Bull is a Catholic, and he is upset that Ravenel doesn’t have a Catholic school he can enroll his children in. Instead, he enrolls Ben and Mary Anne in Wednesday night catechism classes and registers Ben and Matthew as altar servers.

On the last Wednesday in September, Ben and Mary Anne attend their first catechism class, taught by Sister Loretta Marie. The siblings immediately classify her as a “Vampire” in their system for categorizing nuns, based on experience in other Catholic schools. She controls the class with a clicker, delivers a monotonous lecture condemning dancing and rock music, and instructs students never to chew the communion host.

Mary Anne whispers a sacrilegious joke to Ben, causing him to laugh aloud. As punishment, Sister Loretta Marie orders him to stand at the front of the room with arms extended like Christ on the cross for the remaining 45 minutes of class. She then recounts a graphic tale about a French boy named Pierre who stabbed a consecrated host, causing it to bleed until a priest intervened; Pierre later became a priest himself.

After class, walking home, Mary Anne predicts that Ben will become a Marine pilot like their father, driven by his need for approval—a dependency she claims to have overcome. Ben insists he won’t join the Marines, but Mary Anne holds firm.

At four in the morning on Ben’s 18th birthday, Bull wakes him and presents his gift: the leather flight jacket Bull wore as a pilot in World War II. Bull reminisces about the day Ben was born, gives him his first cup of black coffee, and drives him to Biddle Island Marine Corps Training Depot for a surprise.

They park the car in the darkness and watch Drill Instructor Sergeant Hicks terrorize a platoon of recruits. When another D.I., Sergeant Blakeley, coughs intentionally from within the platoon, Hicks draws his pistol and pretends to shoot him multiple times in the chest. Blakeley collapses, and Hicks orders two recruits to dispose of the body in a dumpster. After the platoon departs, shocked by what they believe to be a real shooting, Blakeley reveals that his shirt is soaked in catsup, not blood, and the men all laugh uproariously.

At home, Lillian gives Ben a letter to read later. At school, he opens it and finds a deeply loving note, expressing her wish for him to follow his “noblest instincts.”

That evening, Ben meets Bull and Virgil at the Officers’ Club, where Bull insists that Ben order his first legal drink. Ben doesn’t know what to order and requests a double martini, which he’s heard ordered before. Bull makes a public toast to his son, moving Ben deeply. Ben drinks two martinis and becomes extremely intoxicated. Bull carries him home on his shoulders to find the family waiting for Ben amidst the remnants of his family birthday party. Bull and Lillian argue bitterly while Ben remains unconscious.

At three in the morning on October 21, Bull wakes to prepare for deployment during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Lillian reveals that, through the wives’ grapevine, she already knows the squadron is bound for Guantanamo Bay. Over breakfast they argue about the nature of combat. Bull expresses indifference to enemy deaths, dismisses the significance of the Holocaust, and states that a fighter pilot’s duty is to kill, not feel. He makes a crude remark about his hopes for his daughters’ futures. Despite Lillian’s outrage, he departs, admitting that he sometimes acts as an ogre deliberately.

In the ready room, Varney delivers the formal deployment briefing, after which Bull addresses his pilots and declares them the finest in the world, expressing hope that they will see combat. Squadron 367 takes off at dawn. Airborne, Bull indulges in a fantasy of leading his squadron to sink the Russian fleet carrying missiles to Cuba. At home, Lillian gathers the children at her home shrine and leads them in the rosary, praying for peace.

On the evening of November 10, Bull and Lillian prepare for the Marine Corps birthday ball. Bull reflects on the anniversary with both pride and sorrow, remembering fallen comrades, and struggles to fit into his dress white uniform. Before leaving, he launches a mock surprise attack on the children in the den, armed with a Mameluke sword, a bayonet, and a shot put. During the staged battle, Karen lobs the shot put toward her father and accidentally strikes his foot, injuring his big toe.

The children flee and hide in a tree outside Mary Anne’s window, fearing his wrath. Lillian finds Bull in the kitchen with his foot in the sink and, upon learning what happened, erupts in uncontrollable laughter. Bull’s anger dissipates, and he eventually joins in. As they leave for the ball, Lillian gives her children a covert victory sign.

At the ball, festive decorations, music, and celebration fill the mess hall. Meanwhile, at home, the Meecham children stage their own satirical version, constructing a cake from dog feces, setting the table with fine china, dressing in absurd costumes, and singing a profane parody of the Marine Corps hymn. Back at the official ball, a band marches in playing the authentic hymn, moving both Bull and Lillian to tears.

Ben prepares for basketball tryouts, feeling both nervous and confident. He learned the game on competitive courts near Washington, DC, and believes that no one in Ravenel will match that level of competition.

At the gymnasium, Coach Otis Spinks, a football coach who openly disdains basketball even though he also coaches it, delivers a disparaging introductory speech. During two-on-two drills against the varsity players, Ben easily outmaneuvers Jim Don Cooper and scores. Coach Spinks criticizes him for showing off with what he calls “Yankee basketball.” Three days later, Ben learns he has made the team.

Walking home, Ben remembers being cut from a Little League team years earlier. Bull had contacted every Little League baseball coach in the area until he found one who would take Ben. That first coach was Dave Murphy, a gentle man who made every player feel valued—and who died of cancer at 31. Ben regrets never having the chance to thank him. Arriving home, he playfully pretends he was cut before revealing the truth to his celebrating family.

On the first Friday in December, Ben prepares for the opening basketball game. Lillian refuses his request for a new gym bag, explaining that she is saving money for a dream house they’ll build after Bull retires. She leads the children in prayer for Ben’s success.

In the locker room, Coach Spinks offers tactical instructions and a motivational talk, and he leads the team in a lengthy, rambling prayer. Bull arrives at the gymnasium late and intoxicated, making Ben nervous.

Ben plays brilliantly, scoring 18 points by halftime. During intermission, Bull pays the pep band to play the Marine Corps hymn and forces his section of the stands to sing along, prompting Lillian and the children to relocate to the other side of the gym. Calhoun wins; Ben finishes with 30 points.

Driving Ben home, Bull delivers a severe critique of his performance, most angry that Ben helped an opponent off the floor. He orders Ben to play with animalistic aggression and abandon good sportsmanship. As Ben exits the car, Bull quietly adds that it was the best game he has ever seen him play.

The family celebrates with popcorn in the kitchen. Later, Mary Anne visits Ben’s room and reveals her loneliness, confessing that she thinks about dying constantly and contrasting her inner depth with Ben’s focus on living.