“If the Old Man said something was so, then it probably was, because he was one of these cautious babies who'll look out the window at a cloudburst and say, "It seems to be raining," on the off-chance that somebody's pouring water off the roof.”

“I could hear rain still pouring from the gutters and a thin branch scraping against one of the windows; but the church seemed completely cut off from the restless day outside--just as I felt cut off from the church. I thought: I am a restlessness inside a stillness inside a restlessness.”

“What's up with you?" "I'm grounded," I say, just to say something real. "I told Mum to fuck off." He whistles. "Why'd you tell her that? Any other 'off' leaves room for parole. 'Sod off,' 'shove off'—even 'sock off' is still pretty satisfying." "You've told your dad to sock off?" "Once. He said, 'What the fuck is "sock off"? Be a man and tell me to fuck off.'" "So did you tell him?" "No. Because that was the trap. There's never time out for good behavior with 'fuck off.”

“Lev looks at Risa, almost afraid to ask the obvious question. Finally he says, 'Uh...why do we have a baby?''Ask him,' says Risa.Stone-faced, Conner looks out of the window. 'They're looking for two boys and a girl. Having a baby will throw them off.''Great,' snaps Risa. 'Maybe we should all pick up a baby along the way.”

“What are we doing with him?" Briec asked eagerly. "Are we throwing him out a window? Let's throw him out a window! Or off the roof!”

“He's leaning in towards me. He's looking at my lips. They've probably got hot chocolate foam on them or something, but I can't seem to move any of my muscles to wipe it off.”