Fellowship Point

In a letter to her deceased sister, Elspeth, Agnes describes Nan, the young daughter of Virgil Reed, who recently came to occupy a small cottage that Agnes and Elspeth refer to as the Chalet. He was a relative of the Reed family, so Agnes wasn’t sure why he didn’t stay in their cottage. Agnes watched Nan play daily.

Maud takes a phone call from Polly, who is looking for Agnes (thinking that she’s in Philadelphia rather than Maine). She tells Maud about their fight, and Maud asks Polly what she recalls of Virgil and Nan Reed. Polly explains that Virgil died about two years after arriving at the Point. Nan was then sent away to live with relatives and died shortly thereafter. Maud presses for more, but Polly feels that Maud should be speaking with Agnes.

In another letter to Elspeth, Agnes describes watching Nan play with a snake. Agnes realized that the snake was eating a chipmunk and that Nan was trying to release it from the snake’s mouth. With some effort, she did; then she ran to the water, snake in hand, and flung it into the sea. Agnes ran behind her, fearful that Nan would wade in. Robert appeared then and told Nan that the chipmunk was dead. Agnes tried to lecture Nan about the dangers of wild animals, but Nan only smiled. Robert explained that Nan didn’t speak. Agnes was dismayed, wondering if Virgil had neglected her. While the children buried the chipmunk, Agnes headed to the Chalet to chastise Virgil for leaving Nan unsupervised, but he was gone.

A week later, Agnes writes another letter to Elspeth, in which she describes taking an unfamiliar route during a return drive from town. She encountered a man selling an underfed dog for 75 cents and, after purchasing the dog for $10, planned to take it to a shelter. As Agnes got closer to home, she spotted Nan and pulled her into the car. Nan was wild and unkempt but went with Agnes willingly.

At Leeward Cottage, Agnes bathed the dog, Star, (realizing that she was keeping it) while Mrs. Circumstance bathed Nan. They fed both Star and Nan eggs and made Nan hot chocolate. Agnes attempted to teach her how to properly drink from the cup. Then, Agnes put on music, and the two danced; Nan fell asleep before long. Eventually, Virgil arrived in search of his daughter. Agnes chastised him for not supervising her, and he conceded that he had been too focused on his work.

Maud arrives at the hospital and sits with Heidi, talking to her in a one-way conversation. An orderly arrives and feeds Heidi. Maud asks if Heidi has spoken to her, and the orderly says that Heidi has uttered only a few words. Maud later washes Heidi’s face and hands, and tries to coax her to speak but isn’t successful.

Back in Agnes’s apartment, Maud discovers a thanksgiving dinner, most likely left by Mrs. Blundt, and silently thanks her and Agnes. Maud reads some of the Franklin Square series. She plans to leave by train the next day and saves the rest of the Elspeth letters for the trip.

In a letter to Elspeth, Agnes recalls meeting Karen, a young, new librarian, while searching for art books. They discussed their struggles with drawing, and Agnes shared a story about a classmate who was talented at drawing trees. The librarian asked if Agnes might compile a list of reading recommendations for her because she hoped to apply to Radcliffe but felt unprepared.

The next letter describes how Agnes was busy drawing one day when Nan crept into the house. Agnes invited her to draw. Agnes told her stories, but Nan never spoke. After lunch, Agnes launched into the story of her brother, Edmund, since Nan was looking at her family photos. Edmund died in a car accident at a young age; Agnes recalled how he always made everyone laugh. Next, she recounted Elspeth. Dismayed that she couldn’t be a priest, Elspeth instead became a lay nun; Agnes admitted that she never truly understood Elspeth’s deep spirituality. Then their mother, Grace, passed away, after having a heart attack a year earlier. By this point, Nan was asleep. Agnes went on to recall her father, deceased for only five months. A pacifist, he was well-educated, and Agnes suspects that he was the reason that neither she nor Elspeth ever married. He had a broken hip and then dementia. Agnes took him to Leeward Cottage to die per his request.

Agnes woke Nan when it was time for their ritual hot chocolate. Nan pointed to the faces of each of Agnes’s family members in photographs and recited their names. Agnes praised her and then took her home after they finished their hot chocolate.

Agnes recounts to Elspeth an accident that Nan had. She was playing in the cemetery with Agnes’s dog, and a headstone toppled onto her. Agnes and Mr. and Mrs. Circumstance were able to lift the stone off of her, but Nan’s legs were crushed, and she was bleeding internally. She spent several days in intensive care while Virgil Reed slept on the hospital floor.

One day, Agnes visited the hospital, and Nan had been moved out of the ICU. She rushed to see Nan. When Virgil entered the room, Agnes, annoyed that she did so much to care for Nan without any thanks, ordered Virgil to take a shower.

When Virgil returned, clean-shaven, Agnes didn’t recognize him. She spoke of her fear of losing Nan, and Virgil collapsed onto her lap in tears. As she comforted him, Agnes writes, she had a vision in which she saw Virgil’s “core.” Over the days that follow, Agnes and Virgil kept up a vigil beside Nan’s bed. Eventually, she was moved back to Fellowship Point and into Leeward Cottage.

In the next letter, Agnes describes meeting with Polly, who shared news that she was pregnant but had a miscarriage. Certain that she’d have had a girl, Polly lamented the loss. Agnes told her of Nan’s accident and recovery, and Polly probed to discern Agnes’s feelings for Virgil. Before leaving, Polly presented Agnes with a Christmas gift: a novel authored by Virgil Reed.

Reading the letter, Maud wonders about his novel.

The letters to Elspeth continue. Agnes describes caring for Nan as she recovers. Robert stopped by daily and even helped with Nan’s therapy exercises. When Virgil arrived, Agnes wondered how he’d feel if he knew she’d read his novel.

One night after dinner, she offered Virgil some whiskey and told him that she’d read his book. Surprised, he asked her opinion. To her assessment, he responded that she understood the book better than anyone else. She asked if he was writing a new book, and Virgil said he was and talked a bit about it. He reminisced with her about her siblings but suddenly had an idea and excused himself to go write.

Agnes shares with Elspeth parts of a letter from Virgil Reed, which he left on her staircase. In it, Virgil explained how he came to be a writer by attending the Iowa Writers Workshop, taking his young wife, Ro, with him. Ro soon gave birth to Nan, and the couple moved to New York. Ro worked in a gallery and began painting, and Virgil had success with his writing. One day, Ro was struck by a car and, though she didn’t feel hurt, asked Virgil to pick up Nan from a friend’s place. When he returned, Ro was dead; she’d had a stroke due to internal bleeding.

In his letter, Virgil apologized to Agnes for the lack of care he’d given to Nan, revealing how panicked he’d felt at the thought of losing her after the accident in the cemetery. He asked Agnes if he might get to know her better.

In the next letter to Elspeth, Agnes explains how busy her life had become, what with caring for Nan and spending time with Virgil and Karen. The three had made a practice of discussing books together over dinner. Agnes had grown confident about Karen’s chances of entering Radcliffe, and Virgil had opened up more.

Agnes describes to Elspeth how she started spending more time with Virgil, emphasizing how happy she was. He shared his writing with her daily, and she loved it.

Virgil announced that his new manuscript had been accepted for publication, and Agnes and Karen congratulated him. Karen asked Agnes about the Indigenous Americans who had once lived on the Point because the library was establishing a historical display. Agnes spoke of the Indigenous American campground, noting that her ancestors collected some artifacts from it. Nan’s vocabulary was widening, and Agnes tried to explain the adults’ conversation to her.

Polly returned to the Point and revealed to Agnes that she was pregnant again. Nan had fully healed and joined Robert in playing with the other children. Agnes had developed a deep friendship with Virgil and, though the two had kissed, nothing passionate developed. Polly urged Agnes to give it time.

Agnes was alone reading when Virgil burst in, upset because his writing wasn’t going well. Agnes listened, which helped restored his confidence. In her letter to Elspeth, Agnes muses about how women intuit the role of a helpmate for men.

In the final letter to Elspeth, Agnes describes how Polly adored her new infant, Lydia. Then, Agnes confides that she still couldn’t figure out whether her continued closeness to Virgil was developing into something more. She’d written the first of the When Nan books and hoped to be able to support herself by publishing a series.

After Maud finishes reading all of Agnes’s notebooks, she picks up the Franklin Square novel. The writing style is familiar, which nags at her until she realizes that the five characters’ names form an anagram of “Agnes.”