The Red Umbrella

Highlights

Page 10

“Señor Pedraza showed us with a secret experiment.” Frankie took a big sip of juice. “Last week, before the school closed, he had us all pray that everyone would have ice cream when they got home. He told us to pray really hard … and I did, because you know how much I love ice cream.” “Mmm-hmm,” Mamá answered as Frankie grabbed another croqueta. “So, everybody prayed, but the next day, only a couple of kids said they had any. Señor Pedraza said that didn’t seem very fair.” I laughed. “Yeah, but that’s because—” “I’m not done with my story!” Frankie glared. “Sigue, tell me what happened next.” Mamá spun her wedding ring around her finger. The diamond disappeared and then reappeared with each turn. Frankie took a deep breath and turned back to Mamá. “Well, Señor Pedraza told us to close our eyes again and this time to ask Comandante Fidel for ice cream. A few minutes later, a lady brought enough for the whole class. Señor Pedraza said that El Comandante wouldn’t leave anyone out. If one kid was going to get ice cream, then it was only right that we all got some. Now, I think that was super fair.” Frankie licked the croqueta crumbs off his fingers. Mamá shook her head. “It’s not so simple.”

Note: nice indoctrination

Page 25

“Seems Little Miss Perfect’s father got arrested last night in some big roundup. They picked up a bunch of anti-revolutionaries. Her father’s such a lowlife. What a stupid gusano.” “What was he doing?” “I heard that he was writing lies about Castro. You’d think after they shut down his precious newspaper he’d have learned his lesson. It was the talk of the meeting. They said—”

Note: such is the value of newspapers

Page 34

“No, Sonia. We do what is required and that’s it. But we need to be careful with that family; the CDR are glorified neighborhood spies.” I couldn’t believe how judgmental Papá was being. I’d read the newspapers and knew how much the revolution wanted to help people. It said that the factories had been closed because the owners were giving all their profits to foreigners and that the churches had been infiltrated by American sympathizers. Castro had no choice but to have the government take over many of the businesses so that there wouldn’t be so much corruption. It was all for the benefit of the country, and everyone was expected to pitch in and help. What harm was there in that?

Note: people will believe anything

Page 107

“Lucy,” he called out, “you’re only allowed to take one bag, and a box of cigars that you can sell once you get there, so pack a little of everything, but nothing of value. The soldiers will steal it if they think it’s worth something.” Papá placed his arm around Mamá. “And, mi hija, thank you for not making this any harder.” As I left the room, I saw Mamá’s shoulders shake and tears stream down her cheeks. Papá reached into his back pocket and pulled out a handkerchief. He offered it to her while his own tears fell to the floor.

Page 118

The plane engines began to hum and we started to slowly roll forward. “Look!” Frankie pointed to the rooftop. There, in the middle of the small crowd, against the bright blue sky, a big red umbrella opened up. Mamá’s umbrella. That big stupid thing had never looked so beautiful. A smile edged its way onto my face. Mamá had found a way to say good-bye. I didn’t know when I’d be coming back home, so I studied everything about that moment. The trembling of the plane, the deafening sound of the engines as we lifted off the ground, the view of Havana’s high-rises set against Cuba’s rugged landscape, and the ever-shrinking red dot on top of the airport roof.

Note: biblethump

Page 124

It was a sunny day in Miami, exactly the same as in Cuba, but there was a difference. In Cuba, the air seemed to taste sweeter, as if there were mangoes growing nearby or your mother had just cooked your favorite dish.

Note: home

Page 146

“All right, it’s settled. I’ll take care of the paperwork and sending a telegram to your parents telling them of the change. Mrs. Eckhart will make sure you go back to your own beds and get a few more hours of sleep. You can pack your bags right after breakfast.” I stifled a laugh. Pack? There wasn’t anyone at the camp who had ever unpacked.

Page 156

“We’ll fix those up for you. I already have some people at the church who said they’d donate their kids’ old shoes for you to wear, too. All the parishioners at St. Mary’s want to help.” I was going to be wearing hand-me-downs. Used clothing. I’d never had to do that before. We always bought the very latest fashions. Ivette would be mortified to see me wearing these clothes.

Note: even kindness appears condesxending

Page 166

Frankie watched me open the bottle and pour some of the red sauce next to the eggs. Carefully I dipped some egg into it. Mrs. Baxter smiled, waiting for my reaction. I took a bite. Instantly my tongue was on fire. I swallowed the eggs without chewing and grabbed the glass of juice sitting on the table. I didn’t stop drinking until about half of the glass was gone. Frankie giggled. “Oh my, you don’t like it?” Mrs. Baxter’s eyebrows were scrunched together. “I thought you liked spicy food. I read that in Mexico they put it on everything, even their eggs.” “Ughmm.” I cleared my throat. “In Cuba, we no eat spicy food. Mexico yes, Cuba no.” Even my ears felt hot. “Oh.” Mrs. Baxter looked disappointed. “Well, in that case, just eat the breakfast without the Tabasco sauce. We’ll start with your English lessons right after we clean up. Yes?”

Page 192

Then again, I couldn’t believe Mamá had spent her time with me telling me how to behave. It was like she didn’t trust me. She’d sent us to a different country by ourselves, but she was worried about my wearing makeup? Here I was, taking care of Frankie and myself … and I was doing a pretty good job. I certainly was old enough to make my own decisions. “Mrs. Baxter?” I said. “Frankie, you need to hang up now.” Mrs. Baxter touched Frankie’s shoulder. He nodded and said his good-byes. “Yes, Lucía?” She turned to face me as Frankie rubbed his eyes and hung up the phone. “I want you to cut my hair … short. Really short.”

Note: rebellion

Page 212

“Don’t let it get to you. Now you’re officially one of us midlevel girls.” “Midlevel?” I asked, looking over at Jennifer. “That’s what we used to call ourselves,” Jennifer explained. “Girls who aren’t part of the popular crowd, but are still friends with a bunch of people. We’re smart, but not as much as the brainy groups. We’re just in the middle. Average American teenage girls.” I smiled and took a sip of the sweet tea. Me, an average American girl. Until I could go back home and be an average Cuban girl, this would suit me just fine.

Note: sigh. just like bella swan

Page 254

The words stung. Not because they were true, but because they were such blatant lies. How could Ivette change so much? America had done nothing but help me and Frankie. And here I’d met some of the nicest and friendliest people in the world. People who cared for me. My heart ached. I had wanted to go back to Cuba. To my parents. To my best friend. But that didn’t seem possible anymore. That Cuba, that friend, simply didn’t exist.

Note: didnt exist anymore

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