Chapter One

Bella

I'd always enjoyed Christmas at home with Renee and even my first Christmas in Forks hadn't been too bad. Charlie made a real effort with decorations and a real tree, playing carols and inviting folks round, besides which I had Edward. Edward, who had been my reason for living, the guy I had given my heart to and who had left me after a cruel goodbye. The Christmas after he lefty was a nightmare. Poor Charlie invited Renee and Phil up to Forks so I would have my family around me and I tried very hard to keep a smile on my face and not ruin it for everyone but it was hard, so very hard, and when he took them back to Seattle for their flight home I had curled up on my bed and sobbed solidly for an hour. Jake had found me in a soggy heap when he came to check on me for Charlie and took me in his arms cuddling me in the mistaken notion that it would comfort me. Instead his hot embrace just made me feel Edwards loss all the more. I tried to push him away but he was far too strong so I gave up and just lay there until he got fed up with my lack of response. Charlie gave up after this and I did my best to act as normal as I could until the next Christmas by which time I had an exit strategy worked out. I got a job working in a hotel over the festive period so I got out of any more embarrassing Christmas festivities and he could go to the Res and spends time with Billy and Harry.

Although we had to show the Christmas spirit at work if we met any guests because I worked in the kitchen I didn't have to worry too much about that and by the time we finished work none of us had the energy to be festive, we just staggered to our rooms and crashed out. Charlie hadn't been keen on my living in at the hotel for Christmas but it went with the job and as I was saving for college he couldn't say very much. I should have gone to college in September but I didn't feel ready so I was working for a year to get back on my feet and save a little extra. Renee and Phil offered to help me but I knew it would leave them short and make me beholden and I never wanted to feel that way again. When the new year came I was glad and even more so when the hotel offered me a full-time position. This time it was arranging for special events once they'd seen I was good with all the paperwork involved in organising weddings and so forth. Luckily they had a front man in the shape of my friend Fran so I even got out of meeting the clients most of the time.

I passed on college again, staying where I was and enjoying every moment of it until Christmas rolled around again like the flu. I seemed to hate it a little more this year, whenever I saw the decorations and trees go up I remembered the one magic Christmas I had spent as Edwards girlfriend. The huge tree we had dressed with Emmett and Alice, the hundreds of twinkle lights she had Edward and Jasper string along the driveway and in the trees by the front door. The crazy Elk head that sang Jingle Bells whenever someone walked past. The huge bunch of mistletoe that Rose had walked in with and been set on by Emmett. I hated the memories and the pain they caused but all I could do was grit my teeth and smile. Sometimes I felt like Mrs Scrooge!

The mysterious presents started to appear on the 20th, the same day a huge crowd from a Medical Convention booked in. I hated hearing all the titles, Dr this, and Dr that, and I held my breath until I'd checked the guest list and discounted Cullen, although why he would come back to this area I had no idea. This party were here for a mental health symposium and seemed to think it was funny to spend their time aping some of the poor unfortunates they looked after or running after all the girls who worked at the hotel and must by definition be gasping for it. One of the guys tried it on with me but I sent him packing with a pepper spray and although he threatened to tell the manager he didn't. I think explaining that my father was a Chief of Police might have dissuaded him just a little.

When I went up to my room ready to crash out there was a box laying on my bed, done up in Christmas wrapping paper and with a silver bow. I looked at it suspiciously, the label which had a picture of a Partridge on it bore my name, Bella Swan. After some hesitation I opened it very carefully only too aware that it might be booby-trapped but inside was a snow globe featuring a bird in a tree. It was quite pretty and I took it out shaking it and watching as the snow swirled around before settling again. There was no note in with it and I didn't recognise the writing on the label. I sat down with the snow globe watching the snow settle slowly to the bottom until I was too tired to keep my eyes open any longer.

The next day I had a few hours off with Fran, my only real friend, and we took some sandwiches left over from the lunchtime buffet and went to sit in my room away from the idiots. She picked up the snow globe,

"This is beautiful Bella. I don't remember seeing it before."

"No, a secret admirer left it for me."

"In here? How did he get in?"

"I hadn't thought of that you know. I haven't the foggiest."

"Was there a note?"

"No just a handwritten label"

"What did it say?"

"Just my name but it is pretty isn't it?"

"Yes and loaded with symbolism."

"What?"

"Well its Christmas isn't it? And my guess is this is a partridge in a pear tree. You know, the twelve days of Christmas? The bird is in the tree and the snow globe is shaped like a pear. He's a little early but we'll let him off on this occasion"

"Whoa, back up. Do you mean the song?"

"Yes, Bella the song. Sometimes I think you play dumb just for the sake of it."

She was right of course and it saved me from a lot of personal questions that I had no answer for, like why aren't you dating or at college?