Then he put in a call for Nicole in Zurich, remembering so many things as he waited, and wishing he had always been as good as he had intended to be.

When a girl feels that she’s perfectly groomed and dressed she can forget that part of her. That’s charm.

Gloria was sure she wanted but to read and dream and be fed tomato sandwiches and lemonades by some angelic servant.

A girl who could send tear-stained telegrams.

He smiled understandingly-much more than understanding. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life.

And for a moment I thought I loved her. But I am slow-thinking and full of interior rules that act as brakes on my desires.

His life had been confused and disordered since then, but if he could once return to a certain starting place and go over it all slowly, he could find out what that thing was.