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That she might not actually know us seemed the humblest thing a mother could admit.

Aimee Bender

He was also removing all traces of any tiny leftover parts, and suddenly a ritual which I’d always found incestuous and gross seemed to me more like a desperate act on Joseph’s part to get out, to leave, to extract every little last remnant and bring it into open air.
AIMEE BENDER

Carefully Concentrate Desperate Detail Intimate Leave Open Part Remnant Ritual Time
I like birthday cake. It’s so symbolic. It’s a tempting symbol to load with something more complicated than just ‘Happy birthday!’ because it’s this emblem of childhood and a happy day.
AIMEE BENDER

Birthday Cake Childhood Complicate Happy Just Load Something Symbolic Tempting
And the warmth of the music inside her, did she believe, for even one glorious second, that her passion had arrived?
AIMEE BENDER

Arrive Believe Glorious Inside Music Passion Second Warmest
A Dorito asks nothing of you, which is its great gift. It only asks that you are not there.
AIMEE BENDER

Ask Doritos Doubt Gift Great Nothing
Pouring over me, but it was a different kind, siphoned from a different, and tamer, body of water. I was her darling daughter; Joseph was her it.
AIMEE BENDER

Body Darling Daughter Different Kind Pour Siphoned Tamer Water
Listen. Look. Desire is a house. Desire needs closed space. Desire runs out of doors or windows, or slats or pinpricks, it can’t fit under the sky, too large. Close the doors. Close the windows.
AIMEE BENDER

Blow Close Desire Door Large Listen Need Run Sky Space Window
Large meadows are lovely for picnics and romping, but they are for the lighter feelings. Meadows do not make me want to write.
AIMEE BENDER

Feeling Lighter Lovely Meadow Picnic Romp Writing
I could feel the tears beginning to collect in my throat again, but I pushed them apart, away from each other. Tears are only a threat in groups.
AIMEE BENDER

Again Away Beginning Each Groups Other Tear Throat
I didn’t mind the quiet stretches. It was like we were trying out the idea of being side by side.
AIMEE BENDER

Idea Mind Quite Side Stretch Trying
But I loved George in part because he believed me; because if I stood in a cold, plain room and yelled FIRE, he would walk over and ask me why.
AIMEE BENDER

Ask Believe Cold Fire Pain Part Room Why
I’m obsessed with adolescence. I love to write about people in their 20s.
AIMEE BENDER

Adolescence Kind Obsess People Twenties Write
It seemed to happen in springs, the revealing of things.
AIMEE BENDER

Happen Reveal Seem Spring
She is the first gesture that creates a quiet that is full enough to make the baby sleep. My genes, my love, are rubber bands and rope; make yourself a structure you can live inside. Amen.
AIMEE BENDER

Amen Baby Band Create Enough First Full Gesture Inside Love Make Rubber Sleep
Many kids, it seemed, would find out that their parents were flawed, messed-up people later in life, and I didn’t appreciate getting to know it all so strong and early.
AIMEE BENDER

Appreciate Flaw Kid Later Life Mess Parent Seem Strong
We hit the sidewalk, and dropped hands. How I wished, right then, that the whole world was a street.
AIMEE BENDER

Drop Hand Hit Sidewalk Street Wish World
Light is good company, when alone; I took my comfort where I found it, and the warmest yellow bulb in the living-room lamp had become a kind of radiant babysitter all its own.
AIMEE BENDER

Bulb Comfort Company Good Light Living Room Took Warmest Yellow
The most so far, because she found the saddest thing of all to be the simple truth of her capacity to move on.
AIMEE BENDER

All Capacity Found Fra Most Move Sad Simple Thing Truth
Mom flipped through the magazines like the pages needed to be slapped.
AIMEE BENDER

Flip Magazine Mom Need Page Slap
The stories themselves haunt, they stick around, they linger, inhabiting a little corner of the reader’s brain and resurfacing to evoke mystery or sadness or longing.
AIMEE BENDER

Around Brain Corner Evoke Inhabiting Mystery Reader Resurfacing Sad Stick Story
To see someone you love, in a bad setting, is one of the great barometers of gratitude.
AIMEE BENDER

Barometer Gratitude Love Setting Someone
You’re the perfect girl’, he said, rubbing his chin. ‘You expect nothing.
AIMEE BENDER

Expect Girl Nothing Perfect Rub
Not getting bored of my own story and/or character is one of the main struggles.
AIMEE BENDER

Bore Character Getting Main Struggle Writing
It is all about numbers. It is all about sequence. It’s the mathematical logic of being alive.
AIMEE BENDER

Everything Kept Life Logical Loss Mathematics Normal Number Sadness
My genes, my love, are rubber bands and rope; make yourself a structure you can live inside. Amen.” – Aimee Bender (Willful Creatures: Stories)
AIMEE BENDER

Band Gene Inside Love Rope Rubber Story
Kissing George was a little like rolling in caramel after spending years surviving off rice sticks.
AIMEE BENDER

Kiss People Rice Rolling Stick Survive Year
If everything kept to its normal progression, we would live with the sadness-cry and then walk-but what really breaks us cleanest are the losses that happen out of order.
AIMEE BENDER

Break Clean Cry Everything Happen Lose Normal Order Parent Progressive Walk
When language is treated beautifully and interestingly, it can feel good for the body: It’s nourishing; it’s rejuvenating.
AIMEE BENDER

Beautiful Body Feel Good Interesting Language Nourish Treat

That she might not actually know us seemed the humblest thing a mother could admit.

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That she might not actually know us seemed the humblest thing a mother could admit.

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