A Quote Quilt by Alex Diaz-Granados
In the hush between songs and stories, there’s a kind of magic that blooms when someone looks at you—not to evaluate, but to understand. Comings and Goings hums in that space. It’s a story stitched from quiet observations, shy admissions, and the kind of memory that doesn’t fade with time—it deepens.
This Quote Quilt gathers moments from that single summer night with Jim and Kelly: not just what was said, but what was felt. Threaded through music, touch, breath, and silence, each square here carries a distinct emotional note—but together, they form something fuller. Something you carry with you.
This is for the ones who know what it means to be seen. Even for a moment. Even in the dark.
🟦 Opening Notes
Where strangers become stories and first names mean more than small talk.
- “Kelly, by the way. Kelly Moore.”
“Jim Garraty.” - “‘Miami,’ I offered in return, surprised at how easily I said it.”
“‘Big move.’ ‘Yeah.’”
🟨 Connection & Vulnerability
The slow arc from banter to truth. Eyes locked. Hearts hesitating.
- “You’ve got this posture—beer held like it’s some kind of shield…”
“Either you’re running a fascinating psychological experiment, or you really don’t want to be here.” - “I mean, don’t get me wrong—I like rock. Just not the kind that makes you feel like you’re getting barked at by a drill sergeant on his third round of whiskey. Give me Billy Joel, Elton John, ABBA, The Beatles… hell, I’d take ‘Fernando’ over this noise any day.”
- “‘Harvard,’ I said. ‘History. On a full scholarship.’”
“‘Well, damn,’ she said… ‘I should’ve known you were one of those ridiculously smart people.’”
“There was something about the ease of this conversation… the quiet confidence that made her seem familiar in a way I didn’t know how to define.”
🟥 Echoes of the Past
Where memory lingers—and reminds us what never really leaves.
- “‘The Winner Takes It All’ landed unexpectedly… I was back in ninth grade—back in the summer when Kathy Maraschino blew my world apart.”
“Time didn’t heal anything. It just buried things… waiting for the right song—or the wrong one—to bring them roaring back.” - “Through the haze of voices and music… something about the way she moved… hit me with a sudden, sharp flicker of familiarity.”
“For half a second, the years collapsed… Marty.”
“‘You tensed up, gripping that beer like you were bracing for something. For a moment, it felt like you weren’t here anymore.’” - “Heineken.”
🟩 Grace Notes
Where silence speaks, and closeness doesn’t have to ask for permission.
- “‘This Night.’ The room filled with longing… Romantic and aching, like it had dressed up for something it was afraid to say out loud.”
“‘That’s all of us at nineteen,’ I murmured, and she smiled.” - “Her voice was calm, steady, like a hand smoothing out a crease. ‘Let me.’”
“She wasn’t rushing. She wasn’t watching me like she expected anything. She was just there. Present.”
“Not because she was naked, but because she wasn’t afraid.” - “That album played on, but in my memory, the rest is quiet. Only Kelly remained.”
- “‘Then it was perfect,’ she said. ‘You were kind. You were here. That’s what matters.’”
“‘Why did you do this? With me?’ … ‘Because I like you,’ she said. ‘Because I needed to. And… because I think you needed this, too.’”
A Certain Point of View, Too 
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