There's nothing happening with me and Oliver," Althea had protested, into the phone, and in retrospect it was obvious that her vehemence had given her away.
-- Althea (chapter 1)

Importance: Althea is having one of her rare phone conversations with her mother who is quizzing Althea about her relationship with Oliver. Althea gives her true feelings about Oliver away in the way that she strongly protests that there is anything romantic going on between them.

I'm sorry," Althea finally says. "He came into the basement and said he wanted Waffle House. I didn't realize he was still--still sick, I guess, so I took him there."
-- Althea (chapter 1 paragraph 6)

Importance: Oliver's illness is new, so his mother and Althea are just learning about how it exhibits. After Oliver has a fit in Waffle House and Althea struggles to get him home, his mother reveals that sometimes he acts out when he's not quite out of the sleeping state. This...