“As my mom used to say,"If wishes were horses, we'd be up to our eyeballs in shit.”

“Mounted on a horse, we were useful in direct proportion to our powers of observation and our ability to interpret what we say, faculties, of course, which are sharpened by interest. And our interest was boundless.”

“If wishes were horses, I'd have been run over in my childhood.”

“But it all zipped by. One minute Marlena and I were up to our eyeballs, and the next thing we knew the kids were borrowing the car and fleeing the coop for college. And now, here I am. In my nineties and alone.”

“Old paper, which my mom used to say was the smell of time itself.”

“So you can’t marry Harry, Mom! Not if you still love Daddy!” I sound like a ten-year-old, but I can’t help it. Buttercup comes over to me and puts her head on my lap.“Love gets used up, Chastity,” Mom says gently, reaching up to smooth my hair. “If it’s not returned, it gets used up.”