Next Year In Havana

Marisol returns to the Rodriguez house to tell Ana about her meeting with Pablo and who he is to her. She tells all three Rodriguez women about Luis’s imprisonment, and they greet the news with “Cuban pragmatism” (292). Hoping to find out more, Marisol goes to Pablo’s house. Seeing how much better preserved and more comfortable it is than the Rodriguez home, Marisol wonders if Pablo’s role in the regime has provided him with a comfortable life at the expense of some other family. Pablo has no news, and he insists that Marisol must let him handle things: Any action on her part may worsen the situation and lead to her own arrest as a spy. Luis is charged with “social dangerousness” (294)—a charge for which he may be held for a long time and that may even lead to him being disappeared or killed.

After some very tense hours, Pablo returns to the Rodriguez house with Luis. Luis has been severely beaten while in custody. Pablo tells them that Luis’s release is at present disguised as a clerical error; this fiction will last for a short time only, so they need to move quickly. Luis needs to fly to Antigua (it does not require a visa to enter), then rely upon Marisol to charter a flight to Miami.