“In the long second before everyone absorbs what just happened, I see the angel rolling his eyes heavenward, like a teenager in the presence of overwhelming lameness. Some people just have no sense of gratitude.”

“Who will guard us against the guardians?”

“Sometimes, as we're stumbling along in the dark, we hit something good.”

“The right thing is a luxury for rich and sheltered people. For the rest of us, the only right thing is staying out of trouble and surviving as best we can.”

“Big words from a guy who's trussed up like a turkey. What are you going to do, wobble over here like an upside- down turtle to snap me in half?""The logistics of breaking you are easy. The only question is when.”

“I have better things to do.’‘Like what?’He opens one eye and looks at me. ‘Like convince a stubborn girl to admit she’s madly in love with me.’I can’t help but smile.‘So if it’s not a pig farm that you want, what is it?’ he asks.I swallow. ‘How about a safe place to live where we don’t have to scrounge for food or fight for it?’‘It’s yours.’‘That’s it? All I have to do is ask?’‘No. There’s a price for everything.’‘I knew it. What is it?’‘Me.”

“I'll be sure not to let anyone but you carry me in her arms." He turns and leaves the kitchen before I can figure out what to make of his comment. A sense of humor is one more thing I don't think angels should have. The fact that his sense of humor is corny makes it even more wrong.”

“Of course she’s right. How bad are things when your clinically insane mother is more rational than you are?”

“He doesn't even like me.I let the thought roll around in my head. Anything I feel during that time gets shoved into the vault with the ten-foot-think door slamming as soon as it goes in, just in case something in there has any intention of crawling out.”

“Nothing short of the end of the world would get our eco-conscious techies to toss their latest gadgets onto the street.”

“The only thing that matters in the end is your own survival. It's what humans and cockroaches are best at.”