Outraged at Bernardo’s behavior, Anita pushed him with both hands. “How come you’re asking so many questions? As if you were a policeman or something? It’s all right for a boy to be worried about his sister, but how about doing a little worrying about your girl friend and her future? You leave Maria to Chino—and her father and mother. Maybe they didn’t do such a good job on their son.” She stared at Bernardo, and had to smile as she admired the narrow set of his eyes, which made him look darkly romantic. “But they did all right for Maria. Look at her! And tell me you are not ashamed for thinking and speaking so ugly!”

“They don’t know any more than she does,” Bernardo said. “They’re just babies in America—all of them.”

“But she was only dancing,” Anita said. “Everyone knows that.”

“Only dancing,” Bernardo mimicked, “with an American, who’s really a Polack.”

Anita pointed at Bernardo. “Look who’s talking,” she scoffed. “The spic…”

“You’re not so cute,” Bernardo warned.

“Since when?” Anita was not intimidated, because Bernardo’s eyes told her what he was really thinking. “Because you won’t ask me, I’ll tell you. I think Tony is cute. And he works,” she added.

Chino raised his hand for attention. “As a delivery boy.” He looked at Maria, who was staring at the stars. “And you know what delivery boys become? Errand boys. And since you are going to ask me, Anita”—he bowed to her—“I’ll tell you. An assistant becomes an operator. A full member of the union.”

“Oh, knock it off, Chino,” Bernardo interrupted angrily as he pulled a fresh cigarette from his pack and lighted it. “If that lousy Polack wants to join the union he can get in ahead of you and make more than you because he’s an American.”

“That isn’t true,” Maria interrupted her brother. It was all right to be silent, she thought, and in silence to listen and learn. But she had heard enough to know that Bernardo hated Tony, and if he continued to think and talk this way he would only hate him more.

There were many things she had to do, and one of the most important was to stop Bernardo from hating so much. Bernardo could only think of hatred and destruction and she remembered what her priest on the island had said—that those who lived by the sword would die by it.

“If Tony was born in America, he is not a Polack,” she said. “Even if he were not born in America, because he wanted to come to America, he would not be a foreigner. He would be an American just like us.”

Bernardo permitted the applause of Anita and the other girls to die down before he mocked his sister with a little bow. “My dear Maria, you might believe that, but he doesn’t. There is only one thing that he believes. That you are easy because you are Puerto Rican!”

“That is a rotten thing to say!” Anita shouted as she put her arm around Maria. “You must apologize. Not only to Maria, but to every girl here.”