Junie Ardizone

“Nearing the Riefler's big red brick house he could see the yellow light spill out on the galerie Yvonne had insisted her German husband wrap around the house.  There was a tightening in Victor's chest.  It happened to him whenever he got close to the Riefler's house, or church on Sunday- anytime he thought he might catch a glimpse of Celena.”
― Barbara Sontheimer, Victor's Blessing

“I opened my eyes to the sound of my phone ringing. The bedside clock read 10:05 PM. Rudy’s name displayed on my phone.
“Rudy? Where are you?”
“Boss, I’m okay, really. It’s just that my car broke down. I’m near a city called…hold on a sec, a city called Beaumont, Texas.”
“But you’re alright? Where’s your car right now? What’s wrong with it?”
― Behcet Kaya, Uncanny Alliance

“Rule number one on a dance floor: if you see that girl who smiles for no reason, gives you boobs-pressing hugs, compliments you, and encourages you to keep on dancing, then she is an event promoter or a multilevel marketing agent”
― Merlin Franco, Saint Richard Parker

“The social contract between citizen and state is breaking down in places where welfare schemes are accommodating large numbers of beneficiaries whose families have never contributed to the system. The original welfare state was predicated on a notion of reciprocity, but to newcomers it looks more like universal basic income. Welfare states are national, not universal. There must therefore be meaningful limits on what outsiders can claim based on the feat of having crossed a nation’s border.”
― Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Prey: Immigration, Islam, and the Erosion of Women's Rights