“I hate jealousy. At least it's its own punishment; it makes me feel like hell.”
― Patricia Gaffney, quote from The Saving Graces
“laughter is cathartic and cleansing, that it's good for the body and the soul, and when it's real it's better than sex.”
― Patricia Gaffney, quote from The Saving Graces
“You were the best thing in my life … I did love you. I do. As much as I’ve ever loved anyone, as much as I can. It feels like a lot – it takes up my whole heart.”
― Patricia Gaffney, quote from The Saving Graces
“I love the slow, warming sensation of my body going numb when I drink.”
― Patricia Gaffney, quote from The Saving Graces
“Little things. The thought of losing them makes them unbearably dear ... I only think of the sweetness. Simple things. The quarter moon, the taste of an orange. The smell of the pages of a new book.”
― Patricia Gaffney, quote from The Saving Graces
“All my life I've wanted to tell people I love them. Fear usually held me back, that they wouldn't care, or they wouldn't hear, or they would take too much from me once they knew.”
― Patricia Gaffney, quote from The Saving Graces
“I was small enough to mind that Rudy had a good friend other than me.”
― Patricia Gaffney, quote from The Saving Graces
“Bad news doesn't hurt as much, if you hear it in good company. It's like, if somebody pushes you out of a 5th floor window and you bounce off an awning, a car roof, and a pile of plastic garbage bags before you smash onto the pavement, you've got a pretty good chance of surviving.”
― Patricia Gaffney, quote from The Saving Graces
“Fear kills. Protecting yourself backfires eventually. And living in fear of pain isn't really living at all.”
― Patricia Gaffney, quote from The Saving Graces
“Isabel never despaired, even though I think she knew everything that was going to happen, right from the beginning. There was a Walt Whitman poem she liked, especially the part that went - 'All goes onward and outward,/Nothing collapses/And to die is different from/What anyone supposes/And Luckier.' She tried to believe that, and it gave her some comfort, I know. She was very brave. Always. She hid her anguish and sadness, although I know she felt them. Because she wasn't losing only one person she loved - as we have. She was losing all of them.”
― Patricia Gaffney, quote from The Saving Graces
“Topics... are what people talk about when they don't know each other well. Topics... are what men talk about.”
― Patricia Gaffney, quote from The Saving Graces
“Never throw love away, never neglect it. Never assume you'll find better love somewhere else. Take it wherever you're lucky enough to find it, and always try to return it in kind. Don't take so much for granted.”
― Patricia Gaffney, quote from The Saving Graces
“I just tried to put myself in her place and figure out what would be the scariest thing. If I thought I might be dying. And it was being alone' ... 'To me,' she said, 'the scariest thing is oblivion. Being, and then not being.”
― Patricia Gaffney, quote from The Saving Graces
“I was thinking in a Scottish brogue, because I'd just heard this guy interviewed on NPR, Lonnie McSomething.”
― Patricia Gaffney, quote from The Saving Graces
“An informed customer is a satisfied one.”
― Patricia Gaffney, quote from The Saving Graces
“Daniel."
He looked up. "El-la.I was wondering if you'd catch me." He offered me a cigarette. I gave him a shame-on-you look;he grinned.
"This is your band?" I asked. Visible piercings aside, no one looked like that went by the name Ax.
"Nope,but I go to school with the lead's sister. Regular guy got food poisoning at a Christmas party last night.I've played with them before."
"Weddings?" It wasn't quite how I'd pictured him performing.
"Usually clubs, but the last one was a bar mitzvah. Musicians have to eat, too," he added, a little sharply.
"Sorry." I wanted to wave the smoke away, but figured that might be adding insult to inury. "I thought you played the guitar."
"Guitar, piano, a little violin, but badly, and I'll have to garrote you ith one of the strings if you tell anyone."
That's the thing about Daniel. Obviously-the violin being a case in point-I don't know him very well,but he seems to hold a grudge for even less time than Frankie. "Secret's safe with me."
He shrugged, telling me he didn't really care. Then, "Nice dress."
"Just when I start liking you a litte.."
He made his vampire-boy face. I could see why it usually worked. "You like me,Ella. Wanna do something when this is over?"
"Tempting," I said. "No, I mean that. But no,thanks. I'm not at my best these days."
"You're good," he said quietly, blowing out a stream of smoke. "You'll be fine."
"Yeah." I shivered. It was bitter outside. "I should go in."
"You should." The cold didn't seem to be bothering him at all, and he wasn't even wearing a jacket over his white dress shirt.
I turned to go. "Oh, I think I figured it out, by the way."
"Figured out what?"
"The question.The one everyone should ask before getting involved with someone. Not 'Will he-slash-she make me happy?' but 'Does it bring out the best in me,being with him?'"
"Him-slash-her," Daniel corrected, clearly amused. Then, "Nope. No way. Wasn't me who posed the question to you, Marino.I would never be so Emo."
"Of course not.But it was one smart boy." I waved. "Hug Frankie for me."
"Will do. Hey.Any requests for the band?"
"'Don't Stop Believin'," I shot back. He rolled his eyes. "I'm curious, in that last song-are the words really 'I cut my chest wide open'?"
"Yup.Followed by, "They come and watch us bleed.Is it art like I was hoping now?" Avett Brothers. Too gruesome for you?"
"You have no idea," I told him. How much I get it.”
― Melissa Jensen, quote from The Fine Art of Truth or Dare
“Wait, you’re speaking English… but you’ve only ‘heard’ of the United States?”
― Kyle Timmermeyer, quote from Reintroduction
“Don't you find it odd," she continued, "that when you're a kid, everyone, all the world, encourages you to follow your dreams. But when you're older, somehow they act offended if you even try.”
― Ethan Hawke, quote from The Hottest State
“Before you say something, ask yourself these three questions: Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary? True”
― quote from Simplicity Parenting: Using the Extraordinary Power of Less to Raise Calmer, Happier, and More Secure Kids
“Sin is like that. Whether you know what you're doing or not, there is damage. There are consequences. The holiness of the Lord requires justice for these consequences. It demands a covering for them. At the same time. He is merciful with our mistakes. So he Himself gives us that covering by providing us with the sacrifice.”
― Tessa Afshar, quote from Pearl in the Sand
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