the girl who chased the moon

browning butter and the excitement of lemon zest."... 

..."Julia had just finished writing names of the days specials on the board-milky way cake, butter pecan cake, cigar-rolled lemon cookies, and vanilla chai macaroons."...

..."The sky was incredible that night, the moon nearly full and the stars littering the sky like tossed stones."...

..."Just think of that room as a universal truth."..."How we see the world changes all the time. It all depends on your mood."...

..."She o..."Crystalline swirls of sugar and flour still lingered in the air like kite tails. And then there was the smell-the smell of hope, the kind of smell that brought people home. Tonight it was the comfort of pened her eyes and was surprised to see that the sky was blackberry blue and the first star of the night was out."...


..."A hummingbird cake, she decided as she turned on the kitchen light. It was made with bananas and pineapples and pecans and had a cream cheese frosting.
     She would make it light enough to float away."....

..."I'm homesick all the time," she said, still not looking at him.
    "I just don't know where home is. There's the promise of happiness out there. I know it. I even feel it sometimes. But it's like chasing the moon-just when I think I have it, it disappears into the horizon. I grieve and try to move on, but then the da#n thing comes back the next night, giving me hope of catching it all over again."...