He knew, for the moment, that he felt affection for Roark; an affection that held pain, astonishment and helplessness.

His life was crowded , public and impersonal as a city square. The friend of humanity had no single private friend. People came to him; he came close to no one. He accepted all. His affection was golden, smooth and even, like a great expanse of sand; there was no wind of discrimination to raise dunes; the sands lay still and the sun stood high. ---Toohey.

In return, I gave him a sounding board for his frustrations.

Michelle backstage, beautiful in white, squeezing my hand, gazing lovingly into my eyes, and telling me "Just don't screw it up, buddy!

His confidence was enviable and maddening. Most of the time she didn't want him to solve or contradict her worries, she just needed him to listen and agree with her on the awfulness at hand. This was a principle of marriage she'd explained many times.

Good people don't give up on the ones they love.

Always we walk each other home. And always we walk some of it alone.

I didn't wish to be comforted. "You can't replace people you love with other people," I said. "They're not like old shoes or something." "No. But you can trust that you're not going to run out of people to love.

This is why we have families.... So we never have to go a single day without worrying ourselves sick.

One other person can go a long way towards making your world right, she said, but the support has to run both ways. Saying love has to come from a strong place, not just grabbing whatever's in reach. You can't choose your family, but partner is your best shot at a decent do-over.

Most families would sooner forgive you for going to prison than for moving out of Lee County.

To retain those who are present, be loyal to those who are absent.