“Honestly," he said with a grin, "how would that have worked? Oh, hello dream lover. Would you drink some of my blud so I won't murder you in front of all these nice people?"”

“I have tried to be honest with you, although I suppose that you would really have been more interested in my not being honest. Some of these things happened, and some were dreams. They were all true, as I understood truth. They are all real, as I understood reality.”

“I would love to say how nice it is to see you again, but that would be a lie. And I am nothing if not honest.”

“Hello! Your dear father is unfortunately very dead," he called. "And you said my dispersal system would never work!”

“Do you want a drink?” “You mean synthetic blood,” she said after a slight hesitation. “Yes, that would be nice. A sociable gesture.” “I’m all about the gestures. Bubba, you, too?” “Yes, ma’am, I reckon so,” he said.”

“I wanted to do it for you,” he said. “I wanted to show you how much I would do,how far I would go. How hard I would work.”