The Day My Life Turned Into a Bollywood Movie (8)

Capítulo Final

This is almost what happened. Only this love story took place in Sydney and the characters were not Mexicans. The Sandoval family is actually an Afghan Australian family. Nevertheless, the events are real and I really had the impression that my life turned into a telenovela and when things got worse to a Bollywood movie.

Things were to complicated to work. ‘When you’ll find the right person, everything will be simple’ I heard.

This was clearly not the case. Meddling mother in law, well meddling family in law I should say. Parenting a child who wasn’t mine (even though I love him). Visa/job situation. Her traumatic first marriage.

At first, I thought that these ordeals shouldn’t stop me. I should face them. A marriage isn’t just about good moments, it’s for better or worse. And this is where we were heading: marriage. The point wasn’t to ‘go out’. She even gave me a deadline for me to propose (see Episodio 2 – The Ultimatum).

The problem was that after our sixth month anniversary, I wasn’t sure if fighting all these hardships was worth it anymore. Every month there was a fight. At some point, I felt that she enjoyed provoking them. Consciously or unconsciously, I don’t know. Was it her personality? Was she so insecure that she had to provoke fights to be sure I will come back? I even came to the conclusion that she wanted someone who will make her suffer, that she had a self-destructive behaviour. Her mother, her brother, her ex-husband, they all were tough and controlling and maybe I was too nice for her. I’m sure Freud would have something to say about that. 

The other theory was suggested by a friend of mine. I was telling him about these constant fights and that I was tired of it. Most of them were about me not being caring enough. Our final fight was about that. The day before our sixth month anniversary, she sent me an SMS. She got upset because my reply wasn’t long enough. Huh? After having told my friend the story, I started to question myself.

‘Maybe she’s right, I’m not caring enough.’

‘No I think it’s because of her mother. Now that she’s against your relationship, she’s pressuring her. That’s why she acts this way.’

The more I think about it, the more it makes sense. Maybe she sabotaged our relation because her mother’s approval was more important. 

After two weeks of not speaking or seeing each other, I took off my relationship status on Facebook. It wasn’t final though. We could always have tried again. I just did it because, at this moment, it wasn’t making sense anymore. 

To answer you, Azra, yes I was in love. Yes, I wanted to marry her.

So why is it the end of my telenovela/Bollywood movie? Because of this someone I mentioned in the last episode.

Who is it? Why her intervention changes everything? All the answers here.

The Day My Life Turned Into a Bollywood Movie (7)

Episodio 7 – An Unexpected Email

The conversation between Señora Sandoval and her son-in-law hasn’t been a success. Alejandro didn’t get straight answers from her but only pieces. Plus it ended up badly when she forbid her daughter to see him again.

So why didn’t she hire him after all?

First piece of answer: She told Alejandro that when she came back from Mexico, she heard that Maria and im had a fight on New Year’s Eve. He replied that every couple has fights.

Second piece of answer: She was not the only one to decide. He replied that she is the founder and head of the firm.

Third piece of answer: When she suggested him for a position, Carlos, Victoria Sandoval’s right-hand man told her that he didn’t know what he was doing. He replied that he was never trained by her team. Do you know why? Because before she left the country, she didn’t tell them that he was about to be hired. The lawyers at the firm thought he was just interning.

After this call, Alejandro wasn’t expecting anything from the firm anymore. But that was not the end yet. The day after, Victoria tried to convince her daughter to stop seeing Alejandro. She insisted, got angry and she even threatened her, using Maria’s worst memories. 

But it was counterproductive. It pushed Maria even more into her fiancé’s arms.

Few days later, the young Mexican received a totally unexpected email: from Carlos. First surprise, he told him that he wasn’t aware of what Victoria and Alejandro agreed on. The second was that he was willing to meet him at the office to see what they can do.

‘Really? Now she wants to give me a job after the whole ‘Over my dead body’ thing?’

Alejandro replied, explaining the whole situation, how Mrs. Sandoval offered him a job, how he was supposed to be trained and how after a few months, nothing happened. He also reminded them that he went to the best law school in Mexico and that he could speak three languages in case they forgot. The young man sent the email to Carlos, Victoria and Maria.

‘Did you read my email?’

‘I did! My mother said that you embarrassed her in front of her staff.’

‘Excuse me?’

‘I know, right? Carlos told her that mixing personal with professional could affect the company.’

Despite this episode, Maria stood by Alejandro, she even told him that he was right and that she wasn’t surprised by her mother’s behaviour. 

Months went by. Good moments, bad ones. Passion, drama. Love, hate. Regular dating, with a baby dating. Wedding plans, visa situation in the way.

Victoria was still in the background, telling her daughter, every now and then, that they weren’t meant for each other. She who ‘fell in love’ with him the first time she met him. She who was pressuring them to get engaged few weeks after their first encounter. Is she the reason why the couple ended their relationship few months later? Was it because of Maria’s traumatic first marriage? Because of Alejandro’s difficult situation and the fact that he might go back to Mexico? Because he wasn’t romantic enough? Maybe for all of these reasons. Maybe they just weren’t right for each other.

Alejandro didn’t know but this is what happened. After more than seven months of relation, they split up. As hard as it was for him to cope with it, there was something preventing him to try again, something or to be more precised someone. 

Continuará…

The Day My Life Turned Into a Bollywood Movie (6)

 Episodio 6 – Fighting The Queen – Part 2

‘Over my dead body! You’re not marrying him anymore!’ Victoria told her daughter. As expected, the conversation between her and Alejandro didn’t go well.

Before calling his boss/mother-in-law, the young lawyer was apprehensive. He knew that she could react badly but he had to do it. He had to ask her why her behaviour had changed so much. Why she didn’t keep her word. Why she was saying everything and its contrary.

She wanted the couple to get married and was really pushing things forward. She was telling Maria she doesn’t mind baby sitting Juan so they can go out.  But then,  she would complain and lecture her for going out.

Once she called Alejandro and at the end of the conversation she told him that if he wasn’t sure to get married, he should step away. But few weeks later, on Valentine’s Day, she told her daughter: ‘If he proposes to you tonight, say yes.’ The young lawyer was confused.

Alejandro couldn’t understand all these changes of behaviour, her ambivalence towards him. One minute, he was the best son-in-law she could have dreamed of, the other, he wasn’t committed enough. She wanted him to stay here with her daughter but didn’t concretely do anything for that to happen.

She knew that for a wedding to happen, Alejandro needed a job  and a visa. Otherwise, he would go back to Mexico and Maria would follow him with her son.

‘You cannot separate her from her family.’

‘I will have to go back to Mexico and Maria will come with me. If you were really willing to make things work you would have given me a job.’

‘So you’re saying that if I don’t give you a job, you will punish me by taking my daughter and my grandson away from me?’

‘No, I’m saying that when my visa expires I will have to go back. And of course they will follow me.’

‘Anyway you can’t leave the country without the permission of Juan’s father and I will not support you in court.’

‘I never asked for your help. I don’t need your support nor your money.I don’t trust you anymore. I don’t want you to be involved in our relationship. I don’t want you, your son or Maria’s father to keep on meddling in our relationship.’

Alejandro called Maria right away after hanging up. He told her the discussion didn’t go well and that her mother might be upset.

While they were talking, the young woman received a message from her mother saying : ‘Over my dead body! You will not marry him anymore.’

Six months after ‘you look like Paradise’, Victoria Sandoval totally reviewed her opinion on her son-in-law. The young man wondered: ‘Will Maria be strong enough to fight her mother?’ 

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.