The Violets of March Quotes

“If summer had a flavor, it was pink bubble gum.”
― Sarah Jio, The Violets of March

“Great love endures time, heartache, and distance. And even when all seems lost, true love lives on.”
― Sarah Jio, The Violets of March

“I was making scrambled eggs smothered in Tabasco, his favorite, when he told me about Stephanie. The way she made him laugh. The way she understood him. The way they connected. I pictured the image of two Lego pieces fusing together, and I shuddered. It’s funny; when I think back to that morning, I can actually smell burned eggs and Tabasco. Had I known that this is what the end of my marriage would smell like, I would have made pancakes.”
― Sarah Jio, The Violets of March

“Life is too short to worry about the consequences when you love someone as I love you.”
― Sarah Jio, The Violets of March

“It's like I'm trying to put together a jigsaw puzzle, and everyone is hiding the pieces from me.”
― Sarah Jio, The Violets of March

“They're wood violets," she said. "I haven't seen them on the island since...."
"They're very rare," Henry said, filling the void that Bee had left when her voice trailed off. "You can't plant them, for they won't grow. They have to choose you."
Bee's eyes met Henry's, and she smiled, a gentle, forgiving smile. It warmed me to see it. "Evelyn has a theory about these flowers," she said, pausing as if to pull a dusty memory off a shelf in her mind, handling it with great care. "Yes," she said, the memory in plain view. "She used to say they grow where they are needed, that they signal healing, and hope.”
― Sarah Jio, The Violets of March

“The city loves you when you're flying high and kicks you when you're down.”
― Sarah Jio, The Violets of March

“Hayat, birine seni seviyorum demenin kararsızlığını yaşamak için çok kısa.”
― Sarah Jio, The Violets of March

“There is something oddly therapeutic about trudging through marshy sand, the feeling of squishiness below the feet signaling to the brain that it's OK to just let go for a while.”
― Sarah Jio, The Violets of March

“fate has a way of bringing you back when it's time to come back.”
― Sarah Jio, The Violets of March

“I could smell garlic, butter, and wine - the world's most delicious flavor combination. It made me feel warm, like the first few sips of wine always do.”
― Sarah Jio, The Violets of March

“...anyone who willingly has more than two children is clinically insane.”
― Sarah Jio, The Violets of March

“It was a dark, early March afternoon, colder and grayer than usual, even though the crocuses and the tulips were pushing their way through the frozen ground, eager to usher in spring. Yet Old Man Winter refused to relinquish his grasp.”
― Sarah Jio, The Violets of March

“Love was not a hothouse flower, forced to reluctant bud. Love was a weed that flashed unexpectedly into bloom on the roadside.”
― Sarah Jio, The Violets of March

“Bainbridge Island could never hide its glory, even under the cover of darkness. I watched from the window as the ferry loomed into Eagle Harbor, passing the island's pebble-covered shores and shake-shingled homes that clung courageously to the hillside. Glowing orange interiors beckoned, as if the people inside were making one extra place as they gathered around fireplaces to sip wine or hot cocoa.”
― Sarah Jio, The Violets of March

“I never intended on kissing Elliot. Married women don’t behave like that, at least not married women like me. It wasn’t proper. But the tide was high, and there was a cold breeze blowing, and Elliot’s arms were draped around my body like a warm shawl, caressing me in places where he shouldn’t have been, and I could scarcely think of much else. It was like how we used to be.”
― Sarah Jio, The Violets of March

“A proper supper requires candlelight,”
― Sarah Jio, The Violets of March

“Любовь — не тепличный цветок, неохотно распускающий бутоны, а сорняк, который неожиданно расцветает на обочине”
― Sarah Jio, The Violets of March

“Белое вино развязывает язык”
― Sarah Jio, The Violets of March

“Достойный ужин следует подавать при свечах”
― Sarah Jio, The Violets of March

“Great love endures time, heartache, and distance. And even when all seems lost, true love lives on.”
― Sarah Jio, The Violets of March

“I burrowed through the small opening that Jack had created for me and emerged before an inlet enclosed by rocky hillside. The water was the color of emeralds, and I wondered how this was possible, given that the sound was so decidedly gray. A small plume of water--- a waterfall, but not a loud, forceful one, just a trickle--- was winding down one side of the cliff, making its descent into the pool below. Birds chirped in stereo.
There was a small patch of sand free of barnacle-covered rocks, like the beach in front of Bee's, and that's where Jack spread a blanket out. "What do you think?" he asked proudly.
"It's unbelievable," I said, shaking my head. "How in the world does water get that color?"
"It's the minerals in the rock," he replied.”
― Sarah Jio, The Violets of March

“Wood violets? I hadn't seen them since I was a girl, when they appeared one summer in my grandmother's garden. I'd never noticed them on Elliot's property. What were they doing here?
Many on the island, me included, believed that these flowers had mystical powers, that they could heal wounds of the heart and the body, mend rifts in friendships, even bring about good fortune.”
― Sarah Jio, The Violets of March

“The wisteria looked bare and vulnerable clinging to the arbor, but somewhere deep inside its branches was the promise of spring, and when I looked closely, I saw a few pale green shoots emerging from the trunk.”
― Sarah Jio, The Violets of March

“She wanted to tell me that Danielle is having another baby."
"Another one?"
I loved that Bee's response was similar to mine. Perhaps it was just that we were childless, but I think we both agreed that anyone who willingly has more than two children is clinically insane.”
― Sarah Jio, The Violets of March

“We'd hardly stepped three feet outside when Bee gasped, pointing to the garden to our right.
"Henry!" she exclaimed, surveying hundreds of delicate light green leaves that had pushed up from the soil in grand formation, showcasing a carpet of tiny lavender-colored flowers, with dark purple centers.
Bee looked astonished. "How did they... where did they come from?"
Henry shook his head. "I noticed them two weeks ago. They just appeared."
Bee turned to me, and upon seeing my confused face, she offered an explanation. "They're wood violets," she said. "I haven't seen them on the island since..."
"They're very rare," Henry said, filling the void that Bee had left when her voice trailed off. "You can't plant them, for they won't grow. They have to choose you."
Bee's eyes met Henry's, and she smiled, a gentle, forgiving smile. It warmed me to see it. "Evelyn has a theory about these flowers," she said, pausing as if to pull a dusty memory off a shelf in her mind, handling it with great care. "Yes," she said, the memory in plain view. "She used to say they grow where they are needed, that they signal healing, and hope.
It's ridiculous, isn't it, Henry, to think that violets can know," Bee continued.
Henry nodded. "Harebrained," he said in agreement.
Bee shook her head in disbelief. "And to see them in bloom, in March of all months..."
Henry nodded. "I know."
Neither took their eyes off the petals before them, so fragile, yet in great numbers stalwart and determined.”
― Sarah Jio, The Violets of March

“And instantly I felt like the child who panics when she starts seeing back-to-school ads on TV in July: Don't they know that school doesn't start for two whole months?”
― Sarah Jio, The Violets of March

“From behind his back, he pulled out a single tulip, my favorite flower--- pure white, with the very tip of each petal tinged red. I had never seen a tulip like that, and it nearly took my breath away.”
― Sarah Jio, The Violets of March

“Sea stars are enigmatic, aren't they? Not a single bone in their body, all cartilage, and fragile, yet they're spirited and tenacious.”
― Sarah Jio, The Violets of March

“The Town and Country Market was just a half mile from Bee's home. I used to walk there as a girl, with my sister or my cousins, or sometimes all by myself, picking purple clover flowers along the way until I had a big round bunch, which, when pressed up to your nose, smelled exactly of honey. Before the walk, we'd always beg the adults for twenty-five cents and return with pockets full of pink Bazooka bubble gum. If summer had a flavor, it was pink bubble gum.”
― Sarah Jio, The Violets of March