The chapter opens by undercutting Calvin Evans’s claim that he holds no grudges. Despite his insistence, Calvin’s past still gnaws at him, centered on one man he vows to hate.

At age ten in the All Saints boys home, Calvin watches a tall, elegant man arrive by limousine, then leave without explanation. Weeks later, the home receives a windfall of science books, math games, and chemistry sets. In class, a priest distributes biology books with pages removed; when Calvin questions the missing evolution section, the priest strikes his knuckles.

Summoned to the bishop, Calvin is scolded and told that the librarian, Father Amos, accuses him of lying about reading everything. The bishop then reveals Calvin’s adoption, his mother’s death in childbirth, and that the man in the limo was Calvin’s biological father. After seeing Calvin’s photo, the man refused to reclaim him but left money earmarked for science and sports; the bishop insists Calvin must remain at the home and offers no promise the man will return.

Hoping the man will come back, Calvin receives only more books. He devours them, equating study with love while realizing that chemistry’s workings do not guarantee familial bonds. Concluding he was discarded without a meeting, Calvin internalizes the slight and forms the enduring grudge that will shape his life and commitment to science.