exchanging agreeable remarks for no other purpose than to keep silence from closing in. — Richard Yates

"I think you'll find ordinary people are nicer than you give them credit for being"

"As my husband always used to say, who cares?"

"A lot of people care, Ann."

"Well, that's a nice thought, but try counting them up on your fingers. Name me four. Name me three."

"Well, marriage is funny, Mike", Harold said once with the wind whipping the vapor of his voice over his shoulder. "You can go along for years without ever knowing who you're married to. It's a riddle."

"You're right," Michael said. "It is."

"Then maybe once in a while you take a look at this girl, this woman, and you think: What's the deal? How come? Why her? Why me?"

"Yeah, I know what you mean, Harold."