At the Lafayette Mansion, the family ate breakfast in burial silence. The Christmas tree was set up and decorated, but that didn't cheer up the family members.
“I don't know how I'm going to get through the holidays without my son.” Ingrid is sorry.
“Maybe he isn’t even thinking about us anymore, guys.” Nadia grumbles, “I had to hire Claudio to replace him.”
“Claudio?” Jacques is surprised, “Are we that close yet?”
Nadia blushes shyly, “No, Dad. We are just co-workers.”
“What about Rodrigo Mountain?” Ingrid seems not to have heard her daughter, “I liked him.”
“Why the past tense, Mom?” Nadia despairs, “I like him too, and I haven't discarded him as a friend.”
“We’re not speaking as a friend.” Ingrid smiles as she drinks her coffee with milk and mint, “We are talking about the man who wil
2002Josias is reading an e-mail from Caroline on the office computer located in his mansion. Alan enters the enclosure and finds his father smiling.“What’s up, Dad? Excited for 2002? You will be forty years old!”“Schi!” Josias puts his finger to his lips, “Do you want everyone to know?”“Everyone will find out anyway.” Alan chuckles, “Especially whoever bought the biography.”“Go on, keep mocking, age will catch up with you too.” Josias tickles his son, “Beto is going to be fifty.”“Thank God, it looked like he wasn’t going to arrive sooner.” Alan sighs.“Daryl Mountain will also be forty, we are the same age,” Josias remembers with a smile.Upon pronouncing the enemy’s name, William suddenly appears, “Hello! The butler let me in! But why are we pronouncing the name of the villain?”
Beto is surprised by Patrick’s decision. The tall, strong, and resolute boy no longer looked like that teenager in love with his ‘daughter’.“Pat, do you want to explain to me what’s going on?”“Mr. Reis, my father is being transferred to the Serra team.” Patrick informs him, “And with that, he will move there.”“Dr. Antenor went there too.” Beto mentions, “But what about you?”“I’ll turn 18. According to the contract you printed, I am entitled to own an apartment or studio apartment, correct?”“Very correct.” Beto blinks.“Therefore, I’ll continue to live here and work. I graduated from high school, remember that.”“Yes, I remember, congratulations.” Beto holds out his hand and Patrick shakes it awkwardly, “But won’t you be alone a lot in a two-bedroom apartment?”&ld
After the meeting ended, Mayor Tobias approaches Josias.“Hey, hey, hey, buddy! Come here, there is something I want to discuss with you.”“I’m listening,” Josias replies between chuckles.“First, congratulations on forty years.” Tobias gently states, “Don’t worry, it’s not as scary as I thought.”“Thanks.” Josias laughs.“Secondly, speaking of homeless street children, I have another project that needs to be put into practice. We require another orphanage in the city. I was thinking of honoring it with... how about your best friend, the funny one?”Josias feels a lump in his throat, “Uélton Freire Orphanage?”“Yes, excellent!” Tobias nods, “This shelter would specialize in boys. According to research carried out by my advisors and the Housing Department, the majority of street children are boys.”
Jacques and Ingrid are passing through the interior of the supermarket, talking about the meeting they had with the mayor.“My love, let’s help the homeless children of the city.” Jacques announces, “One of the orphanages needs food donations.”“And we have plenty of food and drink to donate, right?” Ingrid gestures to the crowded gondolas.“Yes, that way we feel good about being able to help others.” Jacques nods satisfied.“Let’s talk to Thierry then. He said he wants to take care of advertising and publicity, right?”“It’s his chance to sign a beauty from the modeling agency.” Jacques laughs, thinking of Nadia getting mad at the commercial.Thus, the father and mother move to the back of the supermarket. The loudspeaker plays the song “Hands Clean” by Alanis Morissette, encouraging shoppers to buy.But when Jacques and Ingrid pass
In the Mountain Penthouse, Diane is in the kitchen preparing steamed vegetables and ravioli. Daryl appears in the doorway with a Lafayette grocery bag.“Honey, I brought that red wine you love so much for us to celebrate!”Diane widens her eyes and turns to her husband, “Did we... make it?”“Yes, we managed to get selected for an interview—”Diane immediately turns the beam into a frown, “NO! Throw that bottle in the trash! We’re not going to celebrate anything!”Daryl approaches her, leaving the bag on one of the islands, “Why not, honey?”“I thought we were going to welcome our son.” Diane frets, “What you mean is that we are going to have an interviewer or an inspector who will still evaluate us, to see if we’re decent and responsible people to adopt someone.”“Exactly,” Daryl is confused, “Honey, you know how the
The next day, Patrick returns from the bakery to Teodoro’s building. The radio is now playing the song “In the End” by Linkin Park.Pedro appears in the school uniform, “Now I’m going to school alone. You’ve graduated, and Rosemary is doing her senior year of high school with Caroline at a posh Capital school.”“Lucky for her.” Patrick shrugs, “May she not get pregnant with a preppy over there. Oops! I forgot, her thing is beggars!”Pedro takes a deep breath, “Pat, I know how upset you are—”“No, man, you don’t, and I hope you never do!” Patrick exclaims, shaking the bag of bread, “May your girlfriend become your wife and mother of many of your children to continue the Reis family. In my case, the Nogueira family will become extinct!”“What it is!” Pedro laughs, “You are a handsome dude, there will be many females knee
In the lobby of the Teodoro Building, Thierry realized that fourteen-year-old Pedro Chaves Reis is mature enough to have a heart-to-heart talk with him.“Pedro, I know you are nervous, but allow me to explain.”“No, I’m not nervous.” Pedro explains, “I’m disgusted, indignant, revolted, but nervous, not so much. Nervousness would mean punching you, but I don’t have enough muscle mass for that yet.”“Why do you think everything would be solved by punching me?” Thierry leans against the news bulletin board, “Punching me won’t bring Rosemary back.”“And you’re dying to get her back, correct?” Pedro pounces.“She never needed to leave here in the first place.” Thierry shakes his head, “How come the family didn’t convince her to stay? You guys talk so much about the mother who is in Victoria...”“She’d rat
At the Mountain Penthouse, Daryl is nervous and embarrassed in front of the inspector who has come to ask some questions. She is in her forties, wears glasses, has her hair pulled back stiffly in an old-fashioned bun, and is dressed in sober clothes. A clipboard and red pen rested in her arms.She glanced at the living room clock and sighed. Avril Lavigne’s song “Complicated” didn’t cheer her up.“Mr. Mountain, we definitely got off on the wrong foot.” She mutters, “If Mrs. Mountain doesn’t have the proper commitment to receive me—”“Calm down, Mrs. Brito.” Daryl was buttoning a dress shirt as he was at the pool.Mrs. Brito pretended not to, but she checked Daryl’s physique as he wore his shirt and smiled out of the corner of her mouth.The bell rings and Daryl goes to answer it, tucking the bottom of his shirt into his dress pants.Opening the door, Diane gasps, &
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