Brad discovered the letter from Mr. Love Jr. and read it to the Well-Dressed Albatross. The Well-Dressed Albatross had a proposition for Brad.

Having acquired an unexpected protégé, Mr. Love Jr. relinquished his tenuous hold on cinema. Leaving Brad a note with cursory instructions for maintaining the Teatro, Mr. Love Jr. awaited the bus out of Quanahuac to embark on a career in physiotherapy for pets.

As the Teatro Morelos had only one patron that afternoon, Mr. Love Jr. screened a film that he himself—infused with the confidence in auteurship so characteristic of young cinephiles—had made years earlier.

Brad still hadn’t deduced that this was the same Mr. Love Jr. whose theatre he’d enjoyed during his student days, when he was studying the psychology of dogs that had harmed.

When Brad finally reached Quanahuac, Mr. Love Jr. hired him immediately, as there’d been no other applicants.

Taking leave of The Well-Dressed Albatross, Brad continued to Quanahuac, on which journey he was erroneously arrested, tried, and jailed. Thankfully he was released after only a few hours of incarceration when the real criminal was apprehended.

For the sake of company Brad and the Well-Dressed Albatross travelled together as far as Mexico City, and in so doing became close.

Having, out of financial necessity, taken a restaurant delivery job, the Shadowy Figure appeared and was able to revive Brad with Pollo en Mole Verde and Flor de Jamaica. For his efforts the Shadowy Figure would lose his job and have to pay for the misdelivered food himself.

Brad collapsed just short of a tiki bar that might have provided a hydrating beverage. This went unnoticed by the Well-Dressed Albatross who was perusing journals for reviews of his epic poem (reviews that were nonexistent as Pim and Bim had neglected to distribute the book).

Continuing on his journey and bored with the terrain, Brad decided to call Ukifune. As it happened, she was in his vicinity completing the requirements for her desert survival badge.