“Elizabeth’s hands flew to her mouth; tears filled her eyes with happinessas she realized he was fulfilling yet another of her and her mother’s intended activities.“Why are you fulfilling all of my mother’s dreams?” she asked, studyinghis face and searching for answers.“So you don’t run away like she did in search of them,” he replied, takingher hand. “Come on, join in!” he said, leaping around.”

“he was like the drug she knew she shouldn't take,but the drug that kept coming back to feed her addiction”

“Katie is like my calendar, watching her growand change. She is growing up so fast, learning to have opinions of her own,learning that I don’t have the answers to everything. And the moment a childbegins to understand that, you know you’re in trouble.”

“She would make facial expressions as though she were having conversations with people in her head.They seemed to turn into debates more often than not,judging by the activity on her forehead...It was almost the conversations in her head were loud enough to fill her silence.”

“She didn't feel thirty. But then again again, what was being thirty supposed to feel like? When she was younger, thirty seemed so far away, she thought that a woman of that age would be so wise and knowledgeable, so settled in her life with a husband and children and a career. She had none of those things. She still felt as clueless as she had felt when she was twenty, only with a few more gray hairs and crow's feet around her eyes.”

“She likened it to a childhood crush, such strong almost obsessive feelings, but more, it had depth. She felt attracted to everything about him, the way he talked, the way he dressed, the words he used, his apparent innocence. Yet he was filled with a deep knowledge of wise insights. He always said the right things, even whe she didn’t want to hear them. The darkness lifted and she could suddenly see beyond. When he breezed into the room, he brought clarity and brightness with him. He was walking hope and she could tell that things for her be… not fantastic or wonderful or happily ever after, but that they could be okay. And that was enough.”

“Holly smiled weakly. Gerry would know exactly how she was feeling, he would know exactlywhat to say and he would know exactly what to do. He would give her one of his famous hugsand all her problems would melt away. She grabbed a pillow from her bed and hugged it tight.She couldn't remember the last time she hugged someone, really hugged someone. And thedepressing thing was that she couldn't imagine ever embracing anyone the same way again.”