“Mouse adored Eve. If he could admit it to himself, he had a bit of a crush on her. But he never would—that would feel traitorous. He would never be that. Fucking Merkin.”

“Even if God had created us, He would never have admitted it.”

“Why would he want to put a stain on a white sheet? Why would he want to taint a love that has never been crushed? Why would he want to see her intoxicated then leave her in the morning to fend for herself? Why would he want to ruin innocence?”

“He knew himself well enough to know his own faults. Impatient and judgmental and stubborn and often too quick to act: he would try never to crush her, never to overwhelm her or bend her to his will, but if she did not demand only the best from him, it would happen. It might happen. Possibly.”

“And I could feel what he felt on the night when he realize that if he didn't leave, it would never be his life. It would be theirs.”

“But once in a great while he remembered that he had felt pain, a terrible ache in his heart, and he swore he would never let himself feel love for a human again.”