At Crystal Blue, Maggie enters the restaurant and goes straight to the bar.
“Diane, make me a martini on the rocks, please!”
Diane turns to her sister-in-law, “And may I know why you are so desperate?”
“The usual: problems involving Gabriela.”
Diane fixes the drink, frowning, “Did you get back in touch with that whore?”
Maggie sighs, “She called my desk instead of my cell phone. She’s pretty smart, isn’t she? Anyway, I listened to her despair and thought maybe she wanted to vent her sins. MAYBE she wanted to repent and make things right. So I decided to give it a try.”
“Why did you think Gabriela MAYBE regret it?” Diane passes her the drink.
“Because yesterday, Bernie heard João Paulo announce to Josias that he was going to ask for a divorce.” Maggie takes the glass and takes a few sips while Diane gapes in awe.
“Maggie,
Jane didn’t understand why Octavio was suddenly given a month of vacation off the HR schedule. When Octavio tried to explain, she shrugged.“At least you help me take care of Augusto.”“The problem is, if word gets out, will Daryl Mountain try to kill me while I’m at home?” Octavio alarms her, “What if he does something to the baby?”Maternal instinct spoke louder in Jane, “If he dares to touch my son’s hair, he will know the fury of a protective mother!”Octavio smiles and looks at Augusto sleeping in the crib, “Don’t worry, honey. Nothing will happen.”“Nothing will happen AFTER you tell Josias everything,” Jane advises him.Octavio, however, shakes his head, “No, Josias needs to worry about his company. Let us, the Mottas, face the Mountain boldly.”Jane snuggles into his chest. It won’t be an easy battle.******
At General Hospital, Gabriela enters Dr. Silvana to talk about Sandra.Dr. Silvana is curious, “Good morning, Mrs. Queiroz. Do you want to take some exams?”Gabriela sits down, “Yes, I want to do a DNA test.”Dr. Silvana is paralyzed for a few seconds, then comments, “Hmm... And who would the test be on?”“My daughter Sandra.” Gabriela says quietly, “I want to know if she really is my current husband’s daughter.”It’s Gabriela’s tranquility that gets Dr. Silvana alarmed, “Mrs. Queiroz, I remember that we did a DNA test with the help of my colleague, Dr. Antenor, and the test—”“I know the result of THAT test.” Gabriela interrupts her, “But I want to perform a second test. Call Dr. Antenor for us to formalize this crap soon.”Dr. Silvana gets irritated, “Mrs. Queiroz, a DNA test cannot be requested as if you wer
At the LCN premises, Vernon is on his way to lunch when he finds Gabriela walking in the opposite direction. When she approaches her father-in-law, she lowers her head and tries to pass by.But Vernon spots her and grabs her by the arm, “Where do you think you’re going?”“No, LET ME GO!” Gabriela screams, attracting the attention of passers-by.“Stop the scandal! It looks like I’m going to rob you.” Vernon pulls her back into his office while Gabriela tries in vain to free herself.Inside his office, Vernon throws her inside and slams the door shut, “Now you want to answer me why you missed the whole morning workhours?”“I don’t owe you any satisfaction, only my director!” Gabriela screams at the top of her lungs.“That’s where you’re wrong. I’m your supervisor. And I can tell the director about your disappearances. How is the article—
At the Rocha Hotel, Elza tells Jane that Daryl’s threat cannot go unpunished. The two friends continue to talk.“Daryl Mountain is crossing the line!” Elza exclaims, “I remember how they insinuated that Josias should divorce Kate when they were still well off. Afterward, they befriended Gabriela, effectively ruining my son’s marriage, and symbolically causing the deaths of Kate and my grandson J.J. And we have this inexplicable war between you, even though Jack married Veronica.”Jane takes a deep breath, “It’s not inexplicable, Elza. Do you remember, between 1997 and 1998, when Daryl hinted that Josias should pass the succession of Rocha Constructions to David instead of Alan? Well, Octavio was the first to realize that Daryl was nothing more than a schemer. That’s where our feud started.”“But that was years ago, and Josias has decided that Alan will succeed him.” Elza says, “Jane, c
The next day, Tiago and Carmen visit Octavio to find out the news. Octavio is teaching Augusto to eat with a spoon.“That’s it, son, hold tight... come on, come on...”Augusto misses the aim and drops food on his apron, but he laughs with cuteness.“You think it’s fun, huh?” Octavio pretends to be angry.How not to love this precious son?The bell rings and he goes to answer, “Wait a minute, champ.”Augusto didn’t wait and started to touch the food with his little fingers.The living room radio was playing Phil Collins’s song “Can’t Stop Loving You.” Octavio answers the door for the Bento couple.“Hello, Father of the Year!” Tiago declares, “We’ve come to visit the twice-born baby!”“Huh?” Octavio doesn’t know what to say.Carmen locates him, “We didn’t go to the hospital, but w
At Octavio’s house, he and Tiago discuss the problem that still hangs in the air.Tiago, after long seconds of suspense and with a mysterious smile, decides to answer, “No, our master doesn’t know yet.”“Phew, that’s good...”“But it’s not for lack of opportunity!” Tiago raises his index finger, “Octavio, stop the delay and tell Josias today. I cannot admit that someone who benefits from our master’s protection would dare to do such things.”Octavio shrugs, “Tiago, the more time I spend with my son, the more I suspect that everything Daryl told me is nothing more than a bruised ego. Seriously speaking: what could he do to hurt me?”“Millions of things.” Tiago lists with his fingers, “He can hire henchmen to beat you, rape Jane, kidnap Augusto, or arrange for Josias to fire you as Chief Architect... Hell is the limit.”“The
Tiago and Carmen leave each for their destination.They get in the car and Tiago starts the engine, “I’ll drop you off at Teodoro Building first.”“Thank you, my darling.” Carmen thanks him.Tiago starts driving in his black car. He turns on the radio and the song “Electrical Storm” by U2 fills the vehicle.“Is Octavio going to tell Josias about Daryl’s threat?” Carmen asks interestedly.“He claims that he can solve this problem without bothering our master,” Tiago responds with an attentive eye on the traffic.Carmen shakes her head, “It’s not just a matter of handling it like it’s a mere insult, a bad word. It was a threat, an unwarranted one. Why would Octavio and Jane joke about such a serious matter? Just to ruin Daryl’s party? I can’t even imagine what would happen to me if that happen to our James...” Carmen feels some tightness
At Crystal Blue, the people in the restaurant got the biggest fright.As night shift waiters prepared for service, cooks made the mise en place, and Daryl and Diana chatted at the bar, all the lights went out.Felipe screamed in fright, “YAU! It’s Armageddon!”“Calm down, people, it was just a power outage!” Daryl takes charge, “Light candles and lanterns while the electricity company fixes this.”Diane looks at the windowpane, “Honey, I don’t think it’s an electricity company repair. Look.”Daryl also looks at the windowpane and finds, to his surprise, that the streetlights are still on.He goes outside the restaurant and notes that there’s still power in the other buildings... in the entire city, except Crystal Blue.“But what is going on here?” Daryl returns inside, “Anyone looking at us like that will think we didn’t pay the electricity
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