Melissa is startled by Alan’s sudden question.“Son, do you want to know if I noticed adulterous conduct between Cláudio Guzman and Olivia Vasquez?”“Maybe, if you had noticed, that photo had some truth to it,” Alan responds.“No, son, I didn’t stop to pay attention to that.” Melissa shakes her head, “Of course, we always suspected that Olivia Vasquez had a crush on Cláudio Guzman, especially with what happened at the fashion show in 2003. But, son, I definitely didn’t notice any of that at this year’s festival. I’ve been pretty busy, and I trusted Olivia wouldn’t do anything like that.”“Yes, she was left out of the fashion show last year because of the confusion.” Alan rubs his chin, “Well, Sofia doesn’t want to believe that her mother willingly got involved with another guy. In fact, she says that my future in-laws are increasingly romantically linked.”Melissa smiles, “That’s great. Now, son, as for your sister...”“Mom, Carol admitted that she’s been pretending this whole time to
Another day dawned in the glorious city of Lagoon City.Beto has a pleasant surprise when he finds Benjamin in the lobby. The radio doesn’t stop playing, as per tradition, now playing the song “We Believe”, by Good Charlotte.“This radio has no respite, huh? It’s the same device as when I lived here!”Beto laughs, “And so it will continue, Ben. Something tells me the building will become haunted if I change the stereo or stop the tradition. My father was a very mischievous man.”“OK, can we get down to business?” Benjamin deposits his documents on top of the counter.“Why are you giving me your documents?” Beto narrows his eyes.“You’re supposed to register me as a new resident here. I want to maintain my family tradition.”Beto starts to laugh. Flávia comes down the stairs, wearing a pantsuit to work at the orphanage.“Hello, little brother! What brings you here?”Benjamin turns to her, “Hi, Flávia. I’m happy to meet you. I decided to live permanently close to you. You know, the kitc
In Europe Garden, João Paulo and Helen slept together and spooned on the double bed in their room, located on the second floor of the new house. They maintained a smile as if their dream was something pleasant.However, what they enjoyed in dreams came to an end with the incessant ringing of the front doorbell.João Paulo grunts and rubs his eyes. Helen grimaces and crawls under the blankets.“I don’t want to go down, honey. Not now!” Helen grumbles.“But who is bothering us so soon?” João Paulo asks without being aware that it’s already ten o’clock in the morning.The doorbell rang again. Even though it imitated celestial bells, the fact that it was constantly pressed irritated the ears of the owners of the house.João Paulo gets up and goes to the balcony so upset that he forgot he was naked.When he appeared on the railing, he saw Sofia.Sofia took a few steps back when she felt that she was being watched and visualized her new neighbor. Even though he was visible to her up to his
At Café Montanha, Felipe enters as if he were looking for someone. Indeed, he only calms down and smiles when he sees Caroline sitting on the stool, eating donuts, drinking coffee, and talking to Neilton.“I’m glad everything is clear, Miss Rocha.” Neilton says animatedly, “The racist, promiscuous old woman died deservedly, rather than the melodramatic suicide they tried to trick us into. The adulterous husband died at the hands of Josias Rocha, your precious father. Do you want more perfect revenge than that?”“He didn’t intend to take revenge like that.” Caroline comments, “At that moment, he only intended to save Mrs. Cardozo. How is she going to sign her name now?”Felipe approaches them. “Pour me a cappuccino, Neil.”“Yes, sir...” Neil can’t bring himself to go before asking, “Are you going to stay here?”“You mean if I’m going to stay in town?” Felipe sits on the stool next to Caroline, “Yes, I’m going to continue living here. I will probably be promoted, according to Miss Rocha
At 6:45 pm, at Crystal Blue, Felipe is shocked when he sees Amoreira enter wearing a tuxedo and bow tie. He is guided to the most reserved table in the restaurant.Felipe approaches the detective, “Mr. Amoreira? What do you think you’re doing here?”Amoreira is shocked, “Huh? I have a date here, can’t I?”“But how?” Felipe should get involved in his affairs, but... “Ah, I think I know what happened. You got a bonus for unraveling the mystery of my uncle Ulysses and you decided to spend it all—”Felipe was going to say ‘with a call girl’, but he choked on the words when he saw Amoreira’s company arrive.Adelaide looked breathtaking in a burgundy, waisted dress with lace sleeves, and a discreet neckline on her right leg. She smiled when she met Amoreira.Felipe, however, still hasn’t accepted the idea. “Aunt Addie? How did you manage to date another guy after...?”“Hey, young man, are you the one who will take our order?” Amoreira asks with slight irony.He is awestruck by Adelaide’s be
The next day, Flávia notices that Reuben is meditating at the breakfast table. The cup of coffee remains untouched and the bread with cheese and margarine is at risk of flies landing on it.“Son, if you don’t eat soon, you’ll let that fly lay eggs in your bread. It’s going to be something disgusting.”“I’m sorry, Mom.” Reuben gestures and swats away the fly, “I’m very worried.”“Oh, if you didn’t tell me first,” Flávia teases him, “How can I help you?”“That boy who is helping Grandma Isabel and Grandpa Frank...”“Neil,” Flávia responds.“He’s reliable?”Flávia noisily sets down her cup on her saucer, “Son, if you’re also going to distrust Neil because he’s black...”“I didn’t say that!” Reuben gestures, biting into the bread and continuing with his mouth full, “I want to know if I can trust his perception.”“Perception?” Flávia is confused.“He must meet Carol at the Café.” Reuben explains, “He must know how she behaves when she’s with that suspicious guy.”“I can’t give any opinion
At Café Mountain, Neilton is preparing for his first customers. Francisco turns on the radio and the song “Only One”, by Yellowcard, fills the room.Isabel replenished the display with new baked snacks. “Neil, ready for another day of honest work?”“Always ready, Mrs. Mountain.” Neil smiles, “Hmm... how’s the family?”“The family?” Francisco scratches his forehead.“After the incident,” Neilton explains himself, feeling nosy, “OK, it’s none of my business...”“Well, we don’t mind answering, do we, Izzy?” Francisco shrugs, “We’re moving on with our lives. According to Maggie, Adelaide went out last night with Detective Amoreira.”“The detective?” Neilton finds this very funny, “Oh, God... The ironies of life... Can you imagine a wedding emerging in the middle of this tragic story?”Isabel crosses her hands, dreamily, “If it were in ‘Love Spins the World’, that’s definitely what would happen. In fact, I think I’m going to present this as an idea for the next storyline for 2006. LCN has
At the police station, Adelaide visits Amoreira’s office.“Hilton...”“Hello, Adelaide!” Amoreira stands up and greets her with chivalry, “It’s good to see you. Can I help you?”“I want to know how your children reacted to our meeting last night.” Adelaide is serious.“Ah...” Amoreira closes the door, “Do you want to know if my children were jealous of their evil stepmother? Don’t worry, Adelaide! On the contrary... They asked if we ended the night like in romantic films...”Adelaide blushes as if she were a chaste teenager. “By God, no... It’s still early for these things. I was educated by the Old School.”“Me too, but nowadays, young people first make love and then ask each other’s names...” Amoreira clears his throat, “If I can call it love. Every day, a poor teenage girl in tears comes here, informing us that she was raped.”Adelaide sits down, “And you have a daughter.”“Well, I told you that she is meeting and seeing Caio Campos. I hope they fall in love and start dating for re
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