He was reading from the beginning so that he could get to the end, where the reader was assured that the knight and the fair maiden lived together happily ever after.

What was it like...to have someone who knew you would always return and who welcomed you with open arms?

You must be filled with expectancy. You must be awash in hope. You must wonder who will love you, whom you will love next.

the story is not a pretty one. there is violence in it. And cruelty. But stories that are not pretty have a certain value, too, I suppose. Everything, as you well know (having lived in this world long enough to have figured out a thing or two for yourself), cannont always be sweetness and light.

Everything, as you well know . . . cannot always be sweetness and light.

[Our first dinner with Alison McGhee] was at Figlio's [in Minneapolis]. I know exactly what I had, because it was so good: their three-cheese ravioli. But I can't remember what I said to Alison that night that made her laugh so hard. But she got me right away and I got her right away.

Go home and read to your adult. We forget how much we love to be read to.