Chapter 3

"She's cute, simply gorgeous." Effie's colorful eyelashes fluttered as she tapped her long fingernails on the wooden counter top. "Well, I must also confess that she is a bit aloof, taciturn and has no sense of fashion at all."

A vegetable crate was placed next to Effie. "And you think she is my type?" asked the young man, who was still holding the box.

"Well, my dear, I guess we have to work a little bit on her appearance." Effie frowned slightly, but not so much that it would leave any wrinkles on her flawless face. "But her character has potential."

"I don't know, Aunt Effie ..."

"Shhh," Effie hissed, and glanced quickly from left to right. She wasn't the only customer in the grocery shop. "Please don't call me 'Aunt', Gale; it makes me at least 10 years older!"

With a big grin on his face, the handsome young man leaned casually against the counter, watching her as he shrugged his shoulder. "Everybody in the village knows you're my aunt."

"Everybody in our lovely town knows that I'm the much younger half-sister of your mother." Effie answered in a very determined tone. If anybody dared to take a guess that she was older than 32, they would pay with their life. As a scout leader, she knew exactly where the darkest corners of the forest were to be found and how to dig very effective and deep holes.

"I know." Gale leaned down, giving her a light kiss on her cold cheek. "And you are still the most beautiful woman in town."

"Charmer." Effie grinned back.

...

Katniss honked the horn of her old Ford. She had sworn to herself to keep honking until Abernathy appeared in the doorway. She couldn't possibly go into his house again. After their last awful meeting, she had brushed her teeth for hours and gurgled endlessly with menthol, with the hope of killing any last vestiges of his bacteria in her mouth.

Once more she pressed the horn, but nothing happened. It seemed as though the man was as stubborn as she was herself and her annoyed gaze went to the clock on the dashboard. She was running out of time. If Abernathy didn't appear soon, they would be late.

Only two hours ago, the young woman had helped to decorate the small community hall with countless garlands and lanterns. Afterwards, the room had looked pleasant, and with tasteful lighting and a decent band, the evening could be a success.

Finally tired of waiting, Katniss opened the driver's door, ready to get out and drag Haymitch out of his messy house – just as his door finally opened. The young woman was glad that she was still sitting; otherwise she would have had to sit down again to cope with the sight that met her eyes.

Haymitch Abernathy's suit had probably been outdated the day Katniss was born. The tie around his neck defied any description, and reminded the girl of a joke article. At some point his shoes must have seen shoe polish, maybe in the last decade. And his hair... Did this man even know how to use a hairbrush?

Not my problem, she told herself, and straightened her back resolutely. She only had to bring him to the ball. Nobody could force her to spend the evening with him, and certainly not to dance with him. Playing his personal chauffeur was a comparably easy task.

"Mr. Abernathy, good to see you again," she lied through her teeth.

"Same, sweetheart." With a provocative grin on his thin lips, he strolled casually towards her. "Nice dress, yours?"

"Of course!" Katniss replied angrily.

After Effie's critical inspection of the only dress Katniss owned, the Scout leader had decided the item in question was too old-fashioned to wear at the ball, and had eagerly shown the girl her collection of glamorous dresses, imploring her to borrow whichever one she liked. To Effie's deepest disappointment, she hadn't been able to convince Katniss to wear any of them.

Either they were too colorful, too glittery, or too short – or they were a mad combination of everything. In the end, Katniss and Effie had driven to the next Walmart and had bought a summer dress for the young woman. As expected, the selection of dresses was very limited, and cheap-looking polyester followed cheap-looking polyester, but finally, they found it. A simple, knee-length, tailored dress with a charming Carmen neckline.

Every time Katniss had pulled the dress further up her slender shoulders, Effie came and pulled it back down. Always with the comment on her pink-colored lips that a girl should show what nature had given to her.

Generously, Effie had paid for the dress, adding some elegant strappy sandals, afraid that Katniss would appear in her old, ugly sneakers. Slowly, the young woman began to suspect that Effie Trinket was carrying out some secret plan.

"Okay, let's go. Otherwise we'll be late," the young woman said, valiantly ignoring his unusual appearance.

"Whatever you say, sweetheart."

Annoyed, Katniss rolled her eyes and wished the evening was already over. She assumed that Haymitch danced as if he had a wooden leg.

...

"Haymitch, you look like a circus clown," Effie hissed furiously.

"Could be."

"At least you could have taken a shower for the mayor."

"No chance, Trinket."

"You are absolutely impossible!"

"Do you have a mirror at home, Eff?" he snapped back. "Don't they say with age less is more?"

If Effie Trinket hadn't been a real lady, she would have scraped out his piercing eyes with her razor-sharp fingernails, just to wipe the arrogant grin off his face. Finally, she turned on her high heels and walked stiffly away, angry but not defeated, looking for the ball committee.

The annual Scout ball was as thrilling as Haymitch had expected. The food and drinks were lukewarm, the band lousy and the guests boring. However, he gave a point for the ambitious lighting, which made the plain community hall look halfway romantic.

A diligent waiter handed him a paper cup with punch, and Haymitch grimaced in disgust. He reached into the inside pocket of his jacket, pulled out his flask and pimped the punch with a good shot of whiskey. Better, he decided, much better, as he sipped his drink, letting his eyes wander over the dance floor.

His eyes caught the mayor, who was dancing with his old teacher. The old maid had prophesied that Haymitch would never become anything; well he had proven her wrong. The big-bellied priest was dancing with the local grocer's gaunt wife, who had given Haymitch love letters in the second grade which he'd never answered; while Effie Trinket's nephew was dancing with Haymitch's lovely chauffeur.

Haymitch took another sip of his punch deluxe as his keen eyes followed the pair. Happiness looked different, he thought with satisfaction and grinned to himself.

"The night is simply magical," said a high-pitched voice next to him, and Haymitch shook his head in disbelief. No matter what he did, Effie always turned up again. Apparently he was cursed...

"I knew it!" she said cheerfully. "Gale and Katniss are made for each other."

He bit his lips to keep himself from laughing. "Did they both get that memo?"

"Someone who gives someone else a frog for their anniversary, which he caught in the village pond, is not romantic! Certainly, you have no idea what the word romantic even means and therefore your opinion doesn't count at all," Effie snapped back.

Haymitch just shrugged and leaned casually back against the wooden wall. "I thought it was funny."

"It was idiotic!"

Not caring to talk about the past he gestured towards the dance floor as Effie in her mind had already started planning Katniss and Gale's wedding.

"A blind man could see that they don't match."

Offended, Effie folded her arms over her chest. "And who would suit her better? Someone like you, you old fool?" she hissed.

"That ship has already sailed, Trinket." He shrugged nonchalantly. "But I'm throwing my nephew into the race."

"Peeta?"

"Exactly, honey."

Effie stared back at him, licking her dry lips. Peeta Mellark was a serious competitor. The young man had very good manners, was smart and good-looking, and was currently studying far away in Kingsport. It was almost impossible to believe that he was a close relative of Haymitch Abernathy.

"Ok, it's a deal."

...

"And what do you do in your free time?"

"Hunting rabbits."

"And you?"

"The same."

"Oh…"

Gale suppressed the desire to roll his eyes. Katniss wasn't his type. Nice to look at, but otherwise boring, monosyllabic and stiff as a board when dancing.

Katniss suppressed the desire to roll her eyes. Gale wasn't her type. Nice to look at, but otherwise arrogant, monosyllabic and he couldn't dance at all. Surely, he would offer to take her home after the ball. And what would follow was as clear as night follows day. She would end up being another notch on his bedpost. If she didn't play along, she was sure his ego would be so hurt that he would tell anyone within 100 miles how bad she was in bed.

The music stopped, and Katniss and Gale let go of each other immediately, when Effie suddenly materialized between the two.

"Wonderful, just wonderful. You look fantastic together, as if you were made for each other."

Gale nodded slowly out of courtesy and glanced at his mobile. It was still before midnight and as stiffly as Katniss danced, parking with her on his backseat wouldn't even take five minutes. Maybe he could pick up a cute chick afterwards in a bar.

"Okay, Kat, let's go." But there was no answer. Gale looked around, irritated: it seemed as if she'd disappeared into thin air.

...

"Katniss?" Effie shouted worriedly into the darkness. "Katniss?"

"Mind taking it down an octave, Trinket? You're driving the bats crazy."

Annoyed, Effie gazed into Haymitch's glittering eyes, who was sitting on a bench at the back of the porch, relaxed, legs outstretched, holding his flask in his hand.

"Have you seen Katniss?"

"Lost her?" he mocked.

"Idiot." Effie hissed, turning on her high heels and stalked back into the hall. Haymitch snorted and shook his head, putting the nearly empty flask to his dry lips, and took a swig, before wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

"If you stay in those bushes any longer, sweetheart, you'll be picking ticks off your ass."

Horrified, Katniss jumped out of the old hedge and furiously slapped her bare legs and arms with her palms. Finally, she glared at Haymitch, absolutely sure that he had allowed himself another joke at her expense.

"How did you know I was hiding there?"

"Good eyes," he answered with a grin. "But the big question is, why were you hiding there? No desire to do the dishes?"

Katniss would have loved to fight back, an answer already on her lips, but decided against it. It would have been easy for him to reveal her hiding place to Effie, but he hadn't. Stiff as a board, she crossed the dark garden and stopped at the foot of the short flight of steps, looking up at him.

"Miss Trinket, wants to hook me up with her nephew..." Her voice was sour and Haymitch nodded, giving her a lopsided smile.

"Poor you."

Katniss nodded firmly and took a step behind the dark wooden porch, afraid Effie would appear in the doorway.

"And why didn't you just go home?"

"Because my handbag with my keys in it is still in the hall." She sighed, kicking herself mentally for so much stupidity.

Haymitch raised an eyebrow. "Not too smart."

"Thanks," Katniss hissed, watching Haymitch as he took another gulp from the silver shinning flask in his hand. Finally, she gave herself a push and tried her best to put her friendliest smile on her lips, not sure how the effect came across.

"Could you get my bag for me?"

Haymitch didn't move an inch. Instead his gaze wandered to his dirty fingernails; he should cut them as soon as he was home, or maybe tomorrow or…

"Please."

His thin lips stretched into a crooked smile as he turned his attention back to the girl standing at the foot of the steps.

"I promise to buy you a bottle of liquor," Katniss added hopefully.

"Deal, sweetheart."