Josias and João Paulo enter the penthouse and are surprised by the heavenly silence. Radio is not making everyone deaf.“What miracle is this?” João Paulo marvels, “Do we finally have peace?”“I can't believe it unless she's sleeping.” Josias suspects with irony.However, Josias's hunch is unfounded. They hear the pressure cooker whistle.Both brothers go there and find Katherine in an apron operating the pots. She checks rice with sausage and another pan with roasted chicken and vegetables.She proudly turns to the Rocha brothers, “Good evening, everyone! Dinner is almost ready. Go shower and change.”Katherine's domesticated voice also surprises both of them.“Thank you, Kate.” Josias is forced to acknowledge, “I hope dinner is appetizing.”Josias and João Paulo leave.“What animal bit her?” João Paulo has not yet assimilated the novelty.“The bug of common sense.” Josias solemnly responds, “Just as I am trying to choose who will be the next Mrs. Rocha...”João Paulo smiles mischiev
Elza finds her pretty happy hubby whistling the song “Merry-Go-Round” by Deborah Blando. He even misses the knot on his shoelaces, but he doesn't even notice.“Is it happiness to finally have a civil conversation with your son?”“It was terrific, honey!” Vernon vibrates as if he were the same age as João Paulo, “Without him realizing it, he and I agreed on something: that William Campos will pay for having offended you!”Vernon gets up from the couch and Elza hugs him, “And best of all, Josias didn't stir up animosity. You have to admit that this time he was a gentleman.”Vernon shakes his head, “Yeah... maybe. All in due time. What are we going to do about William?”Elza puts her hand on her chin and meditates, “Um... how about we find out something about him and publish it in the newspaper?”“Public defamation has always been our best weapon.” Vernon agrees, “Although it didn't work with Isabel Freire.”“It didn’t work with that slum dweller because Josias supported her.” Elza remi
In Beto's office, he and Pamela face off over the confusion involving him and Miguel. Beto smiles mockingly when he realizes that he managed to make Miguel jealous.“As I see, the handsome one lacks self-confidence, eh? I bet he brutally and cruelly pounded you to 'remind' you that you married him.” Beto mocks her.“On the contrary, yesterday he barely kissed me good night!” Pamela responds furiously.“So he's disgusted with you! He knows that months ago we had our bestial coitus session.” Beto's eyes are shining with lust.However, Pamela kicks him again, this time drawing blood from Beto's nose!After moaning in pain, Beto complains, “What strong legs are these? Are you working out at a gym?”Pamela brags, “At the Damascene house we have some exercise and weight machines. I need to be a strong woman: the damsel in distress is out of fashion!”“You slut!” Beto misses the fun and barks with the blood still oozing, “Go back to your cuckold husband! One more kick and I'll report you, hu
In the Rocha penthouse, Katherine is talking to her father on the phone.“Dad, has the phone company already run the cables to the farm?”“No, I still have to come to Itaporanga.” Ephraim complains, “Daughter, have you finished packing to go home?”Katherine rolls her eyes, “Dad, stop asking that. I love Josias and I will be Mrs. Rocha.”“That's funny, I don't find any of that in the papers that come around here.”“That's exactly why I don't want to go back to the countryside!” Katherine barks, “We seem to be isolated from the rest of the world!”“Oh, so things are happening there?” Ephraim asks with understanding.“Yes, I am managing to please Josias as an exemplary housewife and mother. By the way, I need to take J.J to the dentist because he's having his teeth changed. You never ask how your grandson is.”Ephraim says again, “Okay, daughter, I won't make you late for your appointment. Goodbye!”“Bye, d—” Katherine realizes that Ephraim has already hung up. She hangs up the phone an
Elza visits Josias at Rocha Constructions. Mother and son help themselves to coffee in the kitchen, missing Shirley's cookies.“Where's the shortbread lady, son?”“I don't know, mother. Today she is late.” Josias frowns.“Well, are you aware that your stepfather and I are not going to divorce anymore?”Josias smiles slightly, “João Paulo told me. I found the two of them talking at the entrance to the building.”“I love him so much, my son... I am sorry for the loss of Tony and so I don't want history to repeat itself.”“Well, at least I have to admit that Vernon isn't lazy. He was fired from Marçal Publishing but managed to get another job at LCN.”“I'm glad João Paulo got along with him before traveling to Victoria.” Elza sighs.Josias seizes the moment, “Mom, can I ask you for advice?”“Of course, my son.”“I'm thinking of taking one of the girls to the Sunset Village mansion. I was almost determined to choose Angela, but since yesterday Katherine has become an exemplary housewife.”
On Saturday, the party in honor of Rocha Constructions takes place in the Rocha Hotel party pavilion. The occasion was also given for the opening of the same hotel.All the guests parade through the exquisite space in their gala attire. The party was set to the song “Fields of Gold” by Sting.Maggiezine photographers went out of their way to capture the best moments. The next issue would feature the party as a cover article to attract readers.Josias posed alone for the photos. This was not the time to cause love disputes or disagreements by posing with Melissa.Melissa, in turn, entered the pavilion wearing an imposing red sleeveless dress, with a shawl of the same color covering her shoulders. Kelvin was beside her looking sexy in his tuxedo.Angela understood that Josias deserved rest and didn't insist on clinging to him like a gecko. She and Gustavo sat at a table with David to nibble on snacks.“Aren't you going to take pictures with David's father?” Gustavo asks her.“I know ver
Melissa and Kelvin sit at the table where Daryl, Diane, and Shirley are. Melissa notices the sad face of the future mother-in-law.“Shirley, is something wrong with you?”Shirley disguises, “I didn't find my shortbread cookies.”Everyone laughs.Daryl comments, “Mom, if I wanted to offer us your cookies, you should have spoken in advance.”Shirley puts on a smirk, “Alright son, I was just kidding.”Beto walks past them and just stares at Diane in a wild and bestial way. Diane felt pregnant with just his predatory gaze, and she shivers down her spine.“Are you ok, my dear?” Daryl asks.“Roberto Reis is here. How did Josias have the nerve to invite him?”“It's because of Pedro,” Melissa answered, she had heard the question.“His son? Then they should have invited him without his father.” Diane snorts.Melissa is not yet aware of the confusion involving Daryl, Diane, and Beto.Before she could ask anything, Josias appears in the middle of the pavilion with a microphone.“Testing, one, tw
Katherine comes out of the ladies' room completely bewildered, as if she has labyrinthitis or is drunk. She visualizes Jock wearing his navy blue tuxedo and rushes up to him.“You mean the redneck managed to buy a jacket to come to the gents' party?” She speaks mockingly.Jock suppresses the urge to slap her, “Why are you always so mean to me? What did I do wrong to you?”“You agreed to marry me when I wanted to be Josias's wife.” Katherine snatches a glass of champagne from a waiter to someone else.“First, I obeyed your father's command; second, you are a hot girl and I was dying to have marital relations with you. Don’t condemn me for being a man.”Katherine drinks the champagne in one go, “Argh! You are disgusting! You never speak to me again!”“But it was you who addressed me!” Jock retorts. Has champagne ever made Katherine drunk?Not yet, but Katherine goes on drinking glass after glass, without measuring the consequences.Meanwhile, the DJ put on a more classical and danceable
Josias visits the Rocha Hotel since he didn’t have a day off for the staff. In the management room, Eugenio gathered David, Benjamin, and Sybil. “Why is that mere cook present at this meeting?” David asked disparagingly. “Because that’s how our boss ordered it,” Eugenio replied dryly. “I didn’t say anything and didn’t call this meeting, so if you’ll excuse me...” Benjamin and Sybil were horrified to see David leaving the meeting just like that. However, when he opened the door, David came face to face with his father. “David, where do you think you’re going?” “DAD!” David exclaimed, extremely surprised. “I didn’t know you were coming!” “Didn’t Eugenio tell you I was coming?” Josias asked with a scowl. David understood who the ‘boss’ was. Benjamin and Sybil felt vindicated. Josias sat down at the desk, taking Eugenio’s seat, while the manager remained humbly standing. “Very well,” Josias began the meeting in a formal tone, “I’m here just to make things crystal clear. First
Melissa and Mary visit the Mountain Café.“A guava juice for me, Mr. Mountain!” Mary requested, smiling sweetly.“Of course, my princess!” Rodrigo replied, thinking Mary was very adorable. “Neil will make a delicious cup for you.”“Thank you. But the princess is Carol,” Mary responded, striking a serious pose.Melissa and Rodrigo laughed heartily. Mary is something else...“Rod, how has it been managing the café in your father’s absence?” Melissa asked seriously.Rodrigo served a baked chicken pastry with ketchup to Mary. “I'm getting by, Melissa. Josias was here earlier, more concerned about my loss than his own, as always. Isn’t he supposed to be resting?”Melissa nodded. “My husband is like that: he only relaxes when all of us are relaxed.”“An impossible mission because of certain people.”Neilton approached with the glass. “Who ordered a guava juice?”“I DID!” Mary grabbed the glass and went to a table.Melissa leaned forward, “Neil, Rod, how are Daryl and Diane? Behaving?”“Cont
At João Paulo’s house, he and Josias were about to have a significant conversation.“Walter, do you want to go with your mom to the kitchen?” João Paulo asked, looking at Helen. “I think she made some walnut cake.”“It was carrot cake,” Sandra replied, already getting up from the couch.“You got it.” Helen appeared and picked up Walter in her arms. “Let’s let Dad and Uncle Josias talk.”“Bye, Uncle!” Walter waved goodbye to Josias.“Bye-bye, I want a piece later!” Josias chuckled.Once alone with João Paulo, Josias became serious. “Don’t let anything or anyone ruin this family scenario, little brother.”“I’m fine. No one wants to ruin anything,” João Paulo replied casually.“Well, I hope David hasn’t caused you any trouble.”“He probably doesn’t even know I exist, man.” João Paulo shrugged.“But I stopped by Café Montanha and found out that the Vasquez family has replaced the Mountain family as the ‘annoying people.’”João Paulo sighed in disappointment. “Yeah. They—”The doorbell ran
Josias visits Café Montanha for a coffee and finds Rodrigo there. “Rod, how have you been?” Rodrigo is taken aback. “How am I? You’re the one who suffered a horrific loss recently!” “But you also lost your father. We’re in the same situation,” Josias explained as he sat down on a stool. “I’m okay, Josias. Life has a way of cheering me up. For example, I’m back at the diner after Thierry decided to take his place at the supermarket.” Rodrigo smiled. “What about the photography studio?” Josias smiled back. “It’s still going to operate, and Thierry will make periodic visits. But he’s going to appoint one of the staff to manage the studio.” Rodrigo served a pizza pastry to Josias. “Thank you. Well, I hope everything is alright between you two. I need to visit Rosemary and meet Jean Luc — is that the name of the baby?” “Yes, the name of the supermarket heir. Meanwhile, Frank will be here or somewhere else.” Josias interjected, “If Frank wants to work at Rocha Constructions, count
At the Rocha Mansion, Josias receives a visit from Benjamin. “How have you been, Ben? Any news about your parents?” The two embrace. “Actually, that’s what I want to talk about.” Benjamin scratches the back of his neck. The embrace breaks. “Let’s go to my office.” The two gentlemen enter Josias’s imposing office. “Any problems with Adolfo?” Josias asks, becoming serious. “Not yet, but I hope not to have any,” Benjamin replies with some sadness. “You know, Josias, what happened with your father made me think about my family, about how important it is for all of us to be together in the final moments.” “That’s true. João Paulo can tell you that better than I can.” “I think you can say it too. Vernon was the father you never had.” Benjamin clears his throat. “So, I’ve been looking into some hotels and realized there’s a demand at the Rocha Hotel in Victoria.” Josias looks at Benjamin, understanding where he’s going with this. “You want to go to Victoria to be close to your pare
Someone rings the doorbell at João Paulo’s house. The homeowner goes to answer after taking a shower and putting on clean clothes. But when he opened the door, João Paulo felt like slamming it in the visitor’s face. “Don’t be rude!” Erasmo exclaimed. “What do you want, you old bore?” João Paulo shot back. Erasmo barged into João Paulo’s foyer. “The mourning is over. Let’s pick up where we left off.” “Are you crazy? Who decides how long mourning lasts? We just got back from the trip!” “Not exactly, it’s been a day. Life goes on, my friend!” Erasmo replied mockingly. João Paulo remained serious. “But I don’t want to continue living this way, where fights and intrigues are the order of the day. Mr. Vasquez, you have a business to run, and I have a family to raise.” “But you found time to slap my son-in-law when he was here defending his family, didn’t you?” “Alan was extremely rude, but that was some time ago.” João Paulo frowned. “I don’t feel the same anger as before.” “So a
At the Vasquez Mansion, Alan could hardly believe that the people were thinking about more intrigues and disputes. “Guys, don’t you understand that I even forgot the reason I slapped Uncle João Paulo?” “Ridiculous!” Erasmo gestured. “You just maintained respect because it was a difficult occasion. But now, the mourning is OVER!” “Do you think João Paulo will rest, dear?” Sofia asked, sitting next to him. Alan shook his head. “If Uncle João Paulo doesn’t want to rest, then he is truly despicable. But my dad is back in town. He wouldn’t dare to do that.” The news should have been uplifting, but the members of the Vasquez family merely exchanged silent glances. With Josias present, it’s quite likely that he will put a stop to their fighting. Alan turned to Olivia. “In the meantime, we should celebrate the recovery of my dear mother-in-law!” Olivia and Sofia smiled awkwardly because of the secret they were keeping. “That’s right, let’s celebrate life!” Erasmo wrapped his arm arou
Josias Rocha and his family returned to Lagoon City. Those who were waiting for them stayed in the mansion and greeted them cheerfully in the foyer. “WELCOME BACK!” Melissa, crying, embraced her parents, William, and the twins fervently. Josias greeted them with a light smile. “Where’s João Paulo?” William asked. “He went straight to his house. His kids needed to rest from the trip.” Melissa wiped her tears with her fingers. “Alan went straight to his mansion. Especially now that his mother-in-law has woken up from the coma.” “That was a scare; I thought we’d have two funerals,” Simeon commented. Everyone headed to the living room. “Is Paris very beautiful, Mom?” Mary asked. “Yes, sweetheart, it’s stunning. We’ll go shopping together another time, okay?” “Do you have pictures?” Ignacio asked anxiously. “Yes, son, we took some pictures.” Melissa sat on the couch, pulling out a package from her bag. Josias sat in the armchair, taking a deep breath. William approached him.
At Café Montanha, Daryl walks in for a coffee and finds Rodrigo at the counter while Neilton serves the others. “Hey, are we back to the old tradition?” “Don’t be a clown, man.” Rodrigo laughs. “Yes, Thierry is at the supermarket, as we agreed.” “Hi, Neil. Can you make me a cappuccino while I enjoy a natural sandwich?” Daryl places his order. “Sure thing, Mr. Mountain.” Neilton heads to the back. Daryl sits on the stool. “So, how do you feel after getting back to your element?” “I don’t regret at all helping my dear wife at the supermarket, Daryl,” Rodrigo admitted while preparing the natural sandwich. “I’m not talking about regrets.” Daryl joked. “But it’s undeniable that after Uncle Francisco’s passing, you prefer to stay here, carrying on the legacy he left.” “Just like Crystal Blue.” Rodrigo smiled. “Hey, I’m aware that you’re looking to open another restaurant in Sunset Village. Do you think you can manage it? How’s the prospecting going?” Daryl picks up the sandwich but