I no longer believed in the idea of soul mates, or love at first sight. But I was beginning to believe that a very few times in your life, if you were lucky, you might meet someone who was exactly right for you. Not because he was perfect, or because you were, but because your combined flaws were arranged in a way that allowed two separate beings to hinge together.

It would only lead to disappointment, even heartbreak, and her heart was too precious for me to let that happen.

I thought I would spend the rest of my life searching for little reminders of you.

But when you started dating someone, you could never be sure what you were getting into. You had to give someone a chance to show you who he really was . . . and believe him when he did.

Here's your hat, and by the way, I'm a virgin

Oh, I have a very pure soul. It's only my private parts that have gotten me into trouble".

I understood finally that the thing I should have feared most was not loss, but never loving. The price for safety was the regret I felt at this moment. And yet I would have to live with it for the rest of my life