Small Pleasures

Jean meets with the medical team evaluating Gretchen and Margaret and realizes that her belief the science would be concrete was wrong. Dr. Bamber, Dr. Lloyd-Jones, and Dr. Endicott can’t agree whether Margaret’s rejected graft proves her conception wasn’t parthenogenesis. Jean feels embarrassed and concerned—she’s afraid to tell Gretchen the results are inconclusive because of what that might mean for her relationship with Howard. She also doesn’t want the national news to pick up the story for fear they’d encroach too much on Gretchen’s private life and cause trouble for the Tilbury family. She wishes she could drop the project.

Jean meets with Roy Drake ahead of the editorial meeting to let him know the results of the tests. Instead of agreeing they should drop the story, however, Drake wants to release the facts without a conclusion and “let the public decide” (274). This worries Jean because she doesn’t want the public finding out Gretchen’s true motivations. Drake tells Jean they’ll release the story in the first week of December.

Mrs. Swinney’s health is improving. Margaret is now living with Howard during the week and with Gretchen on weekends. Jean and Howard, therefore, spend only Saturday evenings together. Jean eats dinner with Howard and Margaret once, but feels uncomfortable occupying the space that used to be Gretchen’s, so she doesn’t do this again.