Being rich has never stopped anyone from being greedy.

But then I had long mistaken being spoiled for being strong, being defiant for being independent, being reckless for being brave.

The last I knew you were going to a party. just a few friends at the McEvoys' you told me. The science club, you told me. What happened? You got into a fight about the theory of relativity? Did creationists crash the party and start a rumble?

I'm telling you, you did what you believed you had to do through all of this. Not what was easiest or best for you. You did what you did, and you're owning it. And I don't know ten men who would be brave enough to do that.

They don't matter. I thought I had to prove something, and I did, to myself. There's nothing left for me to prove. I can move on with my life.

She had the kind of looks that had probably been quite pretty in high school, but were now worn down by years of smoking cigarettes, raising children, and the disappointment of being married to an asshole.

We never know the quality of someone else's life, though we seldom resist the temptation to assume and pass judgement.