“She looked at me for a second and said, "Oh, never mind. I guess it's true what Mom said? That you've led a sheltered life?"I said I thought the description fairly apt.”

“Sabina." Vinca said interrupting my maudlin thoughts."Hmmm..."She rolled her eyes. "I said, don't you think Adam looks nice tonight."I shook myself. "I guess so," I said with a shrug."Oh, stop," he said. "You're going to make me blush.”

“A little girl came home from school with a drawing she'd made in class.She danced into the kitchen ,where her mother was preparing dinner."Mom,guess what ?" she squealed waving the drawing .her mother never looked up."what"? she said ,tending to the pots."guess what?" the child repeated ,waving the drawings."what?" the mother said , tending to the plates."Mom, you're not listening""sweetie,yes I am""Mom" the child said "you're not listening with your EYES”

“What's with the disco lights?" Michael said, rolling down the window between the driver's compartment and the back.Eve turned around, and her face brightened. "You like it? I thought it looked really cool. I saw it in a movie, you know, in a limo.""It's cool," Michael said, and smiled at her. She smiled back. "Can't wait to lie here and watch it with you."Claire said, "You don't have to wait; it's working now. Look--Oh. Never mind." She blushed, feeling stupid that she hadn't gotten that one in the first second. Eve winked at her.”

“The baby went without a name for weeks. Mom said she wanted to study it first, the way she would the subject of a painting. We had a lot of arguments over what the name should be. I wanted to call her Rosita, after the prettiest girl in my class, but Mom said the name was too Mexican."I thought we weren't supposed to be prejudiced," I said."It's not being prejudiced," Mom said. "It's a matter of accuracy in labeling.”

“Lula," I said, "do you ever think about getting married?"I guess I do. Doesn't everybody?"You have to let your husband kiss you once you're married. And you have to kiss him back."No," she said.Yes." I nodded, as if I knew everything there was to know about husbands and wives kissing. "That's what they do together."Do you have to?"Oh, absolutely. It's the law."I never heard of that law," she said dubiously.It's true, it's Texas law," I said.”