How does the author use metaphor in the novel, When We Left Cuba?

When Nick tells Beatriz that he loves her for the first time, he tells her in the beach house. It is here, with the crashing of the waves that could take her back to Cuba, that Beatriz realizes she loves him, too. The metaphor of their relationship and how it symbolizes the countries they both serve isn’t lost on the symbolism of the house, either. Their relationship is as clandestine as the Bay of Pigs invasion, tucked away from the public eye. As Nick and Beatriz enter the bitter winter season of their love, the house sees the end of their affair. She rejects his proposal, ironic because they first met after she rejected his cousin’s proposal, and leaves the house. When she returns to the house, without Nick, she’s overwhelmed by the emptiness of it all without her lover.