addition to the hats, most of the other men are wear-
ing tooled cowboy boots, fleece-lined jackets, and belt
buckles as big as tamales. The Anglo is tall enough to
2
HARD ROW
see over the hats and when his beer comes, he takes a
deep swig and scans the further room.
On a low stage at the back, the Hidalgo Kings are
belting it out on keyboard, drum, and guitars to an en-
thusiastic audience. Colored lights play across the danc-
ers as their bodies keep time to the pulsating rhythm.
Between songs, the click of balls can be heard from the
pool tables in a side room.
The bouncers keep an eye on the Anglo, but the
sprawling club is crowded, men outnumber women at
least four to one, and tempers can flare with little prov-
ocation. A Colombian accuses a Salvadoran of taking his
drink when his back was turned and the bouncers move
in to break it up.
At the bar, the Anglo orders another
a while, the bouncers relax their surveillance of him.
Shortly before midnight, he leaves his third beer on
the counter and moves through the crowd toward the
restroom just as a woman bundled in a bulky jacket and
knitted hat urgently approaches a knot of men still nurs-
ing their beers.
With a tilt of his head, one of the men gestures to-
ward one of the side rooms and the woman hurries over
to the pool table.
the man who looks up when she speaks.
He immediately throws down his cue and follows
her through the crowd. His friends call after him,
Inside the bathroom at the far end of the club, the
big Anglo quickly grabs a man waiting his turn at a
3
MARGARET MARON
urinal. The man is smaller and shorter, and before he
can defend himself, his white hat goes flying and the
Anglo has his bolo tie in a stranglehold with his left
hand while his right fist delivers a punishing blow to the
victim’s chin.
A second blow opens a gash over his eye. Gasping for
breath as his bolo tightens around his neck, the Latino
fumbles frantically for a beer bottle lying atop others in
the trash bin and in one sweeping motion smashes the
end against the sink.
