“She swore vengeance on all men with dark hearts.”

“People make mistakes; they do the wrong things. Sometimes they're annoying. Sometimes they're awful. (That's true for me, too, by the way.)So how do you know when it's time to give up? And do you know when to hang in there? I guess you don't really. You just make your choices and hope for the best.”

“My new friend," she said. "I met him at the farmers' market." Friend? Now there was some code. Suddenly, I realized why Patricia [his grandma] had sex on her mind, and then, just as suddenly, I had this whole new batch of unwanted images and thoughts. "So what do you think, hon? Saturday night, maybe?" Patricia asked my back. I leaned farther into the refrigerator. "Uhhh..." Milk, orange juice, pickles, mustard, canola oil, cream cheese, my grandmother having sex, please God, make it stop--Hon?”

“Where did the men get the goldSo extraordinarilyLeaving little of me leftAnd from what men(The men that burn in my heart)I should escape. I am ashamed.If the men turn towards meWhere are the rights of my solitude?”

“Men are like dogs," Stacy was fond of saying. And she usually went on to add that, like dogs, they all took up too much space on the bed, and they always went for the crotch.”

“Ah, Evie,” she heard him say softly, “I must have a heart, after all…because right now it aches like the devil.”“Only your heart?” she asked ingenuously, making him laugh.He lowered her to the bed, his eyes sparkling wickedly. “Also a few other things,” he conceded. “And as my wife, it’s your duty to ease all my aches.”

“All men are assholes.”