The club reads On the Road by Jack Kerouac.

Audrey is gaining weight with her pregnancy, and her husband, Paul, complains that she’s not attentive to him. Audrey’s family is rich; her father is part of an expensive and powerful law firm. She still earns royalties from her grandfather’s inventions. Audrey sits quietly in the pew while Kari’s daughter is baptized, but doesn’t believe in God or church. Audrey reflects on how much she enjoys the book club.

Reading Kerouac, the women discuss how they feel like outlaws. Kari is high on motherhood but is also getting comments and insults about Julia being half-Black. As they go downstairs for refreshments after the baptism, Merit trips on the stairs, and Audrey thinks that the accident looks staged, as Merit is graceful, not clumsy.

The club reads Main Street by Sinclair Lewis.

Faith entertains her mother-in-law, Patsy, who has come to see the twins, now two. Bonnie is a fearless and bold child, while Beau is quiet and shy. Patsy is chatty and comments about a boy with shoulder-length hair. When they see Kari and Slip at a café, Patsy calls Julia a pickaninny. Faith reproves her for using this term. Patsy sits in on their book club meeting, and Faith has decorated and made themed desserts.