We Were Strangers Page #4

I'm afraid, Tony. I don't know why.

I don't want to stay in this house.

There's a place on the waterfront

that stays open all night.

- Let's have breakfast.

- I will change my dress.

The boat for Miami and points north.

- She looks beautiful.

- She is beautiful.

Clean and white.

And she's leaving Havana...

leaving the heat and the crooked streets

and the fear and the murder.

That's it.

Turn your back on them,

the President and all his fat friends.

Tomorrow you'll be

where a man can breathe.

Do you wish you were on board, Tony?

No, I'm glad to be here.

What's the matter, China?

Good morning, Seorita Valdez.

Out early, aren't you?

- Morro crab and coffee.

- Si, seor.

My name is Ariete.

- Mine is Fenner.

- Fenner?

Oh, yes. You are in the theatrical business?

That's right.

- You're here in Cuba looking for talent.

- That's right.

Musicians, singers, dancers.

That's it, isn't it?

I am somewhat of an authority

on the nightlife of this city.

Don't hesitate to call on me.

Armando Ariete.

Hospitality to foreigners is part of my job.

They tell me that the Morro crab this year

are remarkably big and fat.

- Breakfast?

- No.

Dinner. I put the town to bed every night,

Mr. Fenner.

Then like a good parent, every now and then

I look to see that it is sleeping soundly.

- Waiter! Check.

- Si, seor?

1 2 pesos. Gracias, seor.

Seorita Valdez.

Don't forget, Mr. Fenner,

I am at your service.

- Call on me any time.

- By all means.

So that's Ariete.

He's still watching us.

Steady, China. Steady.

The Lopez Sirven family.

Rodrigo Lopez Sirven

is a big power in the government.

His wife died when their baby

was a little more than a year old.

And the child followed his mother

in less than seven months.

Lopez nearly went crazy with grief.

Although it was many years ago...

the women of his family still come on

the saint's day of the mother and the child.

I have seen them often.

They always kiss the statue of the baby

before they leave.

Not this one. He's had trouble enough.

The Contreras family.

Vicente Contreras.

He is the head of the Senate.

It's less than 100 yards

from here to your house.

Contreras is very popular.

It might be a mistake to choose him.

He is even popular

with some in the revolutionary party.

The more popular he is, the better.

Yeah.

This is the one.

Are there any transformers

or big dynamos in this neighborhood?

No.

All right. We'll work in four-hour shifts.

Two men will dig while two sleep.

One will always be on lookout.

Sometime after 2:00...

a truck will come by to take the earth away.

The men will be in the uniforms

of the City Sanitation Department.

When you let them in...

don't speak to them,

they won't speak to you.

All right, Guillermo,

what are we waiting for?

This one is for the President.

For the Vice President!

For the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

- What's the matter?

- Nothing.

It's good to change jobs, that's all.

Was I going too slowly?

Too fast.

Work slow, Ramon. It is wrong to fight it.

A shovel like this

can win over the strongest of men.

You say to yourself:

"I'm getting you. I'm wearing you out."

You are wrong.

The shovel is only bright with strength.

You're something of a poet, aren't you?

A poet who cannot write

becomes a workman.

A man with a shovel leads two lives.

His mind is seldom on his work.

Most of the time he's dreaming.

No sailor goes on such long voyages.

- You make it sound good to work.

- It is not so bad.

In a week or so, you'll get the hang of it.

Yeah?

Why are you in this? You, an American.

Guillermo says you have dedicated yourself

to fighting injustice.

Is that why you came to Cuba?

- What do you think?

- I don't know.

I'll tell you.

I heard that rum was cheap,

and the girls were pretty...

and it was summer all year around.

Go to bed. Get some sleep.

I can't sleep.

Well, try.

In nineteen hundred and thirty-three,

Tony Fenner said to me

Get your shovel and your pick

We'll strike a blow for liberty

What is wrong and what is right

Will be decided with dynamite

That is what he said to me

We'll dig all day, we'll dig all night

Chinita is so beautiful

Chinita is so very good

Five men adore our sweet Chinita

As 75 men would and should

Seventy-five men would or should

10, 1 2, 1 4, 16, 18, 20...

22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28.

- 28 bags.

- Only 28?

No, 30. You don't know how to count.

All right, 30. I made a mistake.

I bet you that we will fill more than 40.

- Ramon?

- At least 40.

What about it? 10 pesos.

It's a bet.

You want to take part of it, Miguel?

- No. I do not.

- You see, he knows we'll win.

No, it is not that.

It's just that I do not believe in betting

on things that have to do with killing.

Forget the bet, Guillermo. Come on.

A nice evening for the beach,

don't you agree?

A nice evening for the beach,

don't you agree?

Yes. I suppose so.

A few of us are going out to Las Fritas.

If you come there will be an even number

of fellows and girls.

Who is the odd one?

Seor Munoz, the first teller.

Will you tell Seor Munoz that I'm in despair

at having another engagement?

You cannot cancel it?

No. I am sorry. Perhaps some other time.

- It's a pity.

- Good night.

Good afternoon, seorita.

What is the matter? I do not see you

about the cafs lately? It is disappointing.

I have not been well.

And your friend, is he ill, too?

- My friend?

- Yes. Your friend Mr. Fenner, the American.

I saw Mr. Fenner a few days ago.

He said that he was going into the country

to listen to the Guajiro music.

He is sending many Cuban entertainers

back to America, you know.

I suppose if he has disappeared...

I shall have to take you

around the cabarets myself some night.

Mr. Fenner has by no means disappeared.

I might stop by for you anyway.

I'm sure there are things in Havana

you have not seen.

I have seen enough in my time.

- Good rum.

- Compana.

- 1925.

- Made in Havana.

The year the President came to power.

Then this is just the right bottle.

Yes. For that we should drink a toast to him.

To the President,

a man who has lived seven years too long.

Eight years.

The first year, amigo, he was not so bad.

I won't argue with you about a year.

Drink to the day of his death.

I would rather drink to the bomb.

- To the bomb.

- And our bait:
Vicente Contreras.

A long happy life, till we need you, Vicente.

Yes. Be careful, Vicente.

Nothing must happen to you

until we finish our tunnel.

Don't go out at night

without a coat, Seor Contreras.

- Be careful crossing the Prado.

- Please don't go swimming.

Take very good care of yourself.

Shut your mouths, all of you! Shut up!

What's the matter with him?

Nothing.

I'm sorry.

Contreras, I know him, that's all.

He is a friend of my family.

Then it was a bad joke.

Forget it.

I'm sorry.

A friend of his family's.

I don't know why I said all that.

It is wrong

to joke about the death of another man.

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