“A boy is a dangerous animal.”

“Expectations are dangerous when they are both too high and unformed.”

“For Celia, her whole surround was animate, and each tapioca lump had a dense, nauseating little soul.”

“I didn't put in my diaphragm' I mumbled when we were through.You stirred, 'Is it dangerous?''It's very dangerous,' I said.Indeed, just about any stranger could have turned up nine months later. We might as well have left the door unlocked.”

“That boy hardly needed a mask when his naked face was already impenetrable.”

“We shared a sympathetic look, mutually marveling that kids who commit grown-up crimes still have their little-boy sweet tooth.”

“I had created my own Other Woman who happened to be a boy. I'd seen this in-house cuckolding in other families, and it's odd that I'd failed to spot it in ours.”