“My mom and dad died, but in their place I got a house of fog that’s easy to hide my feelings in. (No smoking, please.)
”

“But not like this: not withthe house just an afterimage, and my mom a spirit, and my dad...recycled.""Carter Kane, Chapter 41”

“Mom and Dad were great, but being asked where I was going every time I left the house - or where I'd been every time I returned - got old quickly.”

“When my mom pulled the trigger my dad had a full house, three fives and a pair of ducks. He was all in. The paper says although dead, he ended up winning seven grand. I once heard someone on tv say we die as we lived. That sounds about right.”

“I don’t like to celebrate my birthday, because I don’t like taking credit for others’ work—in this case, my mom and dad. Or possibly my mom and the mailman.
”

“I got up and hugged first his dad and then his mom, who held on to me too tight, like Gus used to, squeezing my shoulder blades.”