“And marking off time struck me as something like counting empty spaces—spaces you know can't ever be filled.”

“Six years is plenty long enough to soothe the tearing anguish of...death, but maybe no amount of time is enough to soothe something that is no longer there. Something like an emptiness that can never be filled because it's only a bit of space carved out of air.”

“Fun, like champagne bubbles, can't completely fill you up.”

“But don't go thinking that I'm critical of you, Anton, because really I'm not. Not a bit! It's just that you're not here. I'm alone and I'm frightened and you're not here. And you're not ever going to be here for me.”

“And taking care of somebody else made me feel good. Like discovering you're more than you thought you were. More even than you hoped to be. ”

“Maybe...in a way, this coffee reminds me of something. Maybe...maybe only a philosopher or a mad man would make this connection, but it's a little like life. I mean it's powerful going down and that doesn't even take into account the aftertaste, which really takes getting used to.”

“Longevity can't be the only test of love.”