--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Occasionally, very occasionally, say at…" description: "\"Occasionally, very occasionally, say at four o’clock in the afternoon on a wet Sunday, she feels panic-stricken and almost breathless with loneliness. ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ed/david-nicholls-873_afternoon_occasionally-very-occasionally-say-at-fo_309252.jpg" --- # Occasionally, very occasionally, say at four o’clock in… ![“Occasionally, very occasionally, say at four o’clock in the afternoon on a wet Sunday, she feels panic-stricken and almost breathless with loneliness. Once or twice she has been known to pick up the phone to check that it isn’t broken. Sometimes she thinks how nice it would be to be woken by a…” quote by David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ed/david-nicholls-873_afternoon_occasionally-very-occasionally-say-at-fo_309252.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ed/david-nicholls-873_afternoon_occasionally-very-occasionally-say-at-fo_309252.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ed/david-nicholls-873_afternoon_occasionally-very-occasionally-say-at-fo_309252.jpg) > “Occasionally, very occasionally, say at four o’clock in the afternoon on a wet Sunday, she feels panic-stricken and almost breathless with loneliness. Once or twice she has been known to pick up the phone to check that it isn’t broken. Sometimes she thinks how nice it would be to be woken by a call in the night: ‘get in a taxi now’ or ‘I need to see you, we need to talk’. But at the best of times she feels like a character in a Muriel Spark novel – independent, bookish, sharp-minded, secretly romantic.” [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A character experiences acute loneliness and yearning for connection, imagining rescue through a phone call. **In simple terms:** Loneliness leads to imagined rescue. Key Takeaway Acknowledge loneliness, reach out authentically. Themes loneliness yearning imagination independence Mood melancholy hopeful Type literary emotional When to use this quote - Sunday afternoons - wet days - quiet evenings - personal reflection Key Concepts romantic idealism social isolation self‑perception Questions to Reflect On - What does the imagined call represent? - How can you transform longing into genuine contact? A Different Perspective The imagined rescue may be unrealistic, highlighting avoidance of real conversation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Afternoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afternoon/) [Breathless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breathless/) [Breathless Loneliness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breathless-loneliness-2937472/) [Broken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broken/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Checks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/checks/) [Clock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clock/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Feels Panic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels-panic-2937473/) [Four](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/four/) [Independent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/independent/) [Loneliness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loneliness/) [Loneliness Twice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loneliness-twice-2937474/) [Muriel Spark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/muriel-spark-516386/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Nice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nice/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Panic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/panic/) [Phones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phones/) [Pick Up The Phone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pick-up-the-phone/) [Sometimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sometimes/) [Spark Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spark-novel-2434205/) [Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sparks/) [Sunday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sunday/) [Taxi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taxi/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Would be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/would-be/) ## Related quotes > [But at the best of times she feels like a character in a Muriel Spark novel — independent, bookish, sharp-minded, secretly romantic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/but-at-the-best-of-times-she-feels-like-a-character-in-a-muriel-spark/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [“I feel like starting to live again Edward. I feel like making the mistakes I've always wanted to make, but never had the courage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-feel-like-starting-to-live-again-edward-i-feel-like-making-the/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“Now, Muriel Spark is said to have felt that she was taking dictation from God every morning-- sitting there, one supposes, plugged into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/now-muriel-spark-is-said-to-have-felt-that-she-was-taking-dictation/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“He found and praised Muriel Spark's The Driver's Seat . I said I found it too schematic and preferred The Prime of Miss Jean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/he-found-and-praised-muriel-spark-s-the-driver-s-seat-i-said-i-found/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [Most people do not ever pick up the phone. They never ask, and that is what separates the people that do things from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/most-people-do-not-ever-pick-up-the-phone-they-never-ask-and-that-is/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [You pick up the phone and you talk to somebody. There's a voice on the other end and you say what you have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/you-pick-up-the-phone-and-you-talk-to-somebody-there-s-a-voice-on-the/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [I think the American public can accept the fact if you tell them that every time you pick up the phone it's going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-kelly/i-think-the-american-public-can-accept-the-fact-if-you-tell-them-that/) [Raymond Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-kelly/) > [“Leta will manage. She’s tough. But Tate is going to learn some things that will hurt him badly. I think he should hear it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-palmer/leta-will-manage-she-s-tough-but-tate-is-going-to-learn-some-things/) [Diana Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-palmer/) > [Aint no love lost but aint no love shown, so now when niggas call I just dont pick up the phone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wiz-khalifa/aint-no-love-lost-but-aint-no-love-shown-so-now-when-niggas-call-i/) [Wiz Khalifa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wiz-khalifa/) > [Sometimes I pick up the phone, listen to cold caller alias name, repeat it several times in an incredulous tone and then - bam!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-o-grady/sometimes-i-pick-up-the-phone-listen-to-cold-caller-alias-name-repeat/) [Sean O'Grady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-o-grady/) > [When you're Judy Garland and you want something, you just pick up the phone and call somebody. Anybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorna-luft/when-you-re-judy-garland-and-you-want-something-you-just-pick-up-the/) [Lorna Luft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorna-luft/) > [I'll call you," he repeated. "If you call me, I won't pick up the phone." "You will wait by the phone for my call,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/i-ll-call-you-he-repeated-if-you-call-me-i-won-t-pick-up-the-phone/) [Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/) > [I think Facebook's dangerous. So many people I know get into trouble with Facebook... I'd rather just pick up the phone. Or Skype.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zara-phillips/i-think-facebook-s-dangerous-so-many-people-i-know-get-into-trouble/) [Zara Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zara-phillips/) > [I try to wait until things set up just right before I take a trade. Then, when I'm ready to take the trade, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-bradford-raschke/i-try-to-wait-until-things-set-up-just-right-before-i-take-a-trade/) [Linda Bradford Raschke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-bradford-raschke/) > [An established film director can just pick up the phone and say to a star, 'Hey, are you interested in doing a commercial?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-scott/an-established-film-director-can-just-pick-up-the-phone-and-say-to-a/) [Tony Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-scott/) ## More by David Nicholls > [These days grief seems like walking on a frozen river; most of the time he feels safe enough, but there is always that danger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/these-days-grief-seems-like-walking-on-a-frozen-river-most-of-the/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [“Good God, 'the elusive thing'. She had reached a turning point. She no longer believed that a situation could be made better by writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/good-god-the-elusive-thing-she-had-reached-a-turning-point-she-no/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [Emma was a shocking driver, simultaneously sloppy and petrified, and for the first fifty miles had been absent-mindedly driving with her spectacles on top…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/emma-was-a-shocking-driver-simultaneously-sloppy-and-petrified-and/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [I still find it absurdly difficult to concentrate on a novel if there's a phone or computer to hand; I have taken to locking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/i-still-find-it-absurdly-difficult-to-concentrate-on-a-novel-if-there/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [You've got to stop letting women slip drugs into your mouth, Dex, it's unhygienic. And dangerous. One day it'll be a cyanide capsule.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/you-ve-got-to-stop-letting-women-slip-drugs-into-your-mouth-dex-it-s/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [“He presses two fingers against each eye and attempts to account for this crippling melancholy, but is having trouble with rational thought. It feels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/he-presses-two-fingers-against-each-eye-and-attempts-to-account-for/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [“Live each day as if it's our last', that was the conventional advice, but really who had the energy for that? What if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/live-each-day-as-if-it-s-our-last-that-was-the-conventional-advice/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [She was reaching the limits of how much its possible to change a man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/she-was-reaching-the-limits-of-how-much-its-possible-to-change-a-man/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [“How would she fill the days? She had no idea. The trick of it, she told herself, is to be courageous and bold and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/how-would-she-fill-the-days-she-had-no-idea-the-trick-of-it-she-told/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [“What if it rained or you felt a bit glandy? It just wasn't practical. Better by far to simply try and be good and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/what-if-it-rained-or-you-felt-a-bit-glandy-it-just-wasn-t-practical/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [Sometimes, when it is going badly, she wonders if what she believes to be a love of the written word is really just a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/sometimes-when-it-is-going-badly-she-wonders-if-what-she-believes-to/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [The city had defeated her, just like they said it would. Like some overcrowded party, no one had noticed her arrival, and would notice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/the-city-had-defeated-her-just-like-they-said-it-would-like-some/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [Better by far to be good and courageous and bold and to make difference. Not change the world exactly, but the bit around you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/better-by-far-to-be-good-and-courageous-and-bold-and-to-make/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [A screenplay is really an instruction manual, and it can be interpreted in any number of ways. The casting, the choice of location, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/a-screenplay-is-really-an-instruction-manual-and-it-can-be/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [Most of the books and films I love walk a knife edge between romance and cynicism, and I wanted 'One Day' to stay on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/most-of-the-books-and-films-i-love-walk-a-knife-edge-between-romance/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) [Explore all 332 David Nicholls quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) ## More Afternoon quotes > [I didn't grow up thinking of movies as film, or art, but as movies, something to do on a Saturday afternoon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-pollack/i-didn-t-grow-up-thinking-of-movies-as-film-or-art-but-as-movies/) [Sydney Pollack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-pollack/) > [My dental hygienist is cute. Every time I visit, I eat a whole package of Oreo cookies while waiting in the lobby. Sometimes she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/my-dental-hygienist-is-cute-every-time-i-visit-i-eat-a-whole-package/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [Honestly, I'm living my fantasy. It's being with my family, preferably on a snowy afternoon with a fire going, cuddled up in blankets, playing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meredith-vieira/honestly-i-m-living-my-fantasy-it-s-being-with-my-family-preferably/) [Meredith Vieira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meredith-vieira/) > [It was a very intense and stressful situation. There was playing in the Johnny-pump (an opened fire hydrant) and the ice-cream man coming around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-z/it-was-a-very-intense-and-stressful-situation-there-was-playing-in/) [Jay-Z](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-z/) > [Sunday afternoon is for papers and writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-haslam/sunday-afternoon-is-for-papers-and-writing/) [Nicholas Haslam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-haslam/) > [I think that if most guys in America could somehow get their fave-rave poster girl in bed and have total license to do whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-bangs/i-think-that-if-most-guys-in-america-could-somehow-get-their-fave/) [Lester Bangs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-bangs/) > [“If you come at four in the afternoon, I'll begin to be happy by three.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/if-you-come-at-four-in-the-afternoon-i-ll-begin-to-be-happy-by-three/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [At five in the afternoon. It was exactly five in the afternoon. A boy brought the white sheet at five in the afternoon. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/at-five-in-the-afternoon-it-was-exactly-five-in-the-afternoon-a-boy/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The shadows in the early morning don't tell much. The shadows rest at that time. So it's useless to gaze very early in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-castaneda/the-shadows-in-the-early-morning-don-t-tell-much-the-shadows-rest-at/) [Carlos Castaneda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-castaneda/) > [“I discovered windows one afternoon and after that, nothing was ever the same.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-spollen/i-discovered-windows-one-afternoon-and-after-that-nothing-was-ever/) [Anne Spollen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-spollen/) > [Look, science is hard, it has a reputation of being hard, and the facts are, it is hard, and that's the result of 400…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/look-science-is-hard-it-has-a-reputation-of-being-hard-and-the-facts/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [What'll we do with ourselves this afternoon? And the day after that, and the next thirty years?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/what-ll-we-do-with-ourselves-this-afternoon-and-the-day-after-that/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [Imagine you are walking down a leafy path…The sun is receding, and you are walking alone, caressed by the breezy light of the late…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azar-nafisi/imagine-you-are-walking-down-a-leafy-path-the-sun-is-receding-and-you/) [Azar Nafisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azar-nafisi/) > [A good umpire is the umpire you don't even notice. He's there all afternoon but when the game is over, you don't even remember…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ban-johnson/a-good-umpire-is-the-umpire-you-don-t-even-notice-he-s-there-all/) [Ban Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ban-johnson/) > [Sometimes in the afternoon sky the moon would pass white as a cloud, furtive, lusterless, like an actress who does not have to perform…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/sometimes-in-the-afternoon-sky-the-moon-would-pass-white-as-a-cloud/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) [Browse all 1,085 Afternoon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afternoon/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Occasionally, very occasionally, say at four o’clock in the afternoon on a wet Sunday, she feels panic-stricken and almost breathless with loneliness. Once or twice she has been known to pick up the phone to check that it isn’t broken. Sometimes she thinks how nice it would be to be woken by a call in the night: ‘get in a taxi now’ or ‘I need to see you, we need to talk’. 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