“i think about those twists of fate, the strange run-ins that can alter everything in the blink of an eye, or the shift of a single season. ”

“listen, i appreciate the story. i get that he's a goody guy. but these audits are random. it's not personal. see, that's where you're wrong, the man said. everything you do in life is personal. ”

“you want to protect your children, she said. even when they're not children no longer, you still think you can, maybe, make things not hurt so bad. ”

“i was thinking that i'd like to try kissing you, joshua reed said. ”

“no, i don't, i told him. i'm not sure that it matters what you care about. maybe it's the caring itself that matters. ”

“i know they say that absence makes the heart grow fonder. but sometimes, absence can also reveal the waning of once fond feelings. time passes and it's a surprise to realize that you haven't missed him, or her, or the place or the job that once felt like a match. ”

“after a kiss you can find yourself in that deserted place where even if it's not leading to anything, you and the other person have both admitted some thing that tugs at the friendship, pulling it out of shape. ”