“In my dream, the angel shrugged and said, if we fail this time, it will be a failure of imaginationand then she placed the world gently in the palm of my hand.”

“With his eyes and those hands there won't be a woman safe in all the world when he starts hunting after the ladies.''Courting, dear,' my father corrected gently.'Semantics,' she shrugged.”

“A toast, an affirmation, a prayer of thanks. I want you to know that, wherever we find ourselves in this world, whatever our successes or failures, come this time of year, you will always have a place at my table. And a place in my heart.”

“Stop judging your life only by the failures," he whispered."What should I do?" she whispered. "I'm always going to fail.""We all do," he said softly, his voice closer now. "We all fail. But none of us fail all the time.”

“Lorenzo gently places his hands on either side of my face, lowering his head to stare directly into my eyes. His voice is barely above a whisper as he says, "Patience D'Angeli-Cat-you are my dream now.”

“Yes, my dear," he said reaching his hand to her cheek from where he sat. "But, it only takes one success to erase all the failures. When an opportunity presents itself, the only true failure takes place if one doesn't try at all. My wings weren't ready to fly this time, but, next time, you'll see. They all will see.”