"If it helps, you lose nothing. The passions of the world are my sun and I am as the tree before them; hungry, yet harmless."

That metaphor has been one of Cass's great gifts to Erin, and has made her much more comfortable sharing this aspect of her existence in those rare cases where it seems...warranted.

"...As for your question, I'm asking on the reasonable suspicion that you would like to be spending it with someone in particular. You listen to my relationships and their ups and their downs. Can't I return the favor?"