"My father was teaching me his trade. I was his son and he was showing me how to write the way his own father from Tor…"

"I felt the question was stupid so I didn't answer."

"My problem is that I hold grudges. If you and I have had an argument and I've come out second or you are my boss and …"

"What amused him most was another human's discomfort."

"SEA-MATION is a service I'd see advertised all the time. The gimmick is cremation plus burial at sea. All in one: SEA…"

"From the bookcase behind his writing table, I pulled down a copy of Hunger by Knut Hamsun. This book, my father used …"

"More and more my mind shut down behind the wine . . . until I was conscious of just sections of time. Bits and pieces…"

"The problem that your type has is that you don't listen and you keep insisting on operating by your own rules. Only y…"

"In a few hours it would be midnight and I would have gone a full day on my own without a drink. And one day could mea…"

"What he didn't know is that I know desperate too and crazy and what emptiness and alones and rage can do to you when …"