"Havana Best Friends"

Buy it at McClellad & Stewart  or at Amazon

2006

Published by McClelland & Stewart Ltd., Canada

ISBN 0-7710-4660-X

1

The most remarkable feature of the Parque de la Quinta, in Havana's posh Miramar suburb, is the full-grown, sixty-foot ficus trees. Their numerous hanging vines reach the public park's red
clay, dig into it, grow roots, and form dozens of slender trunks around the main one. Nature-loving tourists coasting along Fifth Avenue in their rentals frequently slow down to gape at them, then risk a traffic ticket by parking next to the curb to photograph or videotape themselves next to the vegetal giants.

When that happens, the police officer standing under a metallic sunshade by the gleaming white residence of the Belgian ambassador to Cuba, a restored mansion on the corner of Fifth and
24th Street, usually says into the transceiver mounted on his left shoulder something like, "41 to 04. A 314 on Fifth between 24th and 26th. Plate T-OO357," then waits to see whether a cop in a nearby squad car will arrive and slap a fine on the violator. But on this Friday morning, the young cop had been ogling a woman jogging around the park and didn't report the black Hyundai that had illegally pulled over on Fifth and discharged a tall, overweight man.

The jogger's blond hair was pulled back into a ponytail that reached below her shoulders and swayed gracefully as she ran. A light-green sweatshirt covered a skimpy bra in which were nestled small breasts; black Lycra leggings hugged ample round hips and well-proportioned thighs; cotton socks and sneakers completed her apparel. The cop wasn't paying attention to her long eyebrows, honey-coloured eyes, straight nose, or thin lips; he was focusing on her behind - not as hefty as he preferred. "Nice temba" he said, using the Cuban slang for an attractive woman in her late thirties or early forties.

The cop thought that her rangy escort, a few yards behind, looked like a middle-aged scholar who had decided to exercise on a regular basis only after intellectualizing the benefits involved, an impression enhanced by his innocent-looking blue eyes and cleanshaven face. Six or seven inches taller than her five-feet-four, he had short copper-coloured hair partially hidden by a white
bandana. A purple sweatshirt covered his flat chest and belly; hairy legs showed under his baggy brown shorts. His feet, shod with Reeboks and lacking socks, revealed bony ankles.

The joggers turned on the corner of 24th and continued their fourth lap on the sidewalk along Fifth. Perspiration glistened on their faces, darkened the cloth under their armpits. Their skin,
where visible, was quite rosy. This made the cop assume the joggers were 611s, the code for
aliens. In Havana, among white people, at a glance and from a distance, a suntan frequently sets locals apart from foreigners. Particularly in Miramar, where embassies and the offices of
multinationals are flanked by private homes, it's not easy to surmise who is or isn't a native.
Clothing is not an infallible clue. Most Cubans dress modestly, but the number of those in fashionable sportswear and flashy running shoes - the dress favoured by many tourists -
grows steadily as remittances from Cubans living abroad increase year after year. Red or rosy skin is a more reliable indication.

Few of the sun's rays filtered through the park's dense foliage canopy and reached the soil, where spots of lawn survived precariously alongside fine gravel. Dead leaves were being raked by a gardener. The scent of dew and plants was overpowered by the exhaust fumes from the steady stream of vehicles speeding along. Sparrows and grackles pecking close to the sinuous walkways fluttered to the safety of branches and twigs when pedestrians got too close. A thirty-foot pergola was being swept clean by an old woman who resembled Warty the witch, minus cat and hat.

The couple ran past the bust of General Prado, the nineteenth- century Peruvian president who favoured the independence of Cuba, and rounded the sidewalk at the corner of 26th. This was
the third consecutive morning they'd exercised in the park between 7:45 and 8:15 give or take a couple of minutes. Across the street, the Catholic church of Santa Rita de Casia already had its doors open.

The joggers rounded the corner of 26th and stared down Third A, a curved street. The three young men shooting the breeze on the corner and the tall, overweight man contemplating a
monument to Mahatma Ghandi behind the pergola eyed the couple curiously when the man slowed down, stopped, bent over, and grabbed both knees. The woman glanced over her shoulder, reduced her speed, and came to a halt. He hunkered down. She retraced several steps, rested her left hand on his back, and talked to him with a look of concern. The man nodded before straightening up. Both were trying to get their breathing back to normal. She said something, looking at a three-storey apartment building across the street. He shook his
head, but then grabbed her shoulder, as if for balance. She steered him toward the apartment building, eyebrows knitted in a frown. The concrete-and-block cube, numbered 2406, was a six-unit - three facing the street, three at the back - built in the 1950s. Painted light grey, it was flanked on one side by a lot where the foundation for a new building was being dug, and on the other by a house with a red-tile roof. It looked out of place in this neighbourhood of older buildings. Three balconies with French windows, one on each floor, faced the street.

Inside the apartment building, the woman pressed the buzzer alongside the sole door on the ground floor. Nearly a minute went by before it was opened by a tall, good-looking woman wearing a white short-sleeved blouse, a dark-green knee-length skirt, and
high heels.

"Si?" the surprised resident asked, her left eyebrow arched.

"I'm so sorry to inconvenience you," the female jogger said, also in Spanish. "My name's Marina. This is my husband, Sean. We were jogging in the park and . . . his vision blurred, he felt dizzy.
From the heat, you know. Canadians are not accustomed to this temperature. Could you offer him a glass of water, please? We forgot to bring some with us."

For a moment the woman stared at the man. He seemed exhausted, an embarrassed flicker of a smile on his lips. "Sure, come on in," she said, stepping back and pulling the door wide open.

Marina and Sean entered a spacious living room in a deplorable condition. A chesterfield with overstuffed arms and two matching club chairs were badly frayed and stained. At some point the cedar coffee table had lost its glass top and now showed multiple water rings; on it was an ashtray full of reeking butts. The drapes framing the French window to the balcony, like the shades of the two floor lamps, were also soiled. A solitary light bulb hung from the ceiling, and the cream-coloured vinyl paint on the walls was beginning to flake off.

"Take a seat, please," the hostess said. "I'll get some water."

She disappeared into a hallway, her heels clicking on the granite floor. The joggers perched themselves onto the edge of the chesterfield and took in the beautiful still life in a baroque frame
hanging to their left, two mismatched chairs, and the TV set facing them. From somewhere inside, a man bellowed, "Who the fuck was it, Elena?" The couple swapped a glance. A refrigerator door slamming shut was the only response. The woman returned to the
living room with two glasses of cold water on a tray, which she placed on the coffee table.

"There you are. Let me know if you want some more."

The man reached for a glass and drank avidly, his Adam's apple bobbing with every gulp. Then he leaned back on the sofa and closed his eyes.

"The family doctor is two blocks away. I can fetch him, if you want," the hostess suggested, a dash of solicitude in her tone, as she slid into a club chair.

"Let's give him a minute," Marina said, still frowning at her companion. "Nothing like this has ever happened to him. It may just be sunstroke."

"I asked who the f—," a short bald man yelled from the entrance to the hallway. He was barefoot, wearing only his boxer shorts, and part of his pubic hair could be seen through the
opening at the front. With a surprised expression he checked himself, turned and fled. The long hair at the back of his head flopped ludicrously.

Repressing a snicker, Marina took a sip from her glass, then drained it. Sean had opened his eyes at the man's voice. "Thanks," he whispered in English before sliding forward on the seat and
extending his right hand. "Sean," he added, apparently recovered.

"Elena," the hostess said with a firm handshake. "Feeling better?"

Marina interpreted for her husband. "He doesn't speak Spanish," she explained.

"Much better, thank you," said Sean, beaming and resting an ankle on the other knee.

"He says much better, thank you."

"Well, my English is lousy, fifty words maybe, but that I can understand. Would you like some espresso? Coffee is a great stimulant, you know. And here in Cuba we brew it pretty strong. A
sip might do him good."

"We don't want to trouble you."

"No problem. Ask him."

Sean yielded at Elena's insistence. She went back to the kitchen and the joggers exchanged grins, then waited in silence. A few minutes later the smell of freshly brewed coffee and the sound
of angry whispering wafted into the living room. The joggers exchanged a questioning glance.
Another minute went by before Elena returned with two demitasses on tiny saucers. She was followed by the short bald man, now in a blue guayabera, white chinos, and cordovan boots with three-inch heels. What hair he had was pulled back in a meagre pony-tail. Before handing out the cups, Elena made the introductions.

"Meet my brother, Pablo," she said, her expression neutral.

Pablo shook hands with a grin. "How do you do?" he said in heavily accented English. Elena rolled her eyes. Marina wondered how the siblings could be so physically different. Elena was a good four inches taller than his five-feet-three or -four, a fit, big-boned woman with dark eyes, supple lips, and nice curves in all the right places. Pablo had green eyes, thin lips, an unhealthy pallor, narrow shoulders, and skinny arms that made him seem frail. Perhaps that was why he looked younger than his sister. Only one parent in common? Maybe. But she had said "brother" not "half-brother." There was little love lost between them, from the look of things.

"Good you come. This" - a sweep of the arm - "your home," Pablo added, his grin seeming rather forced.

"Pablo," said Elena through clenched teeth.

"Oh, yeah, my sister, she don't understand English."

Elena pursed her lips in disapproval.

Pablo slid into the remaining club chair and impatiently waited for Marina to finish her espresso, then started questioning her in Spanish. What had happened? Did her husband feel better now?
Was she from Argentina? Yeah, he had guessed it, had identified the accent. From Buenos Aires? Ah, "Mi Buenos Aires querido," he sang, the only line he knew from the most famous of all tangos, while his eyes stole a lascivious glance at her thighs. And her husband? Oh .. . how nice. What city? Toronto? So, she lived in Toronto now, right? And when did they arrive in Cuba? Where were they staying?

As his wife answered all kinds of questions, Sean sipped his coffee slowly, eyes moving from the brother to the sister, appraising them coolly. Elena seemed okay; Pablo too garrulous for his taste. He emptied the demitasse and put it on the tray, then reached for Marina's and did the same. Elena rose and took the tray back to the kitchen. When she returned to her club chair, they were all laughing about something. Her brother lit a cigarette and blew smoke to the ceiling

"This is a nice apartment," Marina commented, her gaze shifting around the living room. "Have you lived here long?"

"All our lives," Pablo answered. "We were born here. Our parents. . . "

"How is Sean feeling?" Elena asked, interrupting her brother,who frowned.
Marina interpreted. Sean said he was fine now.

"Well, then you'll have to excuse me. I mustn't be late for work."

Pablo widened his eyes. "Elena, that's very rude of you."

"Listen, Pablo . . . ," said Elena testily, trying not to get into an argument with her brother in the presence of strangers.

"But of course," Marina butted in, jumping to her feet. Sean, seemingly surprised, uncoiled himself from the chesterfield. "You've been very kind. Would you allow us to reciprocate in
some way? Take you to dinner maybe?"

"No, thanks, this is nothing . . ."

"We'd be delighted," Pablo said, leaping at the offer with a fresh grin.

"Pablo! No, Marina. We just..."

"But I insist. We would enjoy your company enormously. We don't know anybody here. It would be great to take you guys out tonight. Learn from you about a nice place, somewhere off the beaten track. In fact, you'd be doing us another favour."

"I would gladly take you to wherever you want to go," Pablo said, also in Spanish. "There's this nice private restaurant. It would have to be after five, you know. That's when I leave the office."
Marina interpreted for Sean.

"By all means," he said when his wife had finished speaking. "I won't take no for an answer."
"Sean says he would consider it an honour to take both of you to dinner tonight. It has to be tonight because we are leaving tomorrow. We rented a car, so we can pick you up." And turning to Elena. "Please, Elena, you admitted two complete strangers into your home. That's real hospitality. Don't turn us down. Please?"

Elena shook her head and forced a smile.

"C'mon, sis," Pablo said in a false pleading tone.

Elena considered it. "Okay, tonight. At eight."

"Eight's perfect," Marina said.

Once they had said their farewells, the joggers left the apartment building, walked to the corner of 24th, turned left, and disappeared from view. Unaware that he had got away with a
traffic violation, the tall, overweight man shot a last admiring glance at the big trees before climbing back into his rental and speeding off.