A Love Remembered
The teleplay of this episode was written by Joe Gunn and based on a story by Gary Steven Rieck. It was directed by Ray Austin.
(The plaza. Alejandro goes up to a horse tethered in front of the alcalde’s office.
Alejandro: Hola, Via. Where have you been? Huh? (De Soto comes out of the office.) Buenas Dias, señor alcalde. You have a very beautiful horse here, sir.
De Soto: Well, thank you. I bought her from a passing rider from San Diego, Señor Montoya. He made me an offer that I could not resist.
Alejandro: Yes, I see. Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you. She was taken from my stables last Friday night.
De Soto: Oh, no, no, no. Impossible.
Alejandro: Miguel knows my horses for ten years. He knows all of my stock. Besides, look at the de la Vega brand here, hastily changed to an “M.”
De Soto: Señor, I bought this horse in good faith for 500 pesos.
Alejandro: She’s worth twice as much as that, and you know it.
De Soto: Are you calling me a horse thief?
Alejandro: Señor alcalde, if a man offers me a horse at half its market price, I would have been more careful. Miguel, vamanos.
De Soto: What do you think you’re doing?
Alejandro: Can’t you tell? I’m taking back what’s mine.
De Soto: Señor, you are taking nothing. (He draws a pistol and aims at Alejandro. Victoria is watching and goes for help.) The ownership of this horse will be settled in a court of law.
Alejandro: Very good. But not here, not in your court. We’ll go before the territorial judge then.
(Diego runs out of the tavern.)
Diego: Father, what’s going on? Ignacio, put the gun down. (He slaps the gun downwards and goes to stand between two men.)
Alejandro: Miguel, Take the horse to Father Benitez. Tell him I’ll be waiting for a court ruling. I’m just wondering what Governor Acana? will say when he finds his famous alcalde is running around on stolen property. I’m starving, Diego. (They head for the tavern and a woman comes up to Alejandro.)
Excuse, me, Alejandro?
Alejandro: Si, Excuse me, have we met before?
It’s been a long time, Alejandro. (He studies her face and we see he is remembering her from long ago.)
(Flashback)
And you do not know who I am?
Alejandro: No.
Well, when I was a little girl, I visited the rancho de la Vega and there was a young boy named Alejandro. I used to hide in a tree by the river and he would climb up and try to pull me down.
Alejandro: Mercedito, Mercedes.
Yes, it is.
Alejandro: Mercedes Sanchez. (They embrace, laughing.) You came back.
Mercedes: I said I would.
Alejandro: But I never believed you. (Diego clears his throat.) Oh, forgive me. This is my son, Diego. Diego, this is Mercedes Sanchez?
Diego: How do you do?
Alejandro: Long before I met your mother, this lady was the love of my life.
(The tavern)
Alejandro: I just can’t believe it, Diego. Mercedes Sanchez here.
Mercedes: It’s Villero now. It has been a long time.
Diego: Your husband isn’t with you?
Mercedes: No, Antonio died in Barcelona last summer. That is why I am here. The estate. I don’t know much about these things. I know I should, but I just don’t.
Alejandro: Oh, so you’ve come back here to live at your father’s rancho.
Mercedes: No, I’ve come back to sell it. Then I will be done with this place.
Alejandro: Oh, I see.
(The hacienda that night.)
Alejandro: I must admit around 15 or 17 or at the time, I practiced night and day. I wanted to be the best swordsman in the world with both hands.
Mercedes: As I recall, you had other things on your mind at night.
Diego: Oh, Father, you never told me about that part of your life.
Alejandro: Let’s just say that I didn’t want to spend the best years of my life cooped up with books.
I’ll get some more coffee, with your permission. (He leaves the room.)
Mercedes: You love your father, don’t you?
Diego: Yes. Although there are times when he does his best to make it difficult.
(They laugh and the music swells as she remembers Alejandro kissing her in the distant past.)
(Flashback)
Mercedes: What is to be with us?
Alejandro: You like it here?
Mercedes: I love it here. I’ve always loved it here.
Alejandro: Then I want you to stay. Forever.
Mercedes: Yes, yes, Alejandro. (They kiss.)
(The present)
Alejandro: Coffee. (He enters and puts the tray down. Diego yawns.)
Diego: If you’ll forgive me. I have to be up early in the morning.
Alejandro: You’ve forgiven. Buenas noches, Diego.
Diego: Are you coming with me to Santa Paulo tomorrow?
Alejandro: Oh, I forgot. The cattle auction.
Diego: Well, why don’t you show Mercedes around her rancho and I’ll take care of the auction myself, hm?
Alejandro: Thank you.
Diego: Good night, Señora.
Mercedes: Buena noches, Diego.
Diego: (He comes back for his coffee.) Excuse me. (He leaves.)
Mercedes: Why did I ever leave here?
Alejandro: You wanted to travel. “There’s a whole world out there, Alejandro, just waiting to be seen.” Do you remember? Well, was it worth it?
Mercedes. No. The world was not kind to me.
Alejandro: Well, that’s why you’re staying here where you belong. We’ll turn your rancho into another Garden of Eden.
Mercedes: I cannot. I haven’t enough money to hire men or supplies. I have enough to pay for one night in the tavern and that is all.
Alejandro: Well, that’s it. You’re going to stay right here in the hacienda. The guest quarters. No ifs ands or buts. It will be perfectly proper. I’m a little confused, Mercedes. Why do you want to sell the property so quickly? Your husband left you with financial problems?
Mercedes: He was a spendthrift and a
bully. He squandered everything we owned. May God forgive me, I’m glad he’s
dead.
Alejandro: Don’t. (He takes her in his arms as she cries.) You belong
here with me in my arms.
(The plaza)
Mendoza: And so, according to Señorita Victoria, Don Alejandro used to be in love
with the widow Villero and because she has no money, he’s allowing her to stay
in his hacienda.
De Soto: Gossip! The only cultural pursuit in this town is gossip. (A lone man rides into the pueblo.) Who is that man?
Mendoza: I don’t know. I can find out.
De Soto: Good idea, Sergeant. (Mendoza follows the man into the tavern.)
(The tavern.)
Victoria: Can I help you, Señor?
Man: A room.
Victoria; Of course.
Mendoza: Buenas tardes. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Sergeant Jaime Mendoza of the Royal Brigade. And you are?
Villero: Just passing through.
Mendoza: Well, if that is the case, there is the matter of our local travelers’ tax. It is not much, Señor, just two pesos. But it does help—
Villero: I don’t like soldiers. I don’t like taxes and I don’t like you. (The man throws the sergeant across the bar and then starts to fight the other people in the bar. De Soto enters.)
De Soto: That will be enough of that, Señor. (Raises his pistol) Put down the bottle. Put it down! Lancers, seize him. What’s your name, Señor?
Villero: Villero. Antonio Villero.
De Soto: Villero? You’re not somehow related to Mercedes Villero?
Villero: I am her husband.
Mendoza: He is not. She is a widow.
Villero: Do I look dead, amigo?
De Soto: Lancers, jail him.
Victoria: Are you okay, Mendoza?
Mendoza: I think so.
(Scene: Diego is riding along a path. A sign says 20 miles to Santa Paula.)
(The jail)
De Soto: Señor Villero, I think it’s time you and I had a little talk. This is
difficult for me to say, but I think your wife is in love with another man.
(Outside the pueblo)
Alejandro: There it is, your father’s property.
Mercedes: It’s worse than I had imagined. Look at the hacienda. It used to be so beautiful.
Alejandro: Mercedita, you’re looking at the wrong things. The land is the treasure. If you work at it, this soil will pay you back a hundredfold.
Mercedes: You used to be the one who shied away from responsibilities.
Alejandro: That’s true. I married a woman I loved very much. She gave me a son. And then Papa died. And then responsibility crept up on me like a… like a tiger stalking its prey. But I’ve grown to love this land. And now with you here, my life
Mercedes: Alejandro, I feel so guilty.
Alejandro: Why?
Mercedes: I misled you.
Alejandro: That’s not true. I want you to be my wife.
Mercedes: It is. My husband is not dead.
Alejandro: What? Mercedes…Mercedes? I thought you said—
Mercedes: Si, si, he is dead in my heart. I thought Antonio was like you. Brave, strong and tender. He treated me like a slave. Inside a year, he had spent my entire dowry. Then I found out he had no money of his own. He had wasted it all. That is when he began to hurt me.
Alejandro: What kind of a man is this?
Mercedes: The kind of man who will kill me if he finds me.
Alejandro: That is why you are staying right here where you are and where you belong.
Mercedes: You do not understand. He is not like any other men. He’s a monster. That is why I didn’t want to tell you. I didn’t want to get you involved.
Alejandro: Mercedita, I am involved.
Mercedes: He knows about this property. He will come here. I know it.
Alejandro: Let him come. (They embrace.)
(Outside the jail. Felipe overhears De Soto inside the jail.)
De Soto: The pity of it is no matter how much we care, no matter how much we sacrifice for them, women are still basically fickle creatures.
Villero: Where is Mercedes?
De Soto: Bad news. When you were arrested, I took it upon myself to ride personally to the de la Vega hacienda to tell you wife what had happened. She refused to come back with me. I asked de la Vega if he would pay your fine. He laughed in my face. He said it would be better for everybody if you just stayed where you were and your wife agreed with him.
Villero: Wait till I get my hands on him.
De Soto: Well, you can’t blame her really. After all, Don Alejandro is such a wealthy man. As you said yourself, your prospects are less than promising.
Villero: He cannot buy my wife.
De Soto: I’m afraid he can do exactly as he wants to do. After all, he’s there with her and you are in jail.
Villero: I will kill him!
(Outside, Felipe leaves for the hacienda.)
(The Hacienda. Felipe is there, but no one else is there to hear his news.)
(The jail)
Mendoza: Back! Back, amigo. (He opens the door of the cell to retrieve the
tray. As he comes out, he drops something and ends up leaving the keys in the
lock. Villero escapes. De Soto and Mendoza enter.)
Mendoza: I don’t understand, Alcalde. Why are we letting him escape?
De Soto: Aw, it’s strictly a temporary measure, I assure you, Sergeant.
Mendoza: We should follow him
De Soto: Relax, I know exactly where he’s heading. (He laughs)
(The hacienda. Alejandro is playing the piano.)
Alejandro: You should hear Diego play. He’s much more accomplished than I. Mercedes, we both know you have to find your husband and talk to him and reason with him.
Mercedes: You don’t know what you’re asking.
Alejandro: If you don’t at least make the effort, I’m afraid you will never be happy.
Mercedes: You’re right. (There is a pounding at the door.)
Alejandro: Yes? (Opens the door. Vierra comes in hits Alejandro, knocking him to the floor.)
Mercedes: No!
Villero: You have to pay the price for cheating on me. (He grabs her as Alejandro staggers to his feet. The men fight and Villero pulls a pistol and fires. Mercedes steps in front of Alejandro and is hit. Alejandro eases her to the floor.)
Mercedes: Alejandro, I never stopped loving you. The property is yours now. Make it bloom for me. (She dies.)
Villero: This is your fault. (He draws his sword. Suddenly Zorro steps in front of him.) I have no quarrel with you.
Zorro: Unfortunately, Señor, I have one with you. (They fight.) Consider this during your long years in jail, Antonio. Your wife deserved your trust, and you repaid her with your suspicion and your brutality. (He knocks the man out and goes to Alejandro.) I share your grief, more than you can ever know, Señor.
Alejandro: Oh, Zorro, I’ve lost her once again. Only this time forever.
(Later that night at the hacienda. Lancers arrive.)
De Soto: Señor Villero! What happened here?
Alejandro: Mercedes Sanchez was killed by the bullet meant for me.
De Soto: Take him away. Quickly! (Softly) What have I done?
(The property, now her gravesite.)
Alejandro: Her last wish was that this land bloom and prosper. I’m donating her land. Mercedita, I’m giving your property away to the people of Los Angeles. So everyone can enjoy it and share in your dream. Gracias, Victoria. Thank you for coming.
Victoria: I didn’t know the señora. I just wanted to be here for you. (They leave)
Diego: If you didn’t have the presence of mind to come after me, there’d be two graves on this hill.
(Mendoza arrives leading the stolen horse.)
Alejandro: Buenas Dias, Sergeant.
Mendoza: Buenas Dias. The alcalde asked me to bring back your horse. He says it’s yours. He doesn’t want the 500 pesos.
Alejandro: Really? That’s remarkable. I suppose he didn’t want to explain himself to the governor.
Mendoza: Oh, I don’t know, Don Alejandro, I think he felt a little guilty.
Alejandro: Of what, Sergeant.
Mendoza: Who knows? Buenas tardes.
Alejandro: Adios. Typical of his sort, Diego. Heaven forbid that he should come to me and face to face admit that he was wrong.
Diego: This was a big step for our alcalde, Father.
Victoria: Well, perhaps the alcalde is human after all.
Diego: All any of us poor humans can try to do is forgive and forget.
Alejandro: Right. Right.