Summary

In Chapter 16, Julia falls through the ice, but is quickly rescued and taken to the emergency room. She survives. While Bill urges normalcy as quickly as possible, Margaret feels anything but normal after the incident. She is concerned especially by what caused Julia to venture out on to the ice, but Julia will not say. Margaret, Hedy, and Clarice head out to their book club. Sharon reports that the death of her dog has turned out to be natural, not poison. The guest speaker for the book club is George. George talks about himself, his life, and does a brief reading. Elizabeth Beale is present, and asks why love has gone out of novels. As a novelist, George should love what he does and should love his characters. What is needed in novels nowadays, Elizabeth argues, are honor, bravery, and decency–not supernatural creatures...