Mix the cream, maple syrup, pumpkin pie spice, salt and eggs. Line the pan with the bread and pour the egg mixture over it. Sprinkle with bacon crumbles. Cover and refrigerate a couple of hours or overnight. Then bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until eggs are set. Serve with warm syrup.

[Source: Adapted from Food & Wine magazine]

Chapter Nine

chapter nine

The week after Darcy finished the Lake Placid photo shoot and returned to the city, her sisters took her to lunch. It was their annual pre-Christmas planning-and-strategy lunch during which secret Santa names were drawn, menus and venues were planned and general excitement over the upcoming holiday reached a fever pitch.

Darcy dreaded it.

She used to look forward to the tradition as the kickoff to her favorite time of the year. The five sisters, knowing all their lives that they had more brains and creativity than money, used to delight in coming up with innovative ways to make the holidays merry, and planning things was half the fun. The Collinses, forever known as the “boys next door,” always celebrated with the Fitzgeralds, and the tradition was solidified when Lydia married Badgley ten years before. When Huntley was married to his first wife, she’d been included in the joint celebration, as well. After their children—Amy and Orion—had come along, Darcy had happily crocheted them little caps and booties, never dreaming she’d one day be their stepmother. The year the marriage had ended, Darcy had joined her sisters in consoling Huntley. The year after that, she’d become his wife. She’d loved Huntley and his children with all her heart.

She’d loved the combined family holiday, too—the Christmas Eve feast, the caroling trek to midnight services, the Christmas morning breakfast, the opening of the presents, the gift-stealing game and the silly pickle prize, each moment steeped in tradition, becoming part of the cherished fabric of memory. Now that she was divorced, she understood how friable that fabric was, disintegrating at the slightest touch, like a burned veil. The love she’d started out with had simply gone away.

“Thanksgiving wasn’t the same without you,” said Kitty.

“That’s right. We made a new rule. No more going our separate ways at the holidays, no matter what,” said Lizzie.

“I don’t remember voting on that rule,” Darcy said.

“We made it with you in mind. Part Two of the New Rule is that if you’re uncomfortable with the guest list, you get to speak up.” Lydia eyed the mimosas that came to the table, but settled for orange juice and sparkling water.