“She idly stroked his head in the way one might stroke a dog.”

“But it was hard to keep his hands still. He could almost feel them twitching emphatically with his strong desire to reach out and stroke the dog's head. He had such a terrible yearning to love something again, and the dog was such a beautiful ugly dog.”

“I stroked his long, appreciative back, all the way to the tip of his striped tail, and thought how frustrating it was that we can take such liberties with animals, but not with people. I wanted to stroke her head -this girl I secretly knew was called Flynn.”

“Torn between the impulse to stroke his head, and the urge to cave it in with a rock, I did neither.”

“One stroke of lightning does not have to lead anywhere, but to the next stroke of lightning.”

“Hugh stretched out one hand and stroked the fur. It felt cold and rich, it crackled with silky static electricity. Stroking it was like stroking a clear autumn night.”