“I swallow any sort of apology."screwing your neighbor."There. Said it. React, okay?pregnant pause becomes three weeks overdue. Four weeks. Time for a C-section. What? Oh, Kaeleigh, I'm so sorry. Are you sure...?”

“Kaeleigh, queen of passive, all the time saying no, but not strong enough to mean it.”

“I can't change what has happened in the past, Kaeleigh. I can only promise to make the future better.”

“Later, Bishop Crandall dropped byThe house to give me a sternreprimand. He sat acrossthe cluttered table,playing with a paper clip.'Your parents are worries about you, Pattyn.'I was worried about myself.But I wasn't about to let himknow it. "Really?"'Really. What have you got to say for yourself? You've always been such a good girl.'Good girl. Sit. Stay. Fetch.Bristles rose up along my spine. "Define good."'I don't appreciate your attitude,Pattyn. Fast and pray. Search yoursoul for the inequities in your life.'"Any inequity in my lifebegan when I was bornfemale. Can you fix that?"'You'll have to fix that yourself,by concentrating on the thingsGod expects of you.'His two-faced rhetoric was pissing me off. "You mean like kissing your ass?"He slammed his hand on the table.'I will not listen to that sort of language. Apologize!'Behind me, I hear Momgasp. But I was on a roll."I'm sorry, BishopI'm sorry I ever believedyou might have somethingworthwhile to say.”

“The Great ThingAbout long-time, all-time friendsis, no matter how many hours (days, weeks, months, and, I assume,years) you spend in differnt places, when you're finally in the same room again, it's like you've never lefteach other's side. And you realize that your hearts have neverdisconnected”

“But Hey, Guess What Crazy means I'm not liablefor my actions. So screw it, I'll go home, propped up on Prozac against distractions”

“Ian's sense of right and wrong overwhelms me. Not a single other person .... I knowpossesses such an unshakable sense of morality.Its more than unbelievable. It's frightening.To offer without strings something all men crave,and be rejected by him is incomprehensible.Think I'll have to kick Kaeleigh's ass.Does she have any idea what it means .... to beso treasured? He has built a pedestal for her so tallthat she is afraid to be lifted atop it, because to fallwould mean certain death. But oh, she would rise far, far beyond fear.”