Peter Cameron

We have . . . we have always been kind to each other. Can’t we at least keep that?
She turned back toward him.
Exactly! she exclaimed. Kindness! How I hate it! I never wanted kindness. Especially not from you. […] Kindness is a part of love.
It’s got nothing to do with love, the woman said. Kindness—what a horrible word!—is what we give to those we don’t love. Can’t love. We’re kind to those we don’t love for that very reason. That’s where kindness comes in—when there isn’t love.