Bonus Epilogue
Dear Mom and Dad,
Merry Christmas! Classes are finished, exams are done. Winter break is here! I’m packing up and catching my flight home tomorrow. I bet I’ll see you both before this letter even arrives. I can’t wait to get to Romeo. I love San Diego but right now all I want is to be home.
Freezing cold temperatures, a mountain of poinsettias and amaryllis, a day at the Christmas Market with you both, ice skating at the Boden’s, dinner at grandpa’s with all cousins, decorating gingerbread, eating dad’s jaywalker fruit cake, helping Mom deliver Christmas bouquets, finding my new ornament from Dad under the tree…
There isn’t any place like home for Christmas.
Do you both remember the first year Dad spent Christmas with us? I know it’s a been a long time, but I still remember it. Dad gave me my “How the Human Body Works” picture book, my anatomy encyclopedia for kids, and my anatomy coloring book.
AND…
I did it.
Mom. Dad. I DID IT!
That’s what I wanted to tell you. That’s why I wrote this letter. I did it.
I got accepted for early admission to med school.
You both always said that the best things come in letters. I wanted to send my news to you in a Christmas letter.
So here it is.
I spent seventeen years dreaming of being a doctor. Mom, you always said I could be whoever and whatever I wanted. Thanks for letting me tag along every time you delivered flowers to the hospital and thanks for always taking me seriously, especially when I went through that phase as a ten year old and all I wanted to do was ask the nurses and doctors a thousand questions about some weird case I’d read about online. Dad, thanks for spending thousands of hours doing flashcards with me, quizzing me, helping me study and basically being the most patient, amazing dad I could’ve ever asked for. I think when I said “I did it” what I really meant to say was “we did it.” Thanks Mom and Dad, this is the best Christmas present ever. I know you’ll say it was all me and all my hard work but it was really you too.
I miss you both. I can’t wait to see you tomorrow.
I’m bringing presents from California so my suitcase is FULL.
Do you think we could have a chocolate yule log when I get home and then one on Christmas too? Do you think we could go ice skating as soon as I get in? Do you think instead of the Connecticut Hobdays making dinner we could order takeout for everyone instead? Kidding. Just kidding. Sort of.
Okay. See you tomorrow.
Merry Christmas.
Love,
Louise
P.S. Mom, I know you want me to talk to Miss Erma because she’s almost 100 now and you want me to find my soulmate, but really, don’t you think if I have a soulmate, I’ll find them no matter what? Dad, I can hear you agreeing with Mom, because you almost always agree with Mom but…I’m going to med school, then residency and I won’t have time for a soulmate. Except…well…maybe Miss Erma could write my soulmate’s name in a Christmas letter and I could open it when I’m ready. Maybe that would work. I love you! Merry Christmas!
Fruit Cake for Jaywalkers
*This is the fruit cake recipe that Cordelia makes for Lee. Give it a try! See if you’re a jaywalking fruit cake lover too.
This recipe makes 2 (9” x 5”) loafs.
STEP ONE—Make Boozy Fruit:
1 Cup Raisins
1 Cup Sultanas
1 Cup dried Peaches chopped
1 Cup dried Apricots chopped
1 Cup dried Sweet Cherries chopped
1 Cup dried Pineapple chopped
1 Cup Dates chopped
3/4 Cup of Dark Rum
Combine dried fruit in a mixing bowl. Drench it in the dark rum. Cover the bowl. Let the fruit sit for 24 boozy hours, soaking up all that rum.
STEP TWO—Make the Cake:
Preheat your oven to 300F (150C) and put the baking rack in the middle of the oven. Butter or line with parchment two 9” x 5” loaf pans.
In a medium mixing bowl combine:
1 ½ Cups Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 ½ teaspoon Cinnamon
¼ teaspoon Nutmeg
1 teaspoon Table Salt
In a second, larger mixing bowl cream with an electric mixer:
1 stick salted butter
3/4 Cup firmly packed Dark Brown Sugar
When fluffy add:
5 Eggs
Add them one at a time until mixed in, barely.
Then slowly add the flour mixture from the first bowl and mix on low speed until combined.
Then add to the cake batter stirring with a large wooden spoon or spatula:
2 Tablespoons of Orange Zest
1/2 Cup Fresh Orange Juice
1 Tart Apple (Granny Smith, McIntosh, Pink Lady) Grated
1 Cup Pecans or Walnuts
3 Tablespoons finely chopped Crystallized Ginger
And all that boozy dried fruit that you soaked in rum
If you love chocolate you can add:
3/4 Cup Bittersweet Dark Chocolate Chips (or more…)
STEP THREE—Bake the Cake:
Divide the batter evenly among the two greased and lined loaf pans. Smooth their tops with a spatula. Pop them in the pre-heated 300F oven on the center rack spaced evenly apart.
Cooking time varies based on pan size, fruits used, oven, etc.
Here’s a general guide:
60 minutes for individual mini loaf pans.
70 minutes for 3 3/4” x 2 1/2” loaf pans.
75 minutes for 3” x 5” loaf pans.
120—135 minutes for 9” x 5” loaf pans.
Watch them carefully, cooking time varies. Bake until the cakes are set and the tops are golden brown. They will pull away slightly from the edges of the pan. Remove when finished, test with a cake tester and let cool on a baking rack.
Once the cake has cooled completely remove from pan.
STEP FOUR—Booze up and Store your Fruit Cake:
Now, soak two large pieces of cheesecloth in your favorite Christmas sherry. Wring out the excess liquid and then wrap both cooled fruit cakes in the sherry soaked cheesecloth. Once they are tightly wrapped then wrap tinfoil over the cheesecloth. Place the cakes in Tupperware or Ziploc. They’ll keep, wrapped in sherry soaked cheesecloth for 6-8 weeks. You should re-soak the cheesecloth once a week.
STEP FIVE—Enjoy your Fruit Cake for Jaywalkers!
Merry Christmas!
