Played by Catie

Name: Adela Martinez
Nickname: Addy, Gidget, Nez
Age: 34
Birthday: June 11, 1974
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual
Status: Single
Job: Owner of Fresh Mex
Religion: Agnostic
Chronic diseases/Other Illness: None
Allergies: Bees
Smokes: No
Drinks: Yes - Socially

Appearance

Height: 5’1”
Build: Petite but athletic.
Eyes: She likes to mess around with color contacts so you never know what the color of the week is going to be.
Hair: Brown, sometimes she adds some highlights or lowlights to it. Never the same for entirely too long.
Complexion: Dark
Glasses: Nope.
Scars: One on her foot from a broken bone that needed surgery as a kid.
Tattoos/Piercing: Ear piercing and a small tattoo inside her right wrist of a sun.
Usually wears: She likes to add a little bit of flair to relatively simple outfits. Her most common type of outfit is simple jeans or skirt with a simple shirt, dressed up with a scarf or a big necklace.
Never wears: Leather/Pleather/Sequins

Wearing today: 

May 29 - Evening
 

Coming from some difficult situations in her life, Adela is an incredibly resilient person. She has taken the negative parts in her life and subscribed to the philosophy of making the best of things. She is very independent which in turn means she is often very reluctant to ask for help. She typically does not like to talk about things that hurt her, whether they be current or from the past. She is fiercely protective of those she cares about.
In terms of her romantic life, she's only had one real exclusive relationship, with Jesse Thompson which happened a while ago. While living in Mexico, she dated around but other than with Jesse, she's never been in a serious relationship. She may be avoidant of romantic connections (most likely subconsciously connected to happenings with her parents) but she does create very strong friendship bonds. Her avoidance of true intimacy usually manifests itself in her somewhat cavalier attitude toward sexual relationships.
She has not yet figured out exactly what she believes spiritually but she draws a lot of inspiration from how spiritual her best friend Tim is. A lot of her strength and inspiration is drawn from her deep friendships.

• Cheerful
• Passionate
• Optimistic
• Independent
• Creative

Adela moved with her family from Alamos (Sonora) to Pleasant Port when she was 5 years old. Her family moved in next door to the Thompson family. She grew up with guys like Jesse, Tim and Brady acting like her older brothers. One summer that Jesse was home from college, he and Adela made a transition from the neighbors who grew up together to something different. She was completely infatuated with Jesse and the summer before her senior year of high school, when she was 18, they had one of those quintessential summer romances. When Jesse went back to college, he and Adela were not able to pull it together for any sort of relationship to continue. She had fun her senior year of high school and the summer after her senior year was meant to be a fun one. She hoped that she and Jesse could have a repeat of the previous summer but the summer ended up being a horrible, life changing summer. During that summer, when she was 19, her father killed his wife, and then he killed himself. Searching to forget about everything, Adela moved back to Mexico with her best friend Tim. She considers Tim more her family than any of the extended relatives that she has. The years that she spent living without him in the same city as her in her late twenties were hard on her. He is her main system of support and she tries to be the same for him. After Tim left, she took living by herself pretty hard. Jesse had visited them in Mexico when Tim was there and so he came back to check up on how she was doing without Tim. The few weeks that Adela had planned for Jesse to visit, as her friend, turned into a relationship and Jesse stayed for three months. She realized that Jesse had bigger and better things to get on to in his life and staying with her was holding him back from what she wanted to do. She told him to leave and for the next years after he left, she began to do alright being by herself, developing a more independent personality. When Jesse was still living with her, he convinced her to start attending night classes at a local business school. While working over the span of 4 years, she got her business degree. She was dedicated and by the end of her time knew exactly what she wanted to do with it. She has dreamed for years about opening her own restaurant and eventually she figured out where. In 2004 she decided to come back to Pleasant Port, and opened her Mexican restaurant there.

When Adela was growing up, her father, Antonio, was never an attentive father. He didn't abuse her or her mother, Lucinda, but he wasn't particularly involved in their lives. She always had a more formal relationship with her father than anything. She and her mother got along well and she only really had a feeling of family with her mother, not her father. Toward the end of her high school years, Adela noticed a change in the relationship that her parents had. Over the years, Antonio had become more and more dominant over Lucinda. Adela used to be afraid that their confrontations would turn violent but she never saw her father lay a finger on her mother and didn't see any signs of it.
One night, when she was 19, the summer after she graduated from high school, Adela had been out to dinner and just hanging out with Tim. She had left the house while her parents in the middle of a fight. When Tim brought her home, they arrived at the house right behind an ambulance. They at first saw Jesse on the porch with blood on him as he had gone inside before the ambulance came. Adela's first thought was that something had happened to Jesse but the police soon informed her what had happened with her parents.
Adela will never know the sequence of events but what she knows is that Antonio had brandished a gun and shot Lucinda. His shot didn't kill her immediately, it punctured a lung. Adela also knows that Antonio was actually the one who called 911. Jesse had been home, heard the gun shots and had called 911 as well, that is the extend that Adela knows of Jesse's involvement. Once he had informed them that Lucinda needed help, he had hung up the phone and shot himself. The ambulance had taken Lucinda to the hospital where JJ's father, Dr Sullivan, and a team tried in vain to save her life. Antonio was pronounced dead at the house. Adela spent the time in the hospital waiting on news with Tim, Jesse, who had come along right away and JJ, who had come with his father when his father had been called in.
This is all Adela knows of what happened. She wouldn't admit to this but she often wonders about the full story, sometimes even dreaming about it, filling in the holes. Adela knows that Jesse made a 911 call and was around but has never been able to ask him about it. In such a small town, something like this has a big impact and it didn't take long for Adela to freak out under the pressure and the memories and that is when she and Tim moved to Mexico together.

A pink vespa

and a newly purchased
2006 Civic

Status: Single
Crush: Anyone, everyone
First Kiss: Cameron Tritton.
Longest relationship: With Jesse Thompson. On and off for a few years.
Ever had a broken heart: Maybe? She hasn't quite figured it out yet...
If you want to win her heart, you have to be: Genuine.
3 things she can't stand in men: Guys who yell, vanity, taking themselves too seriously.
Does she believe in love at first sight? No
Virgin? No
When did she lose her virginity? When she was 18 to Jesse Thompson.
For Adela, love is: Terrifying.

• Father: Antonio Martinez (Deceased)
• Mother: Lucinda Martinez (Deceased)
• Siblings: None

Character	Why they know each other?
	Tim is Adela's best friend. She has known him since she was a child, and he's always there for her, when things are good and when they're bad. She can't imagine life without Tim and cares deeply for him. When both her parents died and she moved back to Mexico, he went with her. Adela would readily tell anyone that Tim is her family, she considers him her brother.
	Norah is in the process of painting a mural at Fresh Mex. Adela enjoys having Norah around and loves to be a system of support for Norah's artistic endeavors. They have good conversation and a genuine appreciation for each other.
	Luke and Adela have an interesting history. They slept together before her parents died, when she was 19. He was 24 at the time. There was no relationship other than a physical one. When Tim found out, he and Luke got into a fight as Tim felt Luke was taking advantage of Adela. They never really got the chance to deal with the situation as her parents died and she moved away soon after. They hadn't interacted much since she returned but recently have begun talking more, with Adela never really knowing what happened between Tim and Luke. (more to come)
	Brady and Adela were relatively good friends growing up in Pleasant Port, bonded by their Latin roots and Spanish language skills. They lost touch over the years when neither of them were living in Pleasant Port. When Brady's sister, who had also been a friend of Adela's, died and Brady moved back to town, Adela and Brady reconnected. They've been rebuilding their friendship over the past year or so and she now considers him a good friend of hers. They frequent each others businesses and like to go out together, always having a good time.
	Jonathan has been a frequent customer of Fresh Mex since it opened. Johnny has always been flirtatious with Adela and although she flirted back, she was resistant to his advances for a while. She eventually let down her barriers and the two of them began an interesting relationship. It began as some random hookups and over the span of about a year became essentially a relationship minus a few important details. They never had titles, didn't talk about feelings and never really truly incorporated the other into their lives. After a year from when the first started interacting, Johnny decided that it was all becoming too much for him and broke it off, explaining to Adela how he just didn't think it was right and she deserved a better and real relationship. They have their ups and downs but currently are getting along well and Adela is trying to be there for John as he's going through some tough times in his life.

Past Interactions

	Adela has known Jesse in a variety of different ways. At first, he was her next door neighbor growing up who used to tease her and who she looked up to and generally adored. And then he was the college boy that she developed a romantic relationship with once he started to see her as more than the girl next door. She lost her virginity to Jesse and at different times in her life would have told you she was in love with him. Being with Jesse is the only real, healthy romantic relationship that Adela has ever had. After Tim left Mexico, Jesse came to visit and ended up staying with Adela for a few months. He was really the one who got her going to school. She really did want to be with him but knew that their heads weren't in the same place and that he needed to go. They went through a period of time after he left where they didn't communicate much but over the years they've written letters back and forth, their most frequent topic of conversation being Jesse's son, Tuma. Adela and Jesse were back together for a while when he was in town but when his wife returned to town, things got messed up again. They're currently broken up and not even seeing each other in a friendly manner as it is too hard for them both.
	Adela knows Gavin through Tim. They get along well. When they are in the same social situations, she always appreciates his presence as she enjoys his company. They aren't particularly good friends but Adela has a true respect for him as he is someone who is very important to her best friend.
	Henry is someone that, although he wasn't the type Adela normally gravitated to, Adela started seeing after she and Jesse broke up. They had been friends before that. Their relationship was never one that was truly defined and you could definitely argue that Henry was more invested in it than Adela was. After finding Henry had slept with someone else Adela decided that she was finished with the relationship. She didn't cut him out completely but isn't sure right now how she wants him to be involved in her life.

Other Characters talk about Adela

Tim Jenkins: "You know when the sky is cloudy and everything is dark, and all of a sudden one of the clouds clears and you can see a beam though them, scattering it's light on multiple beams all over the sky? That's Adela".

Gavin Jenkins: "I know Adela through Tim and I can truly say she's a wonderful person and I'm glad my brother has a friend like her because I can just see how happy she makes him."

Cameron Tritton: "Adela's been one of the nicest, most helpful person I've met since coming back to the Port, she's really given me more of her time than I could ever repay her for and the kids just love her."

Norah Parker: "I love Adela! She's so warm and friendly. And she let's me paint on the walls... what's not to like about that? Honestly thought, Adela's an intelligent woman, well travled, and fun to talk to. She's sunshine and daisies! Rainbows and kittens!"

Christopher Miller: "Adela is such a great person that I'd probably eat at Fresh Mex even if I didn't love the food. Luckily I do enjoy the food so I don't have to make that decision."

Brady Hernandez: "Adela is one of the Blessed Mother's special people. She always has time for her friends, and I'm blessed to be counted as one of them."

Larissa Tritton: "My brother never shuts up about her and to be honest I've only met her once, but hell she impressed me as well, she's a smart, quick witted and industrious powerhouse of a woman, but I get the feeling something bad went down with her parents and not knowing bugs the life outta me!"

Travis Collins: "She's a great person to be around and always keeps things entertaining and fun. We had a great time at JJ and Geri's reception, and hopefully I'll get to hang out with her again sometime."

Jesse Thompson: "Adela may be the perfect woman. Not only is she beautiful, but she's got a wonderful heart. She's compassionate, funny, and she can cook some damn good Mexican food. Did I mention she's beautiful?"

Dana Jenkins: "I grew up around Adela. I always looked up to her because Tim and Jesse liked her so much. She was a pretty cool boss when I worked at FreshMex. I wish I got to see her more often."

Scott Archer: "She's an amazing woman and very hot too. I would love to have a threesome with her and her boyfriend. Being able to spend time with her is one of the reasons I love working at the Fresh Mex so much."

Fletcher Montgomery: "I thought she'd be a fun girl to be around, but it ends up she was just a tease."

Life

Activities: Painting, sailing, dancing

Likes: The beach, adding creative twists to boring things, kids, being active, outdoors, puzzles, comfortable silence with friends, affection, music, traveling

Dislikes: Computers, guns, yelling, action movies

Favorite film: Roman Holiday

Favorite song: Hotel Song - Regina Spektor

Favorite quote: Do you believe in something beautiful? Then get up and be it.

Favorite food: Sushi

Favorite color: Green

Favorite book: The Secret Life of Bees

Favorite actor/actress: Humphrey Bogart

Celebrity used: Nelly Furtado