When I Was Puerto Rican: 2. Fighting Naked Summary & Analysis

Negi explains to the reader that Mami and Papi surely argued before baby Héctor was born, but after his birth, the fights increased in frequency. One morning, Papi asks Mami for a particular shirt as she sits feeding Héctor. When Mami asks Papi where he's going and for how long, Papi tells her to not start with him. Mami gets up, angry, and walks out of the house with Héctor. Papi gathers his things and leaves without kissing anyone goodbye.

Negi goes to look for Mami and finds her behind the house crying. Negi tries to approach her, but Mami yells angrily for Negi to leave her alone. Negi stands by a nearby tree and pretends to ignore Mami whenever Mami looks her direction. Finally, Mami gets up, hands Héctor to Negi, and goes to make lunch for the children. She runs her fingers through Negi's hair as she walks by.

Papi doesn't come home for days. When he finally comes home, he sits at the table and Mami angrily serves him supper. Mami puts Negi and her sisters to bed, nurses Héctor, and then puts Héctor to bed. Negi falls asleep, has a bad dream, and wakes to the sound of her parents talking. Mami asks Papi for grocery money, and he explains that he gave a coworker an advance for job materials. Mami is incredulous, and Negi knows from the tones of their voices that a fight is starting. Papi tries to go to sleep, but Mami accuses him of leaving for days and coming home smelling like "that puta."

Papi gets up and tells Mami she'll wake the children, but Mami continues her tirade. She asks if Papi's friends and “putas” know he has children, and says she's not stupid. Héctor begins to cry and Mami roughly changes his diaper. Negi notices that Delsa and Norma are awake, and she listens to Mami say that she's sick of Papi being gone all the time. Papi replies that he's sick of hearing Mami complain, and he stomps out of the house.

Negi shrieks for Papi to not leave them and Delsa and Norma join the cry. Héctor begins wailing as Mami starts yelling and throwing Papi's clothes outside. She bolts the door, sits in the rocking chair, and cries, telling the children angrily to "shut up and go back to sleep." The next afternoon, Mami washes Papi's clothes and he comes home not long after that.

Negi often hears Mami accuse Papi of seeing another woman when he says he's going to see his mother, Abuela. Negi hears them talk about Provi and Margie. One day, Negi asks Papi who Margie is, and he explains that she's his daughter. Negi thinks that it's bad enough she already has to share Papi with Mami's other children, but she sits down and asks Papi about Margie. She's thrilled when she hears that Margie is a year older than she is, and asks Papi to bring her to visit. Papi laughs and Negi continues to pepper him with questions.

Negi thinks about Margie at night and imagines the fun they could have together, since Margie could keep up with Negi's games unlike little Norma or Delsa. The next day, Negi asks Mami why she doesn't like Provi, and Mami tells her to never talk about "that woman." Another day, Negi asks Papi again to bring Margie. Mami hears Negi's question and yells at her to leave Papi alone. Papi asks Negi to bring him a cinderblock from the pile by the gate. Mami tells Papi that Negi isn't strong enough, but Papi insists. Negi manages to carry one and asks for permission to bring a second.

Papi tells Negi that Margie moved to New York, and Negi whines. Papi gets down and hugs her, and Negi thinks that she'd love for more people to leave Papi so that he comes to her for comfort.

Mami and Papi's fights continue, and Negi and her siblings tiptoe around their parents as to not make things worse. Negi is especially confused because she sometimes sees Mami and Papi embrace each other like they truly love each other. When Héctor begins to eat solid foods, Mami starts to look pregnant again.

Negi wonders how Papi manages to convince Mami to forgive him. Negi knows for certain that because Papi is a man, he's the cause of her family's unhappiness. She explains that she'd overheard Mami's conversations with friends and family members, saying that all men are “sinverguënzas,” which means they have no shame and cause women to suffer. The worst thing men do is see other women, all of whom are putas (whores). Negi explains that she only has a fuzzy picture of these women, since none live in Macún. She decides that they all live in luxury and wear high heels, perfume, and hairspray, paid for with money from men like Papi. Negi longs to see a puta so she can understand how they're so powerful and cause women like Mami so much pain.

Negi says that when she started school, her world grew bigger. However, she couldn't delve deeply into the ways her classmates differed from her because of "dignidad," which encompasses manners like not swearing, gossiping, or speaking until spoken to, as well as using formal speech and titles with adults. She says that she knew of these rules, but had never had to really use them before—her family fights, yells, and interrupts. Negi loves school and cherishes her uniform, as it's the only thing that she doesn't have to share with her sisters.

School also allows Negi the opportunity to compare her family to others in her neighborhood. Some classmates have "bad" mothers or brothers in prison, while others have electricity and running water at home. The fighting at school is particularly difficult for Negi to figure out, as someone can get beat up for anything. Negi tries to explain to Mami one day why her uniform is ripped, and Mami forbids Negi from fighting in school. Negi is confused because Mami has never told her to not fight before. After that, when Negi can't avoid fighting in school, she strips down to her underwear before defending herself.

One day, Papi leaves and doesn't return for three days. On the fourth day, Negi arrives at home to find her belongings bundled into pillowcases and a suitcase. Mami leads her children up the road, where they finally board a public car. Mami tells the children that they're moving to the city.