Warning: there are many, many spoilers about the Spanish drama Velvet ahead.
Language Point: Fulada, meaning tart or whore. They never teach the swears in Spanish class.
Emilio returns the briefcase, then goes down to talk to Ana. He reminds her that his job and his life is on the line, too. Ana explains that she told Alberto to marry Cristina to save the store. Many tears ensue.
It’s morning at Velvet. Pedro and Manolito get ready for the day. Rita comes by to say that the boy needs to be in school and that Pedro needs to consider what to do next. Luisa discovers that Juan has left. She doesn’t know where he is. Raul de la Riva is taking charge in the workroom. Alberto shows up at the store, hung over. He finds the briefcase. Clara comes into the office, and Mateo kisses her while sexy music plays.
Finally, everyone is in place and ready for lots of drama.
Alberto starts by asking Emilio the name of the blackmailer. Emilio says that he keeps his secrets, refusing to tell. It’s payday, at last. Doña Blanca calls Luisa’s name, but she’s not there to get her envelope.
Ana goes to Alberto’s office to ask for help finding Juan. Alberto says that he had seen Ana the night before with her date, and he now knows how Ana feels when she sees him with Cristina. “No,” Ana says, “because I feel nothing for him.” She leaves.
Downstairs, Carmen hands Emilio her resignation. She is taking a job in Barcelona. She asks him not to tell anyone.
Rita has a book called “Manuela para ser la esposa perfecta”. I could not find it on Amazon.es, so it’s either invented for the show or long out of print. Those marriage manuals have been around forever, so I have a pretty good idea of what’s in it. Pedro does now, too, because Rita shared her copy to help him take care of Manolito.
Up in the workroom, the gang check out the new clothing designs. Gloria and Mateo are not impressed,
Cristina is in Alberto’s office talking about music for the wedding and the reception. Gerardo drops by to check on the new design sketches, and he isn’t impressed, either. He and Alberto get into a fight about who is in charge of the store. Alberto lets slip that he views his agreement to marry Cristina as part of the business deal. Alberto is not very smart, is he?
But that’s not the only crisis at Velvet today. Manolito is missing! But then Don Emilio catches him playing spy on the shop floor. Pedro tells Clara that Manolito is his son. Now that he needs help with the child, he finally proposes. Clara, who is far smarter than Alberto, gets up and leaves. She goes to the office and sees Mateo, who promises her the date of her life.
The police show up at the dormitory to tell Luisa that Juan is dead. Naturally, the show cuts back to Marquez Manor, where Gloria, Gerardo, Alberto, and Cristina meet to discuss the wedding dinner menu. Everyone is fighting! Except Gloria and Gerardo; the camera shows us that Gloria has put his hand on Gerardo’s leg.
Back at Velvet, Emilio tells Blanca that Carmen is resigning. Blanca goes to talk to Carmen, but Carmen is in the bar talking to Devastatingly Handsome Maximiliano. Carmen throws herself at Max, but he doesn’t catch her.
Let’s see what else is happening: Luisa is crying. Manolito and Pedro are discussing life, and Clara and Mateo are getting it on. The store staff accompany Luisa to Juan’s funeral. The board of directors is meeting and votes on whether or not to pursue de la Riva’s collection. Gloria and Gerardo vote no, Patricia and Alberto vote yes. The collection goes ahead. Patricia informs Alberto that she is the store’s top salesperson and that she cares about Velvet’s success.
Gloria duly kicks Patricia out of Marquez Manor.
Alberto takes Ana on a drive. He tells her that he could have fallen in love with Cristina if he had not met Ana first. Now he knows that he cannot live without Ana. They arrive at a church, where Alberto, who is not very smart, has planned an ambush wedding. Rita, Mateo, and a dress await her. Ana tells Rita that she never imagined her wedding being like this. She wants her uncle to walk her down the aisle. She goes along with the scheme until she arrives at the altar. She tells Alberto that she loves him, but not like this, and she runs off.
I want to know about these priests in Franco’s Spain who are okay with walk-in wedding parties. No pre-Cana? No publishing of the banns? No refusal to hold a wedding until the couple have been contributing parishioners for a year? Of course, that is the least of the holes in this plot. So many holes. The show should be entitled Lace.
