The Summer Girls Quotes
"It was a tiny apartment in a two-story stucco building near L.A., but it was close to the ocean and the rent was affordable, so Carson had stayed for three years, longer than she’d ever lived in any other apartment."
"For the first time in months Carson felt a surge of hope."
"Having an official diagnosis was better than making up excuses and coping with her suspicions. At least now she could actively help her son."
"Harper felt a twinge of shame as she pondered how she could have let so many years pass without paying Mamaw a visit."
"Everything about the lowcountry soothed. And no matter how many times she’d left, or how often she’d sworn never to return, those deep tidal roots kept tugging her back."
"For her, it was akin to a baptism, leaving her refreshed and clean, forgiven of all sins."
"Marietta didn’t want to think of that now and resolutely placed the choker in a velvet bag and moved on to the second necklace."
"Nature, she knew, wasn’t always pretty."
"From this distance, she felt more a part of the sea than of the land."
"Rather than feel small, however, in this arena she felt part of something much bigger than herself."
"Despite the fact that she was a loner at heart, it was nice having someone to watch her back out on the mercurial ocean."
"She knew from beneath the surface her surfboard resembled a sea turtle or a seal—ideal prey for a shark."
"For the first time in the sea, Carson felt hunted and helpless."
"I’ve heard that dolphins protected humans from sharks, and she prayed that was happening in this moment."
"God never closes a door without opening a window."
"I’m neither rich nor famous, but I do like to swim."
"I swear, you’ve got eyes in the back of your head."
"I can’t understand how you can eat like a man and still look like that."
"I don’t have the energy to deny myself the small pleasure of a glass or two of wine or a bar of chocolate."
"It’s been a very tough day for the little guy."
"The day I can’t drive a straight shot down Middle Street going twenty-five miles an hour, you can take away my keys."
"Please, God, I’m just asking for enough time to see these girls discover the bonds between them again."
"Perhaps it was going to be a nice weekend after all."
"I don’t want her to come here because she will make the fish go away."
"Delphine," Nate repeated. "That’s a good name."
"Sure, if she comes back. And I think she will."
"I think the word is . . . sexy," Mamaw said, and got the hoped-for blush.
"Dear friend, please accept these earrings as a small token of my love and thanks, for more than I can ever express."
"It’s time for me to lay my cards out on the table."
"I’m just trying to let someone serve you for a change."
"We’re family. Don’t trouble yourself about that."
"I loved him," she said in a hushed whisper. "I really loved him, despite everything."
"I know," she said, her voice trembling. "I did, too."
"Beauty is our duty and sometimes it hurts. We must be stoic."
"The love of a good woman can change a man, you know."
"Every day, when you wake up, look into this portrait and see how beautiful you are. And courageous."
"That’s stupid. You can’t make yourself dream about anything."
"I scared the shark more than it scared me, I promise you."
"Mamaw was quite the socialite in her day. She’s active in conservation, too. She’s a terrier with a bone when it comes to preserving the wild landscape of Sullivan’s Island."
"It’s a pretty cool spot with a long and illustrious history. The first fort was built in 1708 and named for the proprietary governor, Johnson."
"That there’s the original plantation home of the Ball family. It was built on their plantation, Marshlands, along the Cooper River."
"I wasn’t looking at what I was going to get—more money, a new car, a vacation, or some fancy bottle of wine. I was looking at what I could give back."
"I felt connected to this water and everything in it. I was part of something so much bigger than myself."
"The tides breathed in and out of the wetlands, their rhythms as complex and interconnected as the veins in her body."
"Feeding wild dolphins disrupts their social groups, which threatens their ability to survive in the wild."
"It’s not as easy as it looks to get the shot fast enough."
"The pictures are critical. When I return to the office later, the team will study the photographs, search for scarring and injuries, to solidly identify the dolphin."
"Every time she moves, those lacerations get worse."
"You're shivering, and your lips are turning blue. Why don't you get out for a while?"
"Remember, my darling. Your father didn’t save you. But you saved him."
"It’s the rain. The steady pitter-patter always makes me sleepy."
"All we can do is to let him go through them and learn from them. To give him the tools he needs."
"Sometimes, when I’m all alone, I put my face in the pillow and just scream until I’ve got nothing left in me."
"You’re not a little girl, Carson. This is your decision."
"We wake up, bolster our resolve, and rise to face the new day."
"The sea was, she knew, home to countless living creatures."
"The connection flowed in her memory, deeper than her mother’s milk."
"I know I can’t change the past. Not my mistakes or the mistakes of others. But I can begin by changing me."
"It’s always got to be what’s best for the dolphin."