My Friends: A Novel

“I remember thinking that she was a perfect person. For a while. But then I saw her swim, and it passed. She used to swim like an octopus with a cramp…”

That’s the worst thing about having a vivid imagination: it works in all directions.

That’s all of life. All we can hope for. You mustn’t think about the fact that it might end, because then you live like a coward, you never love too much or sing too loudly. You have to take it for granted,

“We are NOT the same age. We might have lived the same number of years, but we sure as hell aren’t the same age.

“I could never have lived there on my own. I would have frozen to death in that apartment without his eyes on me.”

A lack of self-confidence is a devastating virus. There’s no cure.

Children aren’t responsible for their parents’ happiness, but they still try.

“There’s nothing like the sea. Now your skin knows that. Now it’s going to miss it, always,” he promises.

But how do I explain that I’m freezing to death if I’m not seen by you?