“M'Dear," I said cordially, "Your butt's blocking my bumper. Do you think you could move your loitering five feet to the south and let me leave?”

“Don't leave yet," he said, his voice hoarse. "Let me do something. Let me feed you. Hold you. Rub your shoulders. Change your oil. Anything, please.”

“You should have dragged my butt out of bed.""Your butt's too big to drag," Taylor said.Hayley sat on the floor, facing her sister. "That means yours is too. We have the same butt, remember?""Don't remind me," Taylor said. "I see it every time you walk in front of me.”

“Don't you find it strange that your mother would leave you?' Becky said. 'I can't imagine my other leaving me.'I'd never thought of it like that before. 'I don't think she knew what else to do.”

“That's the thing about books. They let you travel without moving your feet.”

“When you fall in love, your heart will pound so much you won't be able to throw a mouse let alone a cow pat.I don't think I could throw a mouse now. I dislike the idea of scrabbling little feet in my palm, unless they are yours, of course.”