“Are you going to kick somebody’s ass?I don’t know. Maybe.Well, I’m not going to worry. I’ve watched you spar with that martial arts dummy in the backyard lots of times, and you always win.Thanks, buddy. I’ll see you soon.”

“I’m going to kick his ass for touching you,” he growls. “And for wrecking my bike.”“I’m glad I came first in that sentence.”“Baby, you always come first.”

“Look, I’ve got her, I’m carrying her, and I’m taking her to the hospital. So you can back off and let me do what I’m going to do, or you can get your ass kicked and I’m still going to do what I’m going to do. Your choice.”

“Do you know when you cross against traffic? You look down the street and see a car coming, but you know you can get across before it gets to you. So even though there’s a DON’T WALK sign, you cross anyway. And there’s always a split second when you turn and see that car coming, and you know that if you don’t continue moving, it will all be over. That’s how I feel a lot of the time. I know I’ll make it across. I always make it across. But the car is always there, and I always stop to watch it coming.”

“I was going to say, No, no, don’t cry, I’ll go outwith you. Anything, but don’t cry. . . . But I stillcouldn’t make my voice work.And then he sort of cleared his throat and said,“Georgia, don’t feel bad. It’s always tough to hurt someone and tell them the truth. I know that. You’re a really lovely girl. Lovely . . . mad . . . butlovely. I’ll always like you. Don’t worry.”

“I don’t know what’s going to happen with us, Anna. But I’m always going to love you. That I know.”