KPOV

Rye leads us out the back door of the bakery to the old apple tree in the backyard. We sit down in the grass and share the cookies that he grabbed and talk about the weather and the bakery for a few minutes. I'm finding that I really like Rye as I listen to him. He's the same age as Gale, so they were in the same class at school. I can remember Gale making a few not-so-nice remarks about him while hunting a few times. Apparently Gale and Rye used to have some sort of unofficial contest between them to see who could charm the most girls to the slag heap before they finished school, and Rye won. This did not help endear the Merchant family to Gale at all, and the two boys have always had a mutual dislike for each other. I wonder if this is part of the reason why Gale seemed to automatically dislike Peeta so much.

Once we finish the cookies (which while yummy are no where near as good as I know Peeta can make), Rye stops his tirade about how his mother is pestering him to find a "proper" girl to settle down with and turns to me.

"So," he begins, the same twinkle in his eyes that I saw in Peeta's father earlier, "that was quite the display back there with Mom." I feel my face scowling and Peeta's hand on my back.

"Yes, well she's lucky I'm in a good mood today," I grumble.

Peeta and Rye both chortle. "I'd hate to see you in a bad mood then!" Rye says before turning to Peeta. "Don't ever piss her off, okay?"

Peeta chuckles again and rubs my back. "I'm not going to try to!" he says, kissing me lightly on the cheek.

"So anyway, were you guys really upset that we weren't there last night?" Rye asks.

Peeta looks troubled. "It was mostly embarrassing actually," he says, looking down at the ground and picking at the grass with his free hand. "Pretty much the rest of the Merchants were there and everyone was asking where you guys were, and I had no idea. And Effie kept asking me when you guys were going to show up because she was hoping for a family picture or something..." His voice trails off and he rips up more of the grass. "I mean, Katniss's sister was even there."

Rye looks guilty at that. "Believe me, I really wanted to go, little brother," he says. "I've never been inside the Mayor's house before, and I wouldn't have minded getting to talk to Madge either," he adds with a bit of swagger in his voice. "Man, she's a looker!"

My eyebrows shoot up as he mentions Madge. Apparently Rye had made his way through the entire group of girls in the district his own age and was moving younger now.

"Rye!" Peeta snaps at him. "This is not about you!" he says, starting to look angry. "So quit peacocking and tell us what happened!"

"Okay, okay," Rye says, holding his hands in surrender. He takes a deep breath before continuing.

"So there was some important Capitol person who stopped by yesterday morning before your train arrived, and he was giving us instructions on how the homecoming was supposed to go at the station. Well, Mom wasn't too happy about the fact that just anyone from the district was invited; she thought it should have been families only. So when she heard that she said was going to stay behind at the bakery and keep it open instead of going to the train station. Dad didn't feel like arguing with her, so we left her here." He pauses to take a couple of deep breaths.

"So then during the afternoon, once Dad and I got back to the bakery, I was out doing a couple of deliveries when apparently Mrs. Cartwright came in and started talking to Mom."

Mrs. Cartwright? I must look puzzled for a second because Peeta pipes up. "It's Delly's mother, and she likes to talk and gossip even more than Delly does," he says and grimaces.

I shuddered. Delly was, I suppose, what you could call a nice girl, meaning that she was very friendly and would talk to just about anyone about anything. She just never seemed to realize when people didn't want to talk to her. I could only tolerate her in small doses. I can't imagine how Peeta's mom would be around someone like that.

"Anyway," Rye continues. "Mrs. Cartwright came in and started talking to Mom about the welcome at the train station, and apparently couldn't shut up about how good Katniss's mother looked since 'they hadn't seen her much since she married that Seam man all those years ago', and how pretty Prim was and how she must be the prettiest girl in her class since Lilly was the prettiest girl in their class and how all the boys used to ogle her, and how sweet Katniss and Peeta looked when they got off the train and on and on and on...".

"Oh no," Peeta says, putting his hand on his forehead and shaking his head. "And me mentioning how Dad used to have a crush on Katniss's mom during the Games probably didn't go over real well either, did it?" he says, pretty much already knowing the answer. I shuddered again and Peeta pulled me closer to him.

"Umm, no," Rye agrees, shuddering along with me. "Mom made Dad sleep on the couch for a week after that one, Peet."

"Oops," Peeta says, grimacing. "In my defense, I shouldn't be held responsible for things I said when I was half-dead." He winks and looks down at me.

I elbow him in the side. "Oh really?" I ask playfully. "We had quite a few conversations while you were feverish in that cave. Which ones are you not wanting responsibility for now?" I ask, amazed at how easily the bantering is coming from me. I'm still not used to talking more often than is absolutely necessary, but these sweet Mellark boys seem to be able to draw me out like no one ever has since my father was alive. Peeta chuckles again and hugs me quickly.

"Anyway," Rye continues. "Yeah, she pretty much wouldn't stop ranting and raving about 'Seam trash' and how humiliated she felt and how she wouldn't ever set foot anywhere where there was a chance that 'that woman' would be there and if her husband was a 'true man' he would stand up for his wife and it was pretty much decided that it would be better if we didn't go to the party. Bannock and Casey were pretty disappointed too." Rye looks guiltily at Peeta again. "I'm sorry, baby brother. I honestly didn't think it would bother you so much."

Peeta takes a deep breath, picking at the grass again. "I'm actually surprised at how much it did bother me," he says, squeezing me close again. "And Katniss's mom didn't even end up going anyway, so Mom wouldn't have had to worry about running into her there. I guess I just thought that maybe, since I actually did survive the Hunger Games, that maybe she would be proud of me, if only for a little while."

My heart breaks as he finishes and I move to wrap both of my arms around him. Rye even looks sad.

"Buddy, I don't think there's anything any of us can do to make her proud of us," he says, trying to be reassuring. "She's just a miserable bitch of a woman, and no one can do anything about that."

Peeta sighs and I hug him tighter. He pats my hand and nods, trying to indicate that he's okay I think, but I know that he's not. I know what abandonment feels like; my father was killed and my mother basically abandoned Prim and I. I don't know which way would be worse, but the hurt must feel similar.

Mr. Mellark comes to the door then and calls Rye back inside. "The afternoon rush will be starting soon and the display cases need refilling," he says as we all lumber back up to our feet.

"Thanks Rye," Peeta says. Rye nods, brushing dirt and grass off of his work pants.

"Do you want some help with the cases?" Peeta asks. I think he misses working in the bakery, even despite his mother. Or maybe he just misses doing things that are familiar to him, like I miss hunting. I need to go hunting soon.

"You should come over for dinner later this week!" I blurt out all of a sudden, saving Rye from answering. Peeta and Rye stare at me with shocked looks on their faces. Even I'm shocked.

"Please?" I say, a little quieter this time. "I can even see if Madge would like to join us, if you like," I add, giving Rye a little wink. What is wrong with me?! I don't wink, and I've certainly never cared about the romantic status of anyone else before.

Both Peeta and Rye are still staring at me with their jaws hanging open. Rye seems to recover a little quicker and starts to blush.

"S-sure!" he sputters out. Peeta's still staring at me in awe. "Yeah!" Rye says, recovering a bit more of his composure. "Anytime! Just let me know when and where and I'll be there!" He backs toward the bakery and stumbles as his feet reach the steps. "I'll see you guys later!" he says, and rushes back into the bakery, the door slamming behind him.

Peeta is staring at the back door, then shakes his head and turns to look at me. "What was that?" he asks, chuckling.

I shrug. "I just thought it would be nice for me to get to know him better," I say. "He is your brother," I add, nudging Peeta with my shoulder.

He puts his arm around my shoulders and hugs me to him, kissing my forehead. "And what's with inviting Madge? Is Katniss Everdeen, lethal goddess of the woods, trying to play matchmaker for my brother?"

I shrug again. "I don't know, he seemed interested in her," I say as we walk around the bakery back towards the Square. "Maybe she'll actually say yes."

Peeta laughs and hugs me again and we start walking back through Town and towards Victor's Village.