But at the same time, my resolve is hardening like lacquer. I’m taking time out, but I’m not giving up. I mean, I’m only in my twenties; am I going to let one setback crush my ambition? No.
Maybe our family has changed shape. Maybe things aren’t exactly like they used to be. And maybe they’ll be even more different in the future. But whatever happens, we’ll still be us.
The option I’d really like,” he says matter-of-factly, “is to build a life with you. A strong, put-together kind of life. I know you’re pretty good at assembly yourself, probably better than I am, in fact. So maybe it could be... a joint project?
Life gets in the way of dreams. Dreams get in the way of life. That’s the way it’s always been.
He said that he and Mum had often talked about the kind of man I would marry, and they’d always disagreed on everything except one thing – “he’ll have to be on his toes.” Then he looked at Luke, who obligingly got up and turned a pirouette, and everyone roared with laughter.
I’ve never understood the “sleep on it” thing. What, have a miserable, sleepless night, brooding on your problem, simply in order to do the thing you were going to do the night before – only now you’ve delayed by twelve hours. How is that a good idea?
We need to love our hearts.
I feel an irrational craving to gaze at his familiar face from this place of safety all night. But I can’t. And I’m being stupid, because this isn’t old Joe, whom I loved and understood. This is new Joe, who is cruel and inexplicable. They only look the same.
This family may be broken. It may be shattered. But it’s my broken, shattered family. And I want to be here, I finally admit to myself. To be at the party, even if I’m invisible. This is the last hurrah, even if no one’s cheering. I just can’t walk away.
Standing behind a pillar toward the back, tall and dark and solid, his eyes fixed on mine. Looking at me and no one else. And as I gaze back at him, I feel restored.
Maybe sometimes in life you just miss your chance.
Yes, I made the mistake of falling in love with a man without any feelings. Now it all makes sense.
All of you make these easy, obvious, lazy assumptions that anyone under the age of eighteen is a pathological, dishonest sub-human with no integrity. But we’re people, just like you, and you don’t seem to get that!
For someone who looks after hearts, you can be careless. You know you broke mine, don’t you?
Hi there, gang!
I’m allergic to everything contact.” “No you’re not,” he says at once. “You’re not allergic to brain contact. I mean you write notes. You talk. You still want to talk to people, you just can’t. So your body needs to catch up with your brain.
To be honest, I hadn’t realized there was such a thing as a “must-have tree ornament.” But there it was in every magazine, so I’ve ordered six. We’re going to have the most on-trend tree ever!
Some people are born into roles. Others have roles thrust upon them.
A relationship isn’t a snapshot.” He nods down at the phone. “It’s a journey.
Zoose! I started off at a sprint, giving it my all, thinking I was on a solid path toward an exciting horizon. But the path isn’t solid anymore. It’s mud. Deep, gloopy mud. I.
Mrs Brandon.’ The sonographer cuts me off. ‘You’re talking to your bladder.