Julian Barnes, The Sense of an Ending

"The next day when I was sober, I thought again about the three of us, and about time's many paradoxes. For instance, that when we are young and sensitive we are at our most hurtful, whereas when when the blood begins to slow, when we feel less sharply, when we are more armoured and have learned how to bear hurt, we tread more carefully. These days, I might try to get under Veronica's skin, but I would not flail it from her bit by bloody bit".

- Julian Barnes, The Sense of an Ending.