“Is she worth all that pain?” he asked me, smiling.“Definitely,” I said, still reeling from the events of the day.“But I don’t deserve her.”“Then be somebody who does.”“That’s what I intend to do.”

“Are you a virgin?” I asked, “A virgin who’s gonna tear out my heart?”“Yes … no … wait.” She looked at me. “I’m not going to rip out your heart.”“Thanks for clearing that up,” I said“Is that okay with you?” she asked softly.“Okay with me?”,“No, it’s not okay at all,” I replied.“Why not?” She looked down at her toes.“I want you to rip out my heart.”She smiled, pressed her hand to my chest, and said, “I could never do that.”You already have, I thought as I took her hand in mine”

“I stand to leave, but my father says, “Wait!” over the red telephone. “Let me just look at you a minute.” He smiles at me proudly. “I know you been in some trouble, son, but you turned out good. That’s all I ever wanted,” he tells me. Then he puts his hand against the glass and I put my hand against the glass. “I love you,” he says.“I love you, too,” I say back.”

“Hey, aren’t you that guy who fixes cars?” Katie asked,looking at my grease-covered work pants as if she couldn’t believe I ever left the garage.“Yeah, they let me out every now and then,” I said.”

“WORDSI carry a messagethat i cannot read.The words may be hauntingor tender or sweet.Thought what it saysI do not know,I still carry it with me,wherever i go.”

“What happened?”“I tried to be somebody different from who I am and it didn’t work out.”“The world ain’t set up that way. Folks say we oughta be better than we are, but deep down they just want us to stay in our places. With our own kind.Messes up the natural order, otherwise.”

“i carry a message that i can not read.the words may be haunting ,or tender or sweet.though what it says,i don not know.i still carry it with me ,where ever i go.”