Summary: Quince (15)
Antonio is delirious with pneumonia for several days.
Narciso’s death is declared an accident by the coroner. When Andrew
enters Antonio’s sickroom, he seems uncomfortable. After he leaves, Ultima
assures Antonio that he didn’t reveal Andrew’s secret in his delirium.
María likes to hear Antonio read prayers in both English
and Spanish. Unlike many of their people, she wants her children
to know both languages. León and Eugene come to visit for Christmas. They
bought a car in Las Vegas but have totaled it during the drive to
Guadalupe. The tension between Gabriel and his sons grows. When
León and Eugene leave for Sante Fe, Andrew goes with them.
Summary: Dieciséis (16)
Antonio hopes that his first Communion will bring him
an understanding of why Tenorio’s evil goes unpunished. Tenorio
confronts Antonio on his way home from school one day. He shouts
that another of his daughters is dying and vows to kill Ultima,
but he hurries away without harming Antonio. When Antonio reports Tenorio’s
threats, Ultima assures him that Tenorio won’t ambush her as easily
as he did Narciso.
Summary: Diecisiete (17)
Antonio and his friends begin taking catechism lessons
with Father Byrnes. That spring, fierce dust storms incite
rumors of the atomic bomb. Antonio eagerly looks forward to receiving
the knowledge of God. Gabriel laughs when Antonio reports that some
people think the atomic bomb has caused the fierce dust storms.
He replies that the wind is the voice of the llano. By
blowing dust in their faces, it is telling the people that they
have sucked the land dry with overgrazing.
Although he doesn’t believe in God, Florence attends
the catechism lessons because he wants to be with his friends. Florence’s mother
died when he was three, and his father slowly killed himself with
drink. Now his sisters are prostitutes at Rosie’s house. He asks Antonio
why God would do such things to him. Antonio cannot answer because
these are the very questions that haunt Antonio himself. When Antonio
and Florence are late to catechism lessons, Father Byrnes punishes
Florence but not Antonio. Florence stands patiently in the aisle,
holding his arms out to his side, while Bones quietly vandalizes
a pew near the oblivious Father Byrnes. Father Byrnes tells a frightening
story to explain how long eternity is. He tells the children to
imagine that they must move a huge pile of sand across the ocean
by allowing a little bird to move one grain of sand at a time. When
the bird has finished moving the pile of sand, the first day of
eternity has passed.
Summary: Dieciocho (18)
Antonio begs Florence to go through with confession and
Communion to save himself an eternity in hell. Samuel suggests that
the golden carp might be a better god for Florence. They decide
to take Florence to see him during the summer.
