“No. I just don't want to be a detective. They figure out what happened after the fact, when it's too late. I want to prevent it from happening.”

“Too late I realized this sounded like a come-on. Yeah,Hayden, he would say,I want you to show me some-wink-stretches!-nudge nudge.”

“What happened was, I told you I loved you.”

“I just happened to be in the neighborhood, walking my dog..." This was sounding lame. "Several miles from my home,in the middle of the night,in the snow.And I found myself in your backyard."His eyes flew open. "With the cats?""If that's what you call them.”

“I don’t want to make her jealous yet,” I explained. “She hasn’t gone out with Sean yet. Right now I want her to feel special, like she’s the only girl I ever introduced tomy secret make-out hideout. It’s only after she goes out with Sean that I’m going to pull the rug out from under her.”“Adam Vader,” Rachel said. “I had no idea you were so sneaky.”“Right. That makes me even sneakier. Deal?”

“Most people hear an airplane in the sky and think, ‘There’s an airplane,’ and go back to what they were doing. A few folks look around for the airplane, try to figure out what kind of plane it is, and watch it from the time they spot it to the time it disappears on the horizon, maybe after that. Those kids are the ones who will be pilots." He pointed at me. "I knew that about you. I’ve just been waiting for you to show up.”

“I felt confident that she wouldn't find out what a chicken I was,because after the comp,if I hadn't gone off the jump,I would be dead of shame.And if I had gone off the jump,I would be just plain dead.”