“How is it possible for me to be so miserable and embarrassed and humiliated and beaten an function still talk and smile and concentrate?”

“my mother, poor fish,wanting to be happy, beaten two or three times aweek, telling me to be happy: "Henry, smile!why don't you ever smile?"and then she would smile, to show me how, and it was thesaddest smile I ever saw”

“It was beyond embarrassing or humiliating or even mortifying. It was ego-slaying!”

“How can it be, after all this concentrated effort and separation, how can it be that I still resemble, so very closely, my own detestable mother?”

“My face filled with the warm glow of embarrassment preventing me from smiling back so I turned and ran away.”

“Bathroom, huh? OK.’ she tittered nervously. ‘I’ll carry you. Just don’t pee on me.’Helen laughed gratefully. Aridane was making an embarrassing situation as humorous as possible so Helen would feel more comfortable. It was something Claire would have done. Helen was still embarrassed, but with a few jokes and little bit of tact they both made it through.”