From The Language of this Foreign Country

Sam has a list in his head. It's a dictionary or a phrasebook, something you can keep in your pocket and pull out whenever necessary: Translation Guide For People Who Spend Every Waking Hour With People Who Never Say What They Mean....



... He wants to say he'll call back and have it mean it's not your fault. He wants to say he won't call back and have it mean you don't need his absolution. He wants to say hope he gets the message and mean thanks for saving my life again, and again, and always, and again.

He wants to say we did good work and mean those kids didn't die because of you.

But he doesn't know that language well enough, not yet, so he says nothing.