“Then she turns to Midnight and perches delicately on his lowered back. He rises, arches his neck, and carries Marlena from the big top. The rest of the horses follow, once again grouped by color, crowding each other to stay close to their mistress.”

“They grew fat and happy--the horses, not the children, or Marlena for that matter.”

“Then I lie down on the horse blanket and drift into a dream about Marlena that will probably cost me my soul.”

“When she comes to retrieve me [in the nursing home], after the tan-colored pudding with edible oil topping has sat for a while and been removed...”

“I was always searching, always seeking the next big thing, because that was the thing that was going to make everything all right again. And while I was working toward it, it gave me something to think about other than that thing I couldn't put my finger on. But it always came back.”

“He whispers in her ear, and she basks in his attention, trumpeting happily at the sight of him. Doesn't she remember?”

“But it all zipped by. One minute Marlena and I were up to our eyeballs, and the next thing we knew the kids were borrowing the car and fleeing the coop for college. And now, here I am. In my nineties and alone.”