“She [Susanna] realized she was still hugging the wall. Pride propelled her two steps forward. As she advanced, something bleated at her, as though chastising her for trespassing. She stopped midstep and peered at it. "Did you know there's a lamb in here?""Never mind it. That's dinner."She gave it a smile and a friendly pat. "Hullo, Dinner. Aren't you a sweet thing.""It's not his name, it's his...function.”

“You will be glad to know that Mary has made something special for dinner.""Something edible, I hope."Her lips twitched. "Absolutely.""Then it's doubly a pity that I don't want dinner this evening." The hunger that roared through him had nothing to do with food."No dinner? But Mary-""Are you hungry?"She gave an odd flicker of a smile. "I couldn't eat anything now if my life depended on it."Her admission relaxed his taut nerves. She was as affected as he was. Good. That's how it should be.”

“She knows her place in this world. She can tear down its walls, and still nobody knows her name. - Naomi”

“In the bedroom Sarah lay next to her son. She could hear movement in the kitchen and wondered if Doug had started preparing dinner. She longed for something sweet to eat. She had not been hungry for days, for weeks, for months, but now, with her son lying near her, she wanted the taste of sugar on her tongue. She would not move though. She didn’t know if she would ever be able to leave his side again.”

“Then she did something that really surprised me. She blinked back tears and put out her arms.I stepped forward and hugged her. Butterflies started turning my stomach into a mosh pit."Hey, it's... it's okay." I patted her back.I was aware of everything in the room. I felt like I could read the tiniest print on any book on the shelves. Annabeth's hair smelled like lemon soap. She was shivering.”

“She knew that she belonged to this man, body and soul. Every trace of shame departed; it was burnt out by the fire that consumed her. She gave him a thousand opportunities; she fought to turn his words to serious things. He baffled her with his shallow smile and ready tongue, that twisted all topics to triviality. By six o'clock she was morally on her knees before him; she was imploring him to stay to dinner with her. He refused.”