“And in Ben’s case, although they only lasted ten explosive seconds, those moments managed to include all sixty-nine years of his life, each image punctuated by a blinding flash of pure white light and deafened by the harsh snapping sound of an old-time camera shutter.”
“The slow, melodic sound sliced away at the newly loosened threads that had once kept her heart intact and sheltered from truly acknowledging a widow’s pain. Her battered eyes betrayed any remaining fortitude she’d stored deep within her body and as the chords of “Amazing Grace” resounded from the chanter pipe, the cords of her soul once intricately woven into Ben ripped from Olivia’s chest.”
“None of those ugly cows would even fit in this couture. It would be as if we asked Miss Piggy to model a new petite line of muumuus.”
“Despite summer’s early attempt to burst on the scene, the weekend ushered in dark clouds and a cool, heavy rain. For Olivia, the tattered noise of the drops hitting the window were simply another item she added to the growing list of reasons why she couldn’t sleep.”
“It was a comfort for him to see their confused faces, knowing he was already ahead of his peers. But he never acknowledged them as his peers; even his classmates were inferiors.”
“Too many people relied on cell phones to track time and felt little need to wear a watch these days. For Olivia, the watch you wore made a statement. If you chose something large and showy, you were an attention-seeker. If you chose a digital timepiece, you had no respect for history. If you didn’t wear a watch, you weren’t detail-oriented. She wore her 1940’s Waltham silver and diamond antique watch around her wrist as a badge of courage to give her the confidence she needed to confront her son.”
“…stepped forward to reach for the towel, suddenly losing his grip on the handrail, his feet reaching the drops of water that fell from his skin. Within seconds, his legs gave way and his body slipped on the final step sending him a few feet forward, landing right on the “Welcome” rug where Olivia firmly stood. When he came to a full stop, with his naked body sprawled across the foyer and his legs spread wide apart, he closed his eyes and tried to hide the faint glimmer of a smile.”
“I’ll never be that little girl who imagines falling in love, stripping petals off a forget-me-not until the last one says ‘he loves me so.’ I won’t ever get to see a magic that can heal the world. And my heart knows what darkness lies in wait each night, stealing a piece with every sun that sets and moon that rises.”
“A day to come seems longer than a year that’s gone. It’s an old Scottish proverb. Years may pass, but when ye have somethin’ difficult to do, a decision that is just around th’ corner, a minute, an hour, a day can feel like an eternity. Ye can choose to think that we ne’er have enough time. Or ye can choose to believe we are given just the amount we need.”
“The gift of life is unlike any other gift one can receive. To imagine that two people come together, each bringing a requisite piece of the puzzle, feels like magic to someone like me. When this happens, destinies and paths are set, hopes and dreams begin to grow and love takes course.”
“She stood in silence, feeling the wind gently blow across her face, watching drops of pure white snow cascade across her husband’s grave and smelling the cold of winter begin to settle in. “