Letters from Cuba

This summary includes the following letters: “Havana, December 19, 1938,” “Havana, January 8, 1939,” “Havana, January 16, 1939,” “Havana, January 22, 1939,” “Havana, January 26, 1939,” “Havana, January 27, 1939,” “Havana, February 2, 1939,” “Havana, February 4, 1939,” and “Havana, February 5, 1939.”

Esther and Papa prepare to leave for Havana. Señora Graciela urges Esther to keep the sewing machine. Francisco gives Esther a fine, decorated porcelain teacup he brought from China. He has a matching cup and imagines that when she drinks tea in Havana, he will drink tea in Agramonte. They wish each other good luck rather than saying goodbye.

In Havana, Rifka gives them keys to the shop and the apartment. Out of grandmotherly affection for Esther, Rifka enrolled Esther in the school for Jewish children and paid for the first term. Rifka is glad Esther will be with other Jews, but Esther knows if she had only stayed with the Jewish population, she would not have met her friends or truly experienced life in Cuba. Rifka tearfully leaves on her journey to New York. Esther and Papa settle into their new home, appreciating the new sounds and sights of life in Havana.

Esther has kept up well with her studies.