Chapter 10: Marry Again
Many years pass. Primrose grows up and at the age of 18, finds a husband at last. She marries Rory Hawthorne, a kind young man who is a miner and a hunter on the side. At their Toasting, I meet Rory's stoic and reserved older brother, Gale. He's a hunter as well.
Though I normally work alone except on the circuit, I begin to go out into the woods on hunts with Gale. We learn each other's strengths and weaknesses and overtime become quite close. Gale has never been married, and his father died in the same mining accident that mine did.
One winter's day, we are just approaching the fence that borders District 12 after a hunt. I am prattling on about our preparations for tomorrow's excursion.
"I'll reset the snares in the morning, Gale. And then -" I am cut off mid-sentence as Gale suddenly cradles my head in his hands and kisses me. Passionately. And on the lips.
I let out a choked sound in the back of my throat. What is it about me that makes men want to kiss me with no prior warning? Once again, I am completely unprepared. I realized I don't really know as much about Gale as I think I do. Like how his lips taste like oranges. Or how his hands, which can set even the most complicated of snares, can so easily entrap me. After a moment, just as I am closing my eyes and trying to enjoy the kiss, he pulls away.
"I had to do that. At least once. Katniss... will you marry me?"
I stare at him in utter shock. A proposal? Right after our first kiss? That takes a lot of gall on his part, and the practical part of me should say No.
But as I think about it, I realize marrying again would be beneficial to me and especially to my son. Having Gale as my husband would give us security; we wouldn't want for anything.
I say Yes.
I don my mother's wedding dress for the second time, and try not to think about how worn it feels. It will be a relic from here on out, hanging in Mother's closest.
Gale and I Toast the bread over the fire, and then seal it with a chaste kiss. Mother and Prim and little Darius are present, and so is Haymitch Abernathy.
With the security of marriage, I leave the prostitution ring for good, and take Mother with me. We can live with dignity now. No longer will our dignity be stripped from us as our clothes once were as prostitutes.
Our dignity is ours now, and this time, shall remain so.