When the scene opens, we find Dona Laura entering the park, leaning upon the arm of her maid Petra. Soon, the old lady settles in her usual seat in the park. Then the old lady sends away Petra to meet her boyfriend, the guard. Later, when the pigeons arrive, Dona Laura throws three handfuls of bread crumbs. Next, we see Don Gonzalo coming in dragging his feet and leaning upon Juanito’s arm. Don Gonzalo and Dona Laura have not seen each other before and hence we cannot know about each other’s feelings until they meet.
However, their feelings towards each other become evident only when Don Gonzalo walks towards Dona Laura’s bench, despite her warning call ‘Lookout’. Therefore, when she finds her pigeons being scared away, she is upset and tells him in a complaining tone that he has scared away the birds who were feeding on her crumbs. In reply, Don gives an arrogant reply which provokes her to make a personal comment, ‘Why do you complain that the priests have taken your bench?’ Once again, Don Gonzalo’s rude snubbing reply provokes Dona Laura to say that he is an illnatured old man and comments that when people reach a certain age they should not become so fussy and cross. Later, Don comes and sits at the extreme end of Dona Laura’s bench and looks at her indignantly. After a few heated exchanges between them, Don Gonzalo mutters to himself ‘Senile old lady! She ought to be at home knitting and counting her beads’.
But, by the end of the play, we find a total change in their attitude towards each other. In the course of their conversation, they discover that they were ‘lovers’ once in their youthful days. But neither of them is ready to disclose their identity. However, the animosity that we witness at the beginning of the play is no longer there when they are ready to depart. Before taking leave of each other, they formally thank each other for having met. Both of them ensure that they are coming to the park the next day. Laura sees Don picking up the lilies dropped by her. Both of them wave farewell. They leave the place as friends.