How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
For it struck me after she finally went away [...] that I really would like to talk to somebody about my grandparents, their past. (1.3.67)
Lyman may act like he wants to be left alone, but even he can't handle long-term isolation. We don't think there's a person out there who can. Regardless, Lyman is craving human contact so much that he even wants to hang out with Shelly—which is saying a lot for him.
Quote #2
So in one stroke her picnic in the West has turned into exile. The three thousand miles [...] revealed themselves as a continent. (2.2.18)
At first, Susan doesn't feel all that isolated when she moves west. That changes when Augusta's first child passes away. Susan wants so badly to be there for her best friend in her time of need, but she knows it would be impossible for her to afford the trip.
Quote #3
Oliver was gone from before seven until after six, six days a week. She lived for the evening and for Sundays. (2.2.29)
It certainly doesn't help things that Oliver works constantly, leaving Susan home alone all day with nothing to do but twiddle her thumbs. Man—what she wouldn't give for a Game Boy and a Tetris cartridge right now.