Chapter One The Journey
I woke to the warm smell of coffee perking in the kitchen, yawning then sitting up, I pulled on my shorts and stumbled out of my room.
Mom was sitting at the table sipping on her coffee.
"Morning mom," I asked, "How did you sleep?"
"Good morning Daniel," she replied, "Not very well, but it wasn't because of any bad dreams, thank God I haven't been suffering from many of those lately, No I just lay awake thinking of all the things I have yet to do before everybody arrives."
I smiled and took a sip of coffee, "Just relax mom," I replied,
"Everything will be fine, Anna will be right there to help you, so will Mrs. Mellark.
My mom expressed one of her half-smiles, "Oh I know all that Jo and Stormy will be here a little later, it's just that I can't remember having this many people here at the house all at one time before, I'm rather nervous about it."
This was to be a very special week, not only was mom's closest friend Johanna Hawthorne and her daughter Stormy along with Posy, "Uncle" Gale's younger sister. Katniss Mellark and her daughter Anna were coming from district 12, bringing Stormy's boyfriend Travis de Luna. It took a lot of coordination on everyone's part, but three former victors of the old Hunger Games along with their children would be spending a week of relaxing on the beach.
"Mom, gotta question?"
"Yes Daniel what is it?"
Well, when all you ladies get down on that beach, does this mean Travis and I will have to get "lost?"
Giving me a strange look, mom asked, "Why would that be?"
Approaching a subject that had to be phrased just right and with no misunderstandings, I continued.
"Well you know how things will get," I explained.
"Like that one time, all you women will start running around on the beach with no clothes on.
My mother thought about it for a minute then started laughing, a reaction she had only recently started to exhibit.
"Then I guess you'll just have to go off with Anna and Stormy somewhere else, you know someplace like Albertson's cove."
"How did she know about that that place?" I thought to myself. "Oh yeah, silly me, I remember her telling me that she and dad went there a couple of times just before he married her." I briefly entertained the thought that that's where I was conceived.
Quickly returning to the present, I said,
"Whatever mom, I'm just glad you guys are getting together, this will be Mrs. Mellark's first time here."
"oh she was here in district 4 a long time ago, but gratefully, this will be strictly an opportunity to talk and relax on the beach."
Before long Emily and her daughter Ashly came over,
"Where's Gage?" I asked.
"Oh he went with his father to see about buying some new canvas for the boat, he should be around later," said Emily.
Ashly and Gage were Emily's children, Ashly was 12 and Gage was a year older. Gage and I got along all right, he sort of looked up to me as a "big brother," his dad was teaching him everything about boats, normally I'd be with them today as well, but I begged off considering the fact that Anna was arriving today. Ashly was going to be as attractive as her mother, she and Stormy were best friends, and if I wasn't careful, the two of them liked to gang up on me in a friendly sort of way. It looked like she was going to stick around and help my mom and her Aunt bake some seaweed biscuits, I drifted outside and started getting the tent Travis and I would be sleeping in for the next week..
Since that fateful trip to district 12 Stormy and I made last year, looking for answers mom's whole attitude and behavior was changing. Not long after we returned, she sat me down and had a very personal chat, she cried, she laughed, she admitted things to me I had never known, but most of all she apologized to me for her previous behavior, something I told her she didn't need to do.
"Daniel, I've been doing a lot of thinking lately, talking to Johanna and especially Katniss. I've finally started to realize I've been wallowing in grief far too long. Recently I've started to examining my life, and I'm not happy with what I've discovered. Oh I'm not talking about grieving for your father, there will always be a special place in my heart for him, and it's because of him I plan never to marry again, however I can't let grief dictate my life, Katniss warned me about this, it's something we both share."
I wasn't sure where she was angling at, but I'd never heard this sort of talk from her before, obviously something new was taking place.
"Life is passing me by Daniel, Johanna keeps harping on that fact, but I see now that she's right. Something about physically getting on that train, and actually traveling to district 12 did something to me, and for that I can never thank your and Stormy enough.
She then got very quiet, and just sat there and looked at me a moment.
"Daniel, I think it's time I told you something, something I hope you don't just simply dismiss, because it's true."
"Oh boy," I thought I thought I knew my mother, but now she was going to reveal something to me out of her past, what could this be?"
"He hasn't appeared in my dreams for almost a year now, but your father used to come to me and warn me of things, or comfort me, Johanna told me he came to her as well, though not in a long time now. I used to see your father standing at the foot of my bed, smiling, the same smile you have. Don't think me crazy, it's true, but because he comes less and less anymore makes me think he realizes it's time I step out on my own. I think he's saying "goodbye," and the last dream I had I dreamed that he and I were just standing together on a beautiful beach, with not a care in the world. I think it was a "sign."
I looked at my mom, slowly got up and hugged her.
"Mom, it's all right, he spoke to me as well, though not in a very long time. The last time I remember as his image slowly faded, I felt this incredible sense of happiness and well-being. Mom. I think dad realizes we can do it on our own now. I think he knows we will always hold him dear in our hearts, but that our lives are moving forward."
She continued to have bad dreams, although not as frequent, she also began to go into town more often, not only with Emily, but by herself as well.
Mom also started to exercise more as well, running on the beach, and swimming, were her main activities, many times we'd swim or run together, I would always be there to encourage her, reassuring her. She was also becoming more comfortable being alone when I was off on a fishing boat.
Finally we all strolled into town and the train station, another good sign was that people on the street would greet us, and mom would smile and return the greeting.
While we waited for the train to pull in, people would come up to my mom and chat or greet her, I watched her response to these encounters, and while she always remained reserved, she would smile and not draw inside of herself.
Anna was the first off rushing into my arms planting a big kiss on my face, to the delight of everyone. Mrs. Mellark was next, embracing my mom. Both greeted each other warmly, as my "Aunt" Johanna, Stormy, Posy and Travis came down the steps. Stormy's mom rush over and hugged my mom.
"We're creating a scene," announced Emily, "Let's go home."
So with us kids carrying all the luggage, we followed a bunch of yakking women. Of course, we didn't really mind, Anna and I kept grinning at each other, Stormy and Travis were doing the same.
"How's things Travis?" I asked.
"We're busy as hell, working my ass off, but there could be worse things, hey, I topped out my first tree a couple weeks ago, dad wouldn't let me go up until he was sure I was ready."
"Topping a tree, what do you mean?" I asked. He chuckled.
"Picture yourself up around sixty or seventy feet off the ground, the only thing keeping you from falling is a safety strap and the cleats on your boots. You lean back and just start sawing the tree, making damn sure when it starts to fall, you're out of the way, sometimes they tend to pitch back in your face. How's that for excitement?"
I described to him the experience of being tossed around in a fishing boat on a storm tossed sea, trying to reel out net, or bring it in. It was about that time we realized we were making our girlfriends nervous, so we changed the subject.
Stormy introduced me to Posy, who told me she was sixteen and planning on being a doctor. Posy was very cute, but wore a serious look, like she was trying to think of something, but couldn't remember what it was. Later, Stormy told me in private,
"Don't piss her off Daniel, she's been taking knife lessons from mom, sometimes they get out there and go at each other with wooden knives."
Once we got to the house I pointed out the tent to Travis, "Throw your stuff in the tent, that's where you and I are sleeping for the coming week." I then went up to Anna's mother and said, "Mrs. Mellark, got something I learned to make I'm hoping for your verdict on. Mr. Mellark taught me how to make a really great pie crust, I took that skill and used it to create a tuna pie, chopped up pieces of tuna, carrots peas, onions, Mom and I love them."
"Well I'd be glad to try one , oh by the way Peeta sent along some of those cheese buns you liked, that is my daughter hasn't eaten them already."
I then asked Stormy's mom how Mr. Hawthorne was.
"Busy as ever, the district is finally starting to grow, I'm even thinking of taking a part time job." Upon hearing this my mom turned and asked.
"what's this about taking a job Jo?"
"Yeah," she replied. "Gale has a friend over in purchasing, they need someone to do some part-time stuff, maybe a day or two a week, it's work that needs doing, but they can't justify hiring somebody full time to do it, it's mainly contacting district managers on the phone and verifying the purchase requests and correcting any errors. Gale asked me if I was interested, I thought about it and said "why not." It will work out great, as it will give us a chance to have lunch together a couple days a week, Stormy doesn't get out of school until later so it all kind of works out. Mrs. Hawthorne then sighed, "What I really think is going on is that Gale wants me to take a job involving traveling back and forth to district seven, meeting with various groups and business people. He thinks that as a former victor from seven I'd have an edge, and please pardon the pun, on dealing with people from my old district. And this part time job is a way to get my feet "wet."
"And you don't want to do it?" added Mrs. Mellark. Johanna grimaced, I really can't make up my mind, Gale is letting me decide, he just answers my questions he won't say one way or the other what he thinks, it's simply, " Your choice Jo, I'm simply making the offer."
"Sounds like a lot of travel's involved," commented my mom.
"It is, but the thing is It's just been so many years now, I haven't lived in district seven for literally years now, Gale and I went back there when Stormy was ten, I pretty much made peace with myself, as well as my feelings toward the district, but I don't know if it's true in your cases, but nobody remembers me there anymore, the games were a long time ago, the people who cared anything about them are long since dead. People just want to move ahead with their lives, the games represent memories most folks just want to put behind them."
"That's pretty much the case in 12," replied Mrs. Mellark. "Everybody knows who Peeta and I are, they all greet us, like family but that's as far as it goes. It's no secret about all the problems I had coming home after the rebellion. There are some who blame me for the destruction of the district, but they never say anything, Like seven, everybody just wants to move forward." Chuckling, she added, "This was the first year I spoke at remembrance day, that's generally the only time anybody talks about the old days anymore, and perhaps that's the way it should be, honestly all that really matters is that our children as well as all the others don't have to worry about being reaped."
"I think that sums it up pretty well for district four," replied my mom. "They asked me to say a few words at Daniel's school about what remembrance day is all about, I declined, but perhaps next year, I'll have to give it some thought."
"Let's face it," remarked "Aunt" Johanna, "We're just a bad reminder of the past people would just as soon forget. And yes, it does tend to bother me a bit, all of us lost family and underwent horrendous treatment so that people's kids wouldn't have to go to the slaughter like cattle, if only for that I'd like people to remember us." All were in agreement with that. Mrs. Mellark then asked,
"So what do you have on tap for us Annie?"
"I hope you brought your bow like I asked you, if you didn't we're going to starve, I've gotten pretty rusty with my trident, Daniel and I know some places where you can literally shoot fish in a barrel."
"I brought it, and Anna brought hers as well."
"Good," replied mom, "I think you'll find it quite challenging."
Mom, Katniss, Johanna and Emily retired to the living room with a glass of wine for some serious "Cackling" which was the perfect opportunity for us kids to take our leave, and head down to the beach. Ashly followed us until we found a place to sit, she then moved farther down the beach standing in the surf, looking out to sea. I started to concern myself with Anna, when she looked past me towards Ashly. Her eyes suddenly got big as saucers, pointing towards Ashly, she gasped,
What is she doing?" I had a pretty good idea, but looked anyway. Stripping off her shorts and tee-shirt I watched as Ashly proceeded to dive into the surf for a swim.
"Ashly's just going swimming," I replied, "No big deal." Anna , as well as Posy continued to stare which also drew Travis's attention.
"That looks like fun," remarked Posy, "Seeing as how I'm the odd one out here, I think I'll go join Ashly, that looks like fun." She then gave us a wink, and sauntered up the beach to where Ashly was splashing around pulling off her top as she went.
"She takes after mom," observed Stormy.