Where once Miriam was their sun and he their moon, Dan and Lucy were now distant stars in their own galaxies.

She sometimes felt like the spider in the middle of the family web, trying to hold all the threads together.

He was stronger and had more depth than he knew and he liked these new discoveries about himself.

Lucy wished she could address her own life and worries like that; that she could get a message from her father saying that he had been attacked by a tiger and think, Oh, well, at least he’s alive. These things happen. That’s how Dan would tackle it.

She decided that she wasn’t going to focus on always trying to please others. She felt determined to take the time to get to know, and love, herself. And she hoped that the warm glow of appreciation she always looked for might actually come from within.

He regretted it now. They should have visited new places together, had new experiences when the kids got older. They should have grasped the opportunity to do what they wanted to do and expand their horizons...

You should always make time for books.

Sometimes when you’ve lived a chapter of your life, you don’t want to look back.

He needed a jolt to his system. Something to shake him out of the cozy prison he had created for himself. In a home where memories of Miriam were still fresh, he needed something else. He would go home to see that Frederica was fine and watered and pick up some more clothes. Then he would continue his journey.

There’s no such thing as perfection, just two people trying to make the most of their time together.