Lagoon City's most famous supermarket reopened and was renamed Lafayette Supermarket.
Customers gathered at the entrance and poured in to see the new look of the place. Rocha Constructions left its mark on the ice-white painting, the electrical installation of powerful fluorescent lamps, and the front garden to beautify the place.
Green Day's song “Warning” encouraged customers to fill their shopping carts.
Jacques Lafayette was interviewed by João Paulo.
“You are new in town. What do you hope to achieve in Lagoon City?”
“The city welcomed us very well.” Jacques looks excitedly at the large flow of shoppers, “We hope to show service and offer quality products to our loyal customers.”
“So you are not going to sell expired rump at the butcher shop?” João Paulo jokes, proving to be Vernon's son.
“No, never!” Jacques responds scared. Was it like this in
At Marçal Publishing, Josias confronts Bernardo and Maggie for the plan they devised for Gabriela to take Josias away from Kate.Bernardo clears his throat unnecessarily, “Cah, Cah... Josias, calm down. The story is not like that. Gabriela was pretty upset when she was beaten nearly to death. But the article she wrote was not intended to damage your marriage.”“No?” Josias is slow to believe.Maggie responds, “That's right, Josias. If anyone was to blame for this, it was me. I approved the article. We researched and found out about Mr. Guzman and how he was being accused of sexually harassing the late Katherine.”Josias nods, “I also thought the article would serve to demoralize the swim instructor, but Kate has become a target as well. She was so desperate that she could never tell me exactly what happened. Then... I found out she had overdone it. But I still believe that Gabriela took advantage of this ga
João Paulo enters his office and finds Josias waiting for him.“Hey, bro!” Josias greets him.“Josias, what are you doing here?” João Paulo goes to his computer, “I just came from the Lafayette Supermarket. I did a nice interview with the owner. The old man is a good guy, and he promised not to sell expired rump.”Josias chuckles, “You said the previous management did this?”“No, it was more like a warning.” João Paulo blinks.“Keep it up, and you will become our father's exact copy.” Josias jokingly states, “I had a chat with your bosses.”“About Gabriela?” João Paulo turns on the computer.“Yes.” Josias breaks the smile, “They swear they didn't know about Gabriela's vile intentions, but they confessed that they gave incentives.”João Paulo frowns, “Even though they kn
Josias is stunned by Melissa saying that people want the perfect and original couple back.He approaches her slowly and then takes both Melissa's hands candidly, “Melissa...”Melissa senses what Josias is going to say and hurries in, “Josias, I didn't mean to give the wrong impression. Yes, your Mother dreams of us being husband and wife again, but my mother is fervently opposed. She said: one more love affair would ruin your reputation.”Josias smiles gently, “No one would dare say a negative word about you, Melissa.”“But… Josias, I don't want to unfairly ruin Kelvin's heart. What about my children that I had with him? Mary and Ignacio will become bitter as David is.”“Don't worry about David, I sent him back to Rio de Janeiro.” Josias shrugs as if this is of minor importance.“But I worry about my children.” Melissa insists, “In fact, Alan wants to move b
2001Josias was in front of the Uélton Freire building, in Vila Velha, giving the opening speech. He doesn't usually do this on every building that Rocha Constructions puts up, but this one was special.“As you know, Uélton Freire was my best friend.” Josias says, “We met in the favela and together we grew professionally and economically. Like me, Uélton also got married and left a great son to continue his legacy. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to pay homage to someone dear that I miss. I hope the residents of this building understand my affection and my dedication.”Everyone applauds and photographers enjoy the flashes. Josias nods and steps down from the makeshift platform.Alfred poses for more photos with huge scissors and cuts the red ribbon symbolizing the inauguration. The Uélton Freire building is being treated like a tourist attraction.It’s said that the purchase and sale valu
In the Mountain Penthouse, Melissa is melancholy in the living room, listening to Dido's song “Thank You” on the radio. She slowly sips a cup of chamomile tea. So slowly that the tea went cold.Simeon and Dora approach her.“Daughter, let's take advantage of Kelvin being at the restaurant.” Simeon sits in the armchair, “It's time we had that revealing talk.”Melissa tenses, “What do you want to talk about?”Dora notices her, “Wow, why did you get a stiff back? Am I witnessing guilt?”“I don't know what you two are talking about,” Melissa responds nonchalantly.“You do know, young lady.” Simeon frowns, “I know you love Kelvin and want to remain his wife. But did you need to cut any ties with Josias? We weren't invited to the end-of-year festivities and we weren't even invited to the opening of the Uélton Freire building. Our grandchildren, however
At Crystal Blue, Diane finds it extremely unfair that Jane got pregnant before her.“That's not fair!” Diane exclaims, “Do you know how long I've been trying to have an heir to this restaurant?”Octavio and Jane are stunned.“My friend,” Jane responds after seconds of shock, “I thought you were going to say ‘trying for a baby’.”“It's all the same!” Diane whinnies.“No, it's not the same thing.” Octavio corrects her, “You can have the baby and sell the restaurant.”Diane cackles like she's the witch of Salem, “Ha, ha, ha, ha! Daryl will NEVER sell out the fanciest, hippest restaurant in town. Crystal Blue is our livelihood!”“Well then, you are trying to experience the miracle of life with the wrong perspective.” Octavio teaches her, “Once you get that thing out of your mind, the baby will come naturally. Now,
At the hotel where Josias and his troupe are staying, he finds his children having a snack in the pool area. The venue is set to the song “I'm Like a Bird”, by Nelly Furtado.“Children, I'm glad I found you!” Josias approaches excitedly, “I need to communicate some good news.”Alan finishes drinking his sugarcane juice, “Speak up, Dad!”Josias sits down on one of the stools, “I've decided to rekindle my friendship with your mother. In fact,” Josias smiles like a boy, “I'm seriously considering asking her to marry me again.”Alan and Caroline don't know whether to applaud or complain. They are in shock for a few seconds.Caroline is the first to chime in, “Dad... we know you've always loved our mother, and it would be awesome if you two called off the divorce, but...”“But there's the fact that you like Kelvin.” Josias completes.“It's
In the Mountain penthouse, the mood is suffocating. Kelvin and Melissa need to have a conversation they've both been avoiding at all costs."Kelvin, you have every reason to hate me.""Melissa, why did you do that?" Kelvin is scowling, "I didn't ask you to make such a monstrous sacrifice. I don't think it ever crossed my mind to subject you to such humiliation.""That's why it was easier for me to make that decision: it came from me. You don't have to worry about anything else, Kelvin.""How not?" Kelvin despairs and approaches her, "You think I should be insensitive to the fact that you lied to Josias to stop him from confessing to you?""Kelvin...""And as for the fact that you considered for a few seconds the possibility of abandoning me and your children for yet another fleeting adventure—"Melissa gets offended, "Wait a minute: what a fleeting adventure would that be? Kelvin, be aware that if I agreed to return to Josias, o
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