He wonders what his wife’ll say when she comes in and sees him still on the couch. Just him and Jesus, and grandpa. She’s always got something to say about everything. About the only thing she doesn’t say too much about is that guy who sells the siding. Mr. P.’s come up out of the pasture on the tractor four or five times and seen that guy coming out of the house after trying to sell some siding to his wife. She won’t say much about him, though. She just says he’s asking for directions.

Well, there the bus is to get his kids. Mr. P. can hear it pull up and he can hear the doors open. He guesses they got it out of the ditch all right. He could have taken his tractor down there and maybe pulled it out, but he might not have. A man has to be careful on a tractor. Light in the front end like they are, a man has to be careful how he hooks onto something.

Especially something heavy like a school bus. But the school bus is leaving now. Mr. P. can hear it going down the road.

It’s quiet in the house now.

Yard’s quiet, too.

If old Frank was in here now he’d be wanting out. Old Frank. Good little old dog. Just the happiest little thing you’d ever seen. He’d jump clean off the ground to get a biscuit out of your hand. He’d jump about three feet high. And just wag that stubby tail hard as he could.

Old Frank.

Mr. P. thinks now maybe he should have just shot his wife instead of old Frank when she first started talking about shooting old Frank. Too late now.

Mr. P. gets another drink of the whiskey and sees Jesus looking down at him. He feels sorry for Jesus. Jesus went through a lot to save sinners like him. Mr. P. thinks, Jesus died to save me and sinners like me.