Simon Says Quotes

“Things settled into a lazy pattern. School, chores, and long hours down by the river. Kiernan talked about the books he read sometimes, even loaned me a few. But I liked it better when he read to me or just told me the stories. The words were more real that way, more exciting. Huck Finn, Tom Sawyer, Ragged Dick, and all the others seemed flat and dull on the page, but Kiernan was good at making them come alive.”
― Rysa Walker, Simon Says: Tips for the Intrepid Time Traveler

“You ever heard that bit about don’t look a gift horse in the mouth?”
“I’ve heard it. Although the Trojans would have fared better with Athens if they had ignored that advice.”
I had to look up that reference when I got back to Saul’s.”
― Rysa Walker, Simon Says: Tips for the Intrepid Time Traveler

“Kiernan and baseball—it’s like waving a carrot in front of a mule. Put tickets to a ballgame in front of Kiernan’s face and he’ll follow you pretty much wherever you want to go. After that first game we attended in 1905, it didn’t take much for me to convince him to see another game in 1912, and then one in 1924, and so on.”
― Rysa Walker, Simon Says: Tips for the Intrepid Time Traveler

“Take that and go play. I don’t care if it takes a year. Get the boy out of your system and then get back here. We’ve got work to do.”
At the time, I thought Saul meant I needed to take some time to grow up. Get the boy out of my system and come back a man.
But thinking back on that conversation a few years later, I’m pretty sure Saul believed there was something going on between me and Kier. I seriously doubt Saul ever had a relationship with anyone unless it would bring him sex or power. I’m not sure he understood anything else.
But it wasn’t ever like that with Kiernan, no matter what Saul thought.
I had all kinds of half-siblings, full-siblings, too, maybe, but I never thought of them as family. None of them ever stood up for me in the play yard, although I guess many of them were actually younger than me, so maybe that wasn't a fair expectation. None of them played “kick the cones” with me, none of them taught me about baseball. That’s the kind of thing brothers do.
There was a whole big world out there to explore, and it would be a lot more fun exploring it together.”
― Rysa Walker, Simon Says: Tips for the Intrepid Time Traveler

“That surprised me. Not that it wasn’t a damn good game. We saw it again, in fact, after he took up with Kate. Not that either of them paid much attention to what was going on down on the field. That was actually the day I had to accept that things had gone too far between the two of them. Otherwise, she never could have taken his mind off baseball.”
― Rysa Walker, Simon Says: Tips for the Intrepid Time Traveler

“Well, I'm expecting great things from you, young man!"
"Th-thank you, Brother Cyrus.” As soon as he released my shoulders, I hurried over to the glass wall where Kiernan was sitting, frowning out at the ocean like it had done something to piss him off.”
― Rysa Walker, Simon Says: Tips for the Intrepid Time Traveler

“Where's Kiernan?" I asked.
"He's with Brother Cyrus. Your turn."
The blood drained from my face and I stepped back, toward the wall. One of the older women, Glory, had died from a heart attack the year before. At the burial, all of the adults patted each other on the back and said she was with Brother Cyrus now.
The key suddenly felt like a lit coal in my hand, and I dropped it to the floor.
Patrick must have realized what I was thinking from my expression. "No, stupid," he said, as he bent down to pick up the key. "He's not dead. He's with Cyrus. In the future. He's fine. You'll be fine.”
― Rysa Walker, Simon Says: Tips for the Intrepid Time Traveler

“He said he doesn' have it. Pick on someone your own size.” You could really hear the Irish in Kiernan's voice back then. I mean, you can still hear it, but it’s more of a lilt when he’s older. Back then, it was a full-on brogue.”
― Rysa Walker, Simon Says: Tips for the Intrepid Time Traveler

“Each kid got a small allowance for helping with the harvests, and Kiernan would always head straight to the tobacco shop. Not for cigarettes. At first, he even threw the cigarettes away, but later he'd save them and sell them to the older kids to get enough money for another pack.
Kiernan didn't want the smokes. He wanted the baseball cards.
When we got back to the Farm, Kiernan would sketch out a baseball diamond in the dirt and we'd stage games with the players from the cards he collected.”
― Rysa Walker, Simon Says: Tips for the Intrepid Time Traveler