Snippet 40 - Ugly Betty - In The Spirit of Thanksgiving

At the Suarez house, Ignacio was watching a telenovela in which a reverend sister uncovers the lies of a wanted thief and murderer who pretended to be a reverend father. Lear was at the dinning with Hilda talking about Hilda’s single-mother status when Betty rushed in full of apologies for being late. Justin accused her of not being at his school’s concert which he said was ‘awesome’. She told him she will hear all about it as soon as she was back from shopping. She rushed into the kitchen and saw that Hilda had already done the shopping. Hilda, who wasn’t too happy that Betty was giving her job too much time but Betty reminded her that she was still going to do the cooking with her dad. Hilda responded that, that was possible if she wasn’t called from Mode for a fashion emergency. She complained about having to buy the last turkey and why Betty had to keep preparing a particular snack every year when no one eats them. Betty insisted that their mum made it every year, and that it was a tradition.

At Mode, the last to leave were the pairs of Wilhelmina and Christina, Bradford’s Assistant and another lady who were behind Slater and Christina as they waited for the lift. The women talked about their children and Bradford’s assistant couldn’t hide her delight at having her three grown-up sons with their girlfriends home for Thanksgiving. Christina and Wilhelmina exchange looks as they listened in. The lift opened and the women got in leaving Christina and Willy still standing outside the lift. Christina kept giving her the look but Wilhelmina snatched her dress from her, told her to stop looking at her as if she were a thanksgiving ghost and pushed her towards the lift with a “Good night”. But Christina, always one to speak her mind, looked up while gesticulating as if she was seeing a vision, “I see an old woman, all alone at a Thanksgiving table set for one” emphasizing “One” with her uplifted finger for Willy to see as the lift closed. The message was obviously driven home as Willy, looked around. She was standing there all alone. She felt the impact of Christina’s words. So, she brought out her cell phone and cancelled her engagement on the premise that Nico was coming home for Thanksgiving.

It was Thanksgiving morning. Betty rushed home from doing shopping and Gina Gambarro (you remember her neighbour with the flat screen?), who was also out for last-minute shopping, double-crossed her and enquired about her father’s immigration situation. Betty denied that she didn’t know what she was talking about. Gina told her that everyone in the neighbourhood already knows. She warned Betty to beware of the lawyer – Lear, that she was a fraud. She told Betty that she usually deceives people into believing she wanted to help and after collecting their money, she disappears!

Betty got inside her house and she got a call from Daniel saying he needed her, that it was an emergency! Hilda wasn’t happy as she reminded Betty about the cooking with her dad, Betty apologized and rushed off.

A parade was passing by Mode building while Marc and Amanda watched from Wilhelmina’s office – they had a table laid out with assorted food and wine, just for the two of them. They even saw Betty from there! Betty did not believe that Daniel called her to help him choose between a purple and a lemon green shirt to wear to his family’s thanksgiving (all because Sofia & her boyfriend was going to be there!). Betty asked why Daniel said it was an emergency and made her leave her family on a thanksgiving day because of his frivolous indecision, she was irritated. But the spoilt brat continued to insist that it was important. Can you believe that? Betty got up in a hurry to leave and Daniel told her that she hadn’t told him which shirt to wear and she let him have it – that she had her own life too and had family problems to attend to, who already think she is putting him ahead of them. After that, she told him he was smart and handsome, an amazing person, wondering why he was so insecure.