A pause; it endured horribly.

“But his eyes, dimmed by many paintless days under sun and rain, brood on over t…”

“He talked a lot about the past, and I gathered that he wanted to recover someth…”

“I want you to lie to me just as sweetly as you know how for the rest of my life.”

“Through all he said, even through his appalling sentimentality, I was reminded …”