--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: wish you would.” “Right. When I had the…" description: "\"“wish you would.” “Right. When I had the emerald again, I was in a cell. I guess they were afraid the rest of the guys might try to spring me right awa..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05c/donald-e-westlake-4285_afraid_wish-you-would-right-when-i-had-the-emer_544418.jpg" --- # wish you would.” “Right. When I had the emerald again, I… ![“wish you would.” “Right. When I had the emerald again, I was in a cell. I guess they were afraid the rest of the guys might try to spring me right away, ’cause they hid me out in a precinct on the Upper West Side for the first” quote by Donald E. Westlake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05c/donald-e-westlake-4285_afraid_wish-you-would-right-when-i-had-the-emer_544418.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05c/donald-e-westlake-4285_afraid_wish-you-would-right-when-i-had-the-emer_544418.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05c/donald-e-westlake-4285_afraid_wish-you-would-right-when-i-had-the-emer_544418.jpg) > ““wish you would.” “Right. When I had the emerald again, I was in a cell. I guess they were afraid the rest of the guys might try to spring me right away, ’cause they hid me out in a precinct on the Upper West Side for the first”” [Donald E. Westlake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-e-westlake/) ## 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 is kept isolated for safety, fearing others might attempt a rescue too soon. **In simple terms:** Isolation for protection; fear of premature rescue. Key Takeaway Consider the balance between safety and freedom. Themes safety isolation trust Mood tense reflective Type narrative dramatic When to use this quote - prison settings - protective custody - high‑risk operations Key Concepts risk management control psychology Questions to Reflect On - When does protecting someone become limiting? - How can trust be built in restrictive environments? A Different Perspective Safety can become oppressive if over‑applied. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Emerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emerald/) ## Related quotes > [“What turns an honest, good-looking guy like you into a theif?" Scott couldn't help but smirk. "I blame chocolate.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-knight/what-turns-an-honest-good-looking-guy-like-you-into-a-theif-scott/) [Geoffrey Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-knight/) > [“That was when I saw the first flash of emerald, then another of blue, then yellow, glimpsed out of the corner of my eye.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hazel-gaynor/that-was-when-i-saw-the-first-flash-of-emerald-then-another-of-blue/) [Hazel Gaynor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hazel-gaynor/) > [“Then, abrupt and decisive, the Emerald City rose before them. A city of insistence, of blanket declaration. It made no sense, clotting up the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-maguire/then-abrupt-and-decisive-the-emerald-city-rose-before-them-a-city-of/) [Gregory Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-maguire/) > [While the 2013 color of the year, PANTONE 17-5641 Emerald, served as a symbol of growth, renewal and prosperity, Radiant Orchid reaches across the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leatrice-eiseman/while-the-2013-color-of-the-year-pantone-17-5641-emerald-served-as-a/) [Leatrice Eiseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leatrice-eiseman/) > [“But as he shook her hand and met those striking emerald eyes, he knew before he'd taken his sext breath that she was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/but-as-he-shook-her-hand-and-met-those-striking-emerald-eyes-he-knew/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [ “It is to geometry that we owe in some sort the source of this discovery \[of beryllium\]; it is that \[science\] that furnished the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-fran-ois-de-fourcroy/it-is-to-geometry-that-we-owe-in-some-sort-the-source-of-this/) Antoine-François De Fourcroy > [“And it seemed that my flesh crawled with the gentleness of those glaucous things evoked by the verse. It was as if fingertips, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-lorrain/and-it-seemed-that-my-flesh-crawled-with-the-gentleness-of-those/) [Jean Lorrain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-lorrain/) > [“His character is like an emerald—multifaceted and enhanced by inclusions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melika-dannese-lux/his-character-is-like-an-emerald-multifaceted-and-enhanced-by/) [Melika Dannese Lux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melika-dannese-lux/) > [“This Sarah Perez had the most beautiful eyes in the world, those green eyes spangled with gold that you love so much: the eyes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-lorrain/this-sarah-perez-had-the-most-beautiful-eyes-in-the-world-those-green/) [Jean Lorrain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-lorrain/) > [“Flint An emerald is as green as grass, A ruby red as blood; A sapphire shines as blue as heaven; A flint lies in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-rossetti/flint-an-emerald-is-as-green-as-grass-a-ruby-red-as-blood-a-sapphire/) [Christina Rossetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-rossetti/) > [“full bloom, the pastures turning an impossible emerald green, she”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-mae-brown/full-bloom-the-pastures-turning-an-impossible-emerald-green-she/) [Rita Mae Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-mae-brown/) > [The most abundant hue in nature, the human eye sees more green than any other color in the spectrumas it has throughout history, multifaceted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leatrice-eiseman/the-most-abundant-hue-in-nature-the-human-eye-sees-more-green-than/) [Leatrice Eiseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leatrice-eiseman/) > [No matter what anyone says or does, my task is to be emerald, my color undiminished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/no-matter-what-anyone-says-or-does-my-task-is-to-be-emerald-my-color/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [“Does God know the number of kisses before we fall in love? Yesterday, I was nobody and I believed myself important. Today, I feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/does-god-know-the-number-of-kisses-before-we-fall-in-love-yesterday-i/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [Love is an emerald. Its brilliant light wards off dragons On this treacherous path.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/love-is-an-emerald-its-brilliant-light-wards-off-dragons-on-this/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) ## More by Donald E. Westlake > [Science fiction is a weird category, because it's the only area of fiction I can think of where the story is not of primary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-e-westlake/science-fiction-is-a-weird-category-because-it-s-the-only-area-of/) [Donald E. Westlake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-e-westlake/) > [The other thing that I got back then - the Parker novels have never had much of anything to do with race. There have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-e-westlake/the-other-thing-that-i-got-back-then-the-parker-novels-have-never-had/) [Donald E. Westlake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-e-westlake/) > [I was writing everything. I grew up in Albany, New York, and I was never any farther west than Syracuse, and I wrote Westerns.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-e-westlake/i-was-writing-everything-i-grew-up-in-albany-new-york-and-i-was-never/) [Donald E. Westlake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-e-westlake/) > [New York doesn't exactly have neighborhoods, the way most cities do. What it has is closer to distinct and separate villages, some of them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-e-westlake/new-york-doesn-t-exactly-have-neighborhoods-the-way-most-cities-do/) [Donald E. Westlake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-e-westlake/) > [“In the cab going downtown, Doug believed he now understood the sensations felt by a person slowly sinking into the grasp of an octopus.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-e-westlake/in-the-cab-going-downtown-doug-believed-he-now-understood-the/) [Donald E. Westlake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-e-westlake/) > [What did Jesus Christ say to the Teamsters? 'Do nothing till I get back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-e-westlake/what-did-jesus-christ-say-to-the-teamsters-do-nothing-till-i-get-back/) [Donald E. Westlake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-e-westlake/) > [“Since he’d been born rich into a family that had been a long time rich, he’d never known the need to suppress his feelings,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-e-westlake/since-he-d-been-born-rich-into-a-family-that-had-been-a-long-time/) [Donald E. Westlake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-e-westlake/) > [“Well, you might not think it to look at me,” Dortmunder told him, “but I got a family crest.” “Have you?” “Yeah. And it’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-e-westlake/well-you-might-not-think-it-to-look-at-me-dortmunder-told-him-but-i/) [Donald E. Westlake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-e-westlake/) > [“telling the jokes—was the setups. Why were that priest, that rabbi, and that minister walking down that street? Where were they headed? How had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-e-westlake/telling-the-jokes-was-the-setups-why-were-that-priest-that-rabbi-and/) [Donald E. Westlake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-e-westlake/) > [“Dortmunder followed Kelp as he carried the tray down along the bar past the regulars, where the third was now saying, “The idea of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-e-westlake/dortmunder-followed-kelp-as-he-carried-the-tray-down-along-the-bar/) [Donald E. Westlake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-e-westlake/) > [Nothing about it interested me. Or about anything else, except making up stories. If literacy weren't so nearly universal, God knows what I'd be.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-e-westlake/nothing-about-it-interested-me-or-about-anything-else-except-making/) [Donald E. Westlake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-e-westlake/) > [When Stark isn't off sulking somewhere, or whatever he's doing when he won't return my calls, I alternate between the two. That usually works…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-e-westlake/when-stark-isn-t-off-sulking-somewhere-or-whatever-he-s-doing-when-he/) [Donald E. Westlake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-e-westlake/) > [“There are no Territories to light out for, not in this century. It was no longer easy to become the new you. New or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-e-westlake/there-are-no-territories-to-light-out-for-not-in-this-century-it-was/) [Donald E. Westlake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-e-westlake/) > [Seem to be telling this, but really telling that. Three-dimensional writing, like three-dimensional chess. Nabokov was the other master of that. You could learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-e-westlake/seem-to-be-telling-this-but-really-telling-that-three-dimensional/) [Donald E. Westlake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-e-westlake/) > [Once he became a series character, I made the conscious choice that he would never act like a series character, never wink at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-e-westlake/once-he-became-a-series-character-i-made-the-conscious-choice-that-he/) [Donald E. Westlake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-e-westlake/) [Explore all 113 Donald E. Westlake quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-e-westlake/) ## More Afraid quotes > [It took me 20 years to buy an electric typewriter, because I was afraid it would be too sensitive. I like to bang the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmore-leonard/it-took-me-20-years-to-buy-an-electric-typewriter-because-i-was/) [Elmore Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmore-leonard/) > [“Carrie Fisher. “Stay afraid, but do it anyway.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-union/carrie-fisher-stay-afraid-but-do-it-anyway/) [Gabrielle Union](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-union/) > [I used to be afraid of my temper, but it turns out I don't really have one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoe-bell/i-used-to-be-afraid-of-my-temper-but-it-turns-out-i-don-t-really-have/) [Zoe Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoe-bell/) > [I get afraid of the dark if I'm in a great deal of dark, and I have to move around inside of that fear...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ferris/i-get-afraid-of-the-dark-if-i-m-in-a-great-deal-of-dark-and-i-have-to/) [Emil Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ferris/) > [I am not afraid of praise, for I have practiced it on myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-am-not-afraid-of-praise-for-i-have-practiced-it-on-myself/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I'm a pretty fearless person. I'm afraid of, like, creepy men in white vans and sidewalks with no streetlights. But I'm not afraid to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josie-totah/i-m-a-pretty-fearless-person-i-m-afraid-of-like-creepy-men-in-white/) [Josie Totah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josie-totah/) > [I will support my party when they are right on an issue, but am not afraid to stand up to party bosses who are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darlene-senger/i-will-support-my-party-when-they-are-right-on-an-issue-but-am-not/) Darlene Senger > [Why am I so afraid to loose you,when you're not even mine?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/why-am-i-so-afraid-to-loose-you-when-you-re-not-even-mine/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I want to tell you, but I cant, becuase I'm afraid if I do you'll never treat me same the again](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristina-orante/i-want-to-tell-you-but-i-cant-becuase-i-m-afraid-if-i-do-you-ll-never/) [Cristina Orante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristina-orante/) > [Mistakes I've made in the past make me afraid to try new things in the future. I want to be perfect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-altucher/mistakes-i-ve-made-in-the-past-make-me-afraid-to-try-new-things-in/) [James Altucher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-altucher/) > [“Humans are naturally scared and confused beings. They not only fear the unknown, as they live fearing themselves... ☥”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-marques/humans-are-naturally-scared-and-confused-beings-they-not-only-fear/) [Luis Marques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-marques/) > [If you are too afraid of failure, you cant possibly do what needs to be done to succeed in living a fulfilling life. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/if-you-are-too-afraid-of-failure-you-cant-possibly-do-what-needs-to/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [We cannot be afraid of the dark that they live in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burnie-burns/we-cannot-be-afraid-of-the-dark-that-they-live-in/) [Burnie Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burnie-burns/) > [“I think the reason we're cruel sometimes is that we're afraid we're going to like something.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/i-think-the-reason-we-re-cruel-sometimes-is-that-we-re-afraid-we-re/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [I'm still with that feeling that I am afraid of doing the wrong thing, because somebody is going to punish me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eartha-kitt/i-m-still-with-that-feeling-that-i-am-afraid-of-doing-the-wrong-thing/) [Eartha Kitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eartha-kitt/) Browse all 5,519 Afraid quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“wish you would.” “Right. 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