Summary

At the start of Chapter 18, Stella asks Constance whether she would take back Caleb or Alistair. She also asks about Dylan, and when Constance refuses to reply, Stella leaves with tears in her eyes. As she surveys the way the cold has made everyone meaner, she remembers making paper snowflakes for a Christmas party with the old man who rings the church bells. Many people in the town think that this winter is a religious punishment or the town’s sins and so are gathering together to pray. She prepares to go for a bike ride with the winter tires Constance somehow managed to find. As she leaves, Constance reminds her to be back for three p.m. to go to the doctor’s office. As she does this, she pours grit over their pathway to their house as well as Barnacle’s...