Sex could be a blissful communion,. But it could also be a weapon, and its absence, sometimes, was required for the establishment of peace.

Something about giving in without a fight felt wrong.

You should find him because he loves you.

She was astonished, and at the same time she knew. There were many things in life like that. You couldn’t imagine it, and then it happened and you couldn’t really imagine it hadn’t.

She went around with a broken heart, and she wasn't sure who'd broken it. She thought it was herself, mostly.

Lena always described how she dreaded and mourned things before they even happened. Carmen was beginning to suspect that she was permitting herself to mourn this long separation only now that it was over.

I love the idea of fictional worlds kind of all cohering in some way.