“You're Bes, I guess?" I said."Yes," he said."Your car's a mess," Liz muttered."If one more person rhymes," Emma grumbled, "I'll throw up.”

“Liz cleared her throat. "Isn't there a more polite term we're supposed to use nowadays? Like....little person, or vertically challenged,or-""I'm not going to call myself the god of vertically challenged people," Bes grumbled. "I'm a dwarf!”

“I am not going to be the person who completes you,” he said, glancing at me and turning away. “You are one messed-up bitch.”

“One question," I said. "Did you tell me all that because you think I'm going to die?""No," he said. "It's because you're doing something brave, and I felt I should too.""I'll take that as a yes," I said.”

“Hollis " I said "you're messing with me right now aren't you You're in Paris or somewhere and just-" "What " he replied. "No This is the real deal. Here I'll prove it." There was a muffled noise followed by some static. Then I heard my mother recite at a distance in her most droll flat tone "Yes. It is true. Your brother is in love and in my kitchen.”

“You couldn't be more wrong," I said. "You are buying into the cross-stitched sentiments of your parents' throw pillows. You're arguing that the fragile, rare thing is beautiful simply because it is fragile and rare. But that's a lie, and you know it.""You're a hard person to comfort," Augustus said."Easy comfort isn't comforting," I said.”