Author's note: I need to clear up something about the location. I chose both towns using Google Maps. I'm from Arkansas, so I don't know much about the area (I spent a year in Maryland, but that's as close as I've ever gotten). So if anything is ever unnecessarily wrong, please let me know how to fix it. I will be tweaking things a bit to add Hunger Games world elements, but I'll research as much as possible whenever necessary.
Thank you for reading, reviewing, favoriting, and following. Some giant awesome things in this chapter and I am very excited to hear your reactions!
Happiest of reading!
Chapter Ten
Katniss spent most of the next day removing the rose bushes from around Rue's house that were too far gone to save and pruning the others of dead limbs. The client came out to give her glasses of water. Rue's boyfriend Thresh showed up in the afternoon and talked with Katniss for a few minutes about her job.
"You've cleaned it up really well." He commented. "I told Rue we should just tear it all out and start over, but she loved those rose bushes so much when she was a kid."
Rue nodded as she wrapped her arms around Thresh's waist. "Granny adored them. They were her pride and joy. She hated when the arthritis got too bad to hold her clippers."
Katniss grinned. "Well, I hope I do her justice. I'll finish the cleanup here and we'll schedule some time in the spring to replant where I had to take the dead ones."
"Can you get the same color?" Thresh asked.
"I should be able to. I have plenty of pictures and I know the type of rose they are." Katniss smiled. "I take lots of notes." She heard her phone buzzing in her pocket and pulled it out. Her heart sped up when she saw Peeta's name on the display. "I should take this and then get back to work."
Rue nodded. "Sure. Knock if you need anything." She took Thresh's hand and led him inside.
Katniss pressed her phone to her ear. "Hi there."
"Hi." Peeta said. "You working?"
"On a little break. What are you doing?"
"Just got up." He said with a chuckle. "Lucky duck, right?"
She laughed. "Well, I don't have another job set up for next week, so that may be me. I guess we'll see soon enough."
"I'm sure you'll get something. So what sort of things do landscape artists do in the winter?"
"There's not a whole lot, but there's still work to be done." She said. "I can start the foundation for things. Build walls or flower beds. Trim trees or other overgrowth. I put a pond in last winter. The kids used it for ice skating."
"Sounds boring."
"Sort of is. But I get plenty of work in the spring and summer, so the easy fall and winter are very welcome." She laughed. "I need to get back to work. Can I call you later?"
"Sure." His voice held a little disappointment. "I'm going to post a video tomorrow. Maybe I'll send you he rough cut tonight."
"That'd be great." She said. "I'll talk to you later."
"Bye, Katniss." He said softly.
Katniss hung up her phone and slipped it back into her pocket, feeling the smile creeping across her face.
She worked steadily until she lost light and then she packed up her truck and bid Rue and Thresh farewell. She got home and settled in with her fast food and her phone, finding Peeta's video in her inbox.
He sat in his bedroom and leaned into camera. "Hi there! I'll let you get to the goodness of my latest recipe, but I wanted to take a minute to let you know I'm planning on doing a video answering some of your questions. You can post them here in the comments," he pointed down, "or send me a message, there's a link in the description. You can also ask on Twitter, the handle there is knead-to-know." He pointed up and to the left that was currently blank space. "You should be able to click on that link. Yes, that's knead, like kneading dough." He chuckled to himself. "And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming."
The scene cut abruptly to the kitchen. Peeta stood behind a counter with several ingredients laid out in front of him. He smiled. "Do you like a good burger?" He asked, a critical look in his eye. "A really good, juicy, flavorful burger?"
He indicated a bowl in front of him. "For me, it all starts with an even mixture of ground chuck and ground turkey. I'm doing half a pound of each. That way you won't lose quite as much mass as you cook. You will still lose some, shrinkage happens. Also, they just taste really good together, in my opinion." He grinned and started adding other ingredients, naming them all off. "Now, you don't need to go by these measurements and you can use whatever spices tickle your taste buds, these are just my favorites."
Peeta started mixing the meat and spices with his hand. "This is very similar to the meatloaf recipe, but there are some differences. I won't add any egg or breadcrumbs. Since we're frying this instead of baking, they aren't entirely necessary."
He moved over to the stovetop and turned on the heat just as Annie walked into the frame. "What are we making?"
"Hamburgers." Peeta grinned. "You could get those potatoes out of the water and dry them off."
"Did you explain about the fries?" Annie asked as she picked up a cookie sheet and spread paper towels over it.
"I was about to and you interrupted." He teased.
"Sorry, I'm starving and you're taking a million years." She leaned closer to the camera. "My brother thinks cooking is an art, but pregnant people can't wait for art." She winked and moved back.
Peeta smiled and rolled his eyes. "I peeled the potatoes and cut them into a shoestring size. Then I put them in water to soak for an hour. That's the least amount of time. More is better, but an hour will do it. Soaking them pulls out those starches and makes for a crisper fry outside and soft inside."
He finished forming the meat into patties and held his hand over the pan. "Okay, there's a lot of heat coming off of here, so time to check." He took a bit of the water from the bowl he'd put the potatoes in and splashed it on the pan. He lifted it up to show the camera. "Dancing water. It's time to party." He placed the four patties he'd made in the pan and washed his hands. "Always wash your hands when dealing with raw meat."
Annie chuckled. "Okay, the oil is heating up in the skillet."
Peeta indicated the large cast iron skillet. "You want to start out at medium heat, about three hundred degrees max. In batches, you fry all the potatoes on medium and then remove all of them and drain them on paper towels while the oil heats up on high and do it again to crisp up the outside."
The pair worked together to finish the meal, bantering back and forth. As soon as the fries were done, Annie filled a plate and grinned at the camera. "My supper." She turned to Peeta. "You're going to need to make more."
He shook his head with a chuckle. "I'll bring you a burger."
"Bring me two." She called as she walked away, munching on a fry.
Peeta chuckled and then artfully put together a patty with tomatoes, lettuce, and pickles on a bun. "Annie thinks food art is useless, but I disagree." He pushed the plate forward and leaned down. "We eat with our eyes as well as our noses and mouths. Sometimes even our ears. This is a beautiful burger and I wish you could smell it." He took in a deep breath through his nose. "And now, I get to go eat it. See you next time on BreakingBread." He put the top on the burger and took a bite, smiling around his mouthful. He gave the camera a thumbs up and a nod. Then he walked toward the camera and shut it off.
Katniss popped the last bite of her fast food burger in her mouth with a frown. "Wish I had one of those burgers." She grumbled to herself. After cleaning up, she called Peeta.
"Hi, Katniss!" A chipper female voice answered.
Peeta said from the background, "Come on, Annie, give me my phone."
Katniss laughed. "Hello, Annie."
"Just wait a second, Peeta." Annie said before she told Katniss, "I've just heard so much about you. When can we meet?"
"Um…." Katniss began.
"That's my phone and my friend." Peeta said. "Hi, Katniss, sorry about that."
She laughed. "No problem. Annie seems sweet." She reclined on the couch. "So I watched the video and you made me extremely disappointed in my choice of dinner."
"Fast food?" He asked.
"Fast food." She sighed. "But I was too exhausted for cooking tonight."
"Well, if you were closer, I'd make you supper every once in a while so you didn't have to do fast food."
She bit her lip. "Well…" She decided to take the step. "How about I buy you lunch tomorrow and we can talk about it?"
There was a pause on the other end and Katniss started to fear she'd scared him away.
"Peeta?"
"I'm here." He said quickly. "I would love to have lunch. Name the place and I'm there."
"I want to come to you. If that's okay?" She said tentatively. "I want to kind of be in charge."
"It's completely fine. But I'm buying if you're driving here." He said.
"We can discuss that over lunch. You name the place." Her heart sped up and her ears rang. Was she making the right choice?
"Greasy Sae's. It's a diner that is a lot cleaner than it sounds. I'll text you directions."
She felt herself nodding. "Sounds great." That had taken a lot out of her. "Hey, look, I had a really long day and I'm going to be driving tomorrow, so I should probably get off here and get some rest. I'll see you around noon? Twelve-thirty?"
"Sounds great." Peeta said quietly. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight." She said breathlessly. She hung up and immediately dialed her sister's number. "Please pick up." She begged as she listened to the ring.
Prim's chipper voice came through after the third ring. "Hey, Katniss."
"Hi, Prim." Katniss paused and said very quickly, "I have a sort-of date tomorrow and I need your opinion on what to wear and how to act and what to say—"
"A date?" Prim scoffed. "You have a date? With who?"
"Peeta." Katniss admitted as she walked into her room and started digging through her drawers.
"Peeta the YouTube guy you've been talking to?" Prim asked.
"Yes." Katniss said almost reluctantly.
Prim giggled. "That's amazing! He lives nearby or you doing a Skype thing?"
"He lives three hours away. I'm driving there tomorrow." Katniss let out a long breath. "It's not really a date. But we're meeting for lunch at a diner."
"Okay, so not-really-a-date requires something casual, but not too casual. You want to look interested, but not too interested."
Katniss chuckled. "Okay."
"No button up shirts or polos or anything." Prim said. "But definitely not a t-shirt with a stain or holes." She paused. "Oh! That green one that Gale got you that says, 'Gardeners do it outside!'"
"I'm definitely not wearing that!" Katniss nearly screeched. "I don't even wear that in public."
Prim laughed. "Okay, now that I've loosened you up a little." She giggled some more. "I think a plain black shirt and some jeans. Don't you own a plain black shirt?"
Katniss dug through her drawer and pulled one out. "Yes, I have one."
"Good. And those one jeans I made you buy that hug your ass.
Katniss laughed. "I know the ones. I never wear them."
"Wear them tomorrow and you're good to go. This guy already likes you, Katniss. You don't have to be impressive, just try not to embarrass yourself."
"Gee, thanks, Prim." Katniss said. "Now I'm going to obsess over all the embarrassing things that could happen."
Prim giggled some more. "You'll be fine. Just be yourself."
Katniss sighed. "Fine." She pulled her phone away when it buzzed to see a text from Peeta awaited her. She put the phone back to her ear. "I'll let you get back to your Saturday night."
"Thanks. Gale and I were making out."
"I didn't need to know that." Katniss practically sang.
Prim giggled. "I'm joking. But I do need to get back to studying. Please call before you leave and as soon as you get back so I know you're safe. And if anything goes wrong, call Haymitch or Rory."
"I will. I'll give them a heads-up before I leave, too." Katniss promised her little sister.
They made their farewells and Katniss opened up the text. It contained the address and some simple directions from the main highway to the diner Peeta suggested. He added, I can't wait to see you.
Katniss grinned and answered, I'm really nervous. I've never done this before.
He responded quickly. Neither have I. But I promise I'm not a murderer. And Greasy Sae's is right in the big middle of a small town where everyone is in everyone's business. No one will let me do anything without comment. And I'm not exaggerating.
Katniss breathed a sigh of relief. Very good to know. I'll see you tomorrow.
Goodnight, Katniss.
Goodnight, Peeta.
She changed for bed and curled up, giddy over the prospect. She was far too keyed up to sleep, so she stared at the ceiling and rehearsed all the things she could possibly say. She probably would end up embarrassing herself.