 Thomas Martinez, Carlos  uncle, is planning his own funeral to be held next week, this funeral despite him not being ill. He admits to Sister Bertrille that he has witnessed what he calls the Martinez Sign, that which generations of his male ancestors have seen and have passed away exactly seven days following. However he has not stated what the sign is. The funeral is getting out of hand - he is charging everything to the convent as the convent is the beneficiary to his life insurance money which will pay for the funeral. And those invited to the funeral, including his lady companion Luisa Montero, are crying on the sisters and Carlos  shoulders. Finally, Martinez tells them the sign: a big white bird flying around overhead. Martinez  sign was Sister Bertrille in flight. Instead of telling him, Sister Bertrille and Carlos figure it would be better to show him that it was really Sister Bertrille. When Martinez sees Sister Bertrille in the air, he thinks he has seen The Sign once again and faints, thinking that the end is even nearer. As one last act of compassion, he decides to marry Luisa. However Sister Bertrille decides to actually take off in flight right in front of him. It s then that he believes he has not seen The Sign and is going to live. Luisa and Martinez get married anyway, but instead of doing it on his deathbed, they do it properly at the convent.