

Back in Mo’s office, Ivan already has Andres immobilized and wincing. Ivan tells him to get out of his way and makes a crack about Andres’ [old ]lady lover. Mo bursts in just as Ivan heaves Andres to the floor. He’s followed by the new security guy. Mo tries to get Andres to leave and Andres protests saying that they have unfinished business. Mo boots him anyway saying they will talk later. Andres leaves in a huff. Mo yells that just because he’s Eva’s security guy he doesn’t have the right to interfere with his people. Ivan points out that Eva is underwriting the place. Mo doesn’t like this and yells some more and the new security guy whips out a semiautomatic and asks Mo if he should dispatch Ivan. Ivan doesn’t even flinch, nor does Mo, who tells him no. “He’s just a messenger.” “tell me what the message is.” he says to Ivan. Ivan wants an update on GSD. Mo tells him that GSD is back with him, that he’s going to be arriving any minute. He adds that Azul is also back and that “soon everything will be back to normal.” Ivan seems agreeable to this news and Mo tells Jacinto, the new guy to “accompany Mr. Zukov to his car.” Jacinto taps Ivan on the arm and Ivan gives him a look. He smiles and turns to go. In the next scene after the commercial break, we see what the look means when Ivan and Jacinto confer on the way to Ivan’s car—Ivan tells him that they are now about to begin the next phase—to get GSD’s research.

We are back at Isela’s café where Silvana and Flavio are talking. Silvana apologizes for her dour attitude. She knows that her son wouldn’t want his mom to be defeated but to be strong. Flavio likes the sound of that. They hug.

Ivan is giving his final instructions to Jacinto. When the new yogurts arrive from the store, he’s to inject them with rat poison (an anti-coagulant).

GSD has arrived and is walking across the campus of the mansion toward the lab. Jacinto follows in his wake.

At the hospital, Arnaldo is at Inez’ beside when Julio arrives. He’s brought him a cappuccino..the way he likes it…and he explains that he decided to wait until he was sure that GSD was gone, since he was sure that it wasn’t the right moment for them to meet for the first time. Arnoldo is kind of dozy and pauses before thanking Julio. Julio asks how she is. Arnoldo tells him that she’s still not reacting.

Over at Isela's café, Isela asks Silvana how it went with Flavio. Silvana tells her that she followed her advice and that they are going to start dating. Silvana admits that he will help her get her groove back since she lost Diego. She knows that nothing will separate Diego and Azul. Then Isela uses an expression that I couldn’t quite catch, something like –“hay un focan al cubano las batterias, mi Chula.” I know mi chula, means “my pretty.” Maybe somebody can help me out on the rest of the saying? Something about putting out a fire with another fire?

Azul is on her way out and Mo catches up to her to ask where she left things with Caty. Azul explains that she’ll come to visit her a few more times to help with the adjustment. Mo tells her that he’ll try to get Caty to understand. Mo gets all chokey voiced and tells her that it hasn’t been easy for him. Azul tells him not to confuse her trying to be nice to Caty and their relationship, which is over, forever. Azul gives him back the key to the car he gave her. And he gives her the keys to her apartment. Meanwhile, she has been looking worse and worse this whole time and is obviously getting lightheaded. She faints just in time for Diego to see her. Mo carries her back into the house. Diego tries follow and two security guys grab him and refuse to let him in.

In the lab, GSD takes a call from Arnoldo who has exceeded his credit limit on the deposit on the hospital bill. GSD agrees to pay the bill and says he’ll come by later. After he hangs up, Jacinto comes in. GSD asks him why he’s been following him and Jacinto explains that he’s the new head of security. And he’s not following him, just making the rounds on the new job. GSD asks if he knows if Mo is in the house and when Jacinto responds affirmatively, GSD leaves the lab. Jacinto looks around and at the lab on the camera and follows him out.

As they pass the gate where Diego is being roughed up by the guards, Jacinto asks what’s going on. Diego is surprised to see GSD there. GSD vouches for Diego. Diego wants to know why he has come back. Before answering, GSD tells the guards to leave. But he doesn’t use the opportunity to say anything worthwhile to Diego. He tells him that he’s decided to fulfill his contract, that he’s not sure that Mo is a bad guy after all. When Diego brings up Azul, GSD gets all excited and tells him that Azul has nothing to do with this, that they took separate decisions. Diego seems to get the idea from this that Azul and Mo are back together because he starts to get all flustered and weepy. GSD leaves him with this impression since he goes on to say that “Azul and Mauricio are…”he never finishes the sentence. In order to keep him from knowing she’s infected, he’d rather he believe that she dumped him. Diego walks away in a huff and GSD looks like he needs a cigarette.

Back in Mo’s office Mo thought bubbles to the unconscious Azul that “everything was going fine until you fell in love with that idiot, Diego. The maid rushes in with some ammonia or something to wake her. She stirs and just then GSD rushes in and asks what’s going on and why she is there. Azul asks him the same and tells him that she came to visit Caty. He insists on knowing what she felt like before she fainted. She resists telling him again. The maid rushes in with a tray and Mo gives her something to drink and GSD looks at the can. She drinks it, grimaces and puts it down. She gets up to leave and Mo offers to drive her home. GSD tells him no, he’ll drive her home. He has to go anyway. After he goes, who should be hanging around but Leonarda. Leonarda remarks on how fast Azul seems to be going down, especially compared to her, since they were both infected around the same time. Mo says not to be so sure and by the way, what is all the hate for Azul. Leo explains that she hated her when she thought that she was going to usurp her role as mistress of the mansion malicia. But now that she’s not going to be doing that, she feels sorry for her.

Mo is skeptical of her “feeling sorry” but Leo decides to offer him advice. She says that he should be careful. She has noticed the way that he has been looking at Azul and that love has a way of entrapping you, even in your own trap. Mo protests that he never felt anything for Azul, that his wanting to marry her was only for convenience. And by the way, he adds, she needs to be controlling Andres a little better, not letting him get in Ivan’s face. She tells that Andres went after Ivan most recently to defend her. Mo interrupts—“control him, Leonarda!” “Ivan is not like your dead husband. He knows how to defend himself. And you could lose your beloved Andres forever.” Mo gets up and leaves. Leo would probably be impactada if she weren’t such a bad plastic surgery victim.

Next we have Ceci at one of the gates trying to bust in. Jacinto is there trying to keep her out. Andres shows up. She explains that she’s looking for Azul. Andres takes charge and Jacinto leaves. Andres tries to explain why he hasn’t been by but she’s not listening. She knows that he loves Leonarda more than her (if she only knew!!) Andres tries to tell her that Azul left already with her Dad but she doesn’t believe him, she doesn’t even think he’s telling the truth about GSD working there. When he tells her that Azul wasn’t feeling well, Ceci decides to believe him and turns to go. Now Andres wants her to stay and listen to him. He wants to talk about their relationship. (Now I am starting to think he’s gay.) Ceci says "what kind of relationship when you look at me like you want me [not sure about this—it was very fast] and then you get furious when I talk about Leonarda." He still wants to explain. She has an orange flashback of Eva telling her to be careful with Andres. Andres tells her that if he hasn’t wanted her because…he has some problems. Ceci cuts him off, saying that she knows he’s complicated and that she’s complicated and that it would be better if they didn’t see eachother for awhile. (She has a tear rolling down her cheek). Before she can get away, he tells her he loves her, grabs her and kisses her passionately. She doesn’t pull away. In the distance, back in the courtyard, Leonarda sees them and clenches her fists in rage.

In the promo for tomorrow: Azul gets sicker, GSS tries to save her, Mo threatens her life some more and Diego finds out that Azul’s life is at stake. Will Diego become another victim? On the last one, survey says NOOO! All I want to know is, will Diego still be wearing that sweater?

Labels: amar