Refugio Para el Amor #64-65 Tue 7/10/12 Paz Makes New Threats, While Max Makes Good on His Old Ones; By Unanimous Vote, Rod Wins Idiot of the Year; Luci Wants the Big D

For some reason a few short scenes in the first hour were cut from the U.S. tv version. I still included them in the recap. The scene of Rod crying into the wedding dress should have been kept, for example. I think Uni did this to allow for a long sneak peek at Por Ella Soy Eva.

Rod leaves the church after refusing to have a long talk with Padre Honesto about Luci, and looks around to see if Luci might still be about. He gets in his car and starts having visions of him and Luci running down the church steps in their wedding clothes and happily kissing. A guard snaps him out of his fantasy and asks if he’s ok. Rod finally drives off. In a bus, Luci looks at her wedding ring and remembers the angry words she and Rod exchanged in the Padre’s office.

Rosa asks Pato if he’s more tranquil now that he’s spoken to Rod and Luci. Yep. Speaking to Luci always does him good. Her caring and tenderness have been key to his recuperation. Max gives Rosa an “I told you so” look.

Aldo is still trying to convince nervous Lorenzo that he’s got the Lastra situation under control. (Yeah, I wouldn’t be so convinced either.) He doesn’t take it all seriously until Lorenzo mentions that this has caused problems between Luci and Rod when his aunt told Rod that Lorenzo is a thief. Aldo looks mortified, and decides to call Ivan then and there. Ivan is at that moment in the park, walking his little black lap dog. LOL! He has no intention of doing Aldo any favors when Aldo explains the money was for him and Lorenzo didn’t steal if for himself. He asks him to drop the charges against his “brother.”  Ivan doesn’t give a rat’s patoot. Aldo needs to speak to Lastra. In any case, Lorenzo is the one who stole the money, and it’s Lorenzo who has to pay for it. He hangs up on Aldo but Aldo pretends that the conversation is still going. He does admit that Ivan refused. Lorenzo and Fabian freak, but Aldo tells them he still has a card up his sleeve. If Lastra won’t listen, then he’ll speak to the big boss (el mero mero). Lorenzo asks if he knows him. Aldo says he and the owner are like family. Lorenzo and Fabian look incredulous.

Lastra has invited Don Aquiles to meet. He asks if Don A has seen Luci yet. Of course! Now that they’re alone, Don Aquiles wants to know what that pair of broads (viajas) have against his Lucianita. Lastra says it’s all about money (intereses). Gala wants Rod back because he’s from one of the wealthiest (acaudalada) families in Mexico. Don Aquiles doesn’t give a damn. He’s the wealthiest man in San Francisco el Alto! Lastra just smiles and doesn’t argue the point. He only came to this big city to bring his little dove back to Het Het. All the rest, he doesn’t care about. They can work it out amongst themselves. Lastra proposes that they join forces to try to get more money out of Julie and Gala. Aquiles isn’t interested in this kind of dirty business, and frankly he doesn’t like that pair of old broads. Lastra doesn’t think they need to like them to squeeze money out of them. Aquiles tells him to do what he wants, but do it on his own. He leaves Lastra mighty confused.

Luci comes back to Estella’s and tells Estella and Marianita that she spoke to the Padre and now feels better. But talking to him made her realize how much her life has changed in such a short time. If she could move ahead before, with all that had happened to her, then she can survive this! Estella tells her that this is nothing more than a lovers’ quarrel. Luci disagrees. She needs to end things definitively with Rod. “I’m going to divorce him.” Mati walks in just as Luci says this.

Paz and Magda arrive at Don Serapio’s with Ariche. Ariche reports his conversation with Rod. Meanwhile, Mati begs Luci not to divorce Rod and to, say it with me now,…fight for her love! (lucha por tu amor) Don’t do it for Rod, or even for Patricio. She should do it for herself. “You love him and he loves you.” Luci shakes her head. The phone rings and Luci answers her mama’s call. She’s better at hiding her sadness this time. She mentions that Mati is there and Paz latches on to this news. She tells Luci to put Mati on the phone, after asking Magda, Theo and Ariche to clear the room. Mati looks nervous, as she should.

P: Matilde? This is Paz speaking. Paz Jacinto, the wife of Galdino the gardener. Do you remember me?  (Mati nearly faints and has to hold on to something. In the background Luci and Estella look on in concern.) I’m the woman who La Señora Rosalena gifted the baby, Luciana. Matilde? Hello!
M:  Yes Paz. I’m here.
P: You remember me Matilde?
M: Of course I do Paz. I remember as if I were looking at you now.
P: And I you. ALL of you. I know from my Luci that that woman Sra. Rosa doesn’t like her. Which doesn’t surprise me because she never liked her, even when she was a newborn baby. So what else could you expect now that she’s a grown woman.

Mati looks over at Luci nervously, but tries to keep her end of the conversation neutral so that Luci doesn’t catch on. 

M: What can I say?
P: You’re a good person Mati. I give my Luci over to your care. (encargar) I don’t want that woman to do more harm to my daughter, you understand? Because Luci is MY daughter. I hope that woman doesn’t forget that. And if she does forget, then YOU remind her!
M: Don’t worry Paz. Since I met Luci, I’ve had a great affection for her and have taken care of her. And I’ll keep doing so. I promise. (Hmm…Frankly, I think Mati has done a lousy job of protecting Luci from Rosa and will continue to be lousy at it. No one comes before her niña Rosa.)
P: I’m putting my trust in you Matilde.

Paz then asks her if she knows when they are postponing the wedding to. Mati looks at Luci again and says she doesn’t know. Paz again asks her to take care of her niña. “I hope La Sra. Rosa doesn’t go against her, because if she hurts her, the next day I will be there to confront her and tell the whole truth!!” Mati looks panicked.

In Berlin, Germany, Claudio tells his picture of Aurora that he’s been thinking of Luci all day and doesn’t know why. He asks Aurora to look after/keep vigil for (velar) Luci, as she is doing for him—as if Luci were their daughter. Lic. Barrera calls and they update each other. Claudio’s appointment with the bankers, to examine the accounts he and Max opened when they first founded their company, has been moved until tomorrow. He hopes to discover that Max is the real culprit behind the fraud that put him in jail. They have clues about a supposed construction company that constructed a marina in the Caribbean, where millions of the stolen money was invested. Claudio is determined to keep going until he clears his name. He tells Barrera that Luci has been in his thoughts all day and wonders if Barrera has spoken to her or heard anything. He then asks Barrera to go look for Luci and tell her he’ll be back in a few days. In the meantime, Barrera is to be at her at her beck and call. Help her in anything she needs.

Mati ends the call with Paz on an upbeat note, saying she’ll take care of Luci and to not worry. She passes the phone to Luci, who looks at it with dread. But she gets let off the hook pretty easily. Paz just says goodbye and says she feels better now that she’s spoken with Mati. Ariche runs in, jumping up and down to speak to Luci. He wants to know if she’s with Rod. Is he working? He tells her about speaking with Rod earlier, and asks her if she’s coming to get them in the plane with Rod. This makes Luci start crying all over again.

Aldo comes into Rod’s office looking shame-faced. It’s about Lorenzo, his “brother.” Rod says he already knows about the money Lorenzo stole and then borrowed from Aldo through Connie. Aldo sets him straight and admits that the money was money he (Aldo) lost gambling, and he asked Lorenzo for the favor. Rod is p*ssed. He grabs Aldo by the lapels and shakes him. “When are you going to grow up Aldo? When are you going to stop acting like an idiot?!” Aldo says he’s already realized his mistake. “It’s always the same with you. You act before thinking! Now you’ve gotten Lorenzo into really serious problems.”  Rod goes on about how the whole world is judging Luci’s brother badly, thinking he’s a thief. (Kind of like how Rod is now judging Luci badly, huh? Please listen to yourself Rod.) And it was all Aldo’s fault. “It’s not fair Aldo!” Aldo hangs his head in shame.

Connie and Oscar are actually lunching with Julie, Gala and her posse. Oscar says he can’t believe Rod and Luci have a serious enough problem to cause a break-up. The posse informs them that it’s so serious that there will now be no wedding. “Oh, didn’t you know Connie?” Connie tells Julie coldly that she did not know. But how can she know things that she neither saw nor heard? “Your mother refuses to tell me exactly what happened in the library, so why don’t you tell me Gala.” Gala sticks to her innocent act and claims she had nada to do with it. Connie should speak to Rosa, because she’s the one who invited them all to the house. When Rosa gets back from Boston, Connie should ask her. Connie says she will, but Rosa did say one thing before she left—that they “unmasked” Luci. Now, what did she mean by that? Everyone keeps mum.

Luci tells Vio that she wishes she had never come to D.F. and had stayed in her pueblo with her mom and Ariche. And with Don Aquiles, who wouldn’t leave her in peace, too? Vio thinks this is just a temporary setback, and they shouldn’t let the bastards keep them down. She heads off to work, but doesn’t want to leave Luci alone. Luci is more worried about Vio. Is she sure Don A. didn’t recognize her? Vio says, no way, not with her costume. Plus she left the pueblo so long ago that he probably wouldn’t recognize her anyway. Vio then has an epiphany. She thinks those broads probably found Don Aquiles and brought him to D.F. to bug Luci. Luci can’t believe they would resort to that. Anyway, Vio had already seen Don Aquiles around Inferno last time he was in town. Although Lorenzo has no job right now, Luci’s actually more at ease now that he doesn’t work at Inferno. She didn’t like him being near Lastra. Vio is sure he’ll find something else soon. She knew sooner or later that casino would bring him troubles.

This scene was cut: Outside, Lorenzo and Fabian are drinking brews to drown their sorrows. Back when they were in the pueblo, they thought coming to the big city was the solution to all their problems. But they’ve had nothing but problems since they came.  Lorenzo had hopes of buying his mom a new house. Fabian points out that they can’t move ahead here without more education. Lorenzo says he promised his mom and Don Serapio that he would finish high school (la prepa), but he hasn’t even done that. Vio and Serena come down the stairs ready for work. Fabian will walk them to work, but Vio wants Lorenzo to stay and watch over Luci, since Don Aquiles has already come sniffing around her.

This scene was cut: Don Aquiles lounges in his hotel room wearing his black satin robe, with purple trim, a black cowboy hat, and smoking a cigar. He calls Copio to get the update on Het Het happenings. Copio reports that Luchita is dying for him and he stole her heart. When he gets back, he doesn’t want to see Luchita hanging around. He’s not sure if his Palomita will be coming back with him, but tonight he’s going to party like it’s 1999 in el Inferno, where there’s a chula who sings like an angel. “An angel, in hell?” Copio is mighty confused. (Your recapper hopes Don A doesn’t come on to Vio too strong, since we suspect he’s her papa. Gross!)

This scene was cut and really should not have been: Rod’s apartment security calls up to say there’s a package that is being delivered for his wife Luci. The delivery guy hands Rod a white box with a white bow. He opens the box and finds the wedding dress. The card says, “May your happiness be eternal.” Rod takes the dress out, cradles it, and starts crying. He remembers that happy day in front of the bridal shop and Luci’s kisses. H&M’s Operation Make Rod Feel Like Crap, has had its first success. 

The first part of this scene, when Luci was on her own, was cut: Luci is also on her couch thinking about Rod. “Why? Why did you let them put an end to our love so easily Rodrigo?” Lorenzo comes in and says he doesn’t like to see her cry, which actually makes her start crying. She says she’s not going to cry anymore. He says he also feels sad about everything that’s happened. He feels guilty. He lays his hand on her back. Luci tells him that what happened at the casino has nothing to do with her breakup with Rod. He puts his head on her shoulder and says that their lives have changed so much since their papa died. Their papa made them so happy, with so little. He had such a huge heart. Lorenzo says he’s full of remorse (remordimiento). He’s failed her so many times. He was supposed to come here to lighten her load, but instead he’s making it heavier. Luci embraces him and says that their father understands that they are fighting to get ahead and she loves him lots.

Paz prays to the Virgin and begs her to care for her children, while she can’t. She’s putting them in her hands.

Aldo comes to see Lastra in his office, with Vicky on his arm. He tries to clear up the Lorenzo issue and takes the blame. Lorenzo was doing him a favor and the money was returned. Lastra won’t be swayed. “Lorenzo is a thief and I’m going to throw him in jail!” Aldo gets ticked and says that there is something Lastra doesn’t understand. He asks how he thinks the big boss will feel when he finds out Lastra threw Luci’s brother in jail (el bote)? He knows who Aldo is speaking about, right? He better consult his boss before he does anything.

Oscar and Connie have wine at the big house and talk about the b/witches. He is amazed at the attitude of those women. Don’t they have anything better to do than bother poor Luci? What has she done to them? Her only sin is that Rod fell in love with her. What do they want to do? Destroy her?  Connie says that Rosa doesn’t seem to realize the damage she is doing to her kids. These are the kinds of things that children never forgive. In the moment when Rod finally confronts Rosa, she will cry tears of blood.

Marcos and Gabriel are at Rod’s place. He looks miserable and is still looking at the wedding dress. Marcos asks what he’s going to do next. Rod doesn’t know. Gabriel says if he were Rod, he would go speak to Luci. He can’t end things with her like this. It’s not Rod’s style—he’s always confronted his problems head on. Marcos agrees with Gabriel. Just like how the problem with Luci’s brother had a valid explanation, there are likely explanations for the other things too. Stupid Rod isn’t sure. Gabriel tells him that he’s as in love with Luci as she is with him.

Lastra has called Max, who reminds him to NEVER to call him. Lastra says it’s urgent. He says Aldo has continued to come to Inferno and has put his nose where it doesn’t belong. He’s even gotten involved with a matter Lastra has every right to deal with, and told him he would go over his head to Max. And he didn’t even come alone. He came with that girl he always come to the club with—Vicky. Max is not a happy camper to hear that news.

The next morning, Rod is at the private airport, ready to fly to Boston. H&M are having breakfast with Connie at the big house and telling her about Operation Make Rod Feel Like Crap. They want to open his eyes. They used Rod’s credit card, of course, to pay for the dress. Ha! Hannah rushes off to her Mandarin Chinese exam. Frigida lurks around the breakfast table trying to get more gossip, but Connie shoos her away.

In Pato’s hospital room, Rod wishes him well, but Pato just wants to know where Luci is. He thought Max’s friend at the embassy was able to get travel documents for her. Rod says they had lots to do, and they weren’t able to finish all the requirements for the travel docs. But Luci sends him kisses, hugs and much love. They all kiss Pato farewell when the orderlies come for him. Once Pato is out of earshot, Max demands to know from Rod what is really going on between him and Luci, since he knows all the travel documents for Luci were put in order. Rosa walks off, but Max can already tell she had something to do with it. He gives both her and Rod the stink eye.

Luci comes to see Lic. Barrera. He says that she and Claudio must have a psychic connection since he was just asking about Luci last night and was thinking about her. How can he help her?

L: I want to divorce Rodrigo Torreslanda.
B: Aren’t you about to get married in the Church?!
L: Not anymore. I want to know how long a divorce will take.

Barrera says that depends. If both parties are in agreement, then the process can begin in just a few days. “So soon?” In a case like theirs, since there are no kids, it’s much easier. As long as they aren’t fighting over communal property and such. “Nope. None of that.” Without all of these complications, the process is almost immediate. Luci looks sad but resigned.

Max continues to grill Rod. His contact at the embassy says everything was all set, but Rod and Luci never contacted them. “What’s happening Rod?” Rod says he and Luci are angry at each other. Max thinks it’s just a typical pre-nuptial argument, which is normal. Rosa jumps in and says they have broken up, for good. She supposes. Rod gives her an angry look and walks out of the room. Rosa looks satisfied with herself. Max wants to know what Rosa knows about it. She doesn’t have to explain anything. The only thing that happened is that Rod found out how indecent that girl is and ended their relationship. It’s just that men can never see the evidence right in front of their eyes. (I really want to slap her right now.) Max is not fooled. “What did you have to do with all of this Rosalena?” Rosa plays the wounded victim. Max is always criticizing her. He leaves the room knowing this is going nowhere. She pulls out her rosary and starts praying.

Luci asks Barrera if the divorce process would be lengthened if one of the parties opposes the divorce. Yes. Luci wants to know the next steps. Barrera has to schedule an appointment with her so that he can interview her about all the details of her relationship with Rod and the reasons for the divorce. This will help him write the request/suit (demanda) for divorce. Then it will be sent to Rod. If they both agree to the reasons and terms of the divorce, then they will both sign to begin the proceedings. They will then be brought back to the judge, and if they both still want the divorce, they and the judge will sign the final divorce decree. “As easy as that?” (LOL! I think our Luci doesn’t want that divorce as much as she says she does.) “Yep. That easy, Luci. The hardest part is making the decision to do it.” He asks her to come back that afternoon, because Claudio will want to speak to her personally.

Rod absentmindedly stirs his coffee in the hospital waiting room. Max comes and sits across from him and gives him a worried look. Rod half snaps out of it and asks Max if he wants a coffee. Max decides to go get it himself.  Rod then fantasizes that Luci is sitting across from him. He smiles, she smiles back at him and comes over to him. She strokes his face. He offers her a sip of his coffee, then strokes her hand as she gives him back the cup. His fantasy ends as Max walks back to the waiting room. He sits next to Rod and says he’s here to listen. Was the fight that bad? “I’m not getting married anymore papa.” “You’re getting married in two days!” “Luci isn’t the woman she made us believe she is. She lied! She hid things. Things that may not be that bad; they may have an explanation. But the fact that she hid them from me, papa, hurts me. It infuriates me!” Max says that Luci must have had her reasons. Rod refuses to accept this. There is NO reason! Max tells him to think about things calmly and not to let anger carry him away. Rod says his ire and disillusionment has led him to end with Luci. “Think about it son. Luci is a great woman.” Rod points out that Max is speaking about her as if he knows her. “Luci is the woman who could truly make you happy. And happiness is something very few find, son.” He pats Rod on the shoulder and leaves him with that thought.

Hannah calls Rosa, interrupting her prayers, for an update on Pato. He’s still in surgery so there’s no news. Boris tries to assure Hannah that all will be well. Lula hears the tail end of the conversation and gives her best wishes to Hannah for Pato. For the first time in a long time, Lula doesn’t act like a b/witch in training. She apologizes for her behavior at Boris’ party; she wants to be friends again.

Max walks into Pato’s room, looking ready for a showdown with Rosa. He asks her if she was behind Rod and Luci’s breakup. Rosa immediately gets on the defensive. She says what’s important right now is, Pato, their son! (She uses this excuse only when it’s convenient to her.) Rosa walks out of the room, leaving an extremely frustrated Max.

In Het Het, Paz has told Magda her warning to Mati. Magda understands that Paz is just protecting her kids. Paz knows Mati is a generous woman who has cared for her Luci, but she told her what she did so that she would go tell her patrona. It wasn’t *really* a threat (amenaza), but she sure as heck will take the first bus to D.F. if needed. Magda says it won’t be needed. After all, Luci has Rod by her side. And with a muchacho like that by her, no one can mess with her. (Ha!) Paz thinks maybe they should just go to D.F. now. Magda says they’re going in a few days anyway, but Paz means tomorrow.

Luci prays to the Virgin to care for Pato during his surgery. She’s just bought some gorditas for everyone, and Fabian and Lorenzo come home just in time to sit down and dig in. They want to know why she’s keeping that magazine. Luci says she’s keeping it to remind her why Rod left her, and each time she wants to run after him, it will help her suppress the urge.  Fabian can’t understand why she wouldn’t want to go make up with Rod, since he’s her husband after all. Why wait for him to call? Go find him! (Fabian obviously has no pride.) Luci is NOT going looking for him, and he can wait as long as he wants. Vio wakes up in time to share the gorditas and to tell them what happened when she saw Marcial at the club the evening before. She didn’t give him enough time to tell her any excuses, anyway, she doesn’t believe him. Luci points out that’s like Rod with her; he refuses to believe her. She announces to the group that she’s decided to go back to the pueblo. She has no reason to stay. Certainly not to be near Rod. She’s going to get out of this bad situation, and neither Rod nor anyone else is going to hold her back.

Gala meets with her magazine team and decides to do a rerun of the “hot clubs” edition of the magazine, with an even greater distribution. She wants it EVERYWHERE. Her team isn’t sure about this. Although it was a popular edition, this rerun will likely make them lose money. Gala doesn’t care. She just wants them to do it. “It’s an investment.” (inversion)

Frigida calls Gala and tells her she’s got a big, juicy piece of gossip for her. It’s about that chacha Luci, that she heard straight from the mouth of Rosa. She’ll bring her big black bag to their meeting so that Gala can fill it with pesos.

Vicky is giving Connie a hand massage after her manicure. Connie assumes Vicky is no longer dating her sugar daddy, since she is still dating her son Aldo. Vicky doesn’t really answer the question about her sugar daddy, but says she and Aldo just go out as friends. Connie tells her to think about what she’s doing. She could cause problems for both Aldo and her father, since her BIL Max is so down on Aldo dating an employee’s daughter. Vicky says she and Aldo are just friends, and she’s not an employee of the company. Connie says she totally gets that, but she doesn’t think Max thinks the same way. In addition, going out with Aldo could get her in trouble with her sugar daddy. Older men don’t like betrayal. They think they own the people around them. If this man finds out she’s dating Aldo and him at the same time, he might hurt her or her dad, or even Aldo. “What you’re doing Vicky, is not good.”

The doctor comes to the waiting room to tell Max, Rosa and Rod that the surgery was a success. Max wants to know the diagnosis. The doc gets technical, but the gist is that they reconstructed some discs in his spinal column. Pato will regain some movement in his upper body (hands, arms, and shoulders), including now being able to support and move his neck and head.

All the guys at the office wonder how the surgery has gone, but they’ve had no news yet. Gabriel and Marcos are really worried about Rod, who’s in bad shape about Luci. Oscar thinks it’s ridiculous that Rod is going to end his relationship with Luci over some gossip. The other guys agree. They would never let a woman like Luci go over something like that. The vote is unanimous. Rod is an IDIOT. Oscar receives the good news via text about Pato’s surgery.

Frigida clutches her bag in front of her coffee during her meeting with Gala. She’s going to tell her a HUGE secret that could cost her her job. Gala doesn’t look convinced.  It’s a secret Rosa has had a ton of years. Frigida continues her tale. She heard the secret during a loud argument between Rosa and Max and Claudio Linares’ name was prominently mentioned. Gala still doesn’t see the importance, since Max and Rosa always have a bee in their bonnet about Linares. Everyone knows that! “Well, what they don’t know is that Luci and Rod could be HALF SIBLINGS.” Gala nearly chokes on her coffee, but then she recovers pretty quickly, already assimilating this info into her next evil plan.

Pato is barely coming to from the anesthesia and the first word on his lips in his half conscious state is, Luciana. Rod is in the room and hears. He tells Pato he came out of the operation in good shape and did well. Pato can still only ask for Luci. Rod seems to be surprised by how deep his brother’s love for Luci goes.

Luci goes back to Claudio’s/Barerrera’s office with Vio to be there for Claudio’s call. Barerra immediately puts Claudio on the phone with Luci. He is sure she must be in the midst of happy wedding planning. Luci says she is no longer getting married—it’s a problem with Rod and she wants a divorce. Claudio is immediately livid. “What did Rodrigo Torreslanda do to you?!” He knows it must have been serious for her to make this decision. Luci doesn’t want to say on the phone. Claudio feels bad that he’s away, just when she needs him. Luci tries to make him feel better by saying Barrera is helping her in everything she needs. Claudio knows she loves Rod. Yep. She loves him with her whole being, but she’s still going to divorce him. “I love him, but he and I can’t be together.” Claudio reminds her that he was never in agreement with her marrying a Torreslanda, but if she really loves him, she should think about making a painful decision like a divorce very carefully. Luci agrees and asks when he’s coming back. He had planned to be away at least another week, but now he’s going to come back earlier to be with her. He tells her sweetly not to worry about anything, but when he hangs up he’s all fury again. “I knew that they were going to hurt you Luciana. The son is just like the father.”

Pato is a bit more awake now, but still feels out of it. Rod says they will have to wait a while before they are able to take him back home. Pato asks if Rod told Luci about the success of the operation. Rod lies and says he did, and Luci sent a hug. Pato immediately falls asleep again.

Gala wants Frigida to get all the facts straight. Frigida says she heard it loud and clear. Rosa had something going with Claudio. Max told her that she couldn’t keep going on with this obsession that Luci and Rod are half sibs, because it was going to cause a tragedy. Then Rosa was very clear about Frigida keeping her mouth shut about what she’d heard. "Isn’t it true that this is really valuable info and is worth a lot?” Gala pulls out the checkbook and tells Frigida that she can’t share this bombshell with anyone else. Frgida doesn’t look pleased by the check amount.

Luci and Vio bid Barerra farewell. Luci is to come back tomorrow for the interview to tell Barrera everything about her relationship with Rod. Luci looks hesitant about doing this but agrees.

Gala runs straight to Julie with the gossip from Frigida. Like any good game of telephone, the story gets more salacious with each telling. “Rosa had a thing going with Claudio Linares.” And Luci, la domestica (drink!) is involved. Rod and Luci could be half siblings. She finishes the tale Frigida gave her. Julie is salivating knowing that saintly Rosa has a deep dark secret. This explains Rosa’s immediate hate for Luci. But this tale of them being half sibs doesn’t make sense, because Max would have never allowed them to marry. Julie knows Rosa wouldn’t have allowed this either. Gala backtracks. Then they can’t be half sibs. But what relationship does that domestica (drink!) have with Claudio, Rosa, Max and Rod? Julie is eager to solve this puzzle (rompecabezas). Gala is sure Rod is clueless (as he is with many things), and this could be another good weapon in keeping him separated from the domestica (drink!).  Julie thinks Gala should call Rod to get an update on Pato’s surgery, but Gala is still playing it cool. Julie can’t believe they are wasting money on a hopeless cause like Pato. (Bitch.)

Rosa is eager to get Pato back to Mexico, but Max points out that he hasn’t even left intensive care yet. Max is going to stay as long as it takes, but Rosa has decided to go back to Mexico. She’s got thing to do in Mexico. (WTF??!!)  Anyway, why is she needed if Max is there? Rod is also going back to take the lead at the company, cause you know, he actually has a job, unlike Rosa, whose only job is making people’s lives miserable. Max goes to make work calls, so Rosa takes that moment to ask Rod if he’s still mad at her. He walks by her without saying a word. Then she has the nerve to tell him he should be thanking her because she saved him. He may not see it now, but he will with time. He looks like he wants to slap her, but just walks away instead.

Claudio looks through stacks of banking files from 1990 to 1992. He tells Max that he is going to discover any mistakes that he made and reveal him for the fraud he is.

In the apartment courtyard, Luci telling Vio how anxious she is to hear news of Pato. She borrows Vio’s cell to call Mati to get the good news. Vio is still totally down. Marcial broke her heart. She trusted him and had so many hopes and dreams and he made a fool of her. That’s why she should never fall in love. She hates getting hurt and she hates crying for him or any man. Luci asks her to come back to the pueblo with her. Vio says she can’t go back. She’s a city girl at heart. Luci never wanted to leave her people and her land. The only thing of value she found here was love, and she also felt the pain of losing it. Vio is determined to put Marcial out of her mind and move on. Love doesn’t exist, she says. Luci says love does exist. Love gives you the strength to do anything, even to recover the shattered pieces of your heart after it’s been broken. She hugs Vio and tells her not to cry anymore.

Max tells Oscar that he’s staying in Boston and Rod will return to oversee the business. Oscar reports that all is well, at least with the business. Max catches on that Linares must be causing trouble. Oscar tells him that the last reports show Claudio in Germany investigating all of Max’s and the company’s bank transactions from 20 years ago. Max gets into a snit and says that Claudio is moving too fast for comfort, and Oscar needs to be on top of it. “I have to win this game!”  Oscar looks like he needs some Calgon to take him away. The next demand that Max makes, really throws Oscar for a loop. Max orders him to fire Don Jero immediately. Roh, ruh?!  “Excuse me. Jerónimo? Our LOYAL employee? Excuse me Max, what did he do?” Max gives the bogus excuse that he broke company rules since his daughter Vicky is dating Aldo. Max simply won’t permit it. Click! Then he speaks out loud to Vicky, calling her stupid for seeing him and Aldo, and lying to him about it. He won’t let them (Aldo and Vicky) make a fool of him.

Don A. returns to Inferno and asks Ivan about the cute singer, Coral. Vio takes the stage with Don Aquiles front and center calling her Chula. He asks his Palomita to forgive him. (Please writers, don’t let the flirting go any further if she’s his daughter.)

In the office, Lastra has a hissy fit when Ivan suggests he drops the charges against Lorenzo after Aldo’s threats. Lastra will not put up anyone challenging his authority. He’s still determined to throw Lorenzo in jail.

Genaro brings H&M to the vencinidad to see Luci. They arrive just in time for breakfast, which Luci is preparing for Fabian and Lorenzo. They’ve come to bring Luci to register for the exam. Luci tries to back out but Lorenzo says she has to do it. He also can’t take his eyes off Hannah.

Rosa calls home to get an update from Frigida. Everything is good, except that damn Mati who’s going off all day to gossip with her sister and Luci, and bragging that Rosa would never fire her. Rosa tells her to have Mati call her, then hangs up on Frigida who’s in mid sentence. “Why are you going to see Luci, Mati? Why?” Frigida goes upstairs and purposely scares Mati, then she passes on the message to call Rosa. She tries to hang around to hear the conversation.

The nurse is showing Pato how to use the pain meds and nurse call buttons, as Rod watches. Rod asks how he slept. Not that great with Rod snoring away in the corner. Rod apologizes and says he’s really tired and really stressed.

P: About Luciana? Dad told me that you never got in touch with his contacts at the embassy. Tell me the truth already Rod. Why didn’t Luci come with you? You had a fight, right?
R: Luci fooled us all Patricio. She lied to us.
P: I don’t believe it. Luci is not that kind of woman. Rod, someone has messed with your head. (Literally, someone has heated up your head. Perfect description for Hot Head Rod!)
R: I just found out that she’s been hiding things! That she’s involved in a really nasty matter (asunto).
P: And what did you do? Did you listen to her?! Or did you just judge her, like you usually do when you get angry?! Rod, you can’t fight with Luciana. Not just a few days before your wedding.
R: Luciana and I are over, forever.

Luci walks with H&M through the parking lot of the school. She was thinking about just finishing her high school exams when she went back to her pueblo, but it’s better that she just gets it over with now. H&M are glad that this will delay Luci’s departure at least a bit. This way they can spend more time with her, and it gives them hope that she and Rod will make up. The audience can tell that Luci seems to be walking a bit slowly and looks a little woozy. She’s just saying that she doesn’t think she and Rod are going to get back together, when all of a sudden she collapses, but is luckily caught by H&M before she hits the ground. Hannah thinks it’s because she left home without eating breakfast, so they head to get some food.

Rosa wants to know if it’s true that Mati has gone to see Luci. She’s sure that Luci must be hiding herself in shame under her bed after being found out for trying to fool them all. Mati tells her to take that b.s. story somewhere else, because SHE knows the whole truth. What Rosa should know is that while she was at her sister’s, Paz Jacinto called and spoke to her.

R: That woman. What did she say?
M: That you better not even think of harming her daughter. Because if you do, she will come and confront you in your own house, and tell the whole truth in front of everyone!

Listening in on another phone, Frigida’s mouth drops open with shock. Rosa is looking mighty impactada herself.

Avances: Pato is p*ssed at Rod and tells him to go find Luci to make up. Rod encounters Luci on the street.