Quotes by Huntley Fitzpatrick

No bikinis on a first date.” He nods. “I’m sure that’s a rule. Or should be. For my sisters anyway.

I guess I like things that take time and attention. More worthwhile that way.

This is Sailor Supergirl,” George says. “She knows all about black holes.

Right. Because if you have trouble putting ketchup and mustard on a hot dog, you should totally move on to saving lives.

When I turn back to Jase, he’s again beaming at me. “You’re nice.” He sounds pleased, as if he hadn’t expected this aspect of my personality.

Jase props himself up on an elbow, looking at me for a minute without saying anything. His face gets an unreadable expression, and I wish I could take back walking over.Then he observes, “I’m guessing that’s a uniform.”Crap. I’d forgotten I was still wearing it.

The right thing to do is so easy to see when youre seventeen years old and dont have to make any big decisions. When you know that no matter what you do, someone will take care of you and fix everything. But when youre grown up, the world is not that black and white, and the right thing doesnt a tidy little arrow pointing to it.

I like eggs and bacon,” George tells me. “But”—his face clouds—“do you know that bacon is”—tears leap to his eyes—“Wilbur?” Mrs. Garrett sits down next to him immediately. “George, we’ve been through this. Remember? Wilbur did not get made into bacon.” “That’s right.” I bend down too as wetness overflows George’s lashes. “Charlotte the spider saved him. He lived a long and happy life—with Charlotte’s daughters, um, Nelly and Urania and—” “Joy,” Mrs. Garrett concludes. “You, Samantha, are a keeper. I hope you don’t shoplift.”I start to cough. “No. Never.” “Then is bacon Babe, Mom? Is it Babe?”“No, no, Babe’s still herding sheep. Bacon is not Babe. Bacon is only made from really mean pigs,George.” Mrs. Garrett strokes his hair, then brushes his tears away.“Bad pigs,” I clarify.“There are bad pigs?” George looks nervous. Oops.“Well, pigs with, um, no soul.” That doesn’t sound good either. I cast around for a good explanation. “Like the animals that don’t talk in Narnia.” Dumb. George is four. Would he know Narnia yet? He’s still at Curious George.But understanding lights his face. “Oh. That’s okay then. ’Cause I really like bacon.

I scoop a clattering cascade of green apple Jelly Bellys into the white paper bag and remember when we were seven. I got stung by a jellyfish. Tim cried because his mother, and mine, wouldn’t let him pee on my leg, which he’d heard was an antidote to the sting.

Is Jase already gonna marry you?” I start coughing again. “Uh, No. No, George. I’m only seventeen.” As if that’s the only reason we’re not engaged. “I’m this many.” George holds up four, slightly grubby fingers. “But Jase is seventeen and a half. You could. Then you could live in here with him. And have a big family.” Jase strides back into the room, of course, midway through this proposition. “George. Beat it. Discovery Channel is on.” George backs out of the room but not before saying, “His bed’s really comfortable. And he never pees in it.

Maybe thinking any one person can show up and give you all you need is as much of a delusion as thinking you can find truth in a bottle. Maybe you can just find what you need in little pieces, in people who show up for one crucial moment - or a whole chain of them - even if they cant solve it all.

The combined odors of Casss subtle aftershave and the disgusting reek of Nic are overpowering. I wonder if Cass will keel over and Ill have to perform CPR. This speculation should not feel so much like a fantasy.

I remember...watching that separation of sea and sky...and for the first time I realize that none of us are seeing the same thing. That all our horizons end in different places.

Your mas dating? Tim looks shocked. I thought she pretty much confined herself to a vibrator and the shower nozzle since your dad screwed her over.

I sit up, edge over close to my window, and push it open, slipping one leg in, then the next, turning back to Jase. “Come on.” His smile flashes in the gathering dark as his eyebrows lift, but he climbs carefully in as I lock my bedroom door.“Be still,” I tell him. “Now I’m going to learn all about you.

I cannot help but wonder if any parents ever actually schedule in adolescent drama on their day planners. Looks like a slow week, Sarah. I guess I can pencil in your eating disorder.

Voldemort the corn snake with the shoe fetish. Wonderful.

God, I wish, for the millionth time, that I could be like her and Nic, so sure of what they have, what they want. That I didnt always feel jangly, restless, primed to jump off a bridge and let the current carry me away.

“No words for a long time. Which is fine, because even the most important ones-- I love you. Im sorry. Forgive me? Im here-- are only stand-ins for what you can say better without talking at all.”

“This is Sailor Supergirl,” George says. “She knows all about black holes.”