Accident Quotes
"It was one of those perfect, deliciously warm Saturday afternoons in April, when the air on your cheek feels like silk, and you want to stay outdoors forever."
"She cared, she loved, she worked hard at whatever she did, she was there for the people who meant something to her, she was artistic in ways that always amazed her friends, she was unconsciously beautiful, and fun to be with."
"Finding time for romance in busy lives was quite a feat, but somehow they managed to do it."
"It was a gorgeous day, and Page talked about going on a picnic on Sunday."
"You're cute …you know that? I know I'm not supposed to say stuff like that, but I think you're terrific, Andrew Clarke …and a great baseball player to boot …how did I ever get so lucky?"
"Nowadays, her life was so full of car pools, and helping with homework, and PTA, she and Brad only seemed to catch each other on the fly, or at the end of an exhausting day."
"It was exactly the life she wanted for her children. Easy, safe, healthy, comfortable, secure, protected from anything that could sadden or harm them."
"Maybe it was okay to be straight with him. He seemed like a nice guy, and she liked him."
"They're probably right. But I'm a really careful driver. My father taught me to drive when I was nine."
"I like a glass of wine when I'm having a good time. I drink it at home, with my parents."
"You just hang on. We're gonna get you home in just a little minute."
"It was the most romantic night Allyson had ever seen, or could remember."
"I knew what to expect when I asked you out tonight."
"She's alive, but she was unconscious on the way to Marin General. She was very seriously hurt."
"You just have to believe that she'll be all right. Right now that's all we have."
"Try not to ask yourself too many questions... Live it minute by minute."
"Sometimes it just happens like that. You have to be very grateful."
"It chooses one, it crushes a life, then darts away. It strikes like lightning."
"I don't think you walk away from things because they're difficult."
"Maybe you just have to be grateful she's alive, and take it from there."
"This is not a perfect world, and it's not fair to expect that."
"I'll always love you, sweetheart …always and always."
"There was no time, Brad. No time for anything." Except prayers. And miracles. It was all in God's hands now, and the surgeons'.
"I love you," she said sadly. "I'm glad you're coming home."
"I'll see." She smiled at him, but agony was written all over her face, and there was greater sadness in her eyes than he had seen in an entire lifetime.
"That's not the issue." He looked annoyed again. He hated having to admit any of this to her, but in a way, he had no choice now.
"You've got the idea. Do I have to spell it out for you?" It broke her heart to hear him say it.
"I think 'inadequate' would be more the word I'd choose. I think you owe me a lot more than 'sorry,' Brad. Don't you?" Tears glistened in her eyes as they looked at each other from across the room.
"I love you, Mom." Everything about him was so open.
"We all deserve better than this," Page said softly, and then left the room to check on Andy.
"I'm sorry …" he said softly, and made no move to approach her, which said it all. There was a world between them.
"I won't let you go, sweetheart … I won't … we need you … I love you too much …you have to be a brave girl and fight now …baby, you have to! … I love you, sweetheart … no matter what, you'll always be my baby."
"You can't do that, Page. You have to keep your strength up. Your getting sick isn't going to help anyone."
"It seems so redundant somehow. Eating in the midst of disaster."
"Nobody ever tried to make a fool of you, Page," he said in an undervoice as a group of residents walked by them. "I was perfectly aware of how awkward the situation was. I just didn't know what to do about it. But no one ever thought you were the fool in this. If anything, you were the innocent victim."
"You're not wrong," he said, looking annoyed again. "I didn't say I would end it. But I think it's too soon for you to make a decision about us, and this is an impossible time, with all of this happening to Allie."
"You deserve better than this," he said honestly, and he did too. He deserved to be where he wanted to be, and not here crawling around, apologizing to Page.
"Maybe you don't keep it from falling apart. Maybe it does, and you pick up the pieces later."
"Kids always get a bad rap, even when they don't deserve it."
"It's a lot better to be alone, than to be with the wrong woman."
"Remember what I said, don't judge anything in the midst of a crisis."
"I spoke to Jamie today, and he swears that they weren't drunk, and that Phillip was paying attention."
"If there was a crack in it somewhere, it would surely break."
"I'm happy like this, and so are my kids. That means everything to me, Page."
"He's afraid that they might die, and he feels guilty for surviving."
"I love you," she whispered from time to time. "I love you," as though she were determined for Allie to hear her.
"Actually, it makes me furious," she admitted with a smile. "We just had a knock-down-drag-out fight about it at lunchtime."
"In this case, there are some other complications... It looks that way," she said honestly. "Possibly terminal."
"I've been married for sixteen years and up until three days ago, I thought our marriage was terrific," she said as they approached the hospital. "Apparently, I made a mistake. A big one."
"There was a lot I didn't know. I've been kidding myself for a long time, and I didn't know it. But now that I do know it's hard to pretend it's not happening."
"Remember what I said before, some people go off the deep end when faced with a crisis."
"I think he's been off it for a long time. He just happened to get caught with his pants down."
"Just what you need right now. Did Brad go with you?" Page shook her head. "Trygve Thorensen took me."
"We're upset …about Allie …sometimes when grown-ups are sad or scared, they don't know how to show it, so they crab at each other, or they yell."
"Of course I do. I worry about all of you. That's my job."
"I guess things aren't going too well," Brad said unhappily, as she glanced at him. He was wearing jeans and a T-shirt, and for an instant Page remembered all the feelings she'd had for him for so many years.
"Maybe it's all part of the same thing. Maybe once she's okay again, we'll be able to work things out."
"Let's not start this again, or tease each other with false hope. Let's just get Allie back to life again, and then we can turn our attention to this."
"I hate to say this," he looked at her unhappily, "but maybe I should move out for a few days, or until we're all a little calmer and can handle what's happening."
"If it doesn't, she's still our daughter. I'm going to sign the papers, Brad. She has a right to everything they can do for her."
"It means that she survived, her vital signs are good. She gave us a little scare early on, but she rallied."
"I'd rather be climbing Everest," Page said sadly, and he smiled at her.
"Hi, sweetheart …welcome back …" She knew that somewhere Allie would know what she meant, in her heart, in her soul, wherever it was that they had been together.
"I love you, sweetheart." She couldn't say it often enough, it was as though she needed to tell her a thousand times before she left them.
"I love you, Allie …" A part of Page still expected her to wake up and smile, and say, "I love you, too, Mom," but she knew she wouldn't.
"Mrs. Clarke?" It was Dr. Hammerman, she hadn't heard him approach her. "We're losing her," he said softly.
"We did everything we could. The damage is very great. I thought maybe she'd make it this afternoon, but …I'm sorry …"
"My business is filled with miracles," Dr. Hammerman said with a slow smile.
"This young lady has a lot of fight. She's not ready to give up yet …and neither am I."
"I remembered every day, every hour, every minute ... I thought of things I'd forgotten for years, and then suddenly I could feel things change ... I could feel her come back from a great distance."
"You hear about things like that ... thank God she came back."
"Poor kid. That's a lot to handle all in one week."
"We're all stupid sometimes. Those things are pretty hard to face."
"Forget that, kick him in the shins if you want to."
"The mind is an extraordinary thing. We always find the resources we need there."
"Life seems so simple sometimes, but it's never as simple as it looks, is it?"
"You're doing all the right things. You just have to go step by step and move very slowly."
"I'm much happier than I used to be. I never thought I would be, but I am."
"We think we have everything worked out, and then the whole damn thing falls apart."
"Horseshit, you can do anything you want and you know it."
"That's none of your business," he said in a taut voice.
"I don't know what else to suggest. Other than an attorney."
"Maybe you'd better make up your mind before we screw things up worse than they are," she said reasonably.
"You can't lie to your body, Brad," she said sadly.
"I'm not giving up," Page said, picking at the sandwich he had brought her.
"Trygve, how am I going to get through this?" She leaned her head against his chest and cried.
"You're doing fine," he said gently as he held her. "You're doing everything you can. The rest is in God's hands."
"I don't think so." It was the first time she had ever lied to him, but she knew she had to.
"They're so predictable …the wicked stepmother and sister …and she, as always, was playing the role of Cinderella."
"She came here to see Chanel, Hermes, and Cartier. And they've had a lovely visit."
"You might be in a better mood. And God knows, you might look a little more like your sister."
"There isn't a single real piece or part left on my sister's face or body, and if what you wanted is that piece of plastic nothing, then be my guest."
"I think you should go home after the weekend."
"How can you live like that? How can you do this to yourselves?"
"A year from now, you'll look back at all this and wonder how you survived it."
"I haven't lived this long, and come this far, and suffered this much in order to pretend I believe in a lot of bullshit."
"Maybe other people can't handle that much honesty. Did you ever think of that?"
"I'm sure you're mistaken about that, dear. Brad would never do a thing like that. He'd never do anything to jeopardize your marriage."
"I guess I needed to be tested or something. I think I'm flunking."
"She's why I came out here. Actually, I came out for Brad. But I would have left New York anyway."