Black Hole Quotes

“Allison got to the lobby first, dressed in jeans, a red sweater, and a cropped black jacket. Her feet had ordered her directly into flats the moment she’d gotten into her room, so she’d put on a pair of short black boots. She didn’t see Rick or Kim and flopped down on an overstuffed, garishly-clad club chair to wait. Despite the time of night, the place was packed, and she amused herself by watching people and guessing their stories. Caught up in trying to determine if a woman near the door dressed in a skin-tight black dress and bright red, four-inch, platform shoes was a high-class call girl, or a model, she almost vaulted out of her seat when a voice said, “Anyone sitting here?” She looked up at a man of about forty, dressed in olive green silk pants and a cream colored sweater. He was so attractive Allison couldn’t answer with anything other than a shake of her head. The fact that his eyes were the same color as hers only added to her disquiet. “Great.” He flashed a set of perfect teeth at her briefly, and dropped into the matching chair across from her. “I know you,” he added, “saw you on the ATCE show floor today. You work for Hoyt right? In marketing?” Allison nodded. The man put out his hand, “Craig Simmons.”
― J.P. Peranteau, Black Hole

“Allison made it to the bottom of the polished oak staircase before she had to sit on the last step to find a familiar point of reference. Saturated, she thought, that is a great word. Saturated with hope, love, sadness and happiness all at once. She stared down at her pink toes, curling them against the wood floors she and John had refinished so long ago, making sure she was conscious and alive.”
― J.P. Peranteau, Black Hole

“A woman who, when she entered a bar, would make almost every woman in the place mutter, “bitch” under her breath out of jealousy at her perfection. And Allison couldn’t remove her eyes from that face. She was behind Rick, a blindingly white smile on her lips, and her arms were draped over his shoulders, in a pose of ownership. Allison’s eyes instinctively found the third finger of the woman’s left hand. A pear-shaped diamond ring was there. Her eyes traveled to Rick’s face. The smile on his mouth didn’t seem to quite reach his eyes.”
― J.P. Peranteau, Black Hole

“The bare tree branches on the maples outside her office window seemed to count to her as they swayed. One, two, three hundred and sixty five days, she thought. Something was waiting on the edges of her life. She opened her desk drawer hesitantly. John’s face gradually appeared in a photo she had brought in that day. BLING Allison shut the drawer with a slam and looked up at her screen. A chat box window had popped up.”
― J.P. Peranteau, Black Hole

“Rick shrugged, took a sip of his beer, and looked around the dim bar. Raucous laughter came from one of the four nearly felt-less and ancient pool tables near the back. The noise bounced off the wood-paneled walls, making it travel across the floor like a bowling ball. The place hadn’t changed since he and Paul had started frequenting it after college, except that, by law, all smokers had been banished outside. As a result, every time the thick wood front door opened, a fresh cloud of second hand smoke blew in.”
― J.P. Peranteau, Black Hole