Summary

In Chapter 6, Lucy worried about Pete spending Thanksgiving with Vicky. She did not want him to get sick. Remembering his lonely life, she let it go. A week later, however, Vicky got sick. Then Pete got sick. When he “didn’t answer his phone the next day,” Lucy called the police. They found Pete dead in his apartment.

Lucy was overcome by grief. She could not stop thinking about her last conversation with Vicky, during which Vicky called Lucy selfish. Memories from their childhood overtook her. She remembered the last time she saw Vicky and Pete. When she lamented her selfishness, William reminded her how much she had helped people with her books (229). Lucy had trouble believing this.

Lucy’s spirits worsened. She was still grieving. Without her studio, she “might have gone mad” (232). She channeled her grief into writing.

Lucy...