Episode 5

Alice begins to prepare lunch, with Theo sitting next to her at the kitchen counter doing his homework. She helps him with his math activity using pasta, and he laughs and seems to enjoy the playful way she teaches him. Alice is making a simple meal, garlic and oil pasta, rice, black beans cooked with sausage, roasted chicken with potatoes, and salad.

Lorenzo keeps an eye on Alice through the cameras, noticing that Theo has been happier in the past two days than he has been in the previous two years. He sees her helping Theo with his homework at the kitchen counter, which bothers him a bit because he prefers that Theo does his homework in the library, where there are no distractions and he can learn better. Lorenzo discovers that Alice has taken over the kitchen and decides to ask his mother to hire a cook. He wants all of Alice's attention to be focused only on Theo. He gets a little distracted and hears knocks on the door. He closes the camera images and goes to open it.

Lorenzo opens the door shirtless, wearing only sweatpants. He stares at me with those intense blue eyes, and I forget why I came here.

"What do you want, Alice?" Lorenzo asks me, staring at me with that look in his eyes that I can't decipher. It bothers me not to know what goes on in this woman's head.

"I just wanted to let you know that lunch is ready," I reply, looking at him with an indecipherable gaze that bothers him. Not knowing what's going on in this woman's mind is something that disturbs me!

"I don't want Theo doing homework in the kitchen. Sit with him in the library and take his tasks seriously," Lorenzo says, expressing his preference for where Theo should do his homework. I reply, "Mr. Lorenzo, I have a degree in education and I am teaching him in a playful way. I can assure you that he has learned more in the kitchen than he would sitting in the library. Ask him about the activity, and you'll be surprised!"

"Why are you working as a nanny if you have a degree in education?" Lorenzo questions, seemingly trying to probe into my personal life.

"You have treated me poorly since I arrived here because you think I'll just tell you anything about my personal life?" I retort, letting him know that he cannot expect me to divulge personal information.

"You know that with these answers, you risk losing your job, don't you?" Lorenzo warns, insinuating that I should be careful with my responses.

"I'm sorry. I have to think about Theo. This man is rude and ill-mannered, but I need to focus on what matters," I respond, apologizing for any inconvenience caused.

"Get out of my sight. You are paid to take care of Theo, not to bother me. And know that your mediocre life doesn't interest me. My only concern is whether you haven't been fired for being incompetent!" Lorenzo lashes out, expressing his contempt for me.

I leave in silence, avoiding saying anything unwise. I can't understand how a sweet and kind woman like Suzi could fall in love with such a cold and ruthless man.

I go downstairs to have lunch and overhear Theo complimenting Alice's cooking.

"Your food is really good, Alice," Theo says, appreciating the meal.

I sit in silence and start eating, with Alice standing next to Theo. Since she arrived here, she has acted professionally, and apart from her sharp tongue when responding to me, she is not like the other nannies who didn't even care about Theo.

"Lorenzo, are you going to work today?" Theo asks.

"No, son. Why?" I respond.

"Damn!" Theo exclaims, frustrated.

"Is it because I'm going to be at home?" I ask. Theo shrugs his shoulders.

"If you're going to be here, my cousins won't come over," he explains.

"That's fine, Theo. Go see them. I don't want anyone here anyway," I tell him.

"Okay, Lorenzo," Theo replies, accepting my answer.

"I am your father, Theodoro," I remind him.

"No, you're not. My father died with my mother," Theo responds, shocking me.

"What did you just say?" I ask, furious.

"You're Lorenzo! You're mean and only think about yourself. My father wasn't like this," Theo says, expressing his anger towards me.

"You respect me, Theodoro," I demand, losing control. Alice notices me losing control and approaches.

"You should have died instead of mommy!" Theo shouts, hurt and angry.

"That's right, Theodoro. I wish she had stayed!" I admit, my anger taking over.

"I hate you!" Theo cries out.

Alice sees Theo running to his room in tears and looks at me, as if I'm seething with rage. She follows Theo, trying to comfort him.

"Theo, just listen to me. Your father misses your mother just like you do. He loves you, but he's suffering and doesn't know how to deal with that pain. You can't say you hate him if you really don't. I know you don't hate him, and you didn't want him to die. Those words are harsh and hurtful," Alice tries to explain and console him.

"I hate him!" Theo insists.

Alice: No, it's still your father, the same as before, he's just hurt right here. I place my hand on Theo's heart.

Theo: I don't hate him.

Alice: I know, you need to remember that when you're angry, because harsh words hurt more than a slap when they come from someone we love. You're hurting too, I know you are because I have a big wound in my chest too.

Theo: Will it stop hurting?

Alice: It gets better with time, missing someone hurts a little, but I promise it will ease.

Theo: I miss mommy.

Alice: She didn't choose to leave, I'm sure she would give anything to see you grow up and always be by your side, but sometimes things get out of our control.

Theo: I want her, I want her back, I want mommy...

Alice: Theo cries a lot, I pick him up and walk around the room with him. It's going to be alright, little one.

Lorenzo: I hear Theo crying and I can't handle the situation, I leave the house without a specific destination, completely altered.

Alice: Theo is very hurt, I sing him a song that I used to sing in situations like this. Slowly, he calms down and falls asleep. I lay him down to sleep and I get startled when I go downstairs for lunch, everything that was on the table is on the floor. There's food and broken glass scattered everywhere, luckily Theo is asleep. I start cleaning everything, I cut myself and just wrap a towel around my hand and continue, afraid Theo might wake up. Julia enters the house and is shocked. She starts helping me and we quickly tidy everything up, she helps me bandage my hand and we sit in the living room.

Julia: Was it Lorenzo?

Alice: He and Theo had a disagreement. I tell her about the fight and she looks at me with deep sadness.

Julia: Suzi was Lorenzo's world, they were a couple that my husband compared to those in margarine commercials, they had an incredible love and companionship. They were very happy together. And when Theo was born, it really seemed like they would have the happily ever after, Lorenzo was happy, cheerful, and now he's not even a fraction of what he used to be. I miss her so much, her departure was slow and painful, it hurt all of us, but Lorenzo let a part of himself die with her. I feel like we buried both of them, I know it's hard to understand, but he's not as heartless as he seems and I have hope that he will come back to us.

Alice: He will, Julia, time is different for everyone. Julia, like everyone here, is suffering. We talk for a few hours and she tells me that she came to pick up Theo to stay with the twins and Felipe for a while, he wakes up and she takes him. I go back to cleaning the mansion, focusing on the office today, it's very dusty, and I'm unsure whether to clean the last room that I haven't entered yet, Lorenzo's room. I decide to clean it, taking advantage of the fact that he's not here.

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