When Nate slid a pair of pancakes onto a plate and set it before her, Lucy wondered if she could choke them down. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt this awful. Bridget, who was seated on her left, passed her the butter dish and a large glass bottle of maple syrup. “Uncle Nate’s pancakes are to die for,” she said right before putting a loaded fork into her mouth.

Maybe a plate of buttery, sickly sweet pancakes was exactly what Lucy needed. She smeared on a pat of butter and drizzled on some syrup. “You’ll need more than that,” said Bridget. “Here.” Bridget took the syrup bottle from her and poured until an enormous pool of syrup surrounded the pancakes.

“That’s definitely enough,” Lucy said, laughing as she took the bottle from Bridget, a momentary and a welcomed reprieve from her glum and queasy state. And Bridget was right—the pancakes were delicious. By the time they’d cleared up after breakfast and moved the festivities into the front room to exchange gifts, Lucy was feeling marginally better.

She’d brought some carefully chosen gifts for Jules’s family that she hoped showed off some of the best of Britain, and handed them out in turn, watching to see if she’d hit the mark. The tartan scarf for Will that she’d bought while on a trip to Edinburgh with her parents, turned out to be perfect, its hues of blue bringing out the colour of his eyes, and she smiled shyly as he kissed her cheek in thanks.

She’d brought a bottle of Eden Mill gin for Nate. “Oh, that’s gonna be great, sweetheart, thank you,” he said, after reading the label. And for Steph and Joe, she’d sprung for a set of Jo Malone home fragrances. She knew it was a little generic, but she loved Jo Malone and every now and then, she’d treat herself to a candle or a bottle of home fragrance to cheer herself up. She’d had to douse the flat in fragrance after Val’s cheesemaking experiment back in July, she remembered, chuckling to herself.

“This is for you, Lucy,” said Will, “from all of us.” Will placed a large gift box on her lap, which she opened to reveal a plush cloth bag. She lifted it from the box and gently pulled open the drawstring. She wouldn’t typically get excited about a handbag, but as she slid the Coach bag from its wrapping, she couldn’t help but coo in awe. Tan leather, a broad base narrowing elegantly to its double gold clasps, and two handles in perfect arches—simple, elegant, and oh so luxe.

“Thank you,” she said breathlessly. She looked from Will to Nate to Steph, who she just knew had been the one to choose it for her.

“You’re so welcome, honey,” said Steph, patting her knee. The moment was lovely, but it was immediately swallowed up by the noise and bustle around her, and as a mountain of wrapping paper amassed and family members leapt from their seats to give thankful hugs, Lucy started to feel more and more miserable. She was still a little hungover, things weren’t right between her and Jules, and now she had to distance herself from Will.