The glimpses Homer catches of the outside world cause him to decide, quite on the spur of the moment, to leave the orphanage. Wally and Candy take him to Wally's mother's orchard, where Homer joins a crew of black migrant workers who sleep in the cider house and pick the Worthingtons' apples. For a while Homer receives letters from St. Cloud's, beckoning him gently back. But Homer stays, and after Wally is called to active duty, Homer proceeds to fall in love with Candy. Between his shifts, Homer and Candy neck in the woods or in Paul's sedan parked in the lot of the drive-in theater, which is closed because of wartime blackouts.
Life is good.
The problems occur at this point. Mr. Rose is the crew boss of the migrants, and although usually very polite and dignified, he takes vehement exception to Homer's interest in assisting Rose. That is, until Homer reveals his medical experience, including his ability to perform abortions. He also derides Homer for his objections to abortion, his argument being that as long as women will have them done illegally, they'd better have them done safely. What the filmmaker is happy with is a product that smacks of pro-choice bias.