QUOTE : Sometimes, two people come together and become less than what they were separately. They subtract from one another. One and one making zero.’<br /><br />His mother and father. On their own, decent people. Decent parents. Together: nothing he wanted in his life.<br /><br />When she nodded in understanding, he continued. ‘Other times, two people in a relationship make nothing more than the sum of their parts. One plus one equals two.’ He rested his fists on his hips and made himself say it. ‘But if I’m going to risk a relationship, I want something more. Something transformative. Not just a sum.’<br /><br />She was listening so carefully, with no attempt to fill in words for him or interrupt, and it was just one more reason he needed to kiss her.<br /><br />‘I want a product. An exponent. I want one plus one to equal eighty, or a thousand, or infinity.