Free Luz: book i: comings and goings (Troubled Times 1) by Luis Gonzalez

voltage in her brain worked such wonders she swore by electroshock therapy as a miraculous cure-all. Rigo’s younger brother was studying electrical engineering and Mihrta insisted he invent a home version of the therapy. He managed to come up with something all right, but almost burned the house down in doing so.
    I didn’t know what was going on over there, how Mihrta was putting her healing hands to use, whether she was feeding him chicken soup or hooking him up to a cord and lamp. One week turned into two, and two became three, and I feared I might never see my husband again. Then Providence intervened and brought Rigo back to life and back to me, or so I thought. It happened without notice again. He had decided to visit his favorite professor to discuss the prospect of switching to teaching when, unexpectedly, he got a call about another exciting project.
    “Don’t tell me,” he began sarcastically, knowing all about
outsourcing
and how, soon, it would set a course for the entire future. “More luxury hotels?”
    “No,” they replied, missing the sarcasm in his voice. “Nothing as glamorous as that, but infinitely more important.”
    They had piqued his curiosity with their cryptic teasing. Maybe the Ministry of Housing had approved a new construction project. “Well?” he asked. “What is it?”
    “A school!” they announced excitedly. “A very special school!”
    “What type of school?” he asked cynically.
    “One the Revolution is in dire need of,” they explained. “One the Revolution can no longer place on hold or put off indefinitely, and we want you in charge of it, chico. We want it to be a prototype for all future schools in Cuba.”
    Before they provided him with any specifics, Rigo’s mind fired away. He wished he had pencil and paper right then and there because he could already see this school vividly in his mind. Not a single-story complex typical of the traditional Latin American school, but a tall and futuristic structure fashioned from steel and glass and metal and windows on all four sides, windows from floor to ceiling that allowed a panoramic light to stream in and from which faculty and student alike could gaze into infinity. Rigo had already calculated the height of the building and how many stories it should have, and just to teach everyone a lesson, he would design this new school like a hotel, a luxury hotel. It may have been years away from completion, and even years away from rising off the ground, but already Rigo couldn’t wait for the christening of this landmark building that would punctuate Havana’s skyline with a bold exclamation point.
    “Just wait!” he told the officials. “I’m going to design a school like no other. It will be the most innovative and recognizable school Havana has ever seen.”
    “Havana?” they scoffed. “Who said anything about Havana?”
    “Isn’t that where it’s going to be?” he asked. “Isn’t the school for right here in the capital?”
    “Absolutely not!” they declared. “The last thing Havana needs is another school. In fact, the ministry recently decided there are too many schools in the city and wants to shut some down.”
    “Oh,” said Rigo. “Well, where then?”
    “¡Camagüey!” they proudly announced. “In the little town of Rio Piedras in the historic and colonial province of Camagüey.”
    Rigo’s heart deflated and sank.
¡Camagüey! Again!
No, he couldn’t have heard correctly. “Did you say Camagüey?” he asked.
    This time the officials caught the tinge of disappointment in his voice and homed in on it. “Is there a problem compañero?”
    “No,” he said. “No problem. It’s just that, as you know, I’m married and all, and—”
    “You were willing to go there before,” they countered.
    “I know, but you see, I feel bad about leaving my wife now, and, well—”
    “You didn’t feel bad about leaving her when it was luxury hotels you were going to build. You only feel bad now that