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Our Father is in the evening. These birds are flying across the forehead of the father. Dear birds, dear sea gulls, how I love you all.

Pilon utters these thoughts to no one but himself on the walk to Danny's house in the evening. He had worked the entire day cleaning squids so that he would have some rent to give to Danny. On the way, however, he bought two gallons of wine instead, thinking that Danny would appreciate the gift more than the meaningless paper dollars. Still, at the moment of the quote, his intentions are pure, and in this high frame of mind, Pilon notices the beauty all around him. Just the sight of some seagulls floating in the breeze is enough to stop him in his tracks. For a minute, the bad Pilon ceases to exist and the good Pilon floats around the heavens with the birds. A bulldog with the habit of biting legs walks by Pilon and does not even notice him.

Unfortunately, as Steinbeck tells us, "A soul washed and saved is a soul doubly in danger." When Pilon's existence is so pure, the slightest distraction can send him plummeting into sin. He continues along the path to Danny's house but utterly lacking conviction. When he stumbles upon his old friend Pablo in a ditch, an alternate plan forms in his mind in which he can enjoy a good part of the wine himself.

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