I just finished reading my first Anna Quindlen novel. This bit of redemptive dialogue between Bridgette and Irving, in the final chapter of Rise and Shine, seemed worth sharing. (The first speaker is Bridgette, arguing with her rough and worldly friend Irvine, after he chastises her for a spat she’s just had with her sister.)
“You’re taking her side! You are! I can’t believe it!”
“There are no sides. You love somebody and you help them. You give ‘em a break. And they do things you don’t like! But you love them, so you go along.”
“Like a deal…”
Irvine shook his head.
“If it’s like a deal, you’re screwed, ” he said. “A deal means you’re expecting something back.”
