On the first day of Christmas,
my true love gave to me
A partridge in a pear tree.
{Sunday}
"Eveleen!" my mother, Jennifer Blackthorn, called. I groaned and buried my face in my pillow, "Eveleen get up! Jackson and Philippa are here." That got me up, I leapt out of my bed, pulled a comb through my blonde curly hair and threw on my Sunday dress, and then ran out of my bedroom to the small dining room of our house,
"Where's Father?" I asked my mother
"He's working I'm afraid," she answered me; my father was a tailor in our small town of Burgess my mother worked with him as a seamstress.
As I finished my small breakfast of porridge she looked up from her washing up "Eveleen, I will not be joining you at church today. Your father and I have quite a lot of work to do. You will be joining the Overlands."
I nodded not paying any mind to it, mother and father were usually busy, well father was almost always busy, but around Christmas time there was always people wanting new or fixed clothes, so mother had to work too.
I handed over my wooden bowl, kissed my mother on the cheek, said goodbye and went to go and put on my shoes. "You took your time," my best friend Jackson Overland grinned as I laced up my boots, I pulled a face at him and stood up,
"Are you ready to go Pippa?" I asked his younger sister Philippa Overland, deliberately ignoring him,
"Yes," she replied and took my outstretched hand, she looked back to her brother "Come on Jack we don't have all day, mother will be waiting"
Jack muttered something under his breath and followed us into town and into the small church building
…
"Finally!" Pippa gasped as we left the building "It's over!"
Jack and I exchanged a look, that wasn't something you usually said as you left a church,
"Um Pip…" he began but she had already gone ahead to walk with her mother
"I think I know how she feels," I whispered to Jack, we both started laughing and got some odd looks from those who were leaving the church.
"So Eve do you want to-?" Jack began but I interrupted him as small white flakes started falling from the sky,
"Jack!" I gasped "It's snowing!" I ran forward leaving him behind midsentence. He stood there for about three seconds before running after me.
He caught up with me just outside the Peterson's garden where one pear tree stood at the very end of the garden,
"Anyway," he gasped "Eve do y- Wait is that a partridge?!" I looked round and sure enough, a partridge was sat in the pear tree.
"I think that's the Turner's partridge." I said in surprise
"Well," he replied picking it up "If that's the case then we better bring it back to them. Where do they live?"
I sighed "You're hopeless,"
"If I'm that hopeless then you can take it!" he grinned giving it to me
"Hey! I don't want it!" I said handing it back
"Fine I'll take it," he smirked "Lead the way!"
…
"Thank you Eveleen." Mrs. Turner smiled "and you Jackson, I'll be seeing you at the dance I presume?"
"Of course you will, Goodbye." I waved and after we left the garden I turned to Jack "Race you to my house?"
"You're on!" Jack grinned and took off. I lifted up my skirt and ran after him through the now fast falling snow.