The Red Umbrella

The weather is beginning to change in Nebraska, with the nights becoming cooler. Lucia feels that her home in Cuba moves further away with each day, and she fears she may never see her parents again. She reads Mr. Baxter’s newspaper daily, discovering how freedom of speech is honored and represented in American papers. She is beginning to realize that the people of Cuba have scarified too much for the hope and promise of positive change, which is beginning to seem unrealistic. The American papers enlighten Lucia about what is truly happening in Cuba. In just a few months, her perspective on the revolution changes. She used to think that the people being jailed or killed “must have done something wrong or just didn’t love Cuba enough,” but now she sees that anyone who disagrees with the revolution is merely “eliminated” (229).

At church, Mrs. Baxter tells Lucia they will leave quickly after the service because she knows they are expecting a call from Cuba. Usually, Mrs. Baxter introduces Lucia and Frankie to her friends after church, and she lets Frankie get doughnuts. Lucia and Frankie never mingle with the kids their age, and Lucia wonders if sometimes they are being laughed at.