Chapter One

28 days 'til Xmas

"I'd rather die."

Judging by her determined expression and her firm tone of voice, Lucy Stone was pretty sure that her best friend, Sue Finch, had made up her mind. Still, ever the optimist, she couldn't resist trying one last time.

"Oh, come on," pleaded Lucy. "It won't seem like Christmas without it."

"Nope." Sue shook her head and shoved a piece of overpriced lettuce around her plate with a fork. "No cookie exchange this year."

The two friends were having lunch at the Chandlery, the toney bistro in the Ropewalk, the newest mall in Tinker's Cove. The Ropewalk had once been exactly that, a nineteenth-century workshop complete with a long, narrow alley used for twisting hemp fibers into rope for the clipper ships that once sailed all over the globe from their home port in Tinker's Cove, Maine.

Long a ramshackle eyesore on the waterfront, it had recently been restored, and local craftsmen had moved in, creating what the developer called "an exciting retail adventure with a seafaring ambiance."

Today, the day after Thanksgiving, the Ropewalk was packed with Christmas shoppers and Lucy and Sue had had to wait thirty minutes for a table. When their salads finally came they were definitely on the skimpy side--the kitchen was obviously running low on supplies. The two friends hadn't minded; the demands of juggling homes and careers made it difficult for them to spend time together, and they were enjoying each other's company.

"It's not like it was, well, even a few years ago," said Sue. "Then we were all in the same boat. We all had little kids and plenty of time on our hands. People snapped up the invitations and brought wonderful cookies." A dreamy expression came over her face. "Remember Helen's baklava?"

"Do I ever," said Lucy, who had a round face and a shining cap of hair cut in a practical style. She was casually dressed, wearing a plaid shirt-jacket and a pair of well- worn jeans. "It was like biting into a little piece of heaven." She paused and sipped her coffee. "Whatever happened to her?"

"She moved away, to North Carolina, I think," said Sue, who provided an elegant contrast to her friend in her hand- knit designer sweater and tailored flannel slacks. "And that's exactly my point. A lot of the old regulars have moved away. And things have changed. Getting together to compare recipes and swap cookies isn't as appealing as it used to be."

"It is to me," said Lucy. "I've still got a family to feed, and they don't think it's Christmas without cookies. Lots of different kinds. I don't have time to bake five or six batches. And to be honest, I don't want to have that many cookies around the house." She bit her lip. "Too much temptation. Too many calories."

"I know," Sue said with a sigh. "With the exchange you just had to bake one double batch."

"But you ended up with twelve different kinds, a half dozen of each." Lucy started counting them off on her fingers. "Your pecan meltaways, my Santa's thumbprints, spritz, gingerbread men, Franny's Chinese-noodle cookies, shortbread, and Marge's little pink-and-white candy canes..."

"Marge probably can't come this year," said Sue, with a sad shake of her head. "The lumpectomy wasn't enough, and they've started her on chemotherapy. She feels lousy."

"I hadn't heard," said Lucy, furrowing her brow. "That's too bad."

"I thought you newspaper reporters thrived on local gossip," teased Sue, referring to Lucy's part-time job writing for the weekly Pennysaver.

"Actually, I'm so busy covering historic commission hearings and stuff like that, I never have time to call my friends." She smiled at Sue and glanced around at the restaurant, which was festively decorated with artificial pine garlands, ribbons, and gold balls. "This is fun--we don't get together enough. So what else is new? Fill me in."

"Have you heard about Lee?”

"Lee Cummings? No. What?”

"Well," began Sue, leaning across the table toward Lucy, "she and Steve have separated."

"You're kidding." Lucy was astonished. Lee and her husband, dentist Steve Cummings, had seemed a rock-solid couple. They went to church together every Sunday, and Steve had coached his daughter's T-ball team.

“No." Sue's eyebrows shot up. "Apparently Steve is finding marriage too confining. At least that's what Lee says."

"She tells you all this?”

"Oh, yes. And more. Every morning when she drops Hillary off at the center." Sue directed the town's day-care center, located in the basement of the recreation building. "It's all she can talk about. Steve did this. Steve did that. His lawyer says this. My lawyer says that. The latest is who's going to get the stove."

"They're arguing over the stove?"

"I think it's a Viking," explained Sue, with a knowing nod. "But that's just the beginning. They're also fighting over the books and the CDs and the china and the stupid jelly glasses with cartoon characters."

"So you think they're going to get a divorce?”

"It sure looks that way."

"And that's all she talks about?”

"Yeah. And if I have the cookie exchange, I'll have to invite her, and if she comes, she'll tam the whole evening into a group-therapy session. Trust me on this."

"I can see that's a problem," admitted Lucy, picking up the check. "Come on. Let's get out of here. When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping."