“Keep away from her," said Ameer Merchant, but once the inexorable dynamic of the mythic has been set in motion, you might as well try and keep bees from honey, crooks from money, politicians from babies, philosophers from maybes. Vina had her hooks in me, and the consequence was the story of my life.”

“Stay away from her.""Okay.""Keep your hands off her.""I'll try."He scowled at me."I will," I said.”

“Her mother had once told her that one could run away from home, from husband, from children, from trouble, but it was impossible to run away from oneself. "You always have to take yourself with you," she said. And now, bending towards her mother, Hope wondered if in death you were finally able to run away from yourself. This might be death's gift. She knew that the thought wasn't terribly profound, but she was moved by the notion of completion and of escape.”

“... keeping her wild-honey-and-chamomile-soaked hair from falling into her oatmeal-and-yogurt face mask”

“Just keep her away from bookstores, if you can."Bookstores.Thanks, Grayson. That helps.Apparently whoever said, "no harm ever came from reading a book," hadn't met this girl.”

“Her fault had been in trying to keep it as tight as a mistress might. All a wife needed was a little more subtlety, and it had taken her two years of doubts and nightmares to realize this. Let him wander away from her, let him dally with others--it would but be to compare them with his incomparable queen.”