would it be all right to go ahead and feel? 

Sethe had given little thought to the white dress until Paul D came, and then she remembered Denver's interpretation: plans. The morning after the first night with Paul D, Sethe smiled just thinking about what the word could mean. It was a luxury she had not had in eighteen years and only that once. Before and after all her effort was directed not on avoiding pain but on getting through it as quickly as possible. 

(...) 

Would it be all right? Would it be all right to go ahead and feel? Go ahead and count on something?

- Beloved, Toni Morrison (1987)