. . .-we'd been there {at a restaurant} for hours, laughing over little things but being serious too, very grave, she being both generous and receptive {this was another thing about her; she listened, her attention was dazzling–I never had the feeling that other people listened to me half as closely; I felt like a different person in her company, a better one, could say things to her I couldn't say to anyone else, certainly not Kitsey {Theo's fiancé}, who had a brittle way of deflating serious comments by making a joke, or switching to another topic, or interrupting, or sometimes just pretending not to hear}, and it was utter delight to be with her, I loved her every minute of every day, heart and mind and soul and all of it, and it was getting late and I wanted the place never to close, never.
( Donna Tartt )
[ The Goldfinch ]
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