“Smile. Nod. Saysomething wittybefore he findsout what an incrediblegeek you are.”

“Ask a soldier what he believes in. He'll tell you God. Country. The patient hands of death-- the ones he's wearing.”

“I Want to ShoutLeave me alone!What's wrong with you?Don't you remember who I am? Who you are?This is not a father's love! I want to scream, Can't you see what you are doing to me? What you've done to me? What you've made of me? I want to cry out, I am your little girl. I am not your girlfriend. I am not your whore. I am not my fucking mother! But he is on top of me and my shout is silenced. He is inside of me and my scream stays there too. He is finished. And I don't cry out, but I do cry a bucket of silent tears. He slithers away and at last, I quietly sob”

“I nod, because I do understand. I'm just not sure how to go about divorcing myself from the evil I've already accepted.”

“Always before, I just said no, left it solidly there. I waver now. I want to share everything with him. Want to know what he knows, feel what he feels, share the same space he's in.”

“He's solid."You're fractured."He's hopeful."You're hopeless."He's always there."You're half there."He's faithful."You're so not."He's giving."You're afraid to give."He's honest."You lie all the time."He's loving."You don't know how to love.”

“I told her about the man, not my daddy, she said, He was only making you into a real girl. I didn’t understand. But I made myself believe her. I was a real girl now. But what was I before?”