“So," she went on, "it got me thinking about what cost beauty. Or for that matter, what cost anything? Would you trade love for beauty? Or happiness for beauty? Could a gorgeous person with a mean streak be a worthy trade? And if you did make the trade, decide you'd take that beautiful swan and hope it wouldn't turn on you, what would you do if it did?”

“For once, you believed in yourself. You believed you were beautiful and so did the rest of the world.”

“Events conspired to bring you back to where you'd been. It was what you did then that made all the difference: it was all about potential.”

“Well," I said finally, knowing he was waiting, "you make me laugh."He nodded. "And?""You're pretty good-looking.""Pretty good-looking? I called you beautiful.""You want to be beautiful?" I asked him."Are you saying I'm not?”

“what you have to decide, is how you want your life to be. if your forever was ending tomorrow, would this b the way you'd want to have spent it?”

“What you have to decide... is how you want your life to be. If your forever was ending tomorrow, would this be how you'd want to have spent it? Listen, the truth is, nothing is guaranteed. You know that more than anybody. So dont be afraid. Be alive.”

“Once she'd loved my filet mignon, my carnivore inklings,but now she was a vegan princess, living off of beans. She'd given up the cheese and bacon, sworn off BurgerKing, and when Iwouldn't do the same she gave me back my ring. I stood there by the romaine lettuce,feeling my heartpine.Wishing that this meatless beauty still would be all mine. She turned aroundto go to checkout,fifteen items or less. And I knew this was the last go-round, so this is what I said. ..."Don't you ever give me no rotten tomato, 'cause all I ever wanted was your sweetpotato.”