“Oh, I used to lie all the time as a kid." I didn't think of it as lying, though. I thought of it as playing make-believe. I told Kitty she was adopted and her real family was in a traveling circus. It's why she took up gymnastics.”

“But why do I notice everything? She thought. Why must I think? She did not want to think. She wanted to force her mind to become a blank and lie back, and accept quietly, tolerantly, whatever came.”

“Told her she was beautiful. Didn't give up when she didn't believe me.”

“I didn't even know why I liked her. She was just there. I was used to her.”

“She closed her eyes. "I didn't know that. i didn't know anything. It scares me the things I told myself. But I would have told myself almost anything, because I wanted to believe him."
"Why?"
"Because I wanted to be with you.”

“As many times as I told her she was beautiful, I know that she never believed me. As many times as I said it didn’t matter, I knew that to her it did.”

“Why did she have to wake up this morning? Or ever! But especially this morning. Her stare took on a glint of panic. Then she thought: Oh! This is my wedding day!”

“The sergeant's widow told you a lie when she said I flogged her. I never flogged her. She flogged herself.”

“My dear mother was really narrow-minded! I remember when we first got to Miami & I was only six years old: It didn't seem to matter, after years & years of telling me not to, I was still doing it!--In fact, I'm still doing it now! So she came in & caught me playing with it again!I suppose she thought she was going to make me so ashamed I was going to do it anymore. So she brought in the whole family, if you can imagine!--And my governess whom I didn't even like anyhow, & my brother & sister, scolding me before all!She brought a washbasin, a little bowl & a know & and told me she was going to cut it off! Oh I was terrified! I was absolutely petrified! I almost never forgave my mother for that, threatening to cut it off & embarrassing me in front of the family! But that didn't stop me. It felt too good to quit! I just kept it up in secret, my terrible secret sin!”

“At first I didn't even realize she was pregnant. I kinda gotten used to her throwing up every time we had sex…”