The Day My Life Turned Into a Telenovela (3)

Episodio 3 – A Meddling Mother-In-Law

Six months? Alejandro started to analyse the ultimatum when his phone rang. It was his mother calling from Mexico. She was already aware that he was dating Maria, so he asked her: ‘She wants us to get engaged in six months. What do you think?’

‘Six months? Yes, that’s fair.’

‘Really? Isn’t it too short?’ Coming from his mother, this answer was really surprising. Alejandro wanted to wait one year. His parents divorced and he promised himself that before getting married, he will wait to be sure and get to know the person for few years beforehand. But Alejandro is now 27 and that tips the balance. She seems to have all the criteria to be a good wife for him, so why not?

‘Ok. Six months it is. Ay Dios mio, six months!’

***

Reluctant at first, Victoria Sandoval accepted that the couple would date for this amount of time. Even if she wanted them to get engaged straight away, Esteban, her son, convinced her. But two weeks before she left the country to monitor her charity work in Mexico, she changed her mind and called Alejandro. Her voice was different than usual. She sounded alarmed.

‘This situation is too stressful for me. What if someone sees you together! What about our reputation? It has been two months now that you’re going out. It’s enough. We will only have a small gathering at my mother’s house so we can introduce you to the whole family. After that you will be free to see my daughter as it pleases you.’

Just after he hanged up, Alejandro called Maria. She explained him that this gathering at her grandmother’s would be considered as an engagement. Victoria has sent her a message too and the young woman was panicked.

‘I can’t get engaged just like that, in precipitation. Who gets engaged this quickly’ said Alejandro.

The couple decided not to accept and wait six months as agreed before.

Palm Beach by F.N.

Not long after, Victoria Sandoval left for Mexico. During her time there, Maria sent her some pictures of her and her boyfriend. One of them made her say:

‘Be prepared to get engaged when I come back.’

Alejandro realised that Victoria Sandoval would be a meddling mother-in-law.

He will soon become aware that it was, in fact, the least one can say.

Continuará…

The Day My Life Turned Into a Telenovela (2)

Episodio 2 – The Ultimatum

She’s a Catholic, good looking, seems easy-going, I have to try. Plus, she’s from an influential family, that’s a good point too.

I’m 27. If I want to get married before I turn thirty I have  to stop ending relationships before they start.

Feelings can always grow after. The important thing is to have the same values and that our personalities match.

Under this theory, Alejandro started to date Maria and therefore baby-sit her spoiled -but cute- brat, Juanito. The young man wanted to take things slow. They would go out once a week. Trying to fight Victoria’s pressure.

Yes, for Señora Sandoval, things weren’t going quickly enough.

Once she asked him:

‘How many weeks do you need before getting engaged?’

‘Weeks?!’

‘Ok. How many months?’

‘Months?! I need at least one year before getting engaged. Then, another year to get married?’

‘What? Two years! I’m going to have a heart attack!’

After one month of ‘trial’ as Alejandro likes to call it, he started to have feelings for Maria. It happened one day at Palm Beach. Few days later, the relationship officially began. They were not single any more. But to protect the young lady’s reputation, things had to remain quiet.

On this same day, Maria gave to her newly boyfriend an ultimatum :

‘You have six months to take your decision.’

‘Six months? Six months to propose!’

‘At least to know what you want to do. I have a child. I cannot take the risk to have a short-term relationship. I need commitment. So what do you say?’

Continuará…

The Day My Life Turned Into a Telenovela (1)

 Episodio 1 – Señora Sandoval’s Proposition

Alejandro Sánchez Suárez freshly graduated from the Escuela Libre de Derecho in Mexico, has just arrived in Miami. He’s interning at Sandoval Attorneys at Law, one of the most famous law firms in Miami. The practice has been founded and is run by Victoria Maria Sandoval.

Señora Sandoval came by herself to the United-States when she was only 17. She started to work as a cleaner but managed to study law in parallel. Despite personal hardships, she fought her way up the American social ladder. Wealthy and influential, Señora Sandoval is also admired for her faith and her generosity. 

One Friday, as Alejandro is heading to 5 pm mass, his phone rings. It’s Señora Sandoval. She says that she has a surprise for him and that he should come for dinner, because she has to tell him what it is face to face.

Alejandro starts to try guessing what could this ‘surprise’ be. A promotion? An arranged marriage? Yes, even if she’s his boss, Victoria Sandoval already talked about the matter with him.

Anyway, we’ll see tonight, he tells himself.

As soon as she fetches him from the station, Señora Sandoval starts to talk about love, relationship and marriage. No more doubt, the young man knows now what the surprise is, an arrange marriage.

It didn’t take much time for her to find him someone, only a few weeks. But who is she? He wonders.

‘You know, Alejandro, my daughter had a terrible marriage.’ There is his answer. Victoria Sandoval wants to introduce him to Maria, her daughter. Married at 20 years old to a man she didn’t know, she is now divorced with a kid.

But still, Victoria doesn’t explicitly reveal her surprise. She just tells him that Maria should quickly come by during dinner with her son, Juan.

Then she arrives. Thank God, she’s good looking is the first thought that comes to the lawyer’s mind.

Few words are exchanged, almost no eye contact, and Maria leaves with her son.

Victoria continues the promotion of her daughter without really admitting her intention.

Dos días después – Two days later

Alejandro’s phone rings again.

‘What did you think of Maria?’

‘She seems like a nice girl.’

‘Are you interested?’

‘Yes, but is she?’

‘Yes she is. You know she has been refusing a lot of suitors but with you it’s different. I will send you her number so you can get to know each other. Concerning your visa, I will go to the office tomorrow to see what we can do to make you stay in the country.’

At this moment, Alejandro feels like he can have it all: a wife, a permanent job and a sponsorship to stay in the United States. But many things come to his mind. He didn’t feel anything for Maria when he saw her. She already has a kid. And what about the risks to mix personal and professional matters? Is Victoria Sandoval trustworthy?

Continuará…

The Day My Life Turned Into a Telenovela (Pilot)

How could I describe a telenovela? A South American TV show with ridiculously good looking actors and too many episodes for an unrealistic plot. Unrealistic? This is what I thought until my life turned Mexican.

I remember, when I was going on holidays in Tunisia, how my relatives were mesmerised by Mexican or Venezuelan telenovelas. When the moselselet mexikiyeh (in Arabic) were on, they would stare at the TV screen to see what new drama happened to Barbarita or Kassandra. Since the series were translated in literary Arabic, I wouldn’t understand much. Imagine being the only one in a room who doesn’t know what’s going on when everybody else does.

One evening in Lebanon, I was zapping from channel to channel, when : “Oh! Good looking Mexicans speaking Arabic! Let’s see if I’ve improved enough to understand…”

And you know what? I did! I know, I know, it’s just a telenovela. A friend of mine calls it ‘The worst thing on TV.’ But it was a victory for me. I’ve reached the telenovela level in Arabic!

What I didn’t know back then was that my life would turn into one. I experience now and then, life events that make me relate on my favourite TV shows (cf. The Day I Played in Little Mosque on the Prairie). But what happened these past few months took it to another level.

So let me introduce you to a new category on my blog. 

 

The events described are partially true. Some elements have been changed to protect people’s privacy and to make it more Latino.

The Day I Had the Most Surprising Surprise

I cannot say I miss France. I do miss my friends and family though… oh and bakeries. So when my friend told me her Iranian-Belgian friend was moving to Australia I was really excited. What I didn’t know was that she had an awesome surprise for me!

A friend of mine from France emailed me one day. An Iranian sister from Belgium, called Mahtab, was about to move to Australia. She’s a history and geography teacher and they met during her studies there. She asked me to help her out to settle in.

“– So how is your friend? Is she religious? Is she nice?

– Yes, she’s a good Muslim, she’s really nice, friendly and a bit crazy like us. I’m sure you’re going to get along with her.

– Oh yeah, sounds like we’re going to!”

And we did! No need to say that a certain Afghan girl I know got jealous straight away and tried to prevent me from seeing her. Before Mahtab came, we started to exchange emails and we agreed to meet at her hotel the day she arrives. She said she will bring me a surprise. I was working this day, so I told her we’ll meet in the evening:

“– So when are you coming?

– I’m in the south of Sydney, I should be in the city around 7:00 pm. I might be late thought.

– That’s the difference between Persians and Arabs.

– Really? Are Persians on time?

– Yes. You haven’t been to Iran? My surprise should please you then!”

At 7:00 pm, well nearly 8 to be frank, I finally arrived at the Sofitel. I was thinking : “She’s well off for a teacher!” Whilst I was about to ask the receptionist to call room 1210, the lift doors opened. Phalestine, my Beirut best friend (It’s a concept.) came out! I don’t know how many thoughts came in my mind at the same time:

“Oh! Not only does she have the same voice as Phalestine but she looks a lot like her too! No, that’s her! What is she doing here? Did she come for work without telling me? Oh God! She’s Mahtab! There was no Mahtab! I’ve been tricked!”

“What are you doing here???” I said. I had to throw my kurta to her face and seat for a while.

Everything was fake : her name, her nationality, her email address. I have to admit that I fell for it hook, line and sinker. She’s not Persian, neither is she a teacher. She’s a stewardess and had a flight to Sydney. She knew that since weeks and had plan the whole surprise with the collaboration of my friend in France.

Later in the evening she told me: “I couldn’t stop laughing when I called and you said my voice sounds familiar. But I did cover my voice with a towel. I don’t get it, it works in movies!”

That was the most surprising surprise ever and it leads to an evening of fun, laughter and a pretend car accident!