I would venture to guess that the only "real" people in Ada are "Violet" and "Oranger".  
And maybe only one of them.

Reminds me of the Quaker joke:

"Sometimes I think the whole world is mad except thee and me.  And sometimes I wonder about thee."

Didn't someone on the list once mention that VN expressed fondness for "The Friendly Persuasion"? Can't think of the author's name just now, but she wrote a sequel called
"Except Thee and Me".

Carolyn