Something Like Winter

Some ghosts haunt you for life. The best you can do is make room on the couch and get used to living with them.

What’s it say about a person when they know they have a problem but never do anything to fix it?” Eric smiled. “That they’re human.

You love a woman, you love a man, you love a tomato. God is happy, because he created love.»

Coming out is something you never stop doing. You start by telling your friends and family. Then you tell new acquaintances or coworkers who invite you out for a drink. Even the telemarketers who call and ask if my wife is home. You don’t have to tell everyone you meet, of course, but coming out is something that accompanies your entire life.

Yeah, and I honestly don’t hold it against you anymore. Ben’s an amazing guy, and I bet losing someone like that hurt pretty damn bad. You both paid for what happened, which is a shame, because love shouldn't have a price.

To the untrained eye, Ben had nothing, at least by the bizarre rules that governed high school. But really, Ben was one of the few who wasn't pretending, one of the few who was free.

There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness.

Popular kids are just a powerful union of needy, insecure losers.

So,” Eric said between bites, “do you carry a photo of Ben in your wallet?” Tim snorted. “Are you kidding? I was way too careful to have something like that. I don’t have a single photo of him anywhere.” He frowned at his plate. “I kind of regret that. His face gets a little fuzzier in my mind every year that goes by. Sometimes I worry I’ll forget it completely.” “You won’t,” Eric said. “You may not remember every detail, but most of it stays with you.

Ben wore the same goofy smile as in the photo. Take that, new guy! I can make him happy too!

The more we love, the more we fear. Rejection, or what others might think, these are just the beginning. In a perfectly happy relationship, we fear losing the other person to disease or chance.

Tim considered the school. “Maybe I want to walk down the hallway with you, hand in hand, like I should have done a long time ago.” Ben’s eyes softened. “You don’t have to do this.” “I want to.

I've always been in love with the idea of being in love, if that counts.

What did couples talk about after so many years together?

Coming out is something you never stop doing. You start by telling your friends and family. Then you tell new acquaintances or coworkers who invite you out for a drink. Even the telemarketers who call and ask if my wife is home. You don't have to tell everyone you meet, of course, but coming out is something that accompanies your entire life.

anonymity makes people honest about what they want, but not what they are.

Tim was on his feet and out the door, leg muscles pushing hard against the concrete when he saw Ben was already halfway down the block. Not this time! Tim was running to him, not away. The world seemed to move in slow motion, as if no possible speed was fast enough to close the distance.

Never. You'll simply ask out the person you're interested in, and they'll say yes or no. Preferring guys won't be any more controversial than favoring blonde hair or dark skin. We already use the right term when we say sexual preference, but for now people treat it like an identity.

Waiting should always be avoided. Good or bad, confronting the future is better than torturous anticipation or crippling dread.

Love, or even just infatuation, has a diminishing effect on intelligence.

The best thing about any grandmother’s house is the smell—like baby powder and fresh flowers, or maybe freshly washed sheets hanging in the sun, or sugar cookies cooling on a wire rack. If scientists could reproduce that scent and pump it into the open air, wars would cease, and whole armies would trade their guns for toys.