Crystalline swirls of sugar and flour still lingered in the air like kite tails.

Embarrassment felt a lot like eating chili peppers. It burned in the back of your throat and there was nothing you could do to make it go away. You just had to take it, suffer from it, until it eased off.

Some men you know are Southern before they ever say a word," Julia said as she and Emily watched Sawyer's progress, helpless, almost as if they couldn't look away. "They remind you of something good--picnics or carrying sparklers around at night. Southern men will hold doors open for you, they'll hold you after you yell at them, and they'll hold on to their pride no matter what. Be careful what they tell you, though. They have a way of making you believe anything, because they say it that way.

Because he knew the best way to get what he wanted was to break down what made us strongest. And our friendships were what made us strong.

It took me a long time to realize this: We get to choose what defines us.

Sometimes people who had been together for a long time got to imagining that things used to be better, even when they weren't.

Children always know when their mothers are crazy - they just never admit it, not out loud, to anyone.