Grief has two parts: loss and then the remaking of life. (Paraphrased from Anne Roiphe.)

It had been quite awhile since she was forced to eavesdrop on her parents.

Her deliciously secret smile wove its way from her face and into his heart.

It would be the first Christmas he's ever spent with both of his parents. His real ones.

He wouldn't admit this to anyone, and certainly not to his wife, but there were times when he just didn't understand her.

As clearly as she knows her own name, she knows she's going to break her daughter's heart.

Don't patronize me by saying it has possibilities.

We are the sum of our entire lives.

We still shine.

She wanted tonight to go well for him. He needed to be focused. But, now...

Sometimes, all that glitters is gold.

He nodded, realizing for the first time that her parents, who had caused him so much grief in the few short months he'd known them, were just people.