“Too bad guys aren’t like Mr. Potato Head Where you can pick and choose which parts you want. Then we might come up with a guy who meets your standards.”
“I'm thinking that it might actually be possible for things to work out sometimes. Definitely not everything and maybe not the way you imagined. But sometimes, when you least expected it, life surprises you.”
“We’re never gonna understand women. They’re way too complex. You’ve got too many variables to consider. PMS, bad hair days, miscellaneous mood swings . . . there’s no way to tell what’s causing their attitude.
- Mike”
“For one day there will be nothing left, yet we will have something. -me-
I tried to wait for my life to begin. Something has to happen. Like an amazing boy. I know he's out there. I just have to find him.”
“If you have to explain about how something's supposed to feel, it takes away all the magic.”
“It feels incredible to be outside when I’m supposed to be inside. The sensation of freedom is intoxicating.
- Sara”
“Do you believe in fate?"
"I guess, but . . . its more about creatng the life you want so you can make that fate a reality. You know?”
“A geek is like a dork. Someone who’s on the fringe, who you
wouldn’t want to hang out with. A nerd is someone too weird and smart to fit in with the masses. Like
me.”
“You’re not a nerd!”
“It’s okay. I know who I am. I consider it a compliment. I like when people tell me I’m weird.” I cram
four Cheez Doodles into my mouth. “I mean, why be normal? ”
“Standing in the line at the food court, I try to be myself. But I forget how I usually stand when I'm myself.”
“Do you want to be with Dave for the rest of your life?” Then he rips off a piece of paper and picks up
the smallest charcoal stick from my set. He writes something. He passes it over to me.
It says:
Time will tell.
“And while you’re waiting,” he says, “don’t settle for anything less than what you really want.”
“Tobey puts the CD on. Then he comes over and hugs me. I lean my head on his chest.
'I want to know everything about you,' he whispers.”
“Too bad Einstein’s dead. I’m sure he would have appreciated my latest discovery
within the space-time continuum.The closer you are to experiencing a monumental event, the longer time
stretches out. It makes you feel alone”
“Oh and P.S.? I am in dire need of more coffee. Industrial strength."
"But we're going to sleep soon," I say.
"I know." Laila shudders. "Addiction is a bitch.”
“I'm sorry.'
Congratulations.'
Can you tell me why you're so upset?'
The thing is, Tobey should get this. I mean, he's gotten everything else about me. And I don't want to explain it all. So much of it has to do with jealousy, and I know it's stupid to be mad at him because he had a life before me. But I am anyway.”
“Anyway, shes still getting to know you," Mike says. "Chicks are like that. They base how much tey like on you an emotional level. They have to be into your personality first, and then they decide they want you. But if a guy thinks a girl is hot, he'll learn to like her personality later. It's two different worlds, man.”
“And there are a million possibilities. Like the possibility of going separate ways. Together.”
“Girls with the beauty-and-brains thing going on are the most intimidating girls in the world.”
“But the thought of moving on from something I never had is depressing.”
“This stuff doesn't matter. What matters is what you do with it." Sara snaps the highlighter cap on. "I try not to think about how boring it is (History). I just keep reminding myself about how I want my life to be and what I have to do to get there. Then it's simple.”
“Tell me about it. It’s so hard to deal with a single parent. They take out all their anxiety on you. It’s like,
she’s so angry all the time. And I didn’t even do anything!”
“That’s so wrong.”
“Yeah.”
“Where’s your dad?”
“I don’t know. My mom had me when she was still in high school, so . . .”
“You don’t see him at all?”
“No, and I don’t want to. I have no interest in maintaining a relationship with someone who didn’t love
me enough to stick around.”
“And now we're supposed to go back to our normal lives. That's what people do. They have these amazing experiences with another person, and then they just go home and clean the bathroom or whatever.”
“I have no interest in maintaining a relationship with someone who didn’t love
me enough to stick around.”
“To bad guys arent like Mr. Potato head where you can pick and chose which parts you want.”
“An admirable quality of parenthood is the ability to respect your kid’s privacy.”
“Beautiful girls who love too much, as Lindsay appeared to have done, often meet unpleasant ends.”
“— Куда ушли все эти годы? Кто будет по мнить их после того, как уйдем и мы? Писатели будут писать, но они все перевернут вверх ногами. Должно же быть место, где все останется, до мельчайших подробностей. Пускай нам говорят, что мухи попадают в паутину и паук их высасывает досуха. Во Вселенной существует такое, что не может быть забыто. Если все можно забыть, Вселенную не стоило и создавать. Вы понимаете меня или нет?
— Да, Геймл.
— Цуцик, это ваши слова!
— Не помню, чтобы я это говорил.
— Вы не помните, а я помню. Я помню все, что сказал Морис, сказали вы, сказала Селия. Временами вы говорили забавные глупости, и их я помню тоже. Если Бог есть мудрость, то как может существовать глупость? А если Бог есть жизнь, то как может существовать смерть? Я лежу ночью, маленький человечек, полураздавленное насекомое, и говорю со смертью, с живыми, с Богом, если Он есть, и с Сатаной, который уж определенно существует. Я спрашиваю у них: "Зачем нужно, чтобы все это существовало?" — и жду ответа. Как вы думаете, Цуцик, есть где-нибудь ответ или нет?
— Нет. Нет ответа.
— Почему же нет?
— Не может быть оправданий для страданий — и для страдальцев его тоже нет.
— Тогда чего же я жду?
Геня отворила дверь:
— Что вы сидите в темноте, хотела бы я знать?
Геймл улыбнулся:
— Мы ждем ответа.”
“There are some stories that you don't tell aloud, that you make up and tell silently to yourself.”
“And so the picture that I showed her that Sunday, a picture I'd seen countless times since I was a boy, brought home to me for the first time the strangeness of my relationship to the people I was interviewing, people who were rich in memories but poor in keepsakes, whereas I was so rich in the keepsakes but had no memories to go with them.”
“Jack was frowning darkly. A couple of the brothers-in-law, Dan and Ryan, came forward and said, “Need a hand unloading, Jack?” “Yeah,” he said, his brows drawn together. “What’s the problem?” Ryan asked. “I said exactly those two words to her—huge and waddle—and she was very pissed about it.” The men laughed. Bob clamped a hand on his shoulder. “Come, my brother. Let’s get you unloaded, get you a beer and teach you the facts of life. Out back, where men will be men and the women won’t hear us.” Outside on the patio, now too cold for picnicking, there were a couple of large space heaters thoughtfully provided by Sam, who knew the men of the family would want their beer and cigars without interference. And where Sam also wanted to be, while his daughters overran his house and bossed people around. With Mel and Joey, there were six, not to mention granddaughters—a formidable and intimidating group of women. It was there that Jack learned from the experience of four brothers-in-law and the occasional comment from Sam, that if having children was a partners’ project, pregnancy was definitely a team sport. The women were the ones who knew the rules. What a man said and what girlfriends or sisters said were viewed from entirely different perspectives. If your sister said you were huge, it was a badge of honor. If your husband said that, he thought you were fat. If your best friend said you waddled, it was adorable. If your husband said that, he thought you walked funny and he no longer found you attractive. “And look out,” said Joey’s husband, Bill, father of three, “if you try to make love to her, she thinks you’re a pervert, and if you don’t, she’ll accuse you of no longer finding her desirable as she sacrifices herself to bear your child.” “The last time we had sex, instead of crying out ‘Oh, God, Oh, God,’ she said ‘Ugh.’” Ryan spewed out a mouthful of beer and fell into a fit laughter. “Been there, brother,” he finally choked out. “You wanna know what’s coming, or you wanna be surprised?” Bob asked. “Oh, please, I can’t take any more surprises,” Jack said. “Okay, you’re coming up on where you love the baby more than her. Everything is about the baby—you consider her your brood mare.” “What do you do about that?” “Well, for starters, never talk about breeding.” “Grovel,” said someone else. “Beg for forgiveness.” “But don’t trip yourself up and claim she’s way more important than the baby, which brings you a whole new set of problems.” “Aw, Jesus.” “And since you don’t have the big belly and the backache, it would be advisable not to mention that this is all completely natural. She might deck you.” “You’d think a frickin’ midwife could rise above these ridiculous notions.” “Oh, it’s not her fault. There was an estrogen explosion in there—it’s beyond her control.” “You want to be especially careful about admiring her breasts,” Jeannie’s husband, Dan, said. He took a pull on his cigar. “Especially since they’re, you know, only temporary.” “God, that’s gonna be so hard. Because—” “I know.” Someone else laughed. “Aren’t they great?” “Pretty soon there’s going to be labor and delivery,” Bill said. “And the love of your life, whose back you’re trying to rub and whom you’re doing everything in your power to encourage, to keep comfortable, is going to tell you to shut up and get your fucking hands off her.” Everyone laughed so hard at that, even Sam, that it appeared to be a universal fact. “Dad,” Jack said, stunned. “Did Mom ever say fuck?” Sam drew leisurely on his cigar. “I think about five times,” he replied, throwing the men into a new fit of laughter. “Why doesn’t anyone tell you these things before?” Jack asked. “What difference would it have made, Jack? You didn’t know you were about to score a pregnancy, anyway. I know, I know—you thought you knew everything there was to know about women. Turns out you’re just as stupid as the rest of us.” A”
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