Chapter 10 - I Can't Hold Back (Survivor)
Peeta and Katniss were sitting in Marie Callender's eating pie and talking about Back to the Future, the movie they had just seen.
Katniss was listening to Peeta joke that he needed a DeLorean. "Maybe I could go back in time and fix my mom," he said, before taking a forkful of apple pie.
Katniss wanted to ask more about his mom, like exactly how bad her drinking problem was, when she noticed a couple sitting together in a booth at the back of the restaurant. They were frantically groping each other. The woman turned her head slightly to the side and Katniss caught a glimpse of her face.
She gasped. It was Clove. But her admirer wasn't Cato.
Peeta noticed her reaction and turned his head to look, as well.
"I know her," Katniss whispered. "She's married and that is definitely not her husband."
Clove and her companion broke apart. The man threw some cash on the table and the two began walking out. Katniss ducked her head down, pretending to reach into her purse while shielding the side of her face with one hand so that Clove wouldn't notice her. But she didn't need to worry. Clove only had eyes for her companion. She didn't glance in Katniss' direction.
"Who is she?" Peeta asked when the couple had left the restaurant.
"Her name is Clove. She's married to Gale's boss," Katniss said.
Peeta's expression turned sour as soon as she mentioned Gale.
Katniss decided to ignore the look on his face and continued. "She invited me to lunch yesterday to say that Gale is cheating on me with Madge. I can't believe what a hypocrite she is."
"Does everyone still think you two are married?"
Katniss tried to read Peeta's face. He looked irritated.
"Yeah, but Gale's working toward ending it. It might take time, though. He doesn't want to…and I don't want him to jeopardize his job."
"I really hate this," Peeta said angrily. He dropped his fork onto the table and pushed his half-eaten plate of pie away.
Katniss was startled. Why was he so upset?
"I don't like anyone thinking my girlfriend is married to someone else."
At age twenty-three Katniss had never had any guy refer to her as his girlfriend. She dated a bit in college, but no one seriously or for very long. Her heart beat a little faster as she thought about Peeta's comment. She wanted to smile, but then she looked at his face. He was angry.
She was suddenly very humiliated. She'd been playing this marriage game with Gale, never once thinking about the impact on Peeta. He'd been awfully patient with her so far.
"I'm sorry," she apologized. "I didn't mean to hurt you. I guess I never realized that this thing affected you, too."
Peeta's expression softened. "It does Katniss. He paused for a moment, his blue eyes conveying his pain, before continuing to speak. "I like you a lot. I had a huge crush on you all through elementary school. Over the years, I thought about you. I couldn't believe it when I walked into your office five weeks ago. It seemed like sign from heaven or something. I knew we were meant to be together."
Katniss noticed Peeta's cheeks grow pink as he spoke. She smiled at his words, although she thought he was being overly bold in his assumption. "I was happy to see you, too. But Peeta, you hadn't seen me for twelve years. Why would you think we were meant to be together? I'm not the same person as I was back then."
"That's true," Peeta admitted. "I'm not the same person either. But when I watched you eat that chocolate cake that I brought…well, I knew that you were someone I wanted to know better. Exactly the sort of person I was meant to be with."
Katniss blushed. She remembered that the cake was so good, she practically licked the plate. But she was missing Peeta's point. "What does eating cake have to do with anything?"
Peeta grinned. "When I was in high school, my P.E. teacher Dr. Aurelius told us that a good way to determine a girl's personality was to watch her eat. A healthy appetite meant a healthy passion for all aspects of life."
Katniss dropped the fork she'd been using to shovel coconut crème pie into her mouth.
What exactly did he mean - all aspects of life? Healthy passion? Was he implying what she thought he was?
She frowned. What did he think she was? "I'm not like that at all."
"Of course you are," Peeta insisted. "You're kind, smart, and hard-working."
Okay, so maybe she had a dirty mind.
Katniss closed the front door of her apartment to face Prim sitting on the bed studying.
"Katniss, I could hear you bumping up against the door for at least ten minutes. What was going on out there?"
"Sorry, about that little duck," Katniss smiled breathlessly. "My boyfriend and I were making out."
"You did a good job on that A.I.D.S. educational project sweetheart," Haymitch congratulated Katniss while she poured herself a cup of coffee in the employee break room on Monday. "I guess you were right, you're not as pure as I thought."
Katniss scowled. She didn't appreciate Haymitch's attempt at humor. Her level of purity was none of his business and it made no difference whatsoever on her professional abilities.
He followed her into office. "I have a new project for you. It's a big one for our firm – a campaign to promote the new California state lottery.
Katniss smiled enthusiastically, but inwardly she groaned. First safe sex, now gambling. Her job at Abernathy, Inc., was looking less exciting by the day.
Fortunately, she had another project that excited her – planning Annie's wedding. She spent her lunch hour visiting florists and checking out musicians. She left the office by six each evening so she could meet with Mrs. Cresta and Annie to review the details. Sometimes Finnick joined them to give his opinion.
Plans for the wedding were coming along swimmingly. Nearly three hundred people were expected to attend. The ceremony would be held outdoors overlooking the Pacific Ocean at sunset, followed by a leisurely buffet meal under the stars. A platform would be set up for dancing with music provided by a small string orchestra.
"This wedding is like something in a movie," Katniss told Prim. "The Cresta's are sparing no expense. I've never worked on a project where people were so willing to throw around money and are happy to do so. I have to admit I'm having a lot of fun spending it. "
The two sisters were sitting on their bed sharing a pizza and watching television.
"Do you think you'd do another wedding after this? Prim asked.
"If I can pull this off, I think I might. It's similar in a lot of ways to what I already do, but it seems more important than the other stuff. I'm helping to make a special memory for Annie and Finnick and their families, something they'll remember all their lives. Nothing I've ever done at Abernathy, Inc., falls under that category."
The phone rang and Katniss got up to answer it. It was nearly 9 p.m. and Katniss hoped it wasn't anyone who wanted to talk for very long because Cheers was about to start in a few minutes and she didn't want to miss the episode, even though it was a rerun.
She picked up the phone and immediately heard giggling. "Hello?"
More giggling, then a tiny yelp, then Madge's voice squealing, "Gale, stop it."
Katniss smiled. "Is that you Madge?"
"Yes." Her friend was excited. "You'll never guess what we did today – Gale and I got married!"
Katniss was stunned. She didn't know how to respond. In the background she could hear the theme music from Cheers playing.
"The show's starting," Prim shouted.
"Well aren't you going to say anything?" Madge asked. "I know it's crazy and impulsive but I'm blaming you since you introduced us."
What?!
"But you just met each other less than two weeks ago!" Katniss fumbled. Was this some kind of joke?
"I know it's really sudden, but we clicked, and I..we thought why wait?"
Katniss remembered Peeta's comment when they talked on the hike about not wasting the time you have to live. She suspected that Madge had thought along similar lines and with the sudden death of her friends decided to throw caution to the wind. But surely Gale should have known better.
"Congratulations," she told her friend. "Can I speak with Gale?"
"Sure."
Katniss heard a few more giggles, then Gale's voice.
"Are you surprised Catnip?"
"Yes, I am." Her voice was angry. "Gale, it's irresponsible of you to marry someone who's probably not in her right mind because of grief. How long do you think this marriage is going to last?"
"For the rest of our lives." His voice was firm. "Look I know it's sudden, but you were right. We're a good match. I've been thinking about taking this step for a while, and now I found someone who wanted to do it too - for real."
His words hit Katniss hard. Was he saying he'd been interested in her all along? That his proposal to be his occasional wife was some kind of test for the real thing? She wanted to ask him more, but she could hear Madge in the background and she knew he couldn't really talk right now.
"What are you going to about the fake…" she began, but he spoke quickly.
"I'll let you know when I work it out." He hung up the phone without saying goodbye.
She sighed. She hoped he knew what he was doing. The main thing she felt was a sense of relief. At least she could stop playing the marriage game. Peeta would certainly be happy.
She hung up the phone.
"Did Gale get married?" Prim asked, lowering the volume on the television.
Katniss nodded.
"I can't believe it," Prim said. "Katniss, you are a fantastic matchmaker. Maybe you can start a business setting the couples up and then planning their weddings."
"Where are you going sweetheart?" Haymitch said when Katniss tried to duck out of the office at 5:30 p.m. the following evening. Normally Haymitch would be long gone by now on a Friday evening, probably lying around drunk somewhere, but today he was on the job, alert, and annoying.
"I've been here since 8 a.m.," Katniss said. "It's Friday. I've got plans." She didn't mention that her plans involved helping Annie and her mother create a table-seating chart.
Haymitch guffawed. "You got a boyfriend or something. You seem to be leaving earlier and earlier these days."
Katniss flushed in anger. Even leaving early, she easily worked 45 to 50 hours each week. She wondered how he knew exactly when she left the office, since he was usually gone for the day by early afternoon. She wouldn't be surprised if had a spy among the staff keeping tabs of everyone's comings and goings
"Getting serious with that husband of yours." He winked at her and she frowned, thinking of Gale and the previous night's phone call.
"Good night Haymitch, have a good weekend and I'll see you Monday." She hurried out the door before he could reply.
Finnick joined them that evening as they sat around the Cresta's oversized dining room table. Three hundred guests were coming and each table seated ten people, so they had to create thirty groupings of ten people. Since the guests were family and friends of Annie and Finnick, Katniss was quiet. She merely wrote down the names as the others talked and even argued a bit over who should sit with whom. Some table groupings were easy to figure out, while others were more difficult.
It was obvious that the Cresta's had many connections in the community. Mr. Cresta sat on the boards of two corporations. Mrs. Cresta was a volunteer for several charities. Their guest list reflected those connections. Katniss was playing with the pen, when Mrs. Cresta's mentioned the Snows. "I know Abigail from the Boys and Girls Club, but Annie's father sits with Coriolanus on the board for that insurance company.
Katniss got a sick feeling in her stomach when she heard the Snows would be there. But it got much worse when a few minutes later Haymitch was mentioned as a guest. He would surely notice her there. This was not good.
Eventually Annie and her mother left the room – Mrs. Cresta to make coffee and Annie to get some magazines pages she'd torn out to show Katniss table centerpieces she liked. Katniss was left alone with Finnick.
"This is fairly overwhelming," Finnick said, pointing at the list Katniss was compiling.
Katniss smiled. "You guys are doing a great job, though. It's just a lot of work."
Finnick shook his head. "I didn't realize it would be this intense when I proposed to Annie. I pictured something simple."
Katniss laughed. "How long have you known each other?"
"A long time."
Katniss thought of Gale knowing Madge for less than two weeks. "Was it love at first sight?" she asked, curious as to what drew the couple together.
"No, she kind of snuck up on me."
Annie entered the room with the pages. "I heard that Finn," she said, running her fingers through his bronze mop as she handed the pages to Katniss.
"What about you Annie?" Katniss asked.
"I loved him before he even noticed me." She admitted.
"It took me a while to figure out that Annie was different," Finnick said. "She made me realize why it never worked out with anyone else."
"That's so sweet," Katniss said.
"What about you Katniss? Is there anyone in your life?" Annie asked.
Instead of deflecting the question, for the first time, Katniss felt at ease to say, "yes."
They didn't follow up on her response because Mrs. Cresta came in with a tray carrying cups of coffee. But Katniss didn't mind. She didn't want to discuss her feelings about Peeta with anyone else. She was still figuring them out for herself.
Author's Note: Back to the Future was released July 3, 1985. It told the story of Marty McFly, who with the help of his friend Dr. Emmett Brown, travels thirty years into the past using a time machine built into a modified DeLorean car. Prior to going back and ultimately changing his future, Marty's mom was an alcoholic. This movie was the most successful film of 1985, grossing more than $383 million worldwide.
The first tickets for the California State Lottery were available for purchase October 3, 1985. The lottery was created after voters passed Proposition 37 (The California State Lottery Act) in 1984. Profit from ticket sales was intended to provide money for schools so that taxes wouldn't be raised. A counter argument to the passage of the bill was the lottery was a form of legalized gambling.
Cheers was a highly-rated television show that ran from 1982 through 1993. It aired on Thursday evenings.