Soon after occupying her seat in the park, Dona Laura throws three handfuls of bread crumbs to a flock of pigeons and sits watching them feeding on the bread crumbs. Don Gonzalo and Juanito walk towards the birds. Immediately, Dona Laura shouts ‘lookout’ so as to warn them. Then she tells Don Gonzalo that he had scared away the birds. Don Gonzalo brushes aside her remarks telling her that he does not care about the birds as it was a public park. Dona Laura asks him why then did he complain about the priests occupying his usual bench if it was a public park.
Again, Don Gonzalo tries to put her off rudely telling her that since they had not met before she should not take the liberty of addressing him. Dona Laura retaliates saying that he is an illnatured old man. She wonders why a man like him should be so fussy and cross after reaching a certain age. Later, she sees him moving about without getting a seat on the other side of the park. She enjoys his predicament saying that it serves him right for scaring the birds. Later, when Don Gonzalo sits at the extreme end of Dona Laura’s bench and greets her, she asks him. annoyingly why he was there again. Again, there is an angry exchange of words. When he fails to find a convincing reply to her question, he tells her that he has nothing more to say. Then he mutters to himself that she was a senile old lady and she ought to be at home knitting and counting her beads. Again, Dona Laura tells him rudely not to grumble any more and she was not going to leave just to please him.
