“As she realized what might have been, she grew to be thankful for what was.”

“It felt odd to realize she was frightened more by what he might know, and not of what he might be.”

“She was grieving the loss of her youth, the closing down of possibilities as life became what it was rather than what it might have been.”

“Lil had always believed that a person's duty was to make the best of the hand they were dealt. No use wondering what might have been, she used to say, all that matters is what is.”

“Alex understood such discipline. He knew the rarity of it, and the cost. And on the rare occasions when he happened to touch her, he did wonder what else she might have been, if she had not been so determined to be typical.”

“She’s been trying to escape since she was little. The thing I don’t think she’s realized is that eventually you have to stop. And what happens when you do?”