“I had an interview once with some German journalist—some horrible, ugly woman. It was in the early days after the communists—maybe a week after—and she wore a yellow sweater that was kind of see-through. She had huge tits and a huge black bra, and she said to me, ‘It’s impolite; remove your glasses.’ I said, ‘Do I ask you to remove your bra?”

“...I met a reverend mother once who cried...ah, it's all so sad' - 'What did she cry about?' - 'I don't know, after talking to me, I remember I said some silly thing like "the universe is a woman because it's round" but I think she cried because she was remembering her early days when she had a romance with some soldier who died, at least that's what they say, she was the greatest woman I ever saw, big blue eyes, big smart woman ... you could do that, get out of this awful mess and leave it all behind”

“You know," Marion said, "I met a woman once when I was a teenager. I knew she had gone through a lot but she was so strong, so compassionate. I asked her how she could be the way she was, and you know what she told me?" Hadley shook her head. "She said, 'You can be broken, or broken open. That choice is yours.”

“Little son, I have longed a while to see you, and now I see you the fairest thing ever a woman bore. In sadness came I hither, in sadness did I bring forth, and in sadness has your first feast day gone. And as by sadness you came into the world, your name shall be called Tristan; that is the child of sadness.”After she had said these words she kissed him, and immediately when she had kissed him she died.”

“I once had a dream about a woman, and the next day she died. I stopped sleeping for three days after that to try to save some lives, but then my body relented and I went back to being a murderer.”

“We’d better be careful to each put our own clothes on or we will have some explaining to do,” she said. “Maybe we should turn on the light.”That made him really laugh. “As if I could get one toe of mine into anything of yours.”“I was thinking mostly of my bra,” she said. “You sure did seem interested in it.”“I am,” he said. “First I think I’d like for you to quit wearing it but then I remember how much fun we had with it on. I just can’t decide.”“I’m not gonna participate in that experiment,” she said.“But what if I decide you should go without?”“Too bad.”He started pulling on his jeans, then put his brace back on.“Take some time to think about it.”