When We Left Cuba

It’s October 1962. Beatriz likes being in London and feels she has become brave, strong, and independent. She enjoys attending university and working for the CIA. She watches Ramon Martinez, Claudia’s boyfriend, and passes messages to Dwyer. She misses Cuba, Palm Beach, her sisters, and Nick. She suspects Ramon of being a double agent but wants proof, so arranges to meet him for dinner. The night before, she gets an assignment to attend a party and secure a microfilm from a Soviet agent. She goes to the party and sees Nick.

They step outside to talk. Nick tells Beatriz he misses her and he is no longer engaged. Nick understands, “We’re still on opposite sides, and we still want different things” (230), but that hasn’t diminished the desire he feels. Beatriz spots the Soviet colonel and also Ramon. She pretends to fall so that colonel can slip her the microfilm; then, she takes a cab with Nick to his hotel. They make love. Beatriz slips away in the morning to go to Hyde Park, but her contact doesn’t meet her. When she returns to her apartment, someone is there.