“I was bitterly resentful, but somehow greatly relieved. And I respected him enormously for his clarity of thought, his obvious caring, and his unwillingness to equivocate in delivering bad news.”

“Though I no longer liked him or respected him, the thought of his disapproval frightened me.”

“Somehow I found him. Somehow I found Al's sarcastic thoughts, bitter and old. Tired, angry, bored. Alone.”

“See, that wasn't so bad!" I grin as we tread water.Eventually he smirks at me, obviously relieved. "No, I guess it wasn't. Except I'm wet," he grumbles, but his tone is playful.'I'm wet, too.""I like you wet." He leers.”

“We went to the door and I let Asha in. I expected an uberawkward moment when he and Vayl met. But Asha took care of that problem right away. "So you belong to Jasmine," he said in his melancholy voice. It somehow delivered Vayl his deepest condolences without bearing a trace of malice toward me.”

“Not in his speech, not in his thoughts, I see his greatness, only in his actions, in his life.”