It made me feel older than grandchildren would to see my daughter touch a man - a boy - this way

Judith moved ahead and touched Don's arm. I knew that touch - an apology, an anxious reassurance. You touch a man that way to remind him that you are grateful, that you realize he is doing for your sake something that bores him or slightly endangers his dignity. It made me feel older than grandchildren would to see my daughter touch a man - a boy - this way.

A. Munro, 'The moons of Jupiter', The moons of Jupiter (1984), 223

She's very noticeably a Christian don't you think? I'm amazed how mean she makes me feel

"Life would be grand if it weren't for the people," said Vera moodily. "That sounds like a quotation, but I think I just made it up. The problem is that Kimberley is a Christian. Well, that's fine. We could use a Christian or two. For that matter, I am not un-Christian. But she's very noticeably a Christian don't you think? I'm amazed how mean she makes me feel."

A. Munro, 'Labor day dinner', The moons of Jupiter (1984), 144

I like this because it's so deliciously double-edged from a woman about her prospective daughter in law. Is it Kimberley's behaviour that shames the narrator. Or is Kimberley irritatingly religious? I think it's also pretty much on point for dating, capturing that still ambiguous point about the moral position of religion a generation ago.

Few flashes of lust at parties; perhaps we could not afford to drink enough

There was no infidelity in The Huts, or none that I knew of. We lived so close together, we were poor and too busy. Few flashes of lust at parties; perhaps we could not afford to drink enough.

A. Munro, 'Tell me yes or no', Something I've been meaning to tell you (1974), 108