The Children of Men

by P.D. James

I didn’t love her but I did steal for her. I learned early and at that kitchen table that there are ways of avoiding, without guilt, the commitments of love.

I couldn’t then say what for nearly forty years I have known to be true. I don’t want anyone to look to me, not for protection, not for happiness, not for love, not for anything.

Feel, he told himself, feel, feel, feel. Even if what you feel is pain, only let yourself feel.