“But Edward doesn't even flinch; it's as if he's reading the text of me with some magic internal Rosetta stone that makes him understand what I say is not what I mean at all.”

“Edward: You know what the difference is between a dream and a goal? he used to say to me. A plan.”

“We sit for a few more moments, although there's really nothing left to say. This is new to me, too, an entire conversation that takes place in silence, because the heart has its own language. I will remember what Eric says even though he doesn't say a word. I will tell it to her.”

“When I was tiny, the county fair came through town. Our parents took us, and got tickets for the rides, even though I was scared to death of all of them. Edward was the one who convinced me to go on the merry-go-round. He put me up on one of the wooden horses and he told me the horse was magic, and might turn real right underneath me, but only if I didn't look down. So I didn't. I stared out at the pinwheeling crowd and searched for him. Even when I started to get dizzy or thought I might throw up, the circle would come around again and there he was. After a while, I stopped thinking about the horse being magic, or even how terrified I was, and instead, I made a game out of finding Edward.I think that's what family feels like. A ride that takes you back to the same place over and over.”

“Edward: "Wait--you were trying to hit on me?"Susan: "Damn straight."Edward: "The thing is, I'm not. Straight, I mean.”

“This isn't a lie, actually. I don't care why Edward left. All I really want to know is why I wasn't enough to make him stay.”

“He wished he knew what to say to make her feel better, but the truth was, hedidn’t feel all that great himself and he didn’t know if there were even any words in the Englishlanguage to take away this kind of stunning shock, this understanding that the world isn’t the placeyou thought it was.”