Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Eva Luna #100 Mon 3/28/11 Julio Gets The Boot; Dan Receives Mana From Heaven; Marci Un-Masks
Cap. #91
As we begin, Eva greets Leonardo with the fact that Victoria absconded with Laurita; she forced Eva to meet her where she had taken Laurita by threatening her; and then she would have killed the two of them if Daniel hadn’t arrived in time with the police. Leo apologizes for not knowing and then asks about his sister. Eva grumbles that she’s run off and the police are after her. Once that’s out of the way, Eva wants an explanation about the intimate photos Dan told her Leo showed him. Leo denies knowing anything about any intimate photos of the two of them in bed. (Ok. Tell me you didn’t already suspect he’d lie and she’d buy it.)
Leo once again makes scrambled eggs out of Eva’s brains. He claims it is a lie and that Eva should know that because she was there and heard the conversation. Eva reminds him she was in the shower part of the time and didn’t hear it all. Leo says even so, if there had been compromising photos, Daniel wouldn’t have looked through the whole house for her. He convinces her that it’s all a big lie to make her doubt his side of the story about her father’s death since the two of them never had sex together.
At the boarding house, as Marisol and Francisco get ready for bed they each think to themselves that things just aren’t going to work out because they are too incompatible. Mari realizes she’s too independent and Franc realizes the two of them want different things out of life. Neither wants to hurt the other by admitting what they really think, though. FF>>
The next day Justa gets ready to meet Julio. She takes out the pearl necklace and tells herself she knows what she has to do. She puts the necklace in her purse and then has to fib to Ricardo on her way out about having to meet Beatriz. Once she’s gone, Don Ric tells himself she is going to see Julio and he’s certain she’ll be leaving him for good.
The Buick people come by to deliver a brand new sedan to Eva as a personal gift for the terrific ad she developed for them. Eva hesitates to accept it because it was a team effort, but in the end she accepts and drives it home. (Eva, I’m disappointed in you! I thought you’d have sold it, divided up the cash and shared it with the team! How soon we forget!)
Marcela and Leo discuss Icky’s being a fugitive from the law. Marci and he determine that if Icky gets locked up they can kill off Dan and daughter and get hold of Dan’s fortune that way. Leo says he’ll leave the details up to her but for now he’s more worried about getting rid of Eva’s sister, or at least the baby she’s expecting. Marci is fit to be tied. She screams that she thought he’d have learned his lesson already. Leo whines and asks her to fix things like she did the last time with Claudia, or else Eva will never marry him and their plans to get back their fortune will be shot to pieces. (What’s a mother to do, right?)
Across the hall, Giorgio stops in to tell Dan that he can prove Dan’s innocence and that Leo is actually the guilty one. Dan is elated and wonders how he knows. Gg tells him he overheard Leo himself telling his mother this the other day. Dan asks if he’ll testify for him and Gg says of course, though he hates biting the hand that’s fed him all these years. His conscience wouldn’t let him sleep, though. Unfortunately, he reminds Dano, it will be his word against theirs and they’ll accuse him of defamation. Dan agrees and suddenly has a way to absolutely prove his innocence.
Dano races off to tell Eva. He walks into her office uninvited and surprises her with a humongous smooch. She slaps him. He gets a goofy grin on his face and asks if she wants to hit him again. He tells her that very soon he’s going to be able to prove to her that he didn’t kill her father. She’ll have a ton of reasons to believe in him then. Eva’s upset because of his making her out to be a nitwit in front of Leo again. Why? Leo told her there weren’t any bedroom pictures and he told her the truth! Why? There weren’t any because they’ve never had sexual relations, just like she told him before! Dan says he isn’t wasting his time arguing over it with her. If she really believes in him, then listen to her heart, he tells her. “--I assure you that you won’t be sorry!” He gives her a huge smile and races off.
Meanwhile, Marci has sent for Alicia. Ali arrives and Marci lets her know that she’s aware Ali’s expecting Leo’s baby. Yes, Leo gave her the news. “--He asked me to convince you not to have this child.” Ali tells her they’re wasting their time and gets ready to leave. Marci warns her that if Eva doesn’t marry her son she’ll suffer the consequences. Ali figures she’s had enough of the bitch-witch’s bullying threats and finally gives Marci as good as she gets. “--Well, the one who’d better get ready to suffer the consequences is you! My sister had a pre-nup drawn up and do you want to know the best part? Leo signed it! That’s what you were expecting from this marriage--the money, right ? Well, FYI, Leo will never ever get her money, much less you!!”
Julio is pacing in the park where he and Justa are supposed to meet that morning and worries that she won’t show. She does show up, though and Ric has secretly followed her. He watches the two of them talk from a distance. Justa finally admits to Julio that she does love him, but that it really is over between the two of them. She has a new life and a family that love and need her. She loves Ricardo and Adrian and needs them just as much as they need her. Julio made his choice years ago when he decided to marry Marcela and there’s essentially no turning back the clock. His insistence forced her to realize this and to eventually make this choice, seeing that her future is with them, not Julio. He tells her he envies her new life and having people who love and need her. She gives him back the pearl necklace. They hug in a farewell embrace. Don Ric, hidden behind the trees, thinks it means that she’s accepted Julio’s advances. Of course, it’s just the opposite. He goes off to grieve.
Back in Marci’s office, she calls Ali a liar. Ali tells her to ask her adored little boy if she doesn’t believe her! Neither of them will ever have a red centavo of Eva’s money! Who says so? Eva! “--Oh, and by the way, tell Leo that you weren’t able to convince me not to have this kid. Absolutely nobody will be able to convince me of that! Your grandchild will be born, Sra.!!” Ali exits stage left. Marci flops down in her leather chair and thinks back to Leo’s version of signing a prenup agreement, and his saying that it was his idea and that he came out on top. She begins to cry about how he lied to her, and all because of Eva!! Mama will not forgive him for this!
The receptionist tells Leo that she thinks Rosaura left for good and isn’t coming back. Leo says then to hire somebody new for him. The receptionist says she hopes she didn’t get into some kind of trouble because of “that man”, but before she can explain what she means, mad and menacing Marci storms back into Leo’s office and screams at the receptionist to get out! She starts beating on Leo’s chest. Mad Mama tells him that he’s a miserable loser who bites the hand the feeds him. She can’t believe he’d have signed the prenup since the idea was to marry Eva and then kill her for the money! Leo says he was forced to sign it or she’d never have married him. She’s got to understand that he loves Eva with all his might! He has from the first time he saw her. He knew that if he told Mama the truth she would have opposed the marriage.
Marci slaps him across the chops and calls him an idiot who let himself be coaxed by the whore to betray her by choosing Eva over her! “--You tricked me!” (Hey, pat yourself on the back. He learned from the best.) “--You fool!” Leo just doesn’t see it that way. She slaps Leo again and tells him that he failed her and he has disappointed and mocked her. Her son! He offers to transfer all his stock shares over to her. Oh! Big whoop! Mama reminds him that nobody makes a fool of her! “--You know me very well and nobody--not you nor anybody--makes a fool of me! Whoever does so pays for it! (I believe Mama Marci has just laid out the black gauntlet to Leo.....) She storms out of his office. Leo looks more than a bit shaken. (Good! Be afraid, Leo! Be very afraid!)
Adrian visits Laurita in the garden and brings her flowers. He’s sorry for her ordeal. She thanks him and says if they were older she’d marry him. He gets all “ah shucks” over that. (Hey, I like Adrian with his hair all grown out.)
Violeta comes by to visit Mari and thank her for putting Damian behind bars. Mari admits to her that she and Franc are very different and that it’s not really working out but she hasn’t told him yet. Mari tells her if things work out and she gets famous, she wants Violeta to be her personal assistant. At the same time, Franc admits to Jackie the same thing, but blames himself. Jackie thinks to herself that Mama told her guys like this have to figure things out on their own. If he loves her he’ll be back and if he doesn’t, then it was never meant to be.
Marci visits El Gallo and gives him a check for services rendered. They kiss on the mouth. (Another EWWW!) After the small talk about Bruno and Rose, she tells him she wants a gun from him. Why? She plans on killing Eva now. (This is definitely a woman after his own heart--that is, if El Gallo has one. Two stone killers. What a match.)
That evening, Marci returns to the manse and forces Renata to help her con Eva into going into the living room so Marci can kill her. Ren hasn’t got a choice. Eva gets home. Ren tells her there’s something important she needs to talk to her about in the living room. Pleas hurry! They walk in. Marci jumps out of nowhere with the gun in her hand, waves it around, and screams at Eva. “--Your glory days have come to an end, you miserable, social-climbing wench!”
Labels: eva
Triunfo del Amor #77-78 3/28/11 What if a miracle occurred but you couldn’t see it cuz you left your glasses in your other bag?
Hi all: Novela Maven had some problems posting her recap - it was all one paragraph! It seemed to be ok when I posted it so that is what we did. Enjoy!
Triunfo del Amor, Mon. 3-28-11: What if a miracle occurred but you couldn’t see it cuz you left your glasses in your other bag?
Part One: The Aftermath of the Crash
Part One of this evening’s program is a bitter pill more easily swallowed in summary form than in a scene-by-scene recap. [If this ain’t a Llorathon, Doris, then I don’t know what is!]
We open with a reprise of the crash that killed Scuzzy and left Fer gravely injured. We get another peek at Doña Demente posing like a saint with a broken neck (if only.) Sandoval kith and kin gather at the hospital and spend a very long, anguish-filled day and evening waiting for news about Fer.
Let’s just take it as a given -- Victoria weeps. She weeps in grief and guilt and despair. She is inconsolable. Toni, Oscar and Pip are there as true friends. Max is there as her rock. Juan Pablo comes later to offer solace and prayer.
Ximena and Roxana are there to protect their investment.
But Xi can hardly disguise her boredom. She looks at her nails a lot and occasionally rolls her eyes. What a bitch.
Padilla grieves alone.
Meanwhile the solitary Rodolfo Padilla visits his son at the morgue. He is also wracked with anguish – and hate! He vows to get even for his son’s death.
Fer is rushed into surgery.
She has so many injuries that Victoria doesn’t know exactly what the doctors will be doing. But this much she does know: the surgery will be dangerous and long and there are no guarantees of survival: No sabemos si podrá resistir la cirugía. (We don’t know if she’ll be able to withstand/survive the surgery.)
Were you wondering what JuanJo looked like as a baby?
Here’s the good news: Milagros was able to salvage his baby album and we all get to chuckle over his pompitas (cute little tushie).
The folks sheltering at the church dispensary talk about the accident. After all, the three bomberos, Napo, JJ and Cruz were the first on the scene. Cruz is having a hard time keeping it together.
Where's Osvaldo?
Max tries to phone Osvaldo (it seems he ended up in New York). Unfortunately he is in a cabin in the woods, [Really? A cabin in the woods?] a place with no phone reception, so they are unable to get the news to him immediately. [Apparently the place is so remote, even corazonadas can’t get through.]
Xi calls Gui to gloat.
Ximena takes advantage of Max’s absence to sneak off and call Guillermo. Gui is coldly sarcastic about Fer’s condition. But when Xi points out (with some pleasure) that Osvaldo will surely come running home to take care of his daughter and then will realize that Gui has defrauded him and then Gui will go to jail -- well. Gui understands he has to get to the hospital and play the part of loyal family friend so Osvaldo won’t even think of distrusting him or asking for an account of his investment.
Cruz and Fabián give their life blood to the love of their lives.
When Gui gets to the hospital, Max tells him they are going to need more blood donors for Fer. But Cruz, who has just arrived, red rose in hand, overhears this and declares himself ready to donate as much blood as the señorita needs. Bleed me dry! Me too, declares Fer’s other surviving suitor, Fabián. [Good thing, too. There’s no telling what kind of cooties Gui carries in his bloodstream. I mean aside from pure malice, which may or may not be bloodborne.]
After donating blood, Cruz and Fabián have a man-to-man talk. Fabián admits that even though he has loved Fer for as long as he has known her, she never took him seriously. Cruz says he’s just a simple gardener and has no chance with Fer at all. But Fabián reminds him that Fer doesn’t care about money. This is a contest of feelings and hearts. They renew their gentleman’s pact – each will fight fairly for the love of his life.
Max is there for Victoria. Now María is there for Max.
María decides to go to the hospital to comfort Max even if she is risking an unpleasant encounter with Victoria or, even worse, with Ximena. She lucks out, though, and she and Max are able to spend a few minutes together and he gets to cry on her shoulder. Later, María confesses to the folks from the barrio that she feels something special for Fer -- she can’t explain it, it feels familial, as if Fer were the sister she always longed for.
Those made homeless by the fire have a place to live.
Napo and Millie have gone to visit Alma and the baby and bring back news that there is room for all of them in Alma’s vecindad.
Juan Pablo rushes to Victoria’s side.
Padre Jerónimo hear about Fer’s accident in the news and tells Juan Pablo about it. JP rushes off to comfort Victoria. When she tells him that Fer’s fate is in God’s hands, he is glad to hear she has come back to her faith. Apparently no one has told him there are no atheists in foxholes. Or intensive care waiting rooms.
The operation is over.
Fer survived. They will have to wait and see if there are complications. (But it would be a miracle if there are none.) Still, everyone is relieved at the news. And Fer is taken to recovery. Victoria maintains a bedside vigil and is there when Fer wakes up and asks for her father. The doctor is called and he examines her. She seems to understand him and answer his questions appropriately. But the reflex response in her knees is absent; and she has no reaction to painful stimulation to the soles of her feet.
The prognosis:
The doctor takes Victoria and Max aside and gives them the news: Fer is out of danger. But tragically: La Srta Fernanda Sandoval no volverá a caminar. (Miss Fernanda Sandoval will not walk again.)
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Entr’acte: Coming soon! Triunfo’s exciting sequel -- Amor Asqueroso! In which JuanJo and Xi discover they are almas gemelas (soulmates) when their paths cross in rehab. Drawn together by their Mommy fixation, and their hatred of Max Sandoval (Oh? You didn’t think JuanJo was thinking “Eat mierda and die, Güerito” when Super Guapo rescued Nathy from the bridge, or snatched María from the flames while the bomberos stood by with their hoses dangling uselessly?). In a stunning homage to his tour de force transvestite role in La Madrastra, Guillermo adds a pair of red heels to his cache of red gloves, black wig and shades and together with Paquita la del Barrio croons that crossover sensation, “I Love a Naco” (sung to the melody of “La Cucaracha”). A NovelaMaven/Telerisa Production.
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Part Two: After the aftermath
Of prayers and threats and Christians who aren’t very. And of lies repeated so often they begin to sound like truth. Victoria weeps. Bernarda rants. Juan Pablo prays. Max stands strong. María stands stronger. Padilla threatens. Guillermo slimes. Ximena whines and rolls her eyes. And Fer needs her daddy. Want more? Read on.
Victoria falls on Max’s chest and weeps for her daughter.
Juan Pablo is praying for Victoria when he feels a hand on his shoulder. It’s his mother and she has come to deliver her latest LoonyGram:
All the tragedy that Victoria has suffered is a punishment for your leaving the priesthood.
JP buries his face in his hands and then looks up and tries valiantly to talk to his mother as if she were a normal person, just maybe a little slow on the uptake: He. Did. Not. Abandon. The. Priesthood. He only left temporarily to care for his daughter. Still a priest, ma, still a priest! Get it?
A Slender Thread of Hope
The doctor explains to Victoria and Max that Fer’s spinal cord (la médula espinal) is severely damaged. But can’t anything be done? asks Max with some insistence. The doctor concedes there is one slender thread of hope:
Tu hermana tiene una posibilidad de volver a caminar después de varias terapias y unas cirugías muy dolorosas.
(Your sister has a chance of walking again -- after several treatments and some very painful surgeries.)
Victoria weeps. The doctor tells them they have to be strong and brave.
Poor Juan Pablo. Bernie’s not listening to you. She rants on: He’s the one who doesn’t understand that evil has overtaken his soul. This temporary leave stuff is just a pretext – every day he gets more attached to the frivolity of the world and more estranged from his priestly duties.
¿Te das cuenta que Dios, para castigarte a ti tortura a Victoria?
(Don’t you realize that God, in order to punish you, is torturing Victoria?)
Take a deep breath, JP. You can do it. He gives it another try: God doesn’t inflict torture, Mother! You are very wrong!
He tenses when she stands behind him, puts her hand on his shoulder again and tells him:
If you care so much for Victoria, don’t keep bringing down God’s wrath on her --
-- and here JP turns around to look directly into her evil eyes --
-- o lo lamentarás toda tu vida.
(or you’ll regret it all your life.)
Max sits at Fer’s bedside and weeps. Hermanita! [So? A man can stand strong and still weep. Have you learned nothing from Sweet William Levy?]
Victoria is in the hospital chapel multi-tasking. She weeps and prays. She asks God:
¿Qué te hice para castigarme así? ¿Qué te hice para que olvidaras de mí?
(What did I do to you to make you punish me like this? What did I do to you to make you forget me?/Why did you forget me?)
JP joins her in the chapel and assures her that, now more than ever, God is with her. She is incredulous: How can he say that when the doctors have just told her that daughter is paralyzed? But her daughter is alive, he reminds her – and the boy who was with her is dead.
Meanwhile Doña Demente tries her hand at consoling that dead boy’s father. She tells the sobbing Rodolfo Padilla:
Deje usted de atormentarse. Mejor piense que su hijo ya está descansando en los brazos del Señor.
(Stop tormenting yourself. It would be better to think that your son is now resting in the arms of the Lord.)
He treats her hollow piety with the scorn it deserves:
You think that’s consolation? When Victoria Sandoval’s daughter is alive?
Padilla vows he won’t rest until Victoria feels the same pain that is choking him right now.
[Wow. So he doesn’t blame the moron scorpion guy for provoking the crash. And he doesn’t blame Bernie for hiring scorpion guy. He blames Victoria!]
Bernie understands his thirst for vengeance. [Does she ever!] And today is his lucky day – she has a plan to help him get even!
JP continues to offer solace and encouragement to Victoria. She can’t give up now when her daughter needs her the most. What comfort can you possibly offer? she replies despairingly. He answers: The most beautiful solace of all: faith.
Set aside your arrogance and pride. Learn to forgive.
God has failed me, insists Victoria.
No, says JP: Tú has pedido mucho. Un milagro.
(You asked for a a great deal -- a miracle.)
Well I didn’t get it, sniffs Vic. No, corrects JP, you couldn’t see it, which is different.
Fer needs you now and you can’t abandon her. But afterwards – once this crisis is over -- pray that you recognize the miracle that was so close to you -- and yet you never saw it! [We’ll give you some hints: Orphan. María. Doll-that-trumps-DNA. Llamada de la sangre. Sort of looks like you. Stubborn like you. Give up? Well don’t say we never helped you, Vic!]
Victoria narrows her eyes and seems to takes his words to heart.
At the makeshift dormitory in the church dispensary, Napo and JJ snore loudly; dogs howl; Nathy pulls a pillow over her head in a futile attempt to block the noise. Cruz stands by, wide awake; and María holds her glittery heart locket that evidently survived the fire and thinks of Max.
Back at the hospital, Max asks his mother: When are we going to break the news to Fer? Vic tells him they aren’t going to say a word to her (or to anyone else) about her paralysis. The doctors gave them hope and that’s what they’ll act on – no matter what it takes. [So you decide: optimism and courage – or yet another Big Lie that will isolate Fer from the people she loves?]
Victoria and Max are back at Fer’s bedside. Victoria will spend the night with her daughter. And Max will accompany them both.
The Gang Takes its Leave
The waiting room crowd starts to thin out. Xi is exhausted. She’ll go back home with Mama Rox – she doesn’t want to be alone in Casa Sandoval. Gui bids a smarmy adios to mother and daughter.
Toni and Fabián agree it’s time for all of them to get out of Vic and Max’s hair. While Oscar and Pip are bickering about who gets to go with Toni, slimeball Gui outmaneuvers them both. Oscar can take Pipino home, suggests Gui, as he leaves with Antonieta. But Oscar leaves in a snit (which only seats one) so Fabián has the honor of driving Pip home.
Max, while walking Juan Pablo out, remarks that he’s surprised that Victoria seems so close to God. She’s never been religious. She used to be, says JP. Max is startled to hear JP talk about his mother’s past – he didn’t know they knew each other way back when. It all seems a little odd to him. JP assures him that very soon he’ll understand.
Just before JP leaves, Max asks him about María. Max needn’t worry, he tells him. She’s fine and all the people affected by the fire have found a place to live. JP is gratified when Max says he has also been feeling a need to be closer to God. And he tells Max to take comfort in the fact that: Los hombres se pueden olvidar de Dios pero Dios jamás se olvida de los hombres. (Man may forget God but God never forgets man. (Which sounds more profound and less sexist in Spanish!))
Guillermo Softens Antonieta for the Kill
I really needed a glass of wine, Toni confides to Gui as the two sit in her apartment, sipping companiably. She doesn’t know how Victoria managed to withstand everything that happened today. Victoria is a very strong woman, says Gui. And admirable, adds Toni. There are a lot of admirable women, agrees Gui, and you are one of them.
Over Toni’s modest objections, Gui persists: Ever since I met you, you’ve been Victoria’s shadow. Don’t you realize you shine as brightly as she does? I’m not flattering you, he says, even as he is laying it on with a trowel – I’m just telling you the truth. Then leaning in for the kill shot, he asks: Why didn’t you ever get married, Antonieta? She tells him her situation is the same as his. She just hasn’t found the right person – although, she adds wistfully, she thought she had met the ideal man, but he has always been in love with someone else.
Gui sidles up to her and says in her ear:
Debe estar ciego. Eres tan hermosa.
(He must be blind. You’re so beautiful.)
What is this? He’s leaning in for a kiss! I scream loudly enough to bring Mr. Maven running in from the other room! [He assesses the scene briefly, mutters something about earplugs and leaves.]
Toni, Toni, do you know where that mouth has been??? She ignores me! Their lips touch briefly and then Gui apologizes sheepishly (or perhaps wolfishly) – he couldn’t resist! Toni bids him a prim goodnight but before he leaves, he notes with satisfaction how her finger traces the path of his kiss on her lips. And when he is gone, she permits herself a small smile.
Rox Gets to Know her Daughter a Bit Better.
I hate hospitals, Xi whines to Rox. Those damn Sandovals and their drama. She’s tired of listening to Victoria crying and screaming all day. [Yeah well, who isn’t?]
[Here she pauses to pop another teratogen. And the thought crosses my mind – what if she isn’t pregnant any more?]
So do you want a divorce? asks Rox. If I could get some money out of Max – well, yeah, says Xi.
And then what? asks Ma Rox. Cuz frankly sweetcheeks, I don’t think you’ve got the maternal instinct. If you stay married, Victoria and Max will take care of the kid and you can do what you want with your life.
It was a terrible (pésimo, literally, the worst) idea to get pregnant by Max, whines Xi. Terrible.
Rox disagrees. A pregnancy is the best way there is to trap a man – it worked with your father!
Well it didn’t work with Guillermo and it didn’t work the time before either, says Xi. Huh? Rox does a doubletake: You mean this isn’t your first pregnancy? Of course not, answers Xi. And since it didn’t work the first time, I had to get rid of the kid.
Now Rox stares at her mad daughter with something akin to horror. Said daughter rolls her eyes.
Who the Devil Let this Woman in My House?
Suddenly a putrid, sulfurous stench pervades la Casa Sandoval. Victoria and Toni rush downstairs to investigate. Doña Demente has come calling! She tells Victoria:
Vine a ver tu cara de sufrimiento. Ya me enteré que tu otra hija estuvo al punto de perder la vida.
(I came to see your suffering face. I just found out that your other daughter almost died.)
What a bad mother you are, she rants on. It’s obvious you never loved your daughters. Toni stands up for her friend: If anyone loves her family and children, it’s Victoria! Bernie smirks nastily: Of course. That’s why her husband cheated on her with another woman.
Get out, commands Victoria.
I’ll go, says Bernie, but not before I tell you this:
Aquí no termina tu castigo; todo lo que te está pasando es por haber provocado la ira de Dios. ... Por tu culpa Juan Pablo abandonó el sacerdocio.
(Your punishment doesn’t end here; everything you’re suffering is a result of your provoking the wrath of God. … It’s your fault that Juan Pablo has left the priesthood.)
Victoria is puzzled – Juan Pablo left the priesthood? Demente rants on. God will punish you, Victoria – and if He doesn’t, I will! With my own hands! Stay away from Juan Pablo!
That’s not possible, retorts Vic. We have a daughter together. That’s a link that will join us for the rest of our lives (de por vida). Victoria catches Demente’s arm as it is raised to strike. Now, Vic says, she understands their mutual hatred – it’s mother against mother. Practically spitting the words in her face, she tells Bernarda:
Yo le voy a demostrar que yo soy mejor madre que usted. Un día me va a ver con mis hijas llenas de amor y de felicidad mientras usted se va a hundir en su soledad.
(I’m going to show you that I’m a better mother than you. One day you’re going to see me with my daughters, all of us filled with love and happiness while you’re going to be submerged in your loneliness.)
Now get out of my house!
[Okay. Time out. Victoria, this isn’t mother against mother. This is crazed, serial killer against basically normal person turned bossy and cranky by life’s hard knocks. Come on. Bernarda makes Joan Crawford look like June Cleaver. Who isn’t a better mother?]
Demente smoothes an eyebrow and leaves.
It is morning at the hospital and María joins Max. They hug. Fer is in very bad shape, he tells her. Be strong, says María. Right now you’re the pillar of your family and you need to be there for your mother and sister.
Doña Demente isn’t happy to see Juan Pablo packing up all his clothing to donate to the people who lost everything in the fire. She’s even less pleased when he mentions in passing: Some of us are moving to a vecindad in the parish.
Are you crazy, Juan Pablo? explodes Bernarda in a decidedly non-saintly fashion. For that bastard child of yours?
Juan Pablo once again tries to talk to Bernarda as if she were a normal person. He tells her he was with María Desamparada for her first prenatal ultrasound: He saw his grandchild. And he realized how great is the work of God. His grandchild, he repeats. And after that experience, he can’t understand how she can fail to love her grandchild, María Desamparada. She answers: You don’t know my real feelings for that girl – and then adds softly, almost to herself -- who is so much like me.
Love that Ennobles the Soul and Cheapens the Prose
Max and María hug. Love is what helps us through the most difficult moments, she tells him. It’s the light that shines through our darkest nights. It’s the source of more bad cliché-filled writing than any other emotion. [Oh wait. She didn’t say that last part. Sorry.] Smoochies. They set off to see Fer.
Where the Devil Did You Get that Cross?
Bernie looks at the little carved crucifix in Juan Pablo’s room. She tells him she has always been curious to know where it came from. JP tells her Victoria gave it to him the day he was to leave for the seminary. The day you sinned, she says. She grabs it and says: I’m going to throw it away! Then she abruptly sets it back down and edges away, rubbing at her hand where it was touching the crucifix: ¡Me quemó la mano! (My hand is burned!)
Oh puhleez, says JP. The only thing hurting you is your conscience. And you’re not going to live in peace until you face the truth. You are the one who has caused me the most pain – and you continue to do so by rejecting my daughter. JP picks up the crucifix – look, Ma, no burns! – and kisses it. Ingrate, mutters Bernie as JP leaves, arms full of clothes for the needy. The devil has entered his body, she says. He is no longer my son.
Sister Visits Sister
Max and María go to Fer’s bedside. She’s so young, says María gazing sadly at Fer. She was always so restless (inquieta), says Max, a whirlwind (un torbellino). She loved to challenge life, he says, beginning to sound disturbingly like he’s reciting a eulogy. María bends down to kiss Fer on the cheek. When she looks up, she sees Victoria glaring at her from the doorway. What are you doing here? Vic asks icily.
Words You’ll End Up Eating
How dare you come here? spits out Victoria. What are you trying to do? Mock my pain? I’m here, answers María simply, because the man I love is suffering and he needs me at his side. Victoria tells her to get out – her son doesn’t need her. Ever since she appeared in their lives, they’ve been dogged by tragedy:
Maldigo el día que te conocí!
(I curse the day I met you!)
I hope you remember all these insults, María tells her. I feel it in the bottom of my heart -- one day you’ll regret what you said and you’ll be on your knees begging me for forgiveness. María leaves with her dignity intact and Victoria is left spitting tacks.
But her berrinche is cut short when Fer starts to moan. Where am I? she says. She opens her eyes and looks at Victoria and Max:
¿Dónde está mi papá? (Where’s my dad?)
Good Works
Juan Pablo is letting off a little steam, sawing wood in the carpentry workshop. Padre Jerónimo comes by to congratulate him for getting Victoria back in touch with her faith and bringing her some consolation. He is also happy to hear that María Desamparada is “opening up like a flower” in her pregnancy (su dulce espera, her sweet time of waiting). And what about Domingo? asks Jer. The next time he goes to look for him, says JP, he’ll bring some help. That way Domingo won’t be able to refuse to get back on the right path. Just then, the parish boys – big and little – show up. JP wants to make a deal with the guys …
Be It Ever So Humble
Nathy and María are moving their few salvaged scraps into their shabby rooms in the vecindad. María once again tells Nathy that she feels an inexplicable bond between herself and Max’s little sister.
A Bitter Awakening for Fer
Fer is agitated. Where am I? she asks again. I can’t move, I can’t move, she repeats in panic. I don’t feel my legs! I can’t move! Max and Vic desperately try to calm her. They don’t know how to answer her questions. Apparently, the truth is out of the question. The Big Lie kicks in. And Fede? asks Fer. Where’s Federico? I want to see him!
The Wrath of Padilla
At that precise moment, Rodolfo Padilla swoops in, swept along in a miasma of hatred and menace. You won’t see him again, he sneers. Federico is dead! And you killed him!
Max throws Padilla out of his sister’s room.
The medical team rushes in to attend to Fer who, by now, is completely hysterical.
Outside the room, Victoria lashes out at Padilla: How dare you come here! The only one responsible for your son’s death is you!
And Max tells him angrily: My sister wasn’t driving! Your son was!
Padilla keeps repeating that it was Fer’s fault. And he’s going to avenge his son’s death – Ojo por ojo y diente por diente! (an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth).
I’m not happy your son died, says Victoria, but maybe now you can understand my pain at losing my daughter.
I’ll get even, raves Padilla, even as Max is bodily removing him from the hospital wing.
Once he is gone, Vic turns to Max and tells him: I’m so confused! I feel that all of this is a punishment from God. I’m paying for my sins.
[Oh no! Bernie has done it – she finally got into Victoria’s head and has her believing her crazy, blasphemous lies!]
El padre Juan Pablo… begins Max. Victoria interrupts him:
¡El padre Juan Pablo ya no es un sacerdote!
(Father Juan Pablo is no longer a priest.)
How does she know? Doña Bernarda told her. ¡Ay caray! (Oy vey!)
When Rudy Met Memo
Now Guillermo, who has been watching the Padilla/Victoria/Max Show with naked curiosity, runs after the departing Padilla. You and I have a lot in common, Gui tells him.
If you trust me, I can help you get even with the Sandoval family.
Getting Ready for Company
Nathy and María are undaunted by the unpromising appearance of their tiny and resoundingly empty place in the vecindad – it just needs a little tidying up.
The First Visit
The girls are surprised when the guys from the parish show up at the door with new tables and chairs from the workshop. This is the deal Juan Pablo made with them earlier: he’ll be working as a carpenter to pay for the pieces. And the padre is going to be living in the vecindad, one of the guys tells them.
And then we get a glimpse of clean-shaven Padre Beyond Hottie in his black t-shirt, hair freshly shampooed sans Dippity Doo, mopping the sweat from his brow, hard at work in the carpentry shop.
The Second Visit
María is a bit disconcerted when Juan Pablo arrives at her door holding out a bouquet of flowers. It’s just that she’s not used to seeing him outside of his role as “Father”. But I am a father, he corrects her, your father. Then he hugs her and kisses her brow. She stands stiffly and appears uncomfortable with his gesture.
The Third Visit
Max shows up, misreads the awkward and tender scene between this Ordinary Man Who is No Longer a Priest and the woman he loves. He demands an explanation. Juan Pablo asks for a moment alone with Max. JP looks Max in the eye and says simply:
Yo amo a María Desamparada con todo mi corazón.
(I love MD with all my heart.)
[Or maybe he said: "Punch me in the face." I'm not sure.]
Max, nostrils flaring, grabs JP’s lapels, and pushes him against the wall. Let me explain, JP pleads. Yes I love María Desamparada, but not the way you think:
María Desamparada es mi hija! ¡Es sangre de mi sangre! ¡Es carne de mi carne! (MD is my daughter! She is blood of my blood, flesh of my flesh!)
[Um. Maybe it would have been better to say that first. Ya think?]
Cue the kayak!
Labels: triunfo
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