33 Quotes by Mary Beth Keane

It was one of the first things he’d noticed about America, that everyone felt at ease asking each other any question that came into their minds.

This was the great shock of America, winters that would cut the face off a person, summers that were as thick and as soggy as bogs.

She knew he’d never tell her if things weren’t going well, not over the phone. And he hung up thinking the very same thing.

The first sign of cooler weather always made him crave a stack of fresh notebooks, made him want to eat an apple and then run a 10K as fast as he could.

Now she wondered if presence was the thing her new neighbor had, if it was something a person had to be born with and could never be learned.

Look around at the trees, at the nice even sidewalks. Wave to your neighbors and think about what a lucky girl you are. What a lucky baby she is. She has a drawer full of clothes already. Francis is a good man. Repeat it to yourself again and again. Go into the shops. Tell them your name and that you just moved here. Everybody loves a new baby.” Lena began to cry.

It wasn’t that she didn’t love him, he knew. It was that she loved him so much that it frightened her, loved him so much that she worried she might have to protect herself from it. He tried to let her know that he’d figured that out, finally, that there was no need to explain, but then he realized that she might not know it herself.

Speaking was a habit she’d gotten into years ago, in the distant past, and now that she’d stopped she felt no desire to start again. It was pointless anyway – all the blah-blah-blabbing and, still, no one understood each other.

Anne regretted telling Bridget almost immediately. Telling her, bringing that story to England, spoiled England for her. When she left for America two years later, she knew she would be smarter. She’d bring none of Ireland with her.