My Lost Cuba by Celso Gonzalez-Falla

Author:Celso Gonzalez-Falla [Gonzalez-Falla, Celso]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction/Biographical, Fiction/Literary, Fiction/Cultural Heritage, Cuba, spanish novels, Travel to Cuba, Batista, Castro, Fulgencio Batista, Fidel Castro, Havana, La Habana, exile, revolution, historical novel, memoir, political exile, Latin American, Latin American Literature, Latin American novels, Cuba 1950s, Cuba 1959, Cuba 1958, Havana 1950s
ISBN: 9780988767331
Publisher: East End Press
Published: 2013-12-07T16:00:00+00:00

— 15 —

Back to the Farm

MIKE OPENED THE door to the library and found his father sitting in his leather chair, reading the Prensa Libre, his favorite tabloid.

“Father, I have to talk to you.”

“How was your day at the office? What did Lustre think about our meeting?”

“He was happy that we had it, because his job will be easier. But I came in to talk to you about another matter. Ricardo called. He told me that Manolo hasn’t followed my orders. I left a memo to all the employees, so there would be no confusion or misunderstanding. For instance, Manolo pulled Ricardo out of the Ceiba pasture and told him not to buy the Guinea grass seed you told him to order.”

Don Miguel was very displeased about this news. “What do you want to do?”

“I want to go back and check on what’s happening there.”

“Do you think that Ricardo told you the truth?”

Mike didn’t hesitate. “Yes, I believe him.”

“Do you think he has an ulterior motive?”

Mike paused. He had grown up with Ricardo, and he knew his shortcomings. He seemed more like a distant uncle or cousin, though, and if he couldn’t believe in him, whom could he trust?

“No, I believe Ricardo. Manolo is out of line. If we give an order, it has to be followed.”

“So, are you ready to go back and tell Manolo he has to follow your orders?”

“Yes.”

“Well, before you go I need to know your long-range plans.”

“What plans? I like working with you, but I still have do go back and complete all my work on my degree.”

“I need to know if you’re going to stay.” Don Miguel shifted forward in his chair. “I want to tell you something. I didn’t want to bring you back here. I don’t want you to work at the farm unless you love it. I won’t allow it. The truth is Lustre was nervous about my health and my behavior. He’d never seen me as I was, and frankly, he panicked. He thought that I’d withdrawn so much since the death of your mother that my mental well-being and the farm’s future were at risk. ”

“Yes, Father, I know how much Mother . . . how much she meant to you,” Mike gently replied.

His father nodded. “Of course, I’m fine now and the farm will survive, but the truth is life in Havana became empty for me. Life is easier on the farm. I don’t have to laugh if I don’t feel like it, or dress up, or even shave. Your sisters were worried, too. They wanted me to go out in society after the first anniversary of your mother’s death. They tried hard, but I just couldn’t do it. I didn’t want to. Of course, all of you adored her. But your sisters, well, they have their families. You went to the US to study, which was the right thing to do. I was left alone.”

Mike had never heard his father speak so frankly. He moved restlessly in

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