"You're a runner." he said plainly. "You meet a challenge - the drudgery of life in the American South, your gifts, your social difficulties - and rather than stand and fight, your first thought is to run." he said. "I cannot protect you if you are in ... Alaska, was it? Someplace like that." he mused. "And not here. So now you've met another challenge - your distrust of me is well-justified and I do not challenge its right to exist - and what do you do?" he asked rhetorically.