How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
"My fiancée was very beautiful. She had the most magnificent brown eyes, and skin like an angel. And for a time all I could see was her beauty. But then…well, let's just say I discovered she wasn't a fraction of the person Renée was." He dipped his brush in the coffee can and stroked a picket with paint. "It's easy to look back and see it, and it's easy to give the advice, but the sad fact is, most people don't look beneath the surface until it's too late." (8.120)
Sometime looks can be super deceiving. And Chet has personal experience with this. Back in the day, he thought good looks were enough, until he realized that it's important to look deeper and get to know the gal underneath. So for Chet the deceptiveness of beauty is a bad thing.
Quote #5
"I was thinking of someone else. Someone who's never been able to look beneath the surface. At this point I don't suppose I even want her to."
Who was he talking about? I wanted to know! But I felt it would be crossing some line to ask, so we painted pickets in silence. (8.122-123)
Chet is such a puzzle—he can be a super chatty fellow, but he can also be a secretive guy. So even though he's told Juli lots about his life, he doesn't give her the full story on what he's thinking about here. Eventually we find out that Chet his talking about his daughter, Mrs. Loski, and how she doesn't know how shallow her handsome hubby is—but even without knowing this full story, we do know that Chet thinks sometimes it's better for people to stay in the dark.
Quote #6
But as I was trucking into the kitchen, I glanced into the family room and noticed that my dad was sacked out on the couch. […]
But I headed down to the bathroom, and on my way I noticed that the family room was empty. The quilt was folded and back on the armrest, the pillow was gone…it was like I'd imagined the whole thing.
At breakfast my father didn't look like he'd spent the night on the couch. No bags under his eyes, no whiskers on his chin. (9.3, 10-11)
Here's the situation: looks are one thing, and reality is another. According to the tidied up family room and the spiffed up Mr. Loski, everything seems good as new. As Bryce says, it's all about the "look" of things. But our man Bryce can't be fooled—he got a peak at what his dad really felt like earlier and where he really slept. His dad might be trying to cover up the truth, but Bryce isn't going to be deceived this time.