She had no idea that somewhere in the last twelve hours the screw had stripped, and turned freely, and no longer held anything at all.

That calm deserves an honest word, because it was the most important thing that happened to me that whole week — more important than the party, more important than the folder.

Control only works on a person who is still trying.

It runs on your hope that if you comply well enough, this time, the demand will be reasonable, the approval will finally come, the goalposts will finally hold still.

Rosalind and Brandon had run their whole operation on my hope for eight years, and neither of them had ever had to raise a hand or even their voices to do it, because I supplied the effort myself, out of that hope, freely.