Someday was the thing he had, because it was a lot harder to ruin than today.

The most haunting thing was not that he didn't love her anymore. She could have accepted that eventually. The most haunting thing was that he did. He loved her from afar. He loved her in a way that was preserved in time, that couldn't be sullied. And she tended it in her careful, curatorial way.

Don't talk to me. I'm tired and grumpy and I'll probably make fun of you.

Everything I ever said to you was true and is true.

Sometimes you need to make a mess. -Loretta, the Rollinses' hosekeeper

Love who you love while you have them. That's all you can do. Let them go when you must. If you know how to love, you'll never run out.

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.