With all due respect, if you’re forty-three, then I’m a fetus.

Legend: A lie that has attained the dignity of age.

nothing more than a pathetic lie.

Lying's wrong, but when the world spins backwards, a small wrong may be a big right.

misgivings, n.

Last night, I got up the courage to ask you if you regretted us.
"There are things I miss," you said. "But if I didn't have you, I'd miss more.

The important thing is for the characters to feel real, and to be given the humanity they are due. That granting of humanity is what separates a full portrait from a stereotype.