The Smoke Between Us

by El Cronista

Reinaldo 'Rei' Mendive Quintana, 39 · Reparto Sueño neighborhood, Santiago de Cuba, Cuba

When the gas runs out in Santiago de Cuba, 39-year-old former pastry chef Reinaldo Mendive must learn to cook over charcoal on his balcony — the same week his estranged 15-year-old son Aldito is dropped on his doorstep with a duffel bag and a grudge. Guided by Frasi, an old santero downstairs who survived the Special Period as the building's fire keeper, Rei discovers that the slow patience of coals might be the only thing that can rebuild a kitchen, a livelihood, and a fatherhood he abandoned long ago.