“Ireland Quinn Brady," he finally moved forward with an extended pointer finger to push me back down. "You are exceptional and beautiful and everything I wish I could be. I cant believe that you happened to me, and I promise every tomorrow we have together will be better than the last. This I will tell you over and over and over again until I take my last breath. I love you.”

“Why do you care?" His eyes looked casually over my shoulder, down the hallway then flicked back to me. "Are you jealous?" his left eyebrow rose slightly."Of Lizzie, umm, no," I mouthed."Ah, huh" he didn't sound convinced. "So what are you doing with Kosic?" His face twitched for a second like he smelled something bad."Jealous?" I smiled.”

“I tried to resist the urge to reach for my camera. I tried to look, really look, as though this took an effort far greater than the movement of my eyes. You are here, I would say to myself, no part of this moment is melting into the future. You are only here and nowhere else. But I could never believe it. So I would take a photo to stop the world. So that I could keep moving”

“I spent my entire life waiting for you, Marianne, and I didn't even know it until you arrived. Being burned was the best thing that ever happened to me because it brought you. I wanted to die but you filled me with so much love that it overflowed and I couldn't help but love you back. It happened before I even knew it and now I can't imagine not loving you. You have said that it takes so much for me to believe anything, but I do believe. I believe in your love for me. I believe in my love for you. I believe that every remaining beat of my heart belongs to you, and I believe that when I finally leave this world, my last breath will carry your name. I believe that my final word--Marianne--will be all I need to know that my life was good and full and worthy, and I believe that our love will last forever.”

“But as I glared up at Hawkins, I realized he was only looking down at me. "You got my attention. Now what are you going to do with it?" He said into the microphone.”

“I hate lending, or borrowing—if you want me to read a book, tell me about it, or buy me a copy outright. Your loaned edition sits in my house like a real grievance. And in lieu of lending books, I buy extra copies of those I want to give away, which gives me the added pleasure of buying books I love again and again.” --Jonathan Lethem”

“I was intending to trip on my way back, making her the clear winner, when she whimpered, "I can't believe your not going to let me win, especially after the other night." Her face suddenly fell and I stopped what I was doing for a second when out of nowhere she grabbed my shovel and threw it to the ground before turning to run back to the hutch. "Sucker," she called over her shoulder.”