“she knew what she wanted and it wasn't / me. / I know more women like that than any / other kind.”

“And yet women-good women--frightened me because they eventually wanted your soul, and what was left of mine, I wanted to keep.”

“To me, nudity is a joke. I don't think nude people are very attractive at all. I like my women fully clothed. I like to imagine what might be under there. It might not be the standard thing. Imagine, stripping a woman down, and she has a body like a little submarine. With periscope, propellers, torpedoes. That would be the one for me. I'd marry her right off and be faithful to the end.”

“Trappeddon't undress my loveyou might find a mannequin:don't undress the mannequin you might findmy love. she's long agoforgotten me. she's trying on a newhat and looks more the coquettethan ever.she is achildand a mannequinand death. I can't hate that. she didn't doanything unusual. I only wanted herto.”

“But she projected vitality - you knew that she was there.”

“I didn't have any friends at school, didn't want any. I felt better being alone. I sat on a bench and watched the others play and they looked foolish to me.”

“Her one drink had Cecelia giggling and talking and she was explaining that animals had souls too. Nobody challenged her opinion. It was possible, we knew. What we weren't sure of was if we had any.”