Durward and Charles - Havana

(continued from previous Durward and Charles episodes)

Charles liked to party, and he knew how to do it right. If he wanted to party harder than local ordinances in Florida allowed, he would hop on a plane to Havana, Cuba. On this occasion, Durward happened to be visiting Charles.  The two of them flew to Havana. Fidel Castro had just taken over the government there, but in most ways life in Cuba was still pre-Castro. Supporters of the revolution recall pre-Castro Cuba as “the brothel of the Western hemisphere.” It was much more than that, but when Charles went there to party, it was the brothel aspect of Havana that he wanted to experience.

After they checked into a hotel in Havana, Charles tipped the bellboy to bring them booze and a prostitute, and he did. Fun ensued. Fun for Durward and Charles, that is. For the sex worker, it was another night of working but also another night of earning some desperately needed money. Income disparity in Cuba at that time was a big factor that drove the revolution. Havana was glitzy, but there were many people who struggled to survive.

It was Charles’ opinion that women would do anything for money and part of his mission in life was to prove it. After “the boys” had their fill of sex, Charles asked the prostitute to have sex with the bellboy. Charles had an instant camera and he wanted to take pictures of her doing it. He offered her extra money. She didn’t want to do it. Maybe because she was white and the bellboy was black—though Cuba probably didn’t have the kind of racism that existed in the American south then—or maybe she hesitated because she would be photographed, or maybe it was something else that bothered her. Whatever the reason, Charles just kept upping the money until she said yes.

The next morning, Durward and Charles were in the hotel’s restaurant ordering breakfast when the same woman appeared. She had all the money Charles had paid her and she begged Charles to let her buy the photos. Charles told her to keep the money. He reached into his pocket, pulled out the photos, and handed them to her. She thanked him and left. In his mind, Charles had made his point. And Durward was just a little proud of Charles for doing the right thing.