a dozen white tulips in a plastic vase were precariously perched atop one of the book stacks , and when i asked her about them , she just said , `` jake and my 's anniversary , '' and i did n't care to continue that line of dialogue , so i went back to scanning titles , and i was just wondering how i could go about learning edgar allan poe 's last words ( for the record : `` lord help my poor soul '' ) when i heard alaska say , `` pudge is n't even listening to us . ''