After that, it was only the mobile homes that she really looked at, to see how people had fixed them up – the kind of curtains they had hung, the way they had painted the trim, the ambitious decks or patios or extra rooms they had built on. She could hardly wait to get to such improvements herself.
-- Narrator

Importance: This quotation from early in the story shows how Carla was always unsatisfied with the life that Clark provided her. Here, Carla's desire to fix up the mobile home highlights her hope for her future with Clark. Just as she thinks that cosmetic or superficial improvements to their home will make her more comfortable, so she is convinced that Clark, too, can change for the better.

At first she had been Clark's pet entirely, following him everywhere, dancing for his attention. She was as quick and graceful and provocative as a kitten, and...
-- Narrator