“Talking to Clarence can be like talking to a child, although it is much more charming in children.”

“Much of what she found charming and refreshing about him at the outset of their relationship now bugged the hell out of her.”

“She thought she would do something with them someday, although she could not have said what and in fact she never did.”

“Did she really remember that day so clearly or was she making it up as she went along?”

“Joanna has an unmanageable lump in her throat and wonders why it's always the happy memories that make her cry.”

“It begins to dawn on her that she is lackadaisical about other people. They are tremendously important to her for a time and then they are not. She begins to see her life in sections, as separate pockets of time and affiliation.”

“I remind myself that not everything is a sign, that some things simply are what they appear to be and should not be analyzed, deconstructed, or forced to bear the burden of metaphor, symbol, omen, or portent.”