Disclaimer: I do not own West Side Story or any of the characters contained therein. Raquel, however, is mine, so please don't steal her!

Author's Notes: Thanks to those of you who have read and reviewed! It makes me happy! lol. This fic is too much fun... I'm not sure how long it will last, but I'm pretty sure it will be really long. lol.

Chapter 13: Anita's Love Story

After things had settled down a bit, Baby John asked Raquel, "What was he saying about you?"

"He called me 'a Swede's whore,'" she said, almost flippantly. "That's just Del Campo."

"I don't like him," Baby John said.

"He and I were friends before this... But..."

"Why's he so angry?" Baby John asked.

"Well, I don't know if you heard us talking. But... he and I were... dating, I guess... And he and Chino had planned for him to marry me."

"Oh..." he said. "Well, you... I'm sorry I caused a problem between you two."

"No. If anything, you helped me to see him as he truly is. Amigo, I don't want Del Campo. Especially not now."

"I wanna make him pay for calling you that," Baby John said.

"John, you will do nothing to him! It is not worth it."

"But..."

"John, no. You must do nothing, You cannot be like him."

"Raquel..."

"No!" she said firmly.

Baby John sighed. He couldn't argue with her. He just couldn't.

After a while, Baby John said, "Raquel, do you wanna go meet my grandparents?"

"Sí," Raquel said. "I would love to."

Baby John took her hand. "So let's go."

"But, John... First, I should help Maria and Anita clean up."

"Oh. OK."

Raquel stood up and took her plate, glass, and silverware off the table. She also took Baby John's. She offered to help Anita and Maria wash dishes. "No, querida," Maria said, kissing her friend on the cheek. "But you will stay in your apartment tonight, ¿sí?"

Raquel smiled. "Sí. But... Por favor, muchachas! Let me help. I want to help."

"But..." Anita interrupted.

"Please, Anita?"

"Oh, OK," Anita said, smiling.

The three girls went into the kitchen. Anita washed, Raquel rinsed, and Maria dried and put away. "Girls?" Raquel said softly, as she passed a cup to Maria.

"Yes?" Anita said, passing her a plate.

"What do you think?"

"Think of what?" Anita asked, feigning innocence.

"Do not play dumb, Anita. What do you think of John?"

Anita smiled. "He seems to be a good boy. Devante likes him."

Maria nodded. "He is a good boy. He has very good manners."

Anita grinned. "But what we think does not matter. What do you think of him?"

Raquel sighed. "I think I am falling in love with him."

"Ah... falling in love..." Anita sighed. "Sí, I remember falling in love."

"So do I..." Maria added.

Anita sighed, saying quietly, "Oh, 'Nardo... Do you know how I miss you?"

"Tell me, Anita," Raquel said. "When did you fall in love with Bernardo?"

Raquel had heard Maria's love story many times, though she'd been angry about it before. But she knew it, nevertheless. Now, she wanted to hear Anita's.

"Oh... that was a long time ago."

"Anita, you are only nineteen. It could not have been that long ago," Raquel said softly.

Anita sighed. "Sí, but it seems so long ago. So very long. But I remember everything. What I was wearing... what he was wearing... everything."

Raquel patted Anita's hand, which was beginning to get "pruny" from the dishwater. "Go on, querida."

Anita closed her eyes. She could still smell the flowers on the breeze of that day in Puerto Rico. "I was only, maybe... fourteen. 'Nardo was fifteen. And I had known him all of my life, but this day was different."

"How, Anita?" Raquel asked, already interested in her friend's story.

"I was with my sister, Conchita, and... she was playing with Maria. But I though I was too old to play with them. Bernardo was also there... Y Chino, y tú, I think. But you were playing with Conchita and Maria, and Chino was watching, because even then, he had a crush on Maria.

Raquel sighed. She missed her brother so.

"But..." Anita continued. "I was wearing a blue dress with flowers," she touched her apron as if it were the dress she spoke of. "And I saw 'Nardo look at me for a moment. And he finally walked over and said hello. But, of course, with 'Nardo, he could not say only hello to me. He had to tease me."

Raquel wondered what Anita meant by "tease," but Anita quickly filled her in. "He said, 'Hola, Anita... Josephina... Teresita... Beatriz... del Carmen... Margarita... et cetera... et cetera."

Raquel and Maria both smiled, remembering how, despite Anita's insistance that it was, "just Anita now," Bernardo had always teased her with her long, full name.

"And I looked at him as if he were a complete idiot, and said, 'Tú eres loco, Bernardo Nuñez.'

"And he said, 'Sí, soy loco.'

"I rolled my eyes. He asked me why I was not with the girls, and I told him that I was too old for silly games.

"His eyes twinkled, and he said that he was full of energy that night... and that he hoped I wasn't too old to walk to the store with him.

"So I went with him, and when we got halfway between his house and town, he grabbed my hand and led me off into the trees. I was a little surprised when he took me so far from the road. And even more surprised when he said, 'Nita, you look very pretty in that dress.'

"I told him he was silly.

"But he looked into my eyes and said, 'Anita, I like you very much... I hoped that maybe you felt the same about me.'

"I looked at him for a moment or two. Then I said, 'I don't know, Nardo. We have been friends for so long...'

"And Nardo said, 'Maybe this will help you decide.' And then, he pulled me close to him and kissed me, and I knew then. I knew that I never wanted to kiss anyone but him."

Raquel smiled. "Oh, such a lovely story, Anita. Pobre Nardo."

Anita shook her head sadly. "I still love him. I see him in Devante every day. That baby is Nardo again."

Raquel was silent for a moment, but she finally spoke. "Do... Do you think I could love... John like you loved Bernardo?"

"Sí," Anita said, "I believe you can... You and John deserve to have love."

At this point, Maria added her opinion. "Yes. You do. Especially after everything with Chino."

"Sí," Anita said. "Speaking of which... How is Chino?"

"Well... I suppose he is as well as he could be considering..." she replied, a knot in her throat the thought of what they were "considering."

"Perhaps I should not ask you this, but... why did you leave us?" Maria asked.

Raquel looked ashamed. "I left out of hatred. I planned to kill... to avenge my brother. God forgive me. But John was there, and even though he didn't know what he was doing until it was done... he changed my mind. He saved me..."

Anita smiled. "Ah, sí. I see it, now."

Maria nodded her agreement.

"See what?" Raquel asked, looking from Anita to Maria and back again. "Oh, stop teasing me!" she said, when her gaze was met with mischevious smiles.

"Amiga, I do believe you are in love. And very much at that," Anita said, smiling.

"Muchachas, do you really think..."

Anita grinned. "Shall I buy her a bottle of Black Orchid, Maria?"

"Indeed not!" Maria said, feigning shock. "We should not encourage her to be... bad."

"Bad?" Raquel asked. "No worse than you two."

"Ay!" Anita said. "The girl is right."

Maria smiled. "Perhaps."

The girls laughed. Once the dishes were donem Raquel told the girls, "I need to go meet John's family. I promised."

"Oh, meeting the family?" Maria said.

"This is serious," Anita said. "Oh, go on, querida," she added, remembering the days when she promised to go here or there with Bernardo. "You must not keep him waiting.

Raquel smiled. "Sí. Good-bye girls."

Anita and Maria both hugged her as they said good-bye.

Raquel walked out of the kitchen and over to Baby John. "If you want to go now, I am ready," she said.

"Sure," Baby John said with a smile. "Let's go."

OoOoOoO

A/N:

Ash, A-Rab, Baby John, Action, and... Officer Krupke?- A-Rab, leave Ash alone... I, too, made the suggestion about you and Anybodys. dodges A-Rab's swinging arm And anyway... since we hold the pens, boys, you are forced to live what we write... That goes for Action and Anita, too! Baby John, dear, I love you, but you are super naive. Thanks, Ash, for explaining to Johnny-boy! Action! slaps Action's hand No more rude hand signs at Baby John! Smacks Action again for making fun of girls Laughs at A-Rab's comment CATFIGHT! lol. dodges Action Thanks, Baby John, for reviewing! That darn Del Campo! grins about taking of my suggestion about Action and Anita gives Ash high fiveage as pen-holder Action's goin' down! Wait! A-Rab! No killin' Action! We need him! Ugh!

Eaglesgirl- Enjoy your Chino! And, yeah! Go Raquel! Del Campo's being a loser!

Tonyboy- I'm glad you liked the chapter! Anita's pretty awesome like that. lol. Yeah... William is an incredible guy. And he's handsome, too. I don't know what it is about him... But I really like him sooo much! He is really THAT tall. lol. I don't think 5'10" is too short for Tony... I hope I see him again, too... I miss him so much, and everytime I see or hear something that makes me think of him, it makes it worse... I miss him... But thanks... I hope we'll meet again and fall in love. My dad says that one day, New York City life may get to fast-paced for even William, and he'll come back here, and we'll bump shopping carts when we're in the grocery store. I love my daddy! lol. I'm sorry it's been so long since you've seen Miranda... maybe she thinks that you ended the friendship... I don't know... But she says she doesn't know why she hasn't heard from you, so I'd think that... I'll pray for her to become a saved Christian, too, if you'd like. God bless you with that... Oh, BTW, you most deifnately MUST see "Rebel Without a Cause." It's incredible! Anyway... Talk to ya later!

Translations

Por favor, muchachas- Please, girls.

Tú eres loco- You are crazy

Sí, soy loco- Yes, I am crazy

Pobre Nardo- Poor Nardo

Amiga- Friend

Muchachas- girls