Lucy by the Sea

In January, William becomes eligible for the vaccine because of his age. When they go to the hospital, she is struck by the vulnerability of all the people waiting to get the shot. After that outing, she sees no one because of the winter weather, and William is absorbed by his new project. Lucy starts to feel like she doesn’t matter, and that her life is gone forever.

She also worries that she is too frightened to return to New York, and shares this feeling with Bob. He shares her worry about New York, that he will not be up for it when he is able to return. She tells him that she and William are together now, but she worries that William will expect her to move into the apartment he had with Estelle when they return. Bob tells her he would love it if she stayed in Maine. She reflects that he is the only person who makes her feel as if she matters lately.

In March, Lucy has finished her story, but she worries that it is too sympathetic to a character that Americans are not finding sympathetic: a white police officer who commits a violent act and goes unpunished.