“I’d never held a living cat before. It wriggled and scratched my arms while the paramedics did their work. “

“On Saturday nights, I am haunted by cumbrous memories of my mother.”

“Never trust a man who wears jewellery. It was her mother’s best advice, but she’d always wondered where one drew the line.”

“In that moment, he looked just like a boy to Irma. Head tilted down, palm turned out and facing her. She wanted to scoop his head between her hands.”

“It's hot here. I don't get high anymore; I don't need to. The perpetual heat and the laziness do about the same; out here every afternoon on the tower, feet dangled over the edge, in the haze, and that column of smoke out there in the distance, that's Perú already.”

“She walks into McDonald’s at 1:00 p.m. She carries two duffel bags and an empty coffee cup as if hoping for a refill. No one knows why, but she comes every day like clockwork.”