Sunday, February 26, 2012
Una Familia Con Suerte #137-138 Fri 2/24/12 It's My Life, and I'll Do What I Want
Part One: Plotquake
Back to Arnold and Pina at dinner. He says with every moment that passes, he's more in love with her.
Candy and Vice are in bed. She answers his phone while he's in the bathroom - it's Violeta! Candy reads her the riot act. Violeta says she has enough money and "friends" to make Candy disappear right off the map. Candy ridicules her and hangs up. (It does not occur to her that one of Violeta's "friends" might be someone like Napoleon.) Then she fills Vice in on the conversation.
Moni shows up at Violeta's. She says the chofer will bring up her bags, which raises the question: how heavy can they be, given that someone stole all her stuff?
Pepe goes home to the mansion and hangs all over Ana crying.
Now Enzo pays a visit to Violeta and Moni. Moni hangs all over him crying. "I don't like to say 'I told you so,'" Enzo tells Moni. (Sorry, Enzo, you get ZERO sensitivity points for that one.) They didn't break up, so it's no big deal. And now she'll think twice before making another hasty decision. She feels she's screwed up pretty badly. He tells her that Thomas Edison tried 100 different ways to make a light bulb before he got one to work. He didn't consider them 100 failures, but rather 100 steps (peldaños) to success. (Violeta watches and listens in the doorway and makes weird faces that I don't know how to read.)
Chela is trying to understand why Pancho broke up with Rebe. She finds it odd that he was so quick to throw in the towel, and so insistent that Rebeca's hate for Mike is love in disguise. If she has doubts, then she must not love Pancho enough. "You can count on me," Chela tells him, and thought-bubbles, "why can't I love Enzo, who's such a good man? Why can't I stop loving you, Pancho?"
Pancho admits that he's feeling insecure and jealous. Chela points out that Rebeca agreed to marry him. But Pancho points out that Rebeca had once told him that Mike was nobody to her, when in fact he's marked her life and transformed her into a nervous wreck. Pancho can't stand it.
Mike rehashes with Lidia: Rebeca took off after Pancho, but came back sadder than ever. But Mike's pleased that she still had a little box of mementos from their past. "How interesting," Lidia says with exaggerated enthusiasm and wiggles her chest at him. (Just as Mike was slow to take the hint when Rebeca ignored his texts, he's slow to take the hint when Lidia flirts.)
Mike dramatically tells Lidia that he wants a little favor. He strokes her leg suggestively. This favor has nothing to do with her job, Mike says, and she doesn't have to do it. Lidia says the suspense is killing her. "I want you... I need you... to make friends with Rebeca!" This virtual bucket of cold water snaps Lidia back into business mode. Unlike Mike, she does NOT have the impression that seeing him again made Rebeca realize that she still loves him. No, it's just that they broke up so fast that there's some unfinished business.
Lidia doesn't HAVE to do it, but if she doesn't, she knows he'll be distracted and grumpy and they may not be able to do the merger with Avon; so she'll do it. (I'm getting the impression that even though she's his "assistant," she's probably the brains of this operation.)
Chela prepares a footbath for Pancho. She asks him what he would have done if Fer's DNA test had come out positive. He says he wouldn't give up the childhood he had, and the bond they have now is stronger than any DNA, and who are they to judge her for giving up her child?
Moni notices that Violeta looks tired. V goes to bed. Moni remembers that extra-sparkly first night with Pepe. Her nose pinkens with woe.
Pepe tells Pancho and Chela that he won't go back to the apartment until Moni does. And he's sure she will, even though her mother has more money than Vice and Enzo put together. He thinks that holding down two jobs while going to school will elevate him a little closer to her level. Pancho suggests an alternative: Pepe can stay at home, devote himself 100% to university, and when he and Moni are ready they can get married.
Ana goes to Lupita for the sex talk. Lupita thinks she's an odd choice for the task, given her lack of experience, and is afraid she'll give bad advice; but Ana asks her to just play along. She's afraid Pancho would put her in a chastity belt if she asked him, and she'd feel funny going to Chela, and they never even see Candy any more. Lupita agrees to listen. They talk about the magic of kissing, and Ana admits that she's ready to gobble Freddy up. Lupita tells her to be safe and responsible and go to a gynecologist for the best "method." She also recommends respect and communication. Ana tells Lupita she's the best advisor ever.
Temo comes in and pretends he's heard everything and will tell Pancho, but then admits he didn't hear anything. They throw pillows at him.
Arnold brings Pina home from the restaurant and gives her a very effective goodnight kiss. Fred sees them from a distance and starts to throw up in his mouth a little bit, but evidently doesn't recognize the back of Arnold's head. Fred intercepts Pina outside the house and asks her about the kiss. She starts to say "nobody can know that Arnold..." but then catches herself and says Arnold fixed her up with this neat widower that she went out with. She asks him not to tell Vice about it.
Morning brings us a gratuitous breakfast of beefcake and shaving cream: Shirtless Enzo! He shaves twice for our entertainment. First he takes off his mustache with an electric razor, and then he does his whole face with a straight razor. The result is an even younger-looking man with a lippy smile and a lot of teeth. Huzzah!
Lidia tries to be friendly with Rebeca. Her efforts are met with suspicion. Lidia claims that Mike only works with her, and doesn't confide in her. Rebe doesn't thaw. Pancho shows up and takes a coffee with two sugars. Vice shows up and the room gets even colder.
Candy is unnerved to find two men in suits outside her door. Vice has hired bodyguards to protect her.
Mike shows up to the meeting, and Vice greets him like a long-lost brother. Enzo is there now too, and Pancho says he looks young enough to be Moni's brother. Vice accuses him of having Botox and tells him to stop talking to the greengrocer. Lidia comments on his youthful appearance too.
Pina, Arnold, and Beto join them next. Pancho apologizes for missing the meeting in Acapulco but says he was going over the numbers last night, and to begin with, Belle Face is way overpriced. Mike inflated all the numbers.
Enzo smirks knowingly. Everyone else looks either shocked, confused, or amused.
Violeta again tells Moni that she's too good for Pepe. Moni insists that it is she who doesn't deserve such a nice guy. She obviously has something on her mind that she doesn't want to talk about. Violeta persuades her to tell, but we don't get to hear it.
Chela looks like she's getting ready to leave when Candy shows up (with bodyguards) to Stately Lopez Manor for breakfast. Chela feels guilty for having feelings for Pancho when Enzo's been so great. She wishes she could just tear that love for Pancho out of her heart; she doesn't want to hurt Enzo. Candy tells her that now Pancho's split up with Rebeca, it's time to make her move. Chela tells Candy about the talk and foot-rub with Pancho last night: when she went to bed she was floating with happiness, but then she was dreaming about Enzo. Chela's torn between the wish of trying with Pancho again, and the fear of hurting Enzo.
Pepe is taking a math test. Looks like it's not going well.
Fer meets with her old doctor and pal, Octavio. She asks why he hasn't remarried since his wife died 12 years ago. He says that he has actually been in love for a while with a great woman who doesn't know how he feels: Fernanda!
Pepe meets with Moni. "I'm two weeks late," she tells him.
Pancho tries to make himself clearer to Mike: his numbers are bad. They've been altered. They're false. Yes, he's calling Mike a liar. He had some Avon people check, too (Beto smiles timidly). Belle Face is worth about 70% what Mike claims. Mike is offended and says Pancho's the liar. Pancho says Mike tried to trick him, if he doesn't feel caught, then why's he reacting this way? Mike pokes him in the chest. Vice cheers. (Arnold is holding Pina's shoulders protectively; either that or he's using her as a shield!) Pancho warns Mike that if he touches him again, he'll be sorry!
Part Two: Breaking up and getting together
Vice tells "Mickey" not to sink to Pancho's level. Pancho reveals that Vice has shares with both companies and probably even set this whole thing up. Vice says he isn't that kind of person. (Pina comes forward to scoff.) In fact, it's precisely because he has a lot of money at stake in both companies that he has every right to be involved.
Rebeca tells Pancho to calm down. He accuses her of being to "busy" with "other things" lately to realize that Mike's been making fools of them, or worse, of taking Mike's side. (People crowd around so they can hear their personal argument.) It turns out Pancho's peeps have done their homework on Belle Face. Beto confirms that he's analyzed each and every one of their transactions, and it's overvalued. Rebeca angrily tells Mike he hasn't changed - he's still trying to fly below the radar. Mike says it's just a matter of interpretation.
Enzo speaks up: there's nothing to misinterpret. The numbers are inflated. Angrily, Vice asks: who asked your opinion, little boy? Pancho reveals that he had several people go over it to make sure it wasn't only his opinion.
Pepe is thrilled that Moni might be pregnant. She is not. She doesn't understand how it happened - she's on the Pill! (I don't think she's taken a test yet, so all of this seems premature. You can miss a period when you're on the Pill.) She'd like to have kids with him someday, but not now - they had a hard time living together.
Pepe gets bitter and sarcastic with her. She replies in kind. "Sorry I complained when we were robbed. What a spoiled little girl I am!"
At Avon, the accusations continue to fly. Pancho wonders if Inés is really not in a coma, and is engineering this whole thing. Lidia looks stunned. "Is that true, Mike?" Rebeca asks. Naturally, he denies it. Pancho says they'll audit every single pencil and stapler until they get the real value of the company. He and Beto storm out, inviting Enzo to join them. Vice throws some insults after Enzo, including "potato-face." He assures Mike that he'll get his chance.
Fernanda's flustered after hearing Octavio's declaration of love. They talk about how great mature love is. He's been carrying a torch for her for years, long before she got cancer. On the day he had to give her that diagnosis, he cried for the rest of the day. Then he kept wanting to visit her in Germany. Fer says she would have loved having some company during her treatments. She's not sure if she feels the same way, but she feels fluttery all over. "Would you like to be my novia?" he asks.
The three Financeteers (Pancho, Beto, and Enzo) are recrunching the Belle Face numbers and still coming up with with a big gap. Rebeca marches in and complains about being excluded. She thinks he's being unfair. She says she didn't study Mike's report because she was too upset - over Pancho. Pancho says he's upset too, but the fact is that Mike was trying to trick them. Rebeca says she doesn't like being tricked either - in business nor in love. Pancho admits he's jealous and he loves her and he can't stand how she reacts to Mike. (Beto and Enzo shuffle around uncomfortably.) But as much as Mike upsets him, he has to be professional and not take this merger lightly.
Rebeca says the only thing he's taken more lightly is their relationship, and she storms out.
Lidia is surprised that Mike thought he'd trick Avon's president. Mike insists that inflating the numbers is just a common business tactic to strengthen one's position for negotiating. He admits he underestimated Pancho, but he doesn't get what Rebeca sees in him. Lidia thinks it's obvious. She puts her hand on Mike's leg - he is oblivious - and says it won't be as easy for him to get Rebe back as he thought. Mike agrees that Pancho is a greater foe than he expected.
It must be 6pm, because Pina and Vice are meeting with their lawyers. The papers are ready to be read and signed. Vice tells Pina that he was married to a great woman, and even helps her with her chair.
Candy and Violeta coincidentally show up to see Vice at the same time. Sandra won't let them in. (I thought they gave her a job in "Edecanes"?) Violeta says "Candy" is a cabaret girl's name. Other dumb insults follow. Vice comes out to shoo them away. Candy is offended to be given equal treatment with Violeta and again suspects he's seeing Violeta. Violeta says she'll meet with Vice some other time, and leaves. He gives Sandy some things to copy and she leaves too. He tells Candy they'll soon be together. They steal a kiss, and she leaves.
Lupita is teach the kids at the Casa Popular. Tomás sneaks up behind her and surprises her with a bracelet. He wants to talk about Elena.
Elena complains to Cristian that he's been distant. He says he can't afford to lose his job or lose his family. She says no one has to know. If he gives her some money, she can buy some things that she'll only show to him that will drive him crazy. He says he's already crazy. That's why they have to stop! She says she won't stop; they'll just have to be discreet. Unless he's going to fire her. He says he can't do that, so Elena says they'll get their freak on tonight.
Tom tells Lupita about Elena's fling with her married boss. She wouldn't listen to Tom. He's considering talking to Pancho but then the guy could get fired or Pancho will break his neck. He's already bought her a diamond earring - probably two, but Tom only found one - and knowing Elena, she'll probably ask for more and it will escalate until his marriage is wrecked.
Vice and Pina agree that their marriage had its bad moments, but they chose one another to be the parents of their son. The lawyers say it'll be two more months before everything's finalized, and there will be a couple of hearings and such. Pina and Vice sign all the papers.
Chela's excited because she's passed all her courses and now she'll be able to take her final exam. She'll be a high school graduate, and then she can go to college. Temo needs help with his English homework, but Chela can't help him - so he borrows her phone to call Rebeca. Chela's not crazy about the idea, but can't come up with a good excuse fast enough to prevent the call.
Rebeca is surprised to hear from Temo, but agrees to come over tonight to help him with his English. Chela tries to be cheerful, but she looks like she just swallowed a bug.
Rebeca goes to Arnold. He warns her about Chela. That's the last thing she wants to think about! She admits she's being unbearable - lately she can't even stand herself. Arnold starts to make a crack about women and hormones.
Mike apologizes to Pancho and says Pancho was right - Inés isn't in a coma. She's the one who's been sending Mike instructions, and she has a hidden agenda. Pancho says that at the moment Inés had her stroke, she was trying to kill Fernanda with her walking-stick. (This seems to be news to Mike.) He's fond of Fer and he'll defend her from anything. And he's good at catching people in tricks, so if they're going to do deal, it'll have to be like this - face-to-face and no funny business. Mike promises.
Vice and Pina finish signing the papers. They hug goodbye, and there's a montage of their happy moments. It's very brief.
Mike tells Pancho that it was Inés who told him inflate the company's numbers, but they're not going to do it that way any more. Mike goes to tell Lidia. Pancho says we're not done talking - we still need to discuss Rebeca.
Arnold apologizes to Rebeca for his crack about women and hormones. He doesn't know how to help her. She thinks Pancho doesn't love her enough, or he'd try to understand her. Arnold pretty much takes Pancho's side. After all, she's the one with doubts.
Mike tells Pancho that Rebe was the love of his life, and since they're being frank with one another, he's sure she feels something for him and he's going to try to get her back. Pancho says they're having some trouble now because of Mike's sudden appearance, but that doesn't mean they'll split up. "Good, then you have nothing to worry about," Mike teases. He asks Pancho to give him the rest of the day to "fix" his numbers.
Ana calls Freddy and asks what time his parents usually come home. She invites herself over for a visit.
Lupita pays a visit to Cristian's office to talk to Elena. She introduces herself as Pancho's daughter. Elena rolls her eyes. Cristian excuses himself. The meeting doesn't go well. Lupita asks if Elena doesn't care about Cristian's kids. Elena says it's just sex; she's not planning to marry the guy. Lupita is surprised Elena is saying "it's just sex" so lightly, considering how she was after going to Brazil. Elena says the Brazil trip liberated her. No man will ever take advantage of her again. She'll use sex to her own benefit. She wants Lupita and Tomás to stay out of her life.
Tom and Pepe are working at the garage, talking about Mónica, when their boss comes by and tells them to hurry up. Pepe's tired from studying for that test. He injures his hand and it bleeds and bleeds.
Elena repeats her old complaint of not having things, living in the 'hood, buying cheap clothes from street markets, etc. "Well, you're practically a prostitute," Lupita says. "So?" replies Elena. Lupita is aghast that her friend would sleep with a married man just for money to buy clothes. Money's not everything.
Elena says that's easy for Lupita to say, when the money just fell out of the sky for her. Sarcastically, Lupita retorts that sure, everything fell from the sky until Alex died. "How swell that you have so many reasons to envy me."
Pepe wraps his hand in a greasy towel and insists on continuing to work. Tom says he'll finish the car himself and while Pepe goes to the doctor. If Pepe doesn't agree, Tom will tell Pancho.
Ana and Fred play racing video games in his room. Then they have a pillow fight and she accidentally finds his stash of condoms. "It's not what you think - I love you!" She loves him too. She says she's a virgin. He says they don't have to do anything she doesn't want to do. They start kissing. He looks at the condom and she asks, smiling hopefully, "are you going to use it?"
Next time:
Pina comes home slightly earlier than expected.
Back to Arnold and Pina at dinner. He says with every moment that passes, he's more in love with her.
Candy and Vice are in bed. She answers his phone while he's in the bathroom - it's Violeta! Candy reads her the riot act. Violeta says she has enough money and "friends" to make Candy disappear right off the map. Candy ridicules her and hangs up. (It does not occur to her that one of Violeta's "friends" might be someone like Napoleon.) Then she fills Vice in on the conversation.
Moni shows up at Violeta's. She says the chofer will bring up her bags, which raises the question: how heavy can they be, given that someone stole all her stuff?
Pepe goes home to the mansion and hangs all over Ana crying.
Now Enzo pays a visit to Violeta and Moni. Moni hangs all over him crying. "I don't like to say 'I told you so,'" Enzo tells Moni. (Sorry, Enzo, you get ZERO sensitivity points for that one.) They didn't break up, so it's no big deal. And now she'll think twice before making another hasty decision. She feels she's screwed up pretty badly. He tells her that Thomas Edison tried 100 different ways to make a light bulb before he got one to work. He didn't consider them 100 failures, but rather 100 steps (peldaños) to success. (Violeta watches and listens in the doorway and makes weird faces that I don't know how to read.)
Chela is trying to understand why Pancho broke up with Rebe. She finds it odd that he was so quick to throw in the towel, and so insistent that Rebeca's hate for Mike is love in disguise. If she has doubts, then she must not love Pancho enough. "You can count on me," Chela tells him, and thought-bubbles, "why can't I love Enzo, who's such a good man? Why can't I stop loving you, Pancho?"
Pancho admits that he's feeling insecure and jealous. Chela points out that Rebeca agreed to marry him. But Pancho points out that Rebeca had once told him that Mike was nobody to her, when in fact he's marked her life and transformed her into a nervous wreck. Pancho can't stand it.
Mike rehashes with Lidia: Rebeca took off after Pancho, but came back sadder than ever. But Mike's pleased that she still had a little box of mementos from their past. "How interesting," Lidia says with exaggerated enthusiasm and wiggles her chest at him. (Just as Mike was slow to take the hint when Rebeca ignored his texts, he's slow to take the hint when Lidia flirts.)
Mike dramatically tells Lidia that he wants a little favor. He strokes her leg suggestively. This favor has nothing to do with her job, Mike says, and she doesn't have to do it. Lidia says the suspense is killing her. "I want you... I need you... to make friends with Rebeca!" This virtual bucket of cold water snaps Lidia back into business mode. Unlike Mike, she does NOT have the impression that seeing him again made Rebeca realize that she still loves him. No, it's just that they broke up so fast that there's some unfinished business.
Lidia doesn't HAVE to do it, but if she doesn't, she knows he'll be distracted and grumpy and they may not be able to do the merger with Avon; so she'll do it. (I'm getting the impression that even though she's his "assistant," she's probably the brains of this operation.)
Chela prepares a footbath for Pancho. She asks him what he would have done if Fer's DNA test had come out positive. He says he wouldn't give up the childhood he had, and the bond they have now is stronger than any DNA, and who are they to judge her for giving up her child?
Moni notices that Violeta looks tired. V goes to bed. Moni remembers that extra-sparkly first night with Pepe. Her nose pinkens with woe.
Pepe tells Pancho and Chela that he won't go back to the apartment until Moni does. And he's sure she will, even though her mother has more money than Vice and Enzo put together. He thinks that holding down two jobs while going to school will elevate him a little closer to her level. Pancho suggests an alternative: Pepe can stay at home, devote himself 100% to university, and when he and Moni are ready they can get married.
Ana goes to Lupita for the sex talk. Lupita thinks she's an odd choice for the task, given her lack of experience, and is afraid she'll give bad advice; but Ana asks her to just play along. She's afraid Pancho would put her in a chastity belt if she asked him, and she'd feel funny going to Chela, and they never even see Candy any more. Lupita agrees to listen. They talk about the magic of kissing, and Ana admits that she's ready to gobble Freddy up. Lupita tells her to be safe and responsible and go to a gynecologist for the best "method." She also recommends respect and communication. Ana tells Lupita she's the best advisor ever.
Temo comes in and pretends he's heard everything and will tell Pancho, but then admits he didn't hear anything. They throw pillows at him.
Arnold brings Pina home from the restaurant and gives her a very effective goodnight kiss. Fred sees them from a distance and starts to throw up in his mouth a little bit, but evidently doesn't recognize the back of Arnold's head. Fred intercepts Pina outside the house and asks her about the kiss. She starts to say "nobody can know that Arnold..." but then catches herself and says Arnold fixed her up with this neat widower that she went out with. She asks him not to tell Vice about it.
Morning brings us a gratuitous breakfast of beefcake and shaving cream: Shirtless Enzo! He shaves twice for our entertainment. First he takes off his mustache with an electric razor, and then he does his whole face with a straight razor. The result is an even younger-looking man with a lippy smile and a lot of teeth. Huzzah!
Lidia tries to be friendly with Rebeca. Her efforts are met with suspicion. Lidia claims that Mike only works with her, and doesn't confide in her. Rebe doesn't thaw. Pancho shows up and takes a coffee with two sugars. Vice shows up and the room gets even colder.
Candy is unnerved to find two men in suits outside her door. Vice has hired bodyguards to protect her.
Mike shows up to the meeting, and Vice greets him like a long-lost brother. Enzo is there now too, and Pancho says he looks young enough to be Moni's brother. Vice accuses him of having Botox and tells him to stop talking to the greengrocer. Lidia comments on his youthful appearance too.
Pina, Arnold, and Beto join them next. Pancho apologizes for missing the meeting in Acapulco but says he was going over the numbers last night, and to begin with, Belle Face is way overpriced. Mike inflated all the numbers.
Enzo smirks knowingly. Everyone else looks either shocked, confused, or amused.
Violeta again tells Moni that she's too good for Pepe. Moni insists that it is she who doesn't deserve such a nice guy. She obviously has something on her mind that she doesn't want to talk about. Violeta persuades her to tell, but we don't get to hear it.
Chela looks like she's getting ready to leave when Candy shows up (with bodyguards) to Stately Lopez Manor for breakfast. Chela feels guilty for having feelings for Pancho when Enzo's been so great. She wishes she could just tear that love for Pancho out of her heart; she doesn't want to hurt Enzo. Candy tells her that now Pancho's split up with Rebeca, it's time to make her move. Chela tells Candy about the talk and foot-rub with Pancho last night: when she went to bed she was floating with happiness, but then she was dreaming about Enzo. Chela's torn between the wish of trying with Pancho again, and the fear of hurting Enzo.
Pepe is taking a math test. Looks like it's not going well.
Fer meets with her old doctor and pal, Octavio. She asks why he hasn't remarried since his wife died 12 years ago. He says that he has actually been in love for a while with a great woman who doesn't know how he feels: Fernanda!
Pepe meets with Moni. "I'm two weeks late," she tells him.
Pancho tries to make himself clearer to Mike: his numbers are bad. They've been altered. They're false. Yes, he's calling Mike a liar. He had some Avon people check, too (Beto smiles timidly). Belle Face is worth about 70% what Mike claims. Mike is offended and says Pancho's the liar. Pancho says Mike tried to trick him, if he doesn't feel caught, then why's he reacting this way? Mike pokes him in the chest. Vice cheers. (Arnold is holding Pina's shoulders protectively; either that or he's using her as a shield!) Pancho warns Mike that if he touches him again, he'll be sorry!
Part Two: Breaking up and getting together
Vice tells "Mickey" not to sink to Pancho's level. Pancho reveals that Vice has shares with both companies and probably even set this whole thing up. Vice says he isn't that kind of person. (Pina comes forward to scoff.) In fact, it's precisely because he has a lot of money at stake in both companies that he has every right to be involved.
Rebeca tells Pancho to calm down. He accuses her of being to "busy" with "other things" lately to realize that Mike's been making fools of them, or worse, of taking Mike's side. (People crowd around so they can hear their personal argument.) It turns out Pancho's peeps have done their homework on Belle Face. Beto confirms that he's analyzed each and every one of their transactions, and it's overvalued. Rebeca angrily tells Mike he hasn't changed - he's still trying to fly below the radar. Mike says it's just a matter of interpretation.
Enzo speaks up: there's nothing to misinterpret. The numbers are inflated. Angrily, Vice asks: who asked your opinion, little boy? Pancho reveals that he had several people go over it to make sure it wasn't only his opinion.
Pepe is thrilled that Moni might be pregnant. She is not. She doesn't understand how it happened - she's on the Pill! (I don't think she's taken a test yet, so all of this seems premature. You can miss a period when you're on the Pill.) She'd like to have kids with him someday, but not now - they had a hard time living together.
Pepe gets bitter and sarcastic with her. She replies in kind. "Sorry I complained when we were robbed. What a spoiled little girl I am!"
At Avon, the accusations continue to fly. Pancho wonders if Inés is really not in a coma, and is engineering this whole thing. Lidia looks stunned. "Is that true, Mike?" Rebeca asks. Naturally, he denies it. Pancho says they'll audit every single pencil and stapler until they get the real value of the company. He and Beto storm out, inviting Enzo to join them. Vice throws some insults after Enzo, including "potato-face." He assures Mike that he'll get his chance.
Fernanda's flustered after hearing Octavio's declaration of love. They talk about how great mature love is. He's been carrying a torch for her for years, long before she got cancer. On the day he had to give her that diagnosis, he cried for the rest of the day. Then he kept wanting to visit her in Germany. Fer says she would have loved having some company during her treatments. She's not sure if she feels the same way, but she feels fluttery all over. "Would you like to be my novia?" he asks.
The three Financeteers (Pancho, Beto, and Enzo) are recrunching the Belle Face numbers and still coming up with with a big gap. Rebeca marches in and complains about being excluded. She thinks he's being unfair. She says she didn't study Mike's report because she was too upset - over Pancho. Pancho says he's upset too, but the fact is that Mike was trying to trick them. Rebeca says she doesn't like being tricked either - in business nor in love. Pancho admits he's jealous and he loves her and he can't stand how she reacts to Mike. (Beto and Enzo shuffle around uncomfortably.) But as much as Mike upsets him, he has to be professional and not take this merger lightly.
Rebeca says the only thing he's taken more lightly is their relationship, and she storms out.
Lidia is surprised that Mike thought he'd trick Avon's president. Mike insists that inflating the numbers is just a common business tactic to strengthen one's position for negotiating. He admits he underestimated Pancho, but he doesn't get what Rebeca sees in him. Lidia thinks it's obvious. She puts her hand on Mike's leg - he is oblivious - and says it won't be as easy for him to get Rebe back as he thought. Mike agrees that Pancho is a greater foe than he expected.
It must be 6pm, because Pina and Vice are meeting with their lawyers. The papers are ready to be read and signed. Vice tells Pina that he was married to a great woman, and even helps her with her chair.
Candy and Violeta coincidentally show up to see Vice at the same time. Sandra won't let them in. (I thought they gave her a job in "Edecanes"?) Violeta says "Candy" is a cabaret girl's name. Other dumb insults follow. Vice comes out to shoo them away. Candy is offended to be given equal treatment with Violeta and again suspects he's seeing Violeta. Violeta says she'll meet with Vice some other time, and leaves. He gives Sandy some things to copy and she leaves too. He tells Candy they'll soon be together. They steal a kiss, and she leaves.
Lupita is teach the kids at the Casa Popular. Tomás sneaks up behind her and surprises her with a bracelet. He wants to talk about Elena.
Elena complains to Cristian that he's been distant. He says he can't afford to lose his job or lose his family. She says no one has to know. If he gives her some money, she can buy some things that she'll only show to him that will drive him crazy. He says he's already crazy. That's why they have to stop! She says she won't stop; they'll just have to be discreet. Unless he's going to fire her. He says he can't do that, so Elena says they'll get their freak on tonight.
Tom tells Lupita about Elena's fling with her married boss. She wouldn't listen to Tom. He's considering talking to Pancho but then the guy could get fired or Pancho will break his neck. He's already bought her a diamond earring - probably two, but Tom only found one - and knowing Elena, she'll probably ask for more and it will escalate until his marriage is wrecked.
Vice and Pina agree that their marriage had its bad moments, but they chose one another to be the parents of their son. The lawyers say it'll be two more months before everything's finalized, and there will be a couple of hearings and such. Pina and Vice sign all the papers.
Chela's excited because she's passed all her courses and now she'll be able to take her final exam. She'll be a high school graduate, and then she can go to college. Temo needs help with his English homework, but Chela can't help him - so he borrows her phone to call Rebeca. Chela's not crazy about the idea, but can't come up with a good excuse fast enough to prevent the call.
Rebeca is surprised to hear from Temo, but agrees to come over tonight to help him with his English. Chela tries to be cheerful, but she looks like she just swallowed a bug.
Rebeca goes to Arnold. He warns her about Chela. That's the last thing she wants to think about! She admits she's being unbearable - lately she can't even stand herself. Arnold starts to make a crack about women and hormones.
Mike apologizes to Pancho and says Pancho was right - Inés isn't in a coma. She's the one who's been sending Mike instructions, and she has a hidden agenda. Pancho says that at the moment Inés had her stroke, she was trying to kill Fernanda with her walking-stick. (This seems to be news to Mike.) He's fond of Fer and he'll defend her from anything. And he's good at catching people in tricks, so if they're going to do deal, it'll have to be like this - face-to-face and no funny business. Mike promises.
Vice and Pina finish signing the papers. They hug goodbye, and there's a montage of their happy moments. It's very brief.
Mike tells Pancho that it was Inés who told him inflate the company's numbers, but they're not going to do it that way any more. Mike goes to tell Lidia. Pancho says we're not done talking - we still need to discuss Rebeca.
Arnold apologizes to Rebeca for his crack about women and hormones. He doesn't know how to help her. She thinks Pancho doesn't love her enough, or he'd try to understand her. Arnold pretty much takes Pancho's side. After all, she's the one with doubts.
Mike tells Pancho that Rebe was the love of his life, and since they're being frank with one another, he's sure she feels something for him and he's going to try to get her back. Pancho says they're having some trouble now because of Mike's sudden appearance, but that doesn't mean they'll split up. "Good, then you have nothing to worry about," Mike teases. He asks Pancho to give him the rest of the day to "fix" his numbers.
Ana calls Freddy and asks what time his parents usually come home. She invites herself over for a visit.
Lupita pays a visit to Cristian's office to talk to Elena. She introduces herself as Pancho's daughter. Elena rolls her eyes. Cristian excuses himself. The meeting doesn't go well. Lupita asks if Elena doesn't care about Cristian's kids. Elena says it's just sex; she's not planning to marry the guy. Lupita is surprised Elena is saying "it's just sex" so lightly, considering how she was after going to Brazil. Elena says the Brazil trip liberated her. No man will ever take advantage of her again. She'll use sex to her own benefit. She wants Lupita and Tomás to stay out of her life.
Tom and Pepe are working at the garage, talking about Mónica, when their boss comes by and tells them to hurry up. Pepe's tired from studying for that test. He injures his hand and it bleeds and bleeds.
Elena repeats her old complaint of not having things, living in the 'hood, buying cheap clothes from street markets, etc. "Well, you're practically a prostitute," Lupita says. "So?" replies Elena. Lupita is aghast that her friend would sleep with a married man just for money to buy clothes. Money's not everything.
Elena says that's easy for Lupita to say, when the money just fell out of the sky for her. Sarcastically, Lupita retorts that sure, everything fell from the sky until Alex died. "How swell that you have so many reasons to envy me."
Pepe wraps his hand in a greasy towel and insists on continuing to work. Tom says he'll finish the car himself and while Pepe goes to the doctor. If Pepe doesn't agree, Tom will tell Pancho.
Ana and Fred play racing video games in his room. Then they have a pillow fight and she accidentally finds his stash of condoms. "It's not what you think - I love you!" She loves him too. She says she's a virgin. He says they don't have to do anything she doesn't want to do. They start kissing. He looks at the condom and she asks, smiling hopefully, "are you going to use it?"
Next time:
Pina comes home slightly earlier than expected.
Labels: familia
La Que No Podía Amar #44 Lunes 2/27/12 Dangerous Liaisons, Renunciations and a Tragedy of Errors
Refrito
Lady Chatterley provokes Lord Rogelio by slapping him and making nasty comments about about Ana Paula, Mellors runs in to protect her and receives the business end of His Lordship's riding crop to the sound of suspenseful music suited to a Hitchcock film. Seven lashes later, Lady Chatterley is crying silently along with Mellors as Lord Rogelio sits in shock. Whether at his actions or their reactions we know not.
Nuevo
Boca del Cielo: Sir Gustavo arrives at Fermin's house to a welcome and an apology. Melina and Carmen are pleased to see him and Fermin apologises for his earlier errors.
San Gabriel, restaurant: Vainessa and Lord ShadyDeal dine together and discuss what has just transpired. She suggests that he concentrate on his business affairs and forget about Lady Chatterley. He proposes a conspiracy to get revenge on Lord Rogelio.
Hacienda, cocina: Lady Chatterley brings her woes to Maria about Lord Rogelio's temper and his beating of Mellors. She wants to leave desperately. Maria warns her that her friend, Vainessa (whom we shall not refer to as Lady) is planning revenge against her brother, but she chooses not to listen and departs. Consuelo listens from outside and quickly departs before Lady Chatterley sees her.
Efrain's Bedchamber: In contrast to the size and appointments of the master's room, the stablehand lies on a cot in a monk's cell. A single blanket covers the mattress but does not extend past it; a plain cross is on the wall above the bed. As the stablehand lies face-down on the bed with four lash marks on his exposed back, the faithful maid enters with a first-aid box. As she applies a soaked cotton ball to the wounds he speaks Lady Chatterley's name. His face is turned away and he is not aware that it is not Lady Chatterley who attends him and appears to make an admission that the faithful maid does not welcome.
Hacienda, Master Bedchamber: Once again, the lord and master has a flashback nightmare about his accident. With a pitiful cry he wakes in tears with an anguished expression and a cold sweat.
Café de Ulisses, the following day: Vainessa and Federico sit at an outside table. She is extremely displeased and more than a little petulant that he is concerned at all with Lord Rogelio's unworthy wife. He asks her to have a little compassion for the woman who has taken on all the problems she would have had had she married him. This is ineffective, as Vainessa's ego is still wounded by the alleged theft of her wealthy suitor.
Vainessa: Father, I don't understand why you came to the hacienda. I didn't like seeing Rogelio insist you leave.
Federico: As I tried to tell you, daughter, I just wanted to negotiate a good price with him. Besides, I wanted to make sure that his wife came back and was alright. Didn't Sinthia tell you anything?
Vainessa: Father! What interest do you have in asking about this low-class nobody...
Federico: Daughter, don't speak of her in that manner. Although you don't believe it she is as much a victim of Rogelio as you are.
Vainessa: What does that matter to me? And tell me why are you so interested?
Federico: She is having all the problems you would have had you married him.
Vainessa: Yes, but I don't understand, Father. She took Rogelio away from me. It's her fault that I looked ridiculous in front of all of Chiapas and you are defending her? Tell me why, Father.
Federico: I'm sorry, daughter; I didn't think you'd take it this way. It's that she is unprotected...
Vainessa: Unprotected? Unprotected, but she took Rogelio away from me. Forget about her. For my part I hope she's lost and never appears again.
Federico: As I tried to tell you, daughter, I just wanted to negotiate a good price with him. Besides, I wanted to make sure that his wife came back and was alright. Didn't Sinthia tell you anything?
Vainessa: Father! What interest do you have in asking about this low-class nobody...
Federico: Daughter, don't speak of her in that manner. Although you don't believe it she is as much a victim of Rogelio as you are.
Vainessa: What does that matter to me? And tell me why are you so interested?
Federico: She is having all the problems you would have had you married him.
Vainessa: Yes, but I don't understand, Father. She took Rogelio away from me. It's her fault that I looked ridiculous in front of all of Chiapas and you are defending her? Tell me why, Father.
Federico: I'm sorry, daughter; I didn't think you'd take it this way. It's that she is unprotected...
Vainessa: Unprotected? Unprotected, but she took Rogelio away from me. Forget about her. For my part I hope she's lost and never appears again.
A dark expression clouds her father's face as she speaks of the woman who had stolen her suitor's heart. A suitor whom the reader must remind herself never actually proposed to her in the second place. Again, we remind Vainessa “Do not assume....”
Bocal del Cielo, la playa: Ana Paula and Margarito arrive on the beach near the fallen tree trunk we have previously seen. She speaks of her former happiness with Sir Gustavo in that spot and fondles the shell necklace as Margarito takes her hand. In Fermin's home, Sir Gustavo appears to be thinking of the same thing. Melina enters and he suggests they go to the beach so he can indulge his memories of his fair lady. Ana Paula and Margarito are sitting on the fallen tree and he asks about her other suitor. She tells him that now is the time to put the past behind and look to the future. They rise and as they begin walking on the beach they speak of Lord Rogelio having murdered Sir Gustavo. Margarito is afraid to return to the hacienda, as he is certain that Lord Rogelio would kill the both of them. He despairs of ever finding his parents. Ana Paula then promises him that she will see to it that nothing happens to him and not to give up hope about his parents. She promises never to abandon him. She looks at the engagement ring and Margarito becomes concerned as she removes it. Even this boy – who has never known wealth or privilege – knows that she is about to commit an act of stunning foolishness. “But if he gave it to you it is worth much. We need money.” says the boy. Ana Paula, caring not for Lord Rogelio's wealth, removes the rings and throws them away, then turns in the other direction, looking out to sea. Margarito's vision must truly be excellent, for he finds the diamond ring in the sand and pockets it, making sure that she did not see him do it. We must hope that this does not lead to a bad consequence for him.
Café de Ulisses: Macaria and Maripaz are clearing a table as they gossip. Maripaz informs her mother that Consuelo is upset because she's had to cancel her engagement to Efrain. Macaria thinks she knows why this happened. But does she or would not the entire town be agog?
Hacienda, courtyard: Miguel has fashioned a double-heart shape out of wood under the watchful eye of the ever-faithful Hugo [whom the author notes bears a most interesting resemblance to a distant colleague's hero who goes by the name of Rhett Butler. We do hope to see more of him.]. When Miguel asks whether the whip mark was about Ana Paula's escape and does he know anything about her wanderings, Hugo tells him that it was more than that; Lord Rogelio was worried about her because the lands are difficult and dangerous for a woman and a child alone.
Hacienda, study: His Lordship speaks on the telephone with Tia MentiRosa, who is in the company of Helene.
Rogelio: You had better be telling me the truth, Madame.
MentiRosa: I swear, Rogelio. My niece didn't come back to Tuxtla and I am as worried as you are about where she might be.
Rogelio: I hope you're not lying to me.
MentiRosa: And why would I do that? It's suited me – I've always wanted things to go well for you and her as well as myself. I want my niece to be happy.
Rogelio: Of course, why not? But you have good reason to worry. If Paula doesn't return there won't be another peso for you and I will put you out of the house you are living in.
MentiRosa (panicking): No, no! Please! I won't move from here until that ungrateful girl appears and I return her to you.
Rogelio: You had better.
MentiRosa: Don't worry. I know I will hear from her any time now.
Rogelio: I hope so. Because if you don't she could be in danger and it's possible that no one will be able to help her.
MentiRosa: I swear, Rogelio. My niece didn't come back to Tuxtla and I am as worried as you are about where she might be.
Rogelio: I hope you're not lying to me.
MentiRosa: And why would I do that? It's suited me – I've always wanted things to go well for you and her as well as myself. I want my niece to be happy.
Rogelio: Of course, why not? But you have good reason to worry. If Paula doesn't return there won't be another peso for you and I will put you out of the house you are living in.
MentiRosa (panicking): No, no! Please! I won't move from here until that ungrateful girl appears and I return her to you.
Rogelio: You had better.
MentiRosa: Don't worry. I know I will hear from her any time now.
Rogelio: I hope so. Because if you don't she could be in danger and it's possible that no one will be able to help her.
He has an expression of genuine worry as he hangs up the telephone.
MentiRosa: Rogelio is furious.
Helene: Why didn't you tell him she called you?
MentiRosa: How could I? If I told him she doesn't want to go back it would be worse. I have to talk to Ana Paula and convince her to go back to her husband. Rogelio is no killer.
Helene: Why do you say that with such certainty?
MentiRosa: Because... because I am sure. I must speak with Bruno. He will have to fix this.
Helene: Why didn't you tell him she called you?
MentiRosa: How could I? If I told him she doesn't want to go back it would be worse. I have to talk to Ana Paula and convince her to go back to her husband. Rogelio is no killer.
Helene: Why do you say that with such certainty?
MentiRosa: Because... because I am sure. I must speak with Bruno. He will have to fix this.
I believe the vulgar expression in response to this would be “Fat chance.”
Hacienda, Master Bedchamber: Maria brings Lord Rogelio's breakfast to his room. She heard him cry out in the night so she asked whether it was the nightmare again. She is sad that he faced this alone. Ominous music begins as he admits that this happened and that he faced it alone, as usual and that he is destined to be alone. Maria reminds him that he has a good heart and he is not alone, but he determinedly states that the Rogelio she speaks of is dead. Killed first by Vainessa, now by Paula. There is nothing to do for it. He does not admit his sadness, but it is apparent to Maria.
Hacienda, Master Bedchamber: Maria brings Lord Rogelio's breakfast to his room. She heard him cry out in the night so she asked whether it was the nightmare again. She is sad that he faced this alone. Ominous music begins as he admits that this happened and that he faced it alone, as usual and that he is destined to be alone. Maria reminds him that he has a good heart and he is not alone, but he determinedly states that the Rogelio she speaks of is dead. Killed first by Vainessa, now by Paula. There is nothing to do for it. He does not admit his sadness, but it is apparent to Maria.
Efrain's Bedchamber: Sunlight streams in through the curtainless windows in his face as he hugs the pillow. Consuelo enters with the first aid box, explaining that Maria had insisted she see him; she is not doing so of her own volition. She cleans the lash marks and attempts to get him to talk about his relationship with Lady Chatterley. This relationship has apparently been going on for some time, beginning when he arrived at the hacienda. Consuelo herself was only a little girl then. [The author feels all readers are cringing silently at this.] Since he seems to regard himself sufficiently a gentleman to have no memory he simply states that it was an impossible love. Just as he tells Consuelo she should seek out someone else and she declares that no one will ever hurt her in this manner again, the lady herself enters. Consuelo departs with a comment about her being the nurse and Lady Chatterley attempts an apology to her lowly stablehand and the hope that he heals quickly. However, he makes no reply and his expression is not one of appreciation as she departs. The operatic music turns darker.
Café Ulisses, outside: Rutilio speaks with Skelator on his cell phone, attempting to convince him that it was not his fault that Sir Gustavo is not dead. Skelator calls him useless and orders him to correct his mistake immediately. After ending this call he checks his voice mail only to hear an urgent summons from MentiRosa to call her immediately. He is not pleased as he starts up his motorcar.
Boca del Cielo, dockside: Ana Paula and Margarito walk along the fishermen's wharf past the boats as Sir Gustavo and Melli approach from the other end. Melli asks whether Sir Gustavo will be her mother's suitor since the departure of his original lady fair, but he attempts to explain that this is an adult matter.
Hacienda, Lady Chatterley's Suite: Lady Chatterley and Lady Sneerwell converse on unimportant matters as Maria brings refreshments. They speak of going out for a while when Maria reminds Lady Chatterley that His Lordship does not want her going out alone.
Boca del Cielo: Ana Paula and Margarito speak briefly with a local fisherman and decide to get something to drink she turns around and sees Sir Gustavo. Both are stunned into stillness until he drops his bait box and they rush into each other's arms to the strains of “Solamente Tu”. She almost faints. Margarito is now in the boat and Melli has somehow magically appeared next to him and the boat's owner as Ana Paula and Sir Gustavo kiss as though he has just returned in uniform from the Great War.
Tienda de Ulisses: Maripaz sweeps as Macaria reminds her about the arriving merchandise. Did we only dream that they had won a lottery prize? When Ulisses enters the two women fall silent, followed by Maripaz apologising to her father about the argument they had the other day about Miguel. He reminds her that he only wants the best for her and Miguel is not the best suitor she could expect. How bourgeois but also how true. The flamenco guitar music in the background is beautiful.
Boca del Cielo: Ana Paula explains to Sir Gustavo that she thought he was dead. That he had disappeared and she went to Ernesto (who told her he had been badly hurt), then to Mercedes and that she later learned he had been badly injured and then that he was dead from the obituary in the hospital's newsletter. He explained that this was a mistake and that it was his father who had died. They had the same name.
Hacienda, cocina: Mellors enters as Maria prepares the next meal. He tells her that Consuelo saw to his wounds, but that it pains him to wear the shirt She pours him some coffee as he sits and then confronts him, demanding the truth. Not just about his intentions toward her goddaughter, but about why Lady Chatterley is so uncharacteristically worried about a péon.
Boca del Cielo: The confusion about his death cleared, Sir Gustavo kisses Ana Paula with much youthful enthusiasm, noting that she is wearing the shell necklace he had given her.
Hacienda, cocina: Apparently, Mellors isn't talking. He sips the coffee, then rises to leave as Lady Chatterley and Lady Sneerwell enter with a frivolous request that Maria prepare a special dessert. (Lady Chatterley says this specific word while looking at her late-night one.) Maria informs the ladies she will have to purchase the ingredients just as Vainessa appears. We are surprised that she would stoop to set foot in a kitchen, but she has only been looking all over the house for Lady Chatterley. She is rather put out at the sight of Lady Sneerwell, who is also not altogether comfortable seeing her. Vainessa announces that she has business to discuss with His Lordship and departs. Since she is carrying a portfolio case she may be telling the truth.
Boca del Cielo: Ana Paula is still astonished at the enormity of the misunderstanding that has led to this pass. She tells Sir Gustavo that she had given his sister a letter for him, but doesn't understand what has happened. They embrace and kiss again.
Hacienda, study: His Lordship and Federico peruse some business documents. All appears to be in order. Federico finally enquires about Her Ladyship. Lord Rogelio pointedly asks what his interest is in the matter and Federico explains that as she is the best friend of his trusted secretary he is worried. His Lordship explains that he loves his wife, she loves him and there is nothing to be concerned over; this is a simple marital argument like any other and all will shortly be well. However, we note that during this last statement he is not meeting Federico's eyes. Vainessa enters with a folder of documents, which she places in front of him. She seems to be flaunting her bountious (and possibly artificial) cleavage, which her father does not fail to notice.
Boca del Cielo: As Ana Paula ponders how life can change in an instant, Sir Gustavo remembers that his sister told him about the kiss on the night of the graduation party. He accuses Ana Paula of pretending to love him and demands an explanation.
Hacienda, terrace: Lady Chatterley and her guest share a laugh as Lord ShadyDeal arrives. As he wishes to speak with Lady Chatterley, Lady Sneerwell makes a hasty exit, not knowing the uncomfortable situation in which she is leaving her friend.
Sinthia: What do you want, David?
David: I want the opportunity to win you back.
Sinthia: That's impossible. As I said, you have much deceived me. And in truth I don't love you.
David: No, that's not true. Nobody loves anyone that fast. At least to care truly.
Sinthia: Yes, I cared for you. But things change...
David: What do you want to say? That there is someone else? What are you talking about? (grabs her arm) Sinthia, I'm talking to you.
Sinthia: Let go of me! Don't touch me again. You're hurting me. There is nobody else, David. It's that you have deceived me. That is all.
David: That better be it, Sinthia, because you know me very well. If you're playing with me, you won't play any more.
David: I want the opportunity to win you back.
Sinthia: That's impossible. As I said, you have much deceived me. And in truth I don't love you.
David: No, that's not true. Nobody loves anyone that fast. At least to care truly.
Sinthia: Yes, I cared for you. But things change...
David: What do you want to say? That there is someone else? What are you talking about? (grabs her arm) Sinthia, I'm talking to you.
Sinthia: Let go of me! Don't touch me again. You're hurting me. There is nobody else, David. It's that you have deceived me. That is all.
David: That better be it, Sinthia, because you know me very well. If you're playing with me, you won't play any more.
Boca del Cielo: Sir Gustavo, convinced that his sister was right about Ana Paula, is unwilling to hear any explanation of the night of the graduation party. She attempts to tell him that she had not been with anyone else while they were affianced and that that night her brother was in an accident.
Hacienda, study: Vainessa takes her leave and exits with her father as Lord ShadyDeal enters. He hands the folder of documents regarding the accusation against Miguel as His Lordship takes out his book of bank drafts. Lord ShadyDeal wishes to speak of Lady Chatterley, but Lord Rogelio immediately informs him that this matter is not for discussion. The subject is closed and he will hear no more of it. Furthermore he wants photographs of the properties in Boca del Cielo and expects that this loan will be promptly repaid. Lord ShadyDeal looks most ill at ease.
Boca del Cielo: Ana Paula attempts to explain that Bruno was the lawyer helping Miguel after he was arrested. That he knew of him and that her love for him. She tries to explain that she thought he was dead and that she had to make sacrifices to save her brother and her aunt. He is convinced that if she has given herself to another man for any reason without fighting for their love she is not the woman he thought she was. He now wants nothing to do with her. We are wondering whether she even told him about having married Lord Rogelio. Also why he would not have seen photographs of the wedding on the Society Pages.
Hacienda, Master Bedchamber: Maria enters and informs His Lordship that Miguel has finished the task he set for him and enquires if there is more. He laughs at Miguel's stupidity and at Maria's prompting informs her that the police are on their way to collect him. Perhaps very promptly. Maria is shocked.
Hacienda, outside: Lady Chatterley and Vainessa return from an afternoon ride. They talk first about Lord Rogelio (delusionally once again) and about Lord ShadyDeal and Sir Gustavo. Vainessa encourages her to just speak plainly with Lord ShadyDeal if Sir Gustavo is whom she wants. Lady Chatterley tells her that Sir Gustavo had a lady who betrayed him and how could a guy like that be so foolish?
Hacienda, Master Bedchamber: Maria attempts to appeal to Lord Rogelio's conscience.
Maria: If you keep going on like this someone will get hurt.
Rogelio: Don't say that, Nana. I know what I'm doing.
Maria: You know that's not true. You will also hurt yourself trying to get revenge on Paula.
Rogelio: What do you want me to do? She must pay for what she's done.
Maria: Without realizing you'll also hurt yourself in the process? Did you never think what would happen when she left this place [ullendo]?
Rogelio (attempting sarcasm): It's just as well, because that is her punishment.
Maria: No, son. No, no, no. You're going to feel worse than ever. Because you love her. And every bit of pain, every tear you cry, is going to hit you. Right in the core of your heart.
It is possible that her words fell on ears that were open to them.
Rogelio: Don't say that, Nana. I know what I'm doing.
Maria: You know that's not true. You will also hurt yourself trying to get revenge on Paula.
Rogelio: What do you want me to do? She must pay for what she's done.
Maria: Without realizing you'll also hurt yourself in the process? Did you never think what would happen when she left this place [ullendo]?
Rogelio (attempting sarcasm): It's just as well, because that is her punishment.
Maria: No, son. No, no, no. You're going to feel worse than ever. Because you love her. And every bit of pain, every tear you cry, is going to hit you. Right in the core of your heart.
It is possible that her words fell on ears that were open to them.
Boca del Cielo: Ana Paula makes one last attempt to get Sir Gustavo to listen to her after “the many ways I have demonstrated my love.” Sir Gustavo is unwilling to hear more and he calls for Melli. As he walks away with her, Ana Paula needs to realize that she has just been treated as she had treated Lord Rogelio in the previous five chapters. Margarito asks whether she told him she thought her husband had killed him but this information was not disclosed. He asks when she planned to tell him, but she said the most important thing is that he's alive.
Hacienda, cocina: To the sounds of sad guitar strains, Lady Chatterley tries once again to tell Mellors that their relationship is over and that he should pursue the scullery maid again. He doesn't want to, but she points out that their path is dangerous. She is clearly pained by this exchange.
Boca del Cielo, casa de Fermin: Sir Gustavo brings Melli home and Carmen invites him to stay for dinner. It will just be the three of them. He agrees, but without enthusiasm. Melli mentions Margarito, and Carmen is not pleased to hear that Ana has returned.
Boca del Cielo, la playa: Ana Paula talks about finding Fermin. Margarito suggests that they call her aunt, because Lord Rogelio did not kill Sir Gustavo. At first Ana Paula says “Of course Rogelio didn't kill him” but then decides that he still had to have had a hand in this affair. They turn to depart.
Hacienda, Master Bedchamber:
Rogelio: Don't worry about me, Nana. I have everything under control.
Maria: Feelings can't be controlled, Rogelio.
Rogelio: Perhaps, but I can control mine. I will rid my heart of all I ever felt for her. I will simply never love anyone.
Maria: You love Ana Paula more than you are willing to recognize.
Rogelio: That is not true.
Maria: Of course it is. Or you would think about seeking out another. Your heart belongs to Paula.
Rogelio (crying as operatic music begins): Si, Nana. It's true. And her heart belongs to another.
Maria: Feelings can't be controlled, Rogelio.
Rogelio: Perhaps, but I can control mine. I will rid my heart of all I ever felt for her. I will simply never love anyone.
Maria: You love Ana Paula more than you are willing to recognize.
Rogelio: That is not true.
Maria: Of course it is. Or you would think about seeking out another. Your heart belongs to Paula.
Rogelio (crying as operatic music begins): Si, Nana. It's true. And her heart belongs to another.
Maria kneels next to his chair, pained for him as he wipes his eyes.
Avances
Skelator confronts Tia Mentirosa, Ana Paula tells Sir Gustavo of her marriage, and all hell will break loose.
Labels: no-podia
Saturday, February 25, 2012
El Mundo de Telemundo, week of 2/27/12: Discuss Amongst Yourselves!
It's all yours, guys!
Labels: barbara, flor-salvaje, relaciones, telemundo
El Talismán #19 Fri 2/24/12 The Case of the Twisted Sister: or How Pedro lost his Mojo.
It was an ordinary day in Fresno.
The last time I saw a face like that it was on a stone Olmec carving in the Natural History Museum. This one is on an old guy, squat and angry. Incongruous in black tie, he’s heading to the Businessman’s Gala with his daughter-in-law, the secret star of the Fresno bordello. The guy’s body is already under attack by the poison that will lead him inexorably to a slow and ghastly demise. Even so, he lives to destroy the Pi Man, Pedro Ibarra, and take El Talismán away from him.
The old guy’s slutty daughter, bruised and bloodied from her brother’s beatdown, obsesses about the Pi Man’s avocados.
I spy the old guy’s slacker son pacing around his twisted, battered sister. He is sunk in a miasma of self-pity and guilt – this would-be patricide, this brute, this drunk who dances on the edge of incest.
I knew the Pi Man was his opposite. As long Pedro existed, the universe would be in Karmic balance. And I intended to keep it that way.
In another part of town, a black widow is so busy spinning her own web that she can’t see the one she’s getting trapped in.
But they’re just background noise to me. I came here to solve a mystery: How the Pi Man Lost His Mojo. By now I was sorry I had accepted the case. Did it matter how he lost it? I wasn’t sure he’d ever get it back.
Then I spotted them standing in the field. Camila was a tall girl. Really tall, like a sad-browed Alice after chugging a bottle of DRINK ME. She was hunched over a little as if to hide her size, and it made her seem sweet and vulnerable.
Pedro had it bad for this dame. But why was he so uncomfortable with her? (I learned much later that for the first six weeks of shooting, he thought he was in a Woody Allen movie.)
When they kissed, I had to look away, fixing my eye on the horses that flanked them.
And when I heard him defending Lucrecia, I knew the poor sap needed help. Maybe more than I could give.
Alcatrash:
Florencia and Fabiola haven’t learned to go for the jugular yet. I hear little Flor talk of sparing Claudio’s feelings. But he has to know he’s out of the picture, she insists. She has “met someone”.
Antonio and Lucrecia, in a bedroom
Lu is sprawled on the bed, senseless, her face bruised and bloodied.
The broad was trouble, I knew. Even on a good day, you could see the crazy in her eyes as she peeked out slyly from a tangled honey-blonde curtain of curls, curls she fingered over and over and over.
She played dirty, even in her dreams. She’d keep Cami and Pedro apart even if she had to put on a transparent white dress and dance until her boobs hurt from the bouncing. (Nobody had ever told this babe about sports bras and I wasn’t going to be the one to put her out of her misery.) She’d hire cellists, if she had to.
Antonio is pacing, a bundle of remorse and resentment. I knew the type. A pretty boy in a tight jersey, the fine features clouded by disappointment. And a sneer that became a snarl when he was crossed.
The Only Hotel Inn™
Armando didn’t want to get sucked into his mother’s vendetta by playing Fabi against Flor. The Negrete girls were innocent, he knew, and they deserved better. But he was as weak as a watered-down Margarita in a tourist trap, no match for El Viral.
They warned me the El Viral dame was cold. And aggressive. But I still took an involuntary step back and gasped when I finally saw her: The whole arc of her body -- from the forward slant of her sharpened incisors to the upward tilt of her jutting butt -- was a poison-tipped arrow poised to take flight.
I overhear her giving her boy some advice: Do unto others before they do unto you.
Then I see her brush him off like a flake of dandruff on a black sweater. She needs time to apply the last coat of varnish for her date with a millionaire.
Armando doesn’t like the sound of that. He doesn’t want his ma being a rich man’s honey.
Mister Renato Betancourt, aka The Gigolo
If the dame only knew. I follow her “millionaire” to the place where he’s renting a car on Tracy’s dime. Tracy -- A dollface living on hopes, dreams and sales of homemade empanadas.
The Church
Word on the street was the story needed a priest. No one knew that Padre Serafin was waiting in the wings with the Blessing of the Chevies.
In the afterglow of the blessing, Claudio takes another Flor shot. He gets nothing but air. Flor tries to let Claudio down easy but the dude takes it hard.
Still, when I see Claudio’s dashed hopes reflected in the driver’s side mirror of his classic Chevy truck, I know that sooner or later she’ll be sorrier than one of El Viral’s headbands for what she has just done.
Pedro leads Camila to the cabaña. Roses are everywhere. Before I have a chance to look away, they kiss. Pedro mouths the words “I love you”. But the pained look on his face puts the lie to his words. Before he can go any further, one of the ranch workers walks in on them. The couple look relieved.
And the Mystery of the Pi Man persists.
Later I get to meet Genoveva, Camila’s assistant. She’s a long drink of water who keeps the hot dialed way down at work.
Mister Renato’s place
Tracy’s as mad as a Negrete when she realizes her money has been pinched. And even madder when Rennie’s chiquita Rita outs herself by snarking that it’s Tracy’s own fault for hiding the money in a box in the kitchen and not putting it in the bank.
Rita was hot. Not as hot as Geno, maybe, but she was one broad who knew how to work it.
I see Pedro and Cami heading back to the Hotel. She wants to square things away with her mother and brother and meet up with Team Smith, Geno and Tomás.
Armando is in the lobby when the PC duo enter. He had to get away from El Viral’s veneno for a moment. He’s surprised and kind of worried when he sees them together. He doesn’t want his sister hurt. (This Armando guy wasn’t all bad – I could see that. But he was weak. And it would be his downfall.)
El Viral doesn’t get it -- Why go for Pedro when the ripe fruit of rich, seriously deranged, rich, married with two kids, rich Antonio is hers for the plucking? Did she mention rich? Camila stands her ground. She and Pedro are together. She has a three-month gig in Fresno, and she’ll be living at El Talismán for her work. (That meant the Pi Man had three months to get his mojo back. I wasn’t sure it could be done. I lit a fatty and inhaled thoughtfully.)
Alcatrash
I knew Lucrecia wasn’t going to miss her chance. The blood and bruises are real. She IS a victim. And she knows soft-hearted Pedro can’t turn her away. She’ll use the pity card to force open the door of the room where Pedro and Cami’s passion is being maintained on life support. She plans to pull the plug. Antonio modestly hopes that his beating will be of some use.
Lu looks so bad as she edges towards the door with Antonio that even Gregorio notices there’s a limp in her slither. But she won’t say what happened. And she threatens to call the police and say her father beat her if he doesn’t stop pressing her. Gregorio mutters that she is getting to be as crazy as her mother.
Shrewd Doris guesses the beating was Antonio’s doing. And I was guessing she was talking from experience.
The Hotel Inn
Pedro, Camila, Geno and Tomás cross paths with Renato, now on his way to pick up El Viral. Renato’s eyes widen at the sight of the handsome group. Because of the guapos or the guapas? I’m not sure. But I knew El Viral’s ego would take a beating when Rennie finally realized Camila was her daughter.
Luckily for the Pi Man, no one invited him to the Gala.
So he is free this evening to escort Camila and Genoveva to the cabaña, its air still heavy with the perfume of desperation mingled with too many roses. Good night, my love, he says to Camila. He kisses her chastely.
The two friends are left alone to settle in. We all relax a bit when he is gone. My thoughts stray to allergies and I wonder if the practical Geno has an Epi-pen handy.
Slouching towards El Talismán
Lucrecia and Antonio stumble in the dark towards the Pi Man and El Tal. The whiskey glass in Antonio’s hand is just visible in the moonlight. Has he lost his boda bag? It could be important ...
Call me as soon as you can, the tender brute tells little sister before leaving.
Claudio returns to ET, still smarting from Flor’s rejection. The Pi Man would offer manly solace, I’m sure, but before he can do so he is distracted by a plaintive wail that cuts the silence of the night –
Pedro! Pedro!
Pedro rushes toward the voice and discovers Lucrecia sprawled on the ground. Acting on instinct, he scoops her up in his arms and carries her inside. The Pi Man blames himself for Lu’s sorry state. He should never have left her at Alcatrash! It was her father, wasn’t it? He’ll pay for what he did!
At the Hotel, El Viral and Renato meet up and he is, as usual, full of ... piropos. I could see that these two scorpions were a perfect match. I wondered if they would be careful. A love bite would be fatal.
In the cabaña, Camila is just asking for trouble when she tells Geno that the love she and Pedro share is a dream come true and no one and nothing can separate them...
...except maybe a slutty girl who’s willing to provoke her crazy brother to beat her to a bloody pulp so Pedro will protect her.
Lucrecia doesn’t want a doctor. A doctor would have to notify the police and then her father would really kill her. But Tía ignores her and calls a local médico. I take another thoughtful drag – they still make housecalls in Fresno.
The Gala
Rita in egg-yolk yellow awaits the arrival of Uncle Rennie and El Viral.
Greg in penguin suit grouses about the Lucrecia problem, his “acid” stomach and having to be at this stupid dinner. He growls at Doris to ramp up the smile – he brought her there to play a part. He doesn’t know that role-playing is Doris’s favorite pastime.
Back at Alcatrash
Antonio gets sloshed and waits for Lu’s call. He tells himself he’ll have to learn to control his rage attacks if he wants to win Camila’s heart and be the head of Alcatrash. (I've heard there are directed therapy groups in prison.)
He interrupts loutish Valentín’s supper to confirm that his father took his pills. Val – who seems to know all about the beating -- mentions that Greg was asking questions about Lucrecia. Antonio isn’t worried – he knows Lu won’t spill.
Fabi and Flor are on the scene. At their entrance, Antonio switches from murderous son, battering brother and pathetic drunk to loving father. The switch happen so quickly, I nearly miss it. By the way the girls rush into his arms, I realize they must be immune to daddy’s booze breath.
When Fabi gets a call from pusillaninous Armando, Antonio takes the phone out of her hands, introduces himself as Fabi’s father, and demands to know what his intentions are with his daughter. On the other end of the line, a whole lot of silence. I knew the dude was in a cold sweat.
The doctor gets to El Tal and examines Lu. She is badly bruised but there are no internal injuries. (They don’t need no stinkin’ x-rays in Fresno.) He does have to report the beating to the police ... Lucrecia’s bloody face is inscrutable and I start to think maybe that’s what she was angling for.
As the Fresno day draws to a close, the Pi Man’s Mojo is still missing. And I was more doubtful than ever that he’d be able to get it back.
Avances: Camila’s not taking the invasion of the Lu-monster sitting down.
The last time I saw a face like that it was on a stone Olmec carving in the Natural History Museum. This one is on an old guy, squat and angry. Incongruous in black tie, he’s heading to the Businessman’s Gala with his daughter-in-law, the secret star of the Fresno bordello. The guy’s body is already under attack by the poison that will lead him inexorably to a slow and ghastly demise. Even so, he lives to destroy the Pi Man, Pedro Ibarra, and take El Talismán away from him.
The old guy’s slutty daughter, bruised and bloodied from her brother’s beatdown, obsesses about the Pi Man’s avocados.
I spy the old guy’s slacker son pacing around his twisted, battered sister. He is sunk in a miasma of self-pity and guilt – this would-be patricide, this brute, this drunk who dances on the edge of incest.
I knew the Pi Man was his opposite. As long Pedro existed, the universe would be in Karmic balance. And I intended to keep it that way.
In another part of town, a black widow is so busy spinning her own web that she can’t see the one she’s getting trapped in.
But they’re just background noise to me. I came here to solve a mystery: How the Pi Man Lost His Mojo. By now I was sorry I had accepted the case. Did it matter how he lost it? I wasn’t sure he’d ever get it back.
Then I spotted them standing in the field. Camila was a tall girl. Really tall, like a sad-browed Alice after chugging a bottle of DRINK ME. She was hunched over a little as if to hide her size, and it made her seem sweet and vulnerable.
Pedro had it bad for this dame. But why was he so uncomfortable with her? (I learned much later that for the first six weeks of shooting, he thought he was in a Woody Allen movie.)
When they kissed, I had to look away, fixing my eye on the horses that flanked them.
And when I heard him defending Lucrecia, I knew the poor sap needed help. Maybe more than I could give.
Alcatrash:
Florencia and Fabiola haven’t learned to go for the jugular yet. I hear little Flor talk of sparing Claudio’s feelings. But he has to know he’s out of the picture, she insists. She has “met someone”.
Antonio and Lucrecia, in a bedroom
Lu is sprawled on the bed, senseless, her face bruised and bloodied.
The broad was trouble, I knew. Even on a good day, you could see the crazy in her eyes as she peeked out slyly from a tangled honey-blonde curtain of curls, curls she fingered over and over and over.
She played dirty, even in her dreams. She’d keep Cami and Pedro apart even if she had to put on a transparent white dress and dance until her boobs hurt from the bouncing. (Nobody had ever told this babe about sports bras and I wasn’t going to be the one to put her out of her misery.) She’d hire cellists, if she had to.
Antonio is pacing, a bundle of remorse and resentment. I knew the type. A pretty boy in a tight jersey, the fine features clouded by disappointment. And a sneer that became a snarl when he was crossed.
The Only Hotel Inn™
Armando didn’t want to get sucked into his mother’s vendetta by playing Fabi against Flor. The Negrete girls were innocent, he knew, and they deserved better. But he was as weak as a watered-down Margarita in a tourist trap, no match for El Viral.
They warned me the El Viral dame was cold. And aggressive. But I still took an involuntary step back and gasped when I finally saw her: The whole arc of her body -- from the forward slant of her sharpened incisors to the upward tilt of her jutting butt -- was a poison-tipped arrow poised to take flight.
I overhear her giving her boy some advice: Do unto others before they do unto you.
Then I see her brush him off like a flake of dandruff on a black sweater. She needs time to apply the last coat of varnish for her date with a millionaire.
Armando doesn’t like the sound of that. He doesn’t want his ma being a rich man’s honey.
Mister Renato Betancourt, aka The Gigolo
If the dame only knew. I follow her “millionaire” to the place where he’s renting a car on Tracy’s dime. Tracy -- A dollface living on hopes, dreams and sales of homemade empanadas.
The Church
Word on the street was the story needed a priest. No one knew that Padre Serafin was waiting in the wings with the Blessing of the Chevies.
In the afterglow of the blessing, Claudio takes another Flor shot. He gets nothing but air. Flor tries to let Claudio down easy but the dude takes it hard.
Still, when I see Claudio’s dashed hopes reflected in the driver’s side mirror of his classic Chevy truck, I know that sooner or later she’ll be sorrier than one of El Viral’s headbands for what she has just done.
Pedro leads Camila to the cabaña. Roses are everywhere. Before I have a chance to look away, they kiss. Pedro mouths the words “I love you”. But the pained look on his face puts the lie to his words. Before he can go any further, one of the ranch workers walks in on them. The couple look relieved.
And the Mystery of the Pi Man persists.
Later I get to meet Genoveva, Camila’s assistant. She’s a long drink of water who keeps the hot dialed way down at work.
Mister Renato’s place
Tracy’s as mad as a Negrete when she realizes her money has been pinched. And even madder when Rennie’s chiquita Rita outs herself by snarking that it’s Tracy’s own fault for hiding the money in a box in the kitchen and not putting it in the bank.
Rita was hot. Not as hot as Geno, maybe, but she was one broad who knew how to work it.
I see Pedro and Cami heading back to the Hotel. She wants to square things away with her mother and brother and meet up with Team Smith, Geno and Tomás.
Armando is in the lobby when the PC duo enter. He had to get away from El Viral’s veneno for a moment. He’s surprised and kind of worried when he sees them together. He doesn’t want his sister hurt. (This Armando guy wasn’t all bad – I could see that. But he was weak. And it would be his downfall.)
El Viral doesn’t get it -- Why go for Pedro when the ripe fruit of rich, seriously deranged, rich, married with two kids, rich Antonio is hers for the plucking? Did she mention rich? Camila stands her ground. She and Pedro are together. She has a three-month gig in Fresno, and she’ll be living at El Talismán for her work. (That meant the Pi Man had three months to get his mojo back. I wasn’t sure it could be done. I lit a fatty and inhaled thoughtfully.)
Alcatrash
I knew Lucrecia wasn’t going to miss her chance. The blood and bruises are real. She IS a victim. And she knows soft-hearted Pedro can’t turn her away. She’ll use the pity card to force open the door of the room where Pedro and Cami’s passion is being maintained on life support. She plans to pull the plug. Antonio modestly hopes that his beating will be of some use.
Lu looks so bad as she edges towards the door with Antonio that even Gregorio notices there’s a limp in her slither. But she won’t say what happened. And she threatens to call the police and say her father beat her if he doesn’t stop pressing her. Gregorio mutters that she is getting to be as crazy as her mother.
Shrewd Doris guesses the beating was Antonio’s doing. And I was guessing she was talking from experience.
The Hotel Inn
Pedro, Camila, Geno and Tomás cross paths with Renato, now on his way to pick up El Viral. Renato’s eyes widen at the sight of the handsome group. Because of the guapos or the guapas? I’m not sure. But I knew El Viral’s ego would take a beating when Rennie finally realized Camila was her daughter.
Luckily for the Pi Man, no one invited him to the Gala.
So he is free this evening to escort Camila and Genoveva to the cabaña, its air still heavy with the perfume of desperation mingled with too many roses. Good night, my love, he says to Camila. He kisses her chastely.
The two friends are left alone to settle in. We all relax a bit when he is gone. My thoughts stray to allergies and I wonder if the practical Geno has an Epi-pen handy.
Slouching towards El Talismán
Lucrecia and Antonio stumble in the dark towards the Pi Man and El Tal. The whiskey glass in Antonio’s hand is just visible in the moonlight. Has he lost his boda bag? It could be important ...
Call me as soon as you can, the tender brute tells little sister before leaving.
Claudio returns to ET, still smarting from Flor’s rejection. The Pi Man would offer manly solace, I’m sure, but before he can do so he is distracted by a plaintive wail that cuts the silence of the night –
Pedro! Pedro!
Pedro rushes toward the voice and discovers Lucrecia sprawled on the ground. Acting on instinct, he scoops her up in his arms and carries her inside. The Pi Man blames himself for Lu’s sorry state. He should never have left her at Alcatrash! It was her father, wasn’t it? He’ll pay for what he did!
At the Hotel, El Viral and Renato meet up and he is, as usual, full of ... piropos. I could see that these two scorpions were a perfect match. I wondered if they would be careful. A love bite would be fatal.
In the cabaña, Camila is just asking for trouble when she tells Geno that the love she and Pedro share is a dream come true and no one and nothing can separate them...
...except maybe a slutty girl who’s willing to provoke her crazy brother to beat her to a bloody pulp so Pedro will protect her.
Lucrecia doesn’t want a doctor. A doctor would have to notify the police and then her father would really kill her. But Tía ignores her and calls a local médico. I take another thoughtful drag – they still make housecalls in Fresno.
The Gala
Rita in egg-yolk yellow awaits the arrival of Uncle Rennie and El Viral.
Greg in penguin suit grouses about the Lucrecia problem, his “acid” stomach and having to be at this stupid dinner. He growls at Doris to ramp up the smile – he brought her there to play a part. He doesn’t know that role-playing is Doris’s favorite pastime.
Back at Alcatrash
Antonio gets sloshed and waits for Lu’s call. He tells himself he’ll have to learn to control his rage attacks if he wants to win Camila’s heart and be the head of Alcatrash. (I've heard there are directed therapy groups in prison.)
He interrupts loutish Valentín’s supper to confirm that his father took his pills. Val – who seems to know all about the beating -- mentions that Greg was asking questions about Lucrecia. Antonio isn’t worried – he knows Lu won’t spill.
Fabi and Flor are on the scene. At their entrance, Antonio switches from murderous son, battering brother and pathetic drunk to loving father. The switch happen so quickly, I nearly miss it. By the way the girls rush into his arms, I realize they must be immune to daddy’s booze breath.
When Fabi gets a call from pusillaninous Armando, Antonio takes the phone out of her hands, introduces himself as Fabi’s father, and demands to know what his intentions are with his daughter. On the other end of the line, a whole lot of silence. I knew the dude was in a cold sweat.
The doctor gets to El Tal and examines Lu. She is badly bruised but there are no internal injuries. (They don’t need no stinkin’ x-rays in Fresno.) He does have to report the beating to the police ... Lucrecia’s bloody face is inscrutable and I start to think maybe that’s what she was angling for.
As the Fresno day draws to a close, the Pi Man’s Mojo is still missing. And I was more doubtful than ever that he’d be able to get it back.
Avances: Camila’s not taking the invasion of the Lu-monster sitting down.
Labels: Talisman
La Que No Podía Amar #43 Friday 2/24/12 Hell-Fuerte Hath No Fury Like A Husband Scorned
Hell-Fuerte Hath No Fury Like a Husband Scorned, p.1.
At Hacienda Del Fuete: (Class note: for those of you who don’t know Spanish, fuete or “whip” is one “r” off from fuerte “harsh/mighty/strong”. Got it?) Maria warns Ro-Hell off looking for vengeance with Pau like he did with Vanesa. “—For the love of Dios! You love her and she loves you!” No, he says in total disagreeable disagreement. She hates him because she believes he killed her old boyfriend! (What don’t you understand, Nana Maria?) Maria rolls her eyes and gives up.
Capítulo 43 [editor's note: since there are so many comments you'll need to go to link immediately below for next page of them ]
Lo Del Pasado:
It’s to be a cruel and lonely fate for those who dare to defy the dictates and to despoil the dignity of Rogelio Montero. Ana Paula and Michael have done both. They’ve left Ro-Hell in the lurch all right, having escaped from Hacienda Del Fuerte just as Cinthia’s new BFF’s from Tuxtla--Ingeniero Gustavo Durán and his sister, Mercedes—have arrived. He has lost face, as the Orientals would say, and he hasn’t a good CYA move to play at the moment. So, all Hell’s broken loose at Hell-Fuerte, much to Sinthia’s discomfited dismay and her guests’ bewildered confusion.
After unfortunately overhearing the entire unholy hullabaloo, Guscakes and Miss Mercy! have taken their leave and gone with Sin to find food and lodging in San Gabriel; in the meantime Ro-Hellio, wiping tears from his cheeks, swears to his Nana Maria he’ll never cry over that woman or any other again! “--Paula and her brother are going to be sorry, Nana! They will regret ever having been born!” He’ll find Pau and bring her back to ask forgiveness ON HER KNEES because she’ll see that he didn’t kill that boyfriend of hers after all! He slaps his whip [fuete] in the air a couple of times to make his point. Maria reaches for Rog but he rejects her. She is powerless to break through this deluge of misery.
Lo Del Nuevo:
On a lighter note (?) Sin and friends arrive at none other than Macaria and Ulises’ One Stop Slop n’ Plop. While Sin goes inside to order and check on the rooms, Miss Mercy! tells Guscakes that she’s sure Sin is worried what they are going to think of her brother now. Gus has to admit he thought Ro-Hell was a totally different individual from the guy they heard (screaming his guts out) earlier. Mercy! still thinks it strange that he wouldn’t let her look after his wife, but Gus says it’s his right; he found it interesting though, that Rog, despite being David’s business partner [socio], didn’t bother to defend him when he filled him in on Dave’s (rather shady) business dealings. Sis says she thinks overall Ro-Hell is a decent guy (Oh boy, is she in for a big surprise); and she explains (Uni PSA #????) that a handicapped person like Rog can get very upset, even harsh, when the person they depend upon isn’t around. (Yep. Guess that means Ana Paula really sucks as a nurse now.)
Sin returns to tell Gus and Big Sis she’s arranged everything. Gus makes a show of planting a big smooch smack dab on her mackalicious mouth. When she acts pleased--but very embarrassed--Gus asks what’s so wrong about showing gratitude for the great pains she’s taken with them.
At Hacienda Del Fuete: (Class note: for those of you who don’t know Spanish, fuete or “whip” is one “r” off from fuerte “harsh/mighty/strong”. Got it?) Maria warns Ro-Hell off looking for vengeance with Pau like he did with Vanesa. “—For the love of Dios! You love her and she loves you!” No, he says in total disagreeable disagreement. She hates him because she believes he killed her old boyfriend! (What don’t you understand, Nana Maria?) Maria rolls her eyes and gives up.
Out in the boonies, Ana Paula and Margarito are hunkered down under the branches of a big tree and waiting out the rain. Good luck. (Gees, I never stayed that dry under a tree branch in a thunderstorm in the woods before. Oops! Pardon me while I take a break to adjust my beanie antennae a couple of degrees.) They’re hungry and tired but neither seems able to sleep. Pau tells Mgrito that once they find a town they can call from, she’ll call her aunt and explain why they had to run away. She’s sure Tía Rosaura will understand and support The Cause. “—Unless she yells at you worse than El Patrón for leaving the hacienda!” (From the mouths of babes in the woods…..)
Back in San Gabriel, Big Dave talks to some associate on the phone. He runs into Vainessa on the street. She explains she’s bunking at Bruno’s and she’s there to get hold of Daddy who’s too sick to be out and about, let alone visiting rude ‘n crude Ro-Hell. [Translation: Hey! Anything for a chance to shake my bootie in front of Rog and remind him of what he’s missing…..] They agree to get ice cream since it’s too hot for coffee—and we all know where the only place to get a decent cup of coffee is in that town, don’t we, class?
Outside in the back of her parents’ restaurant, Maripaz advises the ever inconsolable Consuela (otherwise know to Viewerville as Effer’s consolation prize) to tell the truth to her parents about why she’s not marrying Efrain. No, says Conned, cuz for sure her daddy would kill him! (Seems about right by my standards—er…jes sayin’.) Despite everything, she still wants him. (Gawd only knows why, considering --BTW, I say wants because if she’s thinking of marrying the scum bucket, shouldn’t she “amar” rather than just “querer” him? Inquiring minds want to know.) Maripaz is ready to throw bitter hot chili peppers into his food the next time Effer stops in there to eat, she says. “--I’d like to kill him!” Talk then turns to Connie coming by actually to see if Miguel were there, and, the fact that Bruno had come by earlier asking for Sra. Paula. She wonders what’s going on at the hacienda but Connie will only say it’s a RoHellio problem. (Man, has she got that right!) The smirk on her face says it all though.
At the same time, in another part of downtown metro San Gabriel, Big Dave is licking his ice cream while licking his wounds over his financial problems with the construction project, i.e., if Ro-Hell doesn’t continue to support him. Nessa says not to worry, that the one thing Rog has plenty and then some of, is money. If he ends up pulling out of the project it won’t upset ol’ Rog in the least. Well, Big Dave says he made the man big bucks and so it wouldn’t be convenient to dump all over him. And, Big Dave gripes, all because of Gustavo! Nessa stops him cold by reminding him that if he hadn’t cut so many corners he wouldn’t have this problem. It’s his fault, not Gus’s. So, he might as well forget about either Ro-Hell or his sister now, she advises. (Somehow I don’t see her spending a night in the sack with this turkey.) Big Dave can’t forget Sinthia because the truth is he really loves her.
Speaking of Sin, she and her new BFF’s are ready for the check. Mersnotty’s can’t believe how everyone in town is so obliging. Sin smirks and says it’s that Bro-Hell owns most of the town—but then she catches her catty self and forces it to agree that the hoi polloi really are quite hospitable, as folks go. (Guess it’s taking one hell of a lot more effort for In-Sincere Sin to slum like this with the lower classes just to insure she finally gets her half of the hacienda.) El Gusto Es Mío pays the tab. Sin is so overcome she plants a major lip-lock on the dude before heading to the restroom. (Yep, Gusto Mío possesses all this supposed sensuality and he has a few centavos to spend on her to boot--not to mention the anticipation of a night with a real man sans the unbearable stench of bovine in her boudoir! Ahh! Be still my heart!) Mersnottys giggles and tells Little Bro that Sin seems pretty hot for him. He replies with that signature goofy good-guy grin that he’ll just let things take their natural course. “--Whatever happens happens.” (Nope. Jose Ron isn’t getting through to me. Damn! It is causing me a great deal of effort to recap this portion of the storyline.)
In some bar in another part of town, Bruno is carping to Rutilio, aka Thug Guy, that he’s really worried about Gustavo and his sister showing up at Hacienda del Fuerte, cuz if Mercedes ends up seeing him then he’s up sh!t creek without the proverbial paddle. Why couldn’t Guscakes have died with that beating and been done with it already! Rutilio scratches the scar on his neck and tells him that he’s still unaware of their part in all of this. He asks Bruno if he wants him to finish what they started. Bruno definitely seems to be at his breaking point and pondering the prospective toe tagging options. Gawd knows that Gustavo Durán dude has done nothing but give him problems from the start, he gripes! Thug Guy offers a 2-4-1 special, and says he’ll include the sister in the deal while he’s at it. Seems Bruno may not exactly be opposed to the idea this time.
Meanwhile, our glee-some threesome takes a walk around town. Guscakes is eager to see the beach. He starts to explain why it’s such a special place for him, but then stops short before he steps in it big-time by thoughtlessly blurting out his tragic tale.
Back at the bar again, Bruno rules out killing Miss Mercy as he figures once her brother starts missing she’ll head back to Tuxtla. (Uh, no she wo-o-o-o-n’t! I guess he doesn’t realize she’s the Babycakes’ big sis, yet.) Rutilio warns him that she knows him and that she believes that AP supposedly subbed Babycakes for Bruno. Bruno, though, decides to wait till they determine what her relationship to Sin and Rog are. What Bruno wants for sure now is to make sure Gus is out of the picture [fuera del jugado= lit. out of the game] like yesterday!
Mercedes finds a reason to leave Sin and Babycakes alone. Once she’s gone, Sin tells Gus how glad she is to see him there. She apologizes immediately for the embarrassing scene the Bro-Hell pulled. He doesn’t care. He just hopes her SIL recuperates. Her wha---? Oh! As far as she’s concerned—er..oh yeah. Sin changes the subject ASAPP. “--Umm, so what of all the sites around here is your favorite?” “—You are!” She thanks him with a major mouth-meld and time suddenly stands still for Gus it would seem. (Pau, you nitwit, you are soooo screwed!)
During clean up time at the Slop ‘n Plop, Maripaz is forced to admit to her prying parents that she and Miguel were really dating after all and that she’s worried about him. What’s worse is that she stumble-bums her way into also admitting he was in jail for a while. All Holy Hell breaks loose in the kitchen. Ulises blows his stack and forbids Maripaz from ever speaking to the slime bucket again. Doesn’t matter if it was an accident or not! Not only does Michael spend his time getting trashed, but he is trash.
Despite Maripaz’s efforts to explain to the contrary--that Mikey’s not the ethically and dypsomaniacally challenged man-child from the wrong side of the poubelle--Ulises refuses to listen to his daughter any further. He’ll be damned if he’ll let his respectable little girl have anything to do with a drunken dirt-wad of an ex-con. (Ahh! Ulises! You are a man after my own heart!) Mama Macario warns Maripaz that the whole town will talk once they learn he’s been in jail. She doesn’t need that kind of grief. Ulises tells Maripaz she's crazy to think otherwise. “--Accident or not, the guy will have a police record [estar fichado] for the rest of his life!”
Speaking of The Trashed One, luckily Hugo and Simon find our unibrowed booze-hound snoozing next to the horse under a green plaid blanket that looks suspiciously similar in the dark to AP’s plaid dress. (Fake out!) They wake Mikey up and drag him back to the hacienda with them.
Uli, meanwhile, is upset with Macaria for not backing him up about El Patrón’s BIL. If it were just another neighbor’s son she’d be all over the girl, right? Macaria tells him to essentially bite it. If he wants his daughter to meet a respectable young man then get her the heck out of that small town and let her see the world, already. Don’t let her fall into the same trap she fell into. They married so young neither of them had a chance. Uli is not a happy camper, shall we say, once Macaria starts down this path. Thanks to him and this restaurant, he screams back, they live as well as they do, and too bad for her that she can’t appreciate that fact!!
Out in the back and beyond, Pau and Mgrito try to sleep. (This woman actually got a degree from a respectable nursing school? Common sense wasn’t part of the deal? Rio the horse has more sense than she does leaving without a food or an extra blanket or two in the mountains.) FF>>
It’s gotten dark and Oh-Hell still hasn’t heard back from the search parties. He’s obviously worried Paula will get lost and die from exposure or worse out in the mountains like that. He’s been fingering her necklace like a rosary in his hand all evening. Maria brings him some hot chocolate like she used to when he was a little boy and used to get frightened. Rog tells her trying to be a good guy got him nothing but grief. He even offered Paula to adopt Mgrito with her despite all the bad memories the boy brings him. Maria doesn’t understand what he means by that, so he explains how the little boy was standing in the middle of the cattle stampede that day; and that he fell while trying to save the toddler’s life. For that good deed he was left an invalid.
Why didn’t Oh-Hell ever tell Maria? “--What for? What difference would it make? Only Bruno knows.” (Say what??? If Bruno is a part of this mess, Viewerville can’t help but think he was somehow involved, if ya know what I mean.) Now Maria does also. The worst that could have happened to him—to that little boy--happened. Maria and Rog’s mama had gone to town and when they returned they learned about the tragedy. That’s why he fired Selena the day he came back from the hospital? Yeah, she was the one responsible for the toddler while the other women were gone.
That was the first time Maria remembers seeing Ro-Hell with a whip [fuete] in his hand. Yeah, he says, and he’d have used it on Selena--grabbed her (we assume around the neck) with it and drug her (from the way it sounds) except that Maria stopped him. Just then Hugo runs into the room and breathlessly informs Ro-Hell that they found Mikey and brought him back to Hell-Fuete. Ro-Hell looks devilishly pleased, indeed, as we break for Uni to pay its ungodly overhead.
Back again, in town Feddy and Vainessa stop at a restaurant for a bit of a late supper. He tells her he doesn’t want her to have anything more to do with Ro-Hellio. She insists that Rog doesn’t bother her one way or the other. Daddy disagrees and says she should simply take herself out of the picture and avoid both Rog and his wife, who--after all-- had nothing to do with what Rog did to her. Nessa disagrees strongly and claims again that Pau only married Rog for his money. (Guess it takes one to know one, right, honey?) Anywho, how dare Daddy defend a stranger instead of his own flesh and blood daughter?
At Hell-Fuete once again, Ro-Hell slaps a good one across the trunk at the foot of the busted boozehound’s bed. WHAP!! Mikey wakes up with a start. “—I told you with that vice of yours you’d end up losing, little boy, and just look at you! You’re back again.” Mikey jumps out of bed and rushes over to Rog’s chair apparently to explicate, but Rog has different ideas. “—Rogelio…Rogelio—“ WHAP! “—It’s Don Rogelio to you! Now where is your sister?” “—My sister? H-h-h-here.” “—Don’t lie to me! Where did you leave your sister?” Mikey takes a moment to process. “—She escaped? Hah! She escaped! Wonderful! It’s great that she actually escaped this…jailhouse.” If I were you, advises Rog, I’d keep quiet. “—It’s the truth, though. It’s a jail and you’re her jailer.” Mikey lets loose with another rather unwise snicker. “--Murderer!” Ro-Hell lets out a chuckle of his own and then… WHAP! Roh-HELLO! Mikey gets a strike right across his cheek. Mike tries to rush Rog but falls back the second a bug-eyed Ro-Hellion with a rather…ummm…sobering glance, threatens him with his whip again. (Gotta admit that’s one way to slap the smirk off Mikey’s snickering mug.) “—You are going to be guarded very well and when she learns you’re back here she’ll return to protect you. And I’ll tell you right now, if you think that jail was bad, let me say that after being here you’re going to wish you’d never left that place!!” Yep, ol’ Mikey is stone cold sober about now, standing stalk still against the wall.
Outside in the driveway—or what passes for one on that place—Effer stops Sin as she’s getting ready to drive herself into town. He’d rather take her himself, he says. She replies not this time. He’s better off checking on Little Inconsolable to make sure she doesn’t go telling tales out of school. Effer says she's fine and too bad Conned had to catch them just when things were gettin’ going. Best for them now, says Sin, if they just don’t see each other again. (Tell me now. How many times has she given this poor jerk the same song and dance?) “--Wouldn’t be because of the little engineer dude you say is only a friend, would it?” She sniffs. Effer wants to know why then, if she had no problem fooling around with him while she was dating Big Dave, should it make any difference now if she dates Babycakes and still spends time with him. The difference is that poor, dumb Effer was ready to break it off with Connie, he reasons. What about Sin, though? One thing has nothing to do with another, she says. “—Things are different since Consuelo wants to marry you now. If she catches us again it’s anybody’s bet and I don’t want to risk it while Rogelio’s still on the warpath.”
Sin smiles at Effer and asks what he’s found out about Bro-Hell’s bride, she who flew the coup. Nada, says Effer with a smirk. Best for all of them, suggests Sin, that if he sees AP that he lets her go her merry way. Sin seals the request with a lip-lock which temporarily disconnects the thinking circuitry in Effer’s brain. His nether regions take control. “—Whatever Queen Sinthia desires.”
~~~Fin P1
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Parte 2
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Parte 2
Back inside the main house, Maria watches as Rog makes Hugo take down Paula’s religious altar from the wall. He offered her everything, he tells Maria, and his aid, but it never earned him the tiniest smidgeon of trust. Now Paula’s going to know what it’s really like living with an ogre! “--Nobody makes an ass out of me! [verle la cara]” Maria shakes her head in disbelief. Rog shows her his “gift” to his wife once she returns: bars on all the windows. Once she’s back she ain’t ever gettin’ out! (Really, Rog?)
Speaking of La Desaparecida Esa [The Missing Gal], Pau and Mgrito are walking along the path with Rio, still hungry and still seemingly lost. As luck would have it, a truck drives up from the opposite way. Pau makes a deal with the driver that they’ll sell the horse to him for a lift into the nearest town. After some dickering, the deal is done and the finally get back to something that passes for civilization.
At Hell-Fuete Maria tries to reason with the unreasonable: they don’t know if Paula will ever return. Sure she will, Rog says. As soon as she finds out that useless slug of a brother of hers is there she will be back. (The next part was a bit difficult to catch so feel free to correct me.) And, if he runs the whole world/everything from this damned wheelchair of his, he swears to Maria, then he’ll go after her himself and bring her back--if it’s the last thing he ever does! Off he races, then, in his wheelchair to the door. Maria screams for him to come back before he does something stooopid.
Just then Vainessa coolly struts into the room. She raises a flawlessly smoothed eyebrow as she observes the spectacle of the new hubby’s hubbub. “—The only way I’m going to find my wife is by filing a police report for whoever has stolen my horse!!” “—Ah, so it seems the prized dove has flown the coup, eh?” Both pairs of angry eyes turn in Vainessa’s direction and, Lord knows, if looks could kill that vicious viper would have been vaporized instantly if not sooner! Oh-Hell growls back. “—Watch what you say about my wife!”
Just then Vainessa coolly struts into the room. She raises a flawlessly smoothed eyebrow as she observes the spectacle of the new hubby’s hubbub. “—The only way I’m going to find my wife is by filing a police report for whoever has stolen my horse!!” “—Ah, so it seems the prized dove has flown the coup, eh?” Both pairs of angry eyes turn in Vainessa’s direction and, Lord knows, if looks could kill that vicious viper would have been vaporized instantly if not sooner! Oh-Hell growls back. “—Watch what you say about my wife!”
Rog glares at Vainessa long and hard. “—I never thought I’d see you around here again!” “—You said you wanted to talk so I’m here. Just tell me, though, why your wife left you.” “—I’m not about to discuss the details of my marriage with you.” He tells Maria to leave. They go into the living room. She says that since he smoothed things over with Papi that she’s sure he told him how he wanted to ask her forgiveness. “—That’s what you’re here for?” “--Hey, you came looking for me first. You said you wanted to explain things. So, I’m here!” She says something about her dad’s coming there and her wanting to avoid the two of them making him worry so much that it affects his health for the worse. Rog says he doesn’t disagree. But so? Well, today of all days he should want to be on her good side, what with the whole town knowing that his little lover [amorcita] has left him. She comes in close and purrs into his ear as succinctly (and supposedly sensually) as possible, each syllable irritatingly and most aggravatingly enunciated. “—You know what they say: ‘small town, big Hell.’ It’s all your fault, though, because you decided to marry her. Yes, you decided it.”
In the kitchen, meanwhile, Maria gives Conned the third degree about why she’s crying. Conned lies and says she fought over the cost of the wedding and has decided she doesn’t want to marry a man like Effer. Such a shame Maria went to all the trouble of asking El Patrón for permission to date him and then to find out it was all such a wasted effort. Ok says Maria. She can see the girl’s not happy with Effer. Maria knows there’s more to it, though and warns her god-daughter that she plans to find out what!
Back in the living room, Oh-Hell tells Nessa she can iron things out between them or she can sling insults. He’ll respond in kind. Nessa’s curiosity and vanity win out though. She really wants to know how that woman could have walked like that. A snide smirk escapes. “--But then, what else could you expect from a woman like that, right? And who knew she would have handed you the bill so soon, eh?” He continues to glare at her. (I’d say she’s stepped in it big time; and if she thought she got screwed before, she ain’t seen nothin’ yet! Must.See.T.V. indeed! Viewerville is making reservations already!) “--Ok. We’ll leave it go. As you’ve always said, business is business.” Fake smile. Just then, Big Dave comes racing into the room with an urgent need to talk. Nessa gets up and struts out. She looks down at him and that stare travels all the way from the top of her beautifully coiffed do, down the length of her toothpick legs, and to the tips of her Manolo Blahniks. “—We’ll talk later.”
Dave says he needs help from Rog because the investors are all over him. Rog says he’s not doing any more business with him. He doesn’t trust him and doesn’t like the way he conducts his business dealings with others. Dave begs him and then finally asks for a loan, instead. “A loan?” Rog hears the world ‘loan’ and is like a shark that smells blood in the water. Well, he says, aside from taking over all the debts and so on, he’s wants one thing more from Dave. “--Sure, anything! Whatever you say!” Big Dave is ready to make a deal with the Devil himself. (Viewerville thinks he just might be from the way things appear to be shaping up.)
At the same time, Maria is up in Mikey’s room trying to get him to eat something. Bottom line, if he can’t drink himself to death he’d rather starve himself to death. He can’t handle being such a burden on AP any more. Maria is adamant, though. “--What? And leave your sister to blame your death on herself for the rest of her days? After all she’s done for you?”
Ro-Hell, meanwhile, warns Big Dave to think twice before accepting this condition cuz it may be hard to take. In exchange for loaning him money to finish the hotel project, Rog wants Big Dave to get his lawyer to do whatever is necessary to put Mikey back behind bars over that so-called theft of the company truck and merchandise. Big Dave is having a big bad time getting his big head around that one. He thought that was all swept under the rug and forgotten since the guy’s his BIL now. Rog tells Dave not to think, just do what he’s told from now on. Michael is to be back in jail, y punto. “—You tell the police that he’s here at the hacienda and that he’s being held here.” Why?? (The CC dissolved here momentarily with the reception so I’m guessing here.) Ro-Hell narrows his eyes at Dave. “—People should know what will happen when they double-cross me [traicionar = betray, fool, sell down the river].
Mgrito and Pau are now eating breakfast in some small town which could be Bajia Del Cielo. Her plans are to get hold of Carmen and stay with her a couple of days while she tries to get hold of Tia Rosaura. Will they live on the beach there with them? No, it’s not quite far enough away from Ro-Hell’s reach, she says.
“--Trato hecho” [done deal] says Dave, and he and Rog shake on it. (Hell, what’s one more double-dealing, dirty trick, right? It’s dog-eat-dog out there!) David looks muy relieved. “--Now that business is out of the way, let’s talk about Sinthia, ok?” No way! Rog says it’s one thing to trust his money with Dave, but his sister is another thing. He’ll never trust her to Dave now, not after what Gus Durán has told him about all the crooked things he pulled with that construction project! Dave says it was simply business and you have to save on costs wherever you can. “--Don’t bother justifying yourself. Mmm. Tell me how that project is going.” (Ol’ Rog knows exactly how it’s going and he knows he’s going to come out smelling like a rose on this deal with double-dealing Dave. He’ll probably end up owning Dave’s company.) David explains he’s been plagued with problems and will have to probably sell it, and he fears no one will want to buy it for that reason. Yeah, empathizes Ro-Hell, he’ll no doubt have to sell the property pretty cheap, huh? Dave agrees and whines that it’s all because of that little jerk engineer. (Damn! What a treat when he finds out that Gus has taken Sin from him too! Another major ring-side choice viewing event.)
A bit later Helena delivers a message from AP to Rosie. Pau wants Rosie to call her but at Helena’s house. Maybe, they reason, because she feared Ro-Hell’s people were there? Rosie is at her wits’ end, she whines, all because of those two selfish kids! They’ll be the death of her! No way should Paula have left Ro-Hellio’s. Gawd knows what will become of Mikey and the case against him; and her niece? What happens with her and AP if that contract’s broken?!! For sure her monthly stipend goes into the dumper—and her along with it! No way she’ll ever allow that! You just wait and see!
We beam back to Bajia Del Cielo to Fermin’s place and learn from Melina that Guscakes is coming for a visit. FF>>
Finally Pau has a chance to speak to Mentirosie about why she ran away. How could she stay there after what she learned? He’s a stone killer! Rosie tries telling the truth for once but AP won’t listen. “—You’re wrong about that, Ana Paula! Rogelio didn’t kill anyone!” AP doesn’t understand, of course. (That generally happens when half-truths are all you get, tho.) Rosie stops herself before she trips over her big mouth and breaks something. “—I know because they found out it was--er…criminals who assaulted him!”
Pau insists that Rog must have sent them because why else would he have Guscakes’ personal things in his possession? Rosie can’t think quickly enough to answer that one. “—Just come back to Tuxtla and we’ll clear up everything.” Pau refuses and says she’s sure if she goes to Tuxtla he’ll have her killed also. Besides, she brought Margarito with her. Rosie is beside herself in triplicate. How could Paula have been idiot enough to drag that brat along with her in all of this? (Good question, Rose, and for once I whole-heartedly agree!) “—Get back here to Tuxtla immediately!” Nothing doing, says Pau. She’ll call her again once she’s found a safe place to stay and, hopefully, her brother will have shown up by then. Anyway, there’s no way she’s ever going back to Rogelio Montero! He’s nothing but a murderer! Click! Rosie is speechless impactada.
At Hell-Fuerte, Rog leaves a message for Bruno to call or show up at the hacienda ASAP. Federico walks into the room for a chat looking for info on Pau. No reason to ask questions about his wife. Oh, just he’s worried that she’s sick in bed. She’ll be fine when she returns. Fed’s puzzled. Rog catches himself and says thanks but I’ve got things to do. He tries to race out of there, but his chair’s not fast enough. Vainessa cuts him off at the pass. “--Poor Rog. We can’t talk to him now cuz his wife’s left him." Feddy is totally confused-impactado. “--What?” Ruh-roh.
A while later, back in Tuxtla, Daniela opines to Rosie and Helena about the situation. She’s definitely on Paula’s side in this. Hopefully Mgrito and Pau get as far away as they possibly can, she tells them. Rosie says they’re all wrong and Dani as her friend should have made AP see reason [entrar en razon=come to one’s senses] because it wasn’t Rog! “--It was—er…some other man! I’ve got to clear things up. When is Bruno due back?” As soon as he delivers some paperwork back to Don Federico, Dani says.
Nope. I don’t think so. Fed’s down in San Gabriel in protective papi mode arguing with Rog over why Paula up and left him. “—Did you do something to her?” Nobody understands his attitude, though. Nessa noses in. “—What does it matter, Daddy? The good thing is that she’s gone!” Rog tells him he doesn’t want to show any disrespect but he’d rather the man not interfere between him and his wife. Nessa and Rog are both curious as to why he’s so interested. He shrugs and lies that it’s just odd she should feel the need to run away like that. She’s too nice a girl, especially since he saw how close the two were just the other day! Rog is starting to lose his patience. (Viewerville is eagerly awaiting to see if he blows his stack and goes off the deep end again. Can he count to ten?) He insists it’s nothing more than a small spat between married folk and she just decided to leave. It’ll all blow over in no time. No harm. No foul.
Feddy continues to question him about how in the world--. Rog explodes and tells him to butt out of his personal life and just leave it alone already! (Guess Rog has forgotten how to count to 10.) Fed tells Rog in a veiled threat that he certainly hopes so. Vainessa struts out angrily a few paces in front of Daddy as they leave for Tuxta. Rog wipes away a small tear and waits.
That night, Sin comes in to give Rog grief now over marrying Paula. “—If you came here to make fun of me you can just go!” “—I’m not here to make fun of you, for crying out loud! [¡Caramba!]” She gets physical and right in his face. Since he refuses to look at her she tries to force his chin up. He growls at her. “—Will you just leave me in peace?” “—No!! I won’t leave you in peace! It’s time you had a reality check! I told you she wasn’t the right kind of woman for you, but you wouldn’t listen! You wouldn’t listen! That broad did a number on you! She tricked you. Understand? She used you! She used you just to get her brother out of jail! Now that he’s free she’s up and gone without the slightest concern for you and yours! Hey! Do you understand anything?” He tries to defy her by turning his face away and she absolutely loses it. (Not that anyone can blame her after the humiliating scene he pulled the day before with her guests there.) She slaps him two or three times across the face screaming for him to understand and realize what’s happening to him, but he explodes.
“--Leave me in peace for gawdsakes!!!!” Ro-Hellio pushes Sinthia backwards and she falls against the sofa, helpless to get her balance. Up goes Ro-Hell’s arm and out of nowhere Effer rushes in and falls on top of her, putting his body in between Sin and that damned whip. WHAP! WHAP! WHAP! WHAP! Effer eventually screams out in pain. Sin holds him in her arms and the tears gush down her cheeks. She looks over at her brother, totally in shock. Rog looks at her and then down at Effer. He looks away from both of them. A peso for your thoughts, Bro-Hell. ….Cue the booze along with the boos.
Fin Parte 2
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