Briar Prickles woke up early, and crept out of bed so as not to wake the rest of the family. She dressed quickly and quietly, and went downstairs to start her day - for her, one of the busiest of the year!
Briar put some water on to boil - the first thing she wanted was a cup of tea!
Then she set about getting breakfast ready for the family. Nothing fancy today - breakfast was always a simple affair at this time of year.
Briar set some fruit and a loaf of bread out on the table, and helped herself to a juicy apple.
She was just finishing her last sip of tea when Silk appeared.
"Morning sweetheart," Briar said, smiling. "You're up early today!"
"I smelled something," said Silk, yawning. She sniffed. "Mmm, can I have some bread now?"
"You can have a piece of fruit now if you like," her mother answered. "You can wait and eat the bread with everyone else."
Silk laughed. "I think I can have some now then!" she said, as her brother and sister came tumbling downstairs, with their father close behind.
"I thought if we all had breakfast early, we could get out of your way, dear," he said.
The children gathered around the table as Hawthorn started cutting the bread, and Briar made another cup of tea, this time for her husband.
After breakfast, Hawthorn took Raspberry back upstairs to get her cleaned up, while Briar sent Gale and Silk outside to play.
"Scoot!" she said, kissing each of them as they went. "I've got lots to do today!"
With the downstairs room to herself again, Briar quickly tidied up, and then began bringing beautiful fabrics out onto the table: jewel-like colours and pretty floral prints, delicate lace and spools of ribbon shone in the early morning light.
"Oooooo!" squealed Raspberry, as she bounced downstairs. "Pretty!"
"No!" cried Briar, alarmed, as Raspberry reached for one of the shiny satin fabrics, but luckily Hawthorn scooped her up just in time.
"Come on, little berry," he said, "off to the stream we go - will we see any little fish?"
"Fish!" shouted Raspberry. "Yes, Daddy - I will see the most prettiest fish of all!"
"Thanks for that," sighed Briar, relieved. "That satin and little hedgehog quills are not a good combination!" Actually Briar didn't usually work with satin at all if she could help it - even her own quills had a tendency to snag in the delicate fabric. But she knew that many of the ladies and girls in the village loved to wear pretty satin dresses for the Easter festival, so for just this one month of the year, she made an exception!
No sooner had the family left the house, than there was a knock on the door - her first customer of the day! It was Teri Chocolat, with her son Duke.
"Good morning Briar - goodness, what beautiful material!" Teri exclaimed. "I was thinking I might like a new dress for the Easter festival - and I was also wondering if you had finished Duke's overalls as yet?"
"I certainly have, Teri - here Duke, try these on," Briar answered, handing him a fine new pair of purple overalls.
"Thank you Mrs Prickles," he said politely. The new overalls fit perfectly! Teri was very pleased.
"You can go off and play now if you like," she said, "as I want to talk dresses with Mrs Prickles." Duke beat a hasty retreat.
After some deliberation, Teri chose a lovely floral satin, and some pink fabric that complimented it nicely. "I wonder if you could run me up an apron as well?" she asked. "I wouldn't want to get chocolate on my lovely new dress!"
"Ah yes, how are the chocolate eggs coming along?" Briar asked with interest. "My three can't wait for Easter. This is the first year Raspberry really knows what is going on, so it's all very exciting!"
"The eggs are coming along nicely," Teri smiled. "It's such a busy time of year - for you, too, I'm guessing!"
She was certainly right about that! After the Chocolat family had left, Dr Kylie Outback arrived to order a new dress for little Adelaide, and they had no sooner left than the Thistlethorns showed up.
"Are you wanting a new dress for the Easter festival too, Mrs Thistlethorn?" Briar inquired.
"Not for me this time thank you," Willow answered, smiling. "It's -"
"It's for
me!" Priscilla beamed. Briar chuckled.
"I should have known," she said. The Thistlethorns had only lived in Macadamia Grove a few months, but already Priscilla was known for being quite the young lady.
"You know Priscilla just loves pretty clothes," Willow began, rolling her eyes fondly at her daughter, "and when she heard from some of her school friends that Mrs Prickles makes special dresses for the Easter festival, well, nothing would do but that we come down on the first day to order one!"
"It is our
first Easter festival here, mum," Priscilla pointed out earnestly. Then she turned to Briar. "What happens at the festival, Mrs Prickles?"
"Oh, it's lots of fun," Briar answered, as she took Priscilla's measurements. "There is a big party - everyone is invited - and there are activities and singing, and of course the big Easter Egg Hunt!"
"It sounds wonderful!" Priscilla exclaimed, her eyes shining. She then turned her attention to the table. "Ooooh, Mum, look at this ribbon!"
And so the morning went on. Briar was just beginning to wonder how she was going to find time to prepare lunch for her family, when once again, there was another knock on the door. This time when she opened it, though, she was in for a lovely surprise!
"We thought we would bring lunch to you!" Hawthorn announced. "And we needn't even move your things - look, we will have a little picnic in the front yard!"
"Mmmm, you've been to the Watermill Bakery!" Briar exclaimed, sniffing. "It smells delightful!"
A few minutes later, Teri Chocolat peeked in at the gate again. She had decided to have her daughter Honey measured for a new dress too, but seeing Mrs Prickles enjoying a well-deserved break with her family, Teri smiled and kept walking. Of all people, she understood how busy a seasonal business could be, and knew how valuable that family lunch break would be to Briar. She and Honey could come back another day.
After lunch, Briar set up her sewing machine and got straight to work, measuring and cutting. She had lots of new orders to start on already, and knew that the rest of the week would bring more. Hawthorn smiled and left her to it, ushering the children back outside. He knew that this week would be hectic, but he also knew that his wife was in her element, and he loved seeing her so busy and happy.
