19 Quotes by Aimee Molloy

Deep breathing initiates the parasympathetic nervous system, the rest-and-relax state.

How fast the time goes. That’s what people were always telling us, at least; the strangers’ hands on our bellies, saying how careful we must be to enjoy the time. How it’ll all be over in a blink of an eye. How before we know it, they’ll be walking, talking, leaving us.

I didn’t tell them how hard everything was without Joshua. How much I loved him. How I would have given up everything – everything – to be with him again. Even for just one night.

First, there was Francie. If our group had a mascot, someone to glue themselves in feathers and lead our team in three cheers for motherhood, it was her. Miss Eager-to-Be-Liked, to not screw anything up, so plump with hope and rich Southern carbs.

It’s no wonder I eventually started loathing them. Really, who can stand to listen to that level of certainty? To sit through the judgment?

That’s all I wanted to do. Really. Just talk to Joshua. Tell him that being with him is the only thing that’s ever mattered to me. Let him know about the letters I’ve been writing him, maybe offer to read one or two, so he’d know exactly how I feel, and how much I still want him. How sorry I am for anything I may have done wrong.

Good genes – that’s what people have always said about me. They’re talking about the fact that I am tall and thin, that I have a nearly symmetrical face. What they are not talking about are the other genes I’ve inherited.

Joshua’s genes are no better. I would talk to him about this sometimes, asking if it worried him, the DNA he has to work hard to outsmart. His own crazy father: the brilliant doctor, so warm and charming with patients. The violent alcoholic behind closed doors.

Where we once had fear we now have courage, because we have been given knowledge.