"It was his grandmother who had somehow made the hardness bearable, and it was she who had placed the first stone in his hand"
Reef is standing on a bridge ready to throw the stone his grandmother gave him into the traffic below. He had a rough time growing up and his grandmother was the only light in the darkness surrounding him. After losing her, Reef has closed himself off and become reckless and immune to the world around him. The stone he is about to throw is going to turn his life upside down, and not in the way that he expects.
"Just because they don't fit with the others don't make 'em less important."
When he was a child, Reef was collecting stones to add to the one his grandmother gave to him. While arranging them, they realized that some don't fit with the rest. Now, all grown up Reef realized that his grandma was talking about more than just stones. She was his encouragement and hope.
"Reef thought again of that picture in the courtroom, tried to twist and pull the Coke can back into shape. But, of course, it was ruined."
It is an important realization that marks the change in Reef. Despite trying to brush it off as something that doesn't affect him, the deed he has done tremendously affects him, and he is just about starting to realize it. The devastating thing that happened didn't happen out of itself, he was the one who made it happen and there is no going back and fixing it, only facing the consequences and moving forward.
