but could she live , really live , without him ? on the eve of my thirteenth birthday , i could hardly sit still for all my excitement . but she realized he was only making an observation about the future . do n't you want to when it comes to dalton ? he slowed to a walk , eyes adjusting to the darkness , and suddenly an old man with rags dangling from his arms lurched out of a ditch and begged him for money . he 's thin ... too thin , and it makes his shorts slip down too far . 