The Twelve Dates Of Christmas

A Partridge in a Pear Tree

Rosemary lay in bed, her thoughts wandering back to the Christmas party she attended the night before. Many personalities were in attendance: some colorful, humorous, and laid back, while some were a little mischievous, like Dean.

Do their gatherings always have high attendances, or was last night special? It was their Christmas party. Kaye mentioned having to bring a plus one, which would have doubled their numbers.

Rosemary was partially joking when she suggested having a Christmas song relationship. Dean kept twisting the song around, and it got stuck in her head. She didn't know what made her mention the idea, but the group loved it. Their newfound enthusiasm changed the mood in the room. Rosemary's skin tingled when they voted and applied the recommendation to their holiday curriculum.

Conceivably, The Twelve Dates Of Christmas would teach them how to interact with each other, especially with personalities like Grace. Rosemary imagined the poor woman spent the majority of her holidays alone.

The more she thought about the idea, the more it grew on her. Each team could go on twelve or more dates, but twelve of their partnered dates must represent the carol. Thankfully, the teams could interact with each other - as long as they stayed connected to their partner.

Roland, after a quick scan of the room, nominated her to put the teams together because she was new. He figured she had no interest in showing any favoritism. He was right; she didn't.

Kaye eagerly placed her name in the bucket. She was one of the first to do so. Then she went to the other party guest, encouraging them to join her. In high school, it was Kaye who rallied their friends to take part in the school's extra activities. Rosemary chuckled.

Kaye's frienemy Grace didn't add her name. She felt the whole dating concept was silly. With her head held high, she refused to partake in it. Rosemary felt the woman was missing out. It was the chance to make a friend, despite her horrid attitude.

A few others, mainly the plus-ones, chose not to take part in the drawing. The opportunity to add their names to the container ended when the announcements began.

"Times up!" Roland bellowed, capturing the group's attention. He nodded at Rosemary, giving her the nod to go ahead.

"I'm going in!" Rosemary stuck her hand inside the round bowl. Swirling the pieces of paper, she pulled two rectangular strips out of the container, creating the first sealed team.

"Roland Westmore and Grace Alton," she read out loud, choking on the last name.

Someone slipped Grace's name in, regardless of her vocal objections. They didn't care for her attitude, but the group refused to let the woman miss a chance to make a friend. Rosemary saw Kaye smile, and she had a good idea of who the culprit was that put the woman's name in the container.

"Hey! I don't want to be a part of this charade!" Grace exclaimed, her eyes wide. She practically fell out of her seat when Rosemary said her name.

"Come on, Grace! Do something fun for a change. You might make a new friend," Norman persuaded.

"I doubt it." Someone, who sounded a lot like Dean, muttered.

"No..." she lifted her chin, adamantly shaking her head.

"Give it a shot, Grace," Emmett urged, looking her in her eyes.

Rosemary swore she saw several layers of ice melt off the Grinch's heart and puddle at her feet.

"You say you're bored with your life, but you refuse to participate in the group activities. Why don't you do something different? Take a chance. Have some fun." His voice was deep and commanding as he encouraged her to change.