Violeta meets Fabian Schmidt-Engler, the youngest son of a large German immigrant family, when she is 17 and he is 23. The Schmidt-Englers are a wealthy family who own a dairy farm and a hotel a few miles from Nahuel. After having completed his coursework in veterinary studies, Fabian is offering free services in the locality to gain practice and complete his degree. He visits Santa Clara accordingly and is smitten with Violeta from the moment he sees her. He begins visiting the farm under different pretexts to keep seeing her, despite Bruno’s distrust and Facunda’s grumbling.

After two months of visits, Fabian eventually wins the family over. Although he is not talkative, his visits nevertheless alleviate the boredom, as the family recounts old stories to him: Violeta thus learns of her paternal grandmother, Nívea, who was decapitated in an automobile accident; an aunt who communed with spirits; and a family dog who grew to a tremendous size.

Owing to Fabian’s interest in her, his family invites Violeta and her family to Hotel Bavaria. Violeta makes a good impression on them, and shortly after, Fabian proposes to her. The proposal comes as a surprise to Violeta, who had not picked up on Fabian’s romantic interest in her.