"That's sad," Veronica says, watching the subtle flicker of emotion behind his eyes and wondering what the hell put it there. She doesn't ask, although maybe she should; apparently they've both got sore subjects.

"How can you truly care about people and be a fully-realized human being without trusting people?" she asks instead. "I'm not talking about being a sucker, but shit. I don't think I'm ready for that level of perpetual cynicism."