Effie hummed to the Carly Simon song playing on the radio. She was pretty tired coming back from the meeting at Miss Kiss, the magazine she'd been working as design editor for the past two years. Said meeting had gone a bit longer than she would've liked, but at least she'd be home before midnight.

When she was about ten minutes away from her apartment, she spied a large lump on the side of the road ahead. There were no other cars behind her, so Effie slowed her speed and rolled the glass down on the passenger side. The lump seemed to be a person resting on the ground.

"Hey! Are you alright?"

The lump of a man stirred at the sound of a voice, and it was clear from the way he grumbled incoherently that he was intoxicated-to make an understatement. "I ain't done nothin', officer..." he grumbled. "Nothin' illegal about having a few drinks if I ain't drivin..." The groggy tone of his voice coupled with the slurs indicated that he may not have been quite as incoherent as he was coming off; but being drunk and "'just woke up' syndrome" were definitely two states of being that did not work well together.

Effie frowned. A wave of sympathy and irritation ran through her and she tapped her fingers against the steering wheel. "He probably needs help." She moved her car to the side of the road and parked. Her high heels clacked on the pavement as she came near the man. "It may not be illegal to drink alcohol, but in this state, you could have rolled into the street. I don't think you'd appreciate being run over."

The man grunted and muttered something barely intelligible, but that ended with a nod. "I ain't too far from here..." he slurred. "Just a few more steps and I'd be on the straight 'n narrow again..." His blurry vision saw two or three rather cute women in front of them though, all dressed the same. Maybe he was more drunk than he thought?

"So wait..." he muttered. "What are ya suggestin'?" He might have been drunk, but he had at least some standards, and fortunately he did not make any unwanted moves or anything so wild.

Effie scoffed at his words. Did he think she was some cheap tart? Although the man wasn't bad to look at, she still rolled her eyes. "I can assure you I'm not looking to be debauched by a drunken man. That would be highly unethical, but if you're certain that you live close by, I can take you home."

"I ain't gonna do anythin'..." he grunted. "I'm drunk, not sleazy..." He paused for a moment as if trying to remember where he lived. "But yeah, I just live right close by...a couple streets down and then turn right...and I think, left? It's a big apartment complex..." He threw off a few extra details about it, all of which would sound very familiar to Effie, and although his instructions were quite far off the mark, she was certain they lived in the same building.

"Name's Haymitch, by the way." He at least remembered that much about himself in his intoxicated state.

Haymitch - what an odd name - seemed to be a man of some competence, so she decided to trust him. "I'm Effie, but I'm sure you'll probably forget that in the morning. It's a lucky thing that we live in the same complex. You must be the new tenant who moved down the hall from me."

"Yeah, I only moved in a couple weeks ago," he grunted as he slowly got to his feet.

"I see," Effie replied.

She helped Haymitch up and put an arm around his back while grabbing his own. He would definitely fail the straight line test, but it seemed the more he started moving, the more alert he became, as if his drunkenness had been exacerbated by this grogginess. There was no telling how long he had been asleep, after all.

Haymitch staggered only once between getting up and reaching the car, although seeing this woman - Effie's - choice of attire had him curious about her.

"You just get back from a fancy do or something?" That was as close to small talk as he'd be able to muster unless he sobered a little.

Well, it wouldn't hurt to tell him. "I was at an editorial meeting for the magazine where I work. I didn't have to dress up, but I like doing it." She rolled her eyes as she added, "People think I'm a snob because of that."

"Hm, makes sense." He himself would not likely look too bad if he spent a moment cleaning up, which might require significantly more sobriety. "Nothin' wrong with that..." He had a thing for sharp-dressed women anyways, and didn't see anything wrong with that bias. "I've been out of a job a bit too long. Maybe indulged a bit too much in my self-pity." He cracked a hollow laugh at his own remark, before falling silent again.

Effie glanced at Haymitch in empathy as she helped him get into the car. Once he was securely inside, she got in on the driver's side and closed the door. "But if you've been out of a job, how were you able to move into a new place? Capitol Apartments aren't exactly cheap." Effie glanced at his shaggy frame, the wheels turning in her brain. "Don't tell me, you gamble."

"Downsized," Haymitch grunted as he got comfortable. "I've got money to last a while, and since it's just me, I've got nothing better to waste it on but my own wants."

Ouch. Downsizing was one of the worst things that could happen to a person in this hard, competitive town. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Yeah, well it's no use to go on about it now. How about you? You got a family or something?" His tone was gruff, but it didn't appear that he was trying to sound accusatory.

Oh, dear. This was a question that she heard all too often. Effie sighed and tapped the steering wheel. "No. I'm single, never been married. Except to my job, I guess. I know that's considered pathetic, but it's the truth."

"A job's a better spouse than alcohol," Haymitch quipped in response. He admired a work ethic; perhaps from being out of work for as much time as he had been, or perhaps not.

Effie forced herself not to snort at that quip. He had a point, though. She'd definitely take her job over alcohol any day - of course, she did occasionally drink a glass of wine or two, but never enough to impair her judgment.

"Oh, and I do gamble now and again - nothing too common though," he added with a shrug, not wanting her to think he had dodged the question or anything. He was generally fairly droll and sarcastic, but not so much a liar - especially not when drunk.

"That's good. I actually play a bit of poker with my parents every Saturday. We don't play for cash, but my dad needed someone else who liked cards, which is why he taught me. I owe my shuffling skills to him." Effie didn't know why she was telling Haymitch personal information about her like this. He probably wouldn't even remember her name tomorrow.