#ABRelived Acapulco Bay Episode 1 – A Wedding & an Accident

Premise: Rachel marries her fiance, Tony Stockdale but things are not what they seem. 

The Bride 

We immediately meet the beautiful heroine of the story, Rachel Swanson (played by Raquel Gardner), as she enters her apartment, all excited and happy, holding a white dress wrapped in cellophane and a shopping bag. Lying on the couch is her younger (and freeloading)  sister Marnie (Lisa Cerasoli), who admonishes her for being late and then thaws enough to admire the dress, purse and shoes Rachel bought for the big day. 

The Groom

Rachel gets a phone call from her fiancé Tony ('Ryan's Hope' alum, Jason ‘Ash’ Adams), who is with a client at Acapulco but promises to get to San Francisco in time for the wedding. After he hangs up, his expression changes, and he makes his way across the living room of a very opulent-looking house towards a man with his back to him, standing on the patio.  

The other man, who seems to be in his early thirties (Anthony Newman), turns around when he’s addressed, and viewers feast their eyes on his perfectly handsome face.

Mr *Swoon*, Stepbrother of the groom

He’s not pleased  ‘Tony’  approved of construction at a site deemed a no-go area. ‘Tony’ doesn’t seem to be bothered by the mishap, which pisses off Mr Handsome and orders him to stop construction,  addressing him as ‘Max’.  

'Mama' 

The matriarch of the household, Victoria Stockdale ('Days of Our Lives' alum, Maree Cheatham) walks in and immediately senses the negative vibe, wanting to know the reason behind the latest argument between Max and his brother. Max is quick to disclaim kinship, even though Victoria had married his father. Victoria, and not the first time, urges him to try and get along better with Tony- Mr Handsome who just left- but evidently, Max isn’t capable of that.  

Okay... so Rachel’s fiancé’s name is not Tony Stockdale. Red flag alert.

Back in San Francisco, Marnie wonders out loud why Tony chose to have a small dinner instead of a big wedding party; their friends were not even invited and Tony didn’t seem to have a family to invite. More red flags.  Rachel assures her they will have a big church wedding later; then tentatively tells Marnie that she’ll have to start bringing in money, as Tony did not approve of a working wife, which brings a sulk from Marnie, who, along with their deadbeat popsie has been sponging off Rachel.

In Casa Stockdale, at dinner, Tony is informed his girlfriend Mara asked for him. He doesn’t seem thrilled or interested, as he would be busy the whole day. Max casually informs his mother and stepbrother he will be out of town and has another hissy fit when Tony gives him the green light, storming from the table. Victoria tries to play the peacemaker, but Tony is far too used to Max’s bad attitude to care; his love for Victoria is the reason why he put up with Creepy Max at all.

Any other person with a brain would buy himself a penthouse apartment, just saying. Why live under the same roof with someone you hate so much?

In San Francisco, Peter Swanson ('Mod Squad' alum, Michael Cole), Rachel and Marnie’s papa, hobbles into the apartment, obviously drunk. Rachel disapproves of his state, more so after hearing the claim he was just celebrating her upcoming wedding.

Back at Casa Stockdale, Creepy Max’s henchman, Louis (Michael Sottile), hands Max a plane ticket to San Francisco, bearing Tony’s name. After dismissing him, Max resumes what he’s doing, apparently hard at work practising Tony’s signature. Non-fans of the original telenovela, Tu O Nadie (No One But You), will be feeling very puzzled at this point, but chill; all will be revealed.

Wedding Day! 

At their simple civil wedding, Max signs the marriage certificate, using Tony’s signature and we wonder why Rachel didn’t get a bad vibe when the groom tells her, ‘No matter what happens, remember I love you.’

Back in Acapulco, Tony Stockdale instructs Louis (who he catches drinking) to inform the pilot to get the helicopter ready; he is going on a short trip. A wonder he keeps that creep around.

After a small dinner and drinks at the Swansons’ apartment, where Max gives a short, eloquent speech, the married couple moves to Max’s apartment. The eventual make-out commences but gets cut short when Max receives a call from Louis... it's time. Rachel is disappointed when informed he has to go back to handle business at Acapulco and her ‘husband’ promises to make it up to her.

 Back in Acapulco, the next phase of Evil Max’s plan is being carried out...  

Tony is mildly surprised to see him back so soon. Max makes vague excuses about why he came back early, insincerely wishing him a good trip.

Victoria tries yet again to play the peacekeeper (why bother?), but her son rebuffs her; he has more important things to worry about.

R.I.P pilot

The helicopter Tony’s travelling in suddenly makes an ominous sound and starts spinning, the pilot unable to control it. Tony swiftly unbuckles his seat belt, kicks the door open and jumps out (without a parachute!), seconds before the helicopter smashes against some rocks and bursts into flames. Tony, meantime, falls through some trees and lands in a river.

 Max instructs Louis to tie up loose ends, now that their plan has been carried out successfully.

Victoria is knitting when she’s joined by Camille (Lara Steinick), Tony’s sister. She asks for her brother’s whereabouts, light-heartedly wondering why he worked so hard all the time. This was in sharp contrast with Camille’s husband, who, on inquiry, is sleeping off a hangover. Hmm.

Evil Max appears, casually says hi to Camille and asks his mother if Tony went to San Francisco the previous day, as he finds a plane ticket to San Francisco on his desk. An older man, Charles, enters the living room, and greets the women before turning to Max, asking to speak with him privately. Max listens with feigned concern as Charles informs him the airport lost contact with Tony’s helicopter after getting a distress call; they were not sure yet if it went down. The two men leave for the office to get more info.

Tony’s girlfriend Mara, spotting a large sun hat, arrives at the house and discusses Tony with Camille she is more invested in the so-called relationship than he is.

The helicopter, according to Max’s informant, has not been found and we learn Max’s last name for the first time, which is Hauser.

Back in San Francisco, Rachel is rather down about ‘Tony’ leaving so soon after their wedding. Peter, who fences stolen goods with his friend Roger, persuades Rachel to lend him 2 thousand dollars to buy items from an old woman who is having an estate sale. Rachel is again not pleased. Peter seemed to thrive in taking advantage of her for all that he loved her.

Evil Max receives news from the police that the helicopter has been found... with no survivors.

 

Right...

 He wastes no time in breaking the bad news about Tony’s crashed helicopter to Victoria, Camille and Mara, who were still present.

Weeping, Camille runs to tell her husband, Clarke (John Andrew Ryan), that Tony is dead.

Look at the silver lining honey... 

Mr Sensitive, after expressing his sorrow, pointed out they now owned everything (with Tony dying unmarried and having no children) which immediately incurred Camille’s wrath, 

‘how can you say that, Tony was my brother!’

What sort of people does Tony have in his household???

There's another Mrs Stockdale???

Victoria joins Max in Tony’s study, still stunned by the tragic news. Max hands her a document he ‘found’ on Tony’s desk. To Victoria’s amazement, it’s a marriage license (or is it certificate?); Tony got married the previous day and without telling her... and to a woman he never mentioned, Rachel Swanson. Max urged her to call her before the press did, he found her number among Tony’s papers. 

You have to give credit to this demon for covering his tracks neatly.

Bewildered, Victoria made the call, asking to speak to Rachel when Marnie answered.

Rachel, amazed to hear the name ‘Mrs Victoria Stockdale’, asked if she was related to Tony, and Victoria told her she was Tony’s stepmother... with terrible news for her. There has been an accident and Tony is dead.

Come again?

‘Dead?!’ Rachel exclaimed. ‘What do you mean dead?!’

Thus, the beginning of the full-blown drama.

#ABRelived

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