“This wasn't strong-willed, fly-by-the-seat-of-her-miniskirt Kate that I'd befriended last year. You think you know a girl- and then she goes and loses her virginity at a Mardi Gras party and goes soft.”

“Mardi Gras, baby. Mardi Gras. Time when all manner of weird shit cuts loose and parties down.”

“Do you know how marriage was defined in ancient Greece? Noel said in a calmer tone. Its really simple. A virgin goes to mans house with the family gathered as witnesses. The virgin and the man share a fire, a meal, and a bed. If the girl wasn't a virgin in the morning, then the couple was considered married. That's it”

“She was a full lipped and hipped italian tomato with Rome burning in her eyes. She had the look of a carnival in Rio, or Mardi Gras in New Orleans, or bullfights in Spain, or Saturday night in my apartment.”

“Every time a person goes to the mall, she loses a little piece of her soul”

“The safest day at the Melody is St. Paddy's," adds another Mardi Gras girl. "All the cops are out vomiting at the parade.”