Quote by Marcel Proust

“It was difficult to define her beyond saying that she seemed to exist only as a hostess, not so much from any exaggerated instinct…

— Edith Wharton

“She was the cook, the hostess, the comforter, and the keeper of all the mysterious secrets for how to do just about everything.”

— S. Kelley Harrell

“Except when she was at work, no one knew where she was at any time of day and no one waited for her. It…

— Alice Sebold

“Around her the tables were filling with people, tourists planning their next stop over a coffee, businessmen meeting for luncheon, well-heeled women taking a…

— Kathleen Tessaro

“Guests arrived carrying more than luggage. They brought frustration, uncertainty, exhaustion.”

— Belinda Kelderhouse

“... the vacuum left by the departing visitor seemed to echo along the hallway and into the walls. It was at those times, when…

— Jacqueline Winspear

“All the passengers are very dismal, and seem to have tremendous secrets weighing on their minds. There is no conversation, no laughter, no cheerfulness,…

— Charles Dickens

“I served the counter while Sadie and Alice managed the floor. As soon as one seat emptied, someone else took the spot. After removing…

— Debbie Macomber

“She watched through a slight mist a party of people who had just come into the restaurant, the movements of arms taking off overcoats,…

— Jean Rhys

“The restaurant was waning, indifferently relaxing its illusion: for the late-comers a private illusion took its place. Their table seemed to stand on their…

— Elizabeth Bowen

“Travelers with closed minds can tell us little except about themselves.”

— Chinua Achebe

“Later on, still looking, she had tried to get involved with the Women's Community Center. She liked what they stood for but secretly wished…

— Fannie Flagg