“Lina loved her little sister so much that it was like an ache under her ribs.”

“My sister Rose lives on the mantelpiece.Well, some of her does.A collarbone, two ribs, a bit of skull, and a little toe.”

“Her heart ached as though a knife had quietly slipped between her ribs.”

“That's when a woman finds herself--when she's in love. I don't care if she is old or fat or homely or prosy. She feels that little flutter under her ribs and she drops from the tree like a ripe plum.”

“When she listened to songs that she loved on the radio, something stirred inside her. A liquid ache spread under her skin, and she walked out of the world like a witch.”

“So Lizzy,' said he one day, 'your sister is crossed in love I find. I congratulate her. Next to being married, a girl likes to be crossed in love a little now and then. It is something to think of, and gives her a sort of distinction among her companions.”