Claire

“there are stories of elopements, unrequited love, family feuds, and exhausting vendettas, which everyone was drawn into, had to be involved with. But nothing is said of the closeness between two people: how they grew in the shade of each other's presence. No one speaks of that exchange of gift and character - the way a person took on and recognized in himself the smile of a lover. Individuals are seen only in the context of swirling social tides. It was almost impossible for a couple to do anything without rumour leaving their shoulder like a flock of messenger pigeons. Where is the intimate and truthful in all this? teenager and uncle. Husband and lover. A lost father in his solace. And why do i want to know of this privacy? after cups of tea, coffee, public conversations ... I want to sit down with someone and talk with utter directness, want to talk to all the lost history like that deserving lover.”
― Michael Ondaatje, Running in the Family

“There seemed to be something tragic in a friendship so coloured by romance.”
― Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray