A Stock of Stories

"When they tell these stories to friends (as they sometimes do) Brenda never says to Jack, 'Please don't tell that old story again,' and he never says to her, 'We've all heard that one.' They love their stories and tacitly think of them as their private hoard, their private stock, exquisitely flavoured by the retelling. The timing and phrasing have reached a state of near perfection; it's taken them years to get them right. It seems to Brenda that all couples of long standing must have just such a stock of stories to draw upon". -Carol Shields, Happenstance