Summary

In Chapter 20, Eleanor pointed the gun at Joan, yelling at her for ruining her life. Joan begged her not to shoot, lying and saying she was pregnant with Vic’s baby.

Eleanor made Joan drive them to a store for a pregnancy test, promising to shoot Joan if she was lying. On the way, Joan reflected on all she had “stolen from [Eleanor]” (204). Eleanor said she would let Joan live until she gave birth (206). In the store bathroom, Joan panicked, but the test was positive. She realized the baby must have been John Ford’s. She “didn’t consider” the encounter sex, because “one could call it rape” (208).

In Chapter 21, when Joan and Eleanor returned home, Alice was talking to River in the doorway of his yurt. Their posture bothered Joan. She thought about Vic and what “a man like him wanted” (213). Per...