Chapter 12: Christmas in Panem
A few rainy days kept us in the house for most of the time, and we kept ourselves busy with reading, playing games, and talking. Mr. Madison spent many hours together with Mr. and Mrs. Brown, and they devised some kind of initial plan on how to start the first orchard. Katniss had been around for a few hours, and I had mentioned the concept of marking more hiking trails; she would look at that in the next spring and summer, as current priorities were more focused on collecting firewood and preparing for the winter. The last couple of days brought some sunshine again, so that we spent the remaining days of the fall holiday week with hiking and doing lots of outdoor stuff. Rue enjoying a noon nap in my arms was becoming a regular event, and to be honest, I enjoyed those times as much as she did. Before the end of the week we visited the worker housing site, and I showed the Madisons the house I had in mind for them; they liked it a lot, and they said that it was significantly larger and nicer that the one they currently rented in district 11.
Finally Mr. and Mrs. Madison confirmed that they were going to accept my job offer and move in as soon as possible. Regarding Wiress, they were going to visit her next week and have a long talk with her. If she liked the idea of being adopted by them, they were willing to go ahead with that plan as well.
Christmas was now getting close, and the big moving day was there. I had sent a truck to the Madison's old residence in district 11 to pick up their belongings, and I had recently learned that Wiress was more than happy to become a member of their family. All of those events were in my mind very nice Christmas presents, and I had quite a warm feeling in my heart. This reminded me of what my grandfather frequently repeated and emphasized – when you were rich, you had a responsibility for others, and one should spent some effort to do good things for others. That guideline was also showing in the way our big family 'empire' was governed. We all considered this less as a big company, but more as a huge family, and we strove to only engage in a business where we could put people first and where an activity was either benefiting mankind as a whole or at least not be negative. For instance, investigating in green energy was such a beneficial business, whereas we refused to get involved in manufacturing of weapons.
Together with my housekeepers I had spent an hour or two adding some seasonal decorations to the new Madison residence. A small Christmas tree was set up in the living room, the fridge was stocked, and some supplies were added to the larder. A phone was installed, heating turned on, and some other details attended to, until I had the feeling that the new home was ready for the family to arrive here. Wiress would be moving into the new home a few days later; the required paperwork had been completed just a few day ago. At this time we were lucky that the weather was not bad yet. In December, the area had sometimes seen major snowfall in past years, but this year there was just barely a snow cover on the fields, and the roads were clear.
Work on the fields was almost nonexistent this time of the year, same with installation of new wind generators or solar cells, so that work mostly consisted of planing ahead. On the other hand, I wanted to get prepared for lots of snow, and one of the vehicles available to me was a German Unimog, a heavy duty 4x4 truck with a universal mount for a snowplough and such. This vehicle stood on huge all terrain tires and had both ultra low gears and differential locks available; with snow chains attached it was supposed to be able to safely navigate through snow of almost half a meter on the ground, and, with a snowplough in front, it had enough engine power to push snow up to about 30cm high aside easily; it could also drive through water up to almost one meter deep. Naturally, to go along with my fleet of environmental friendly vehicles, I had replaced the standard diesel engine with an electrical motor and a set of batteries, the latter being placed below the flatbed; this of course obsoleted the original gear box. The batteries only provided a range of not more than 150km on normal road and much less when using a snowplough or a snow blower, but I did not plan to go long distances with that special truck. To be on the safe side, I had added a very small and efficient range extender diesel engine, which could slowly recharge the battery if needed. I was looking forward to seeing how well it would do in upcoming hard weather conditions here, and to be able to legally operate it, I had spent extra time and money to acquire an appropriate drivers license; in addition, I had participated in an off road driving training for a week earlier this year.
Early afternoon on that nice day Prim and I waited outside of the new Madison home when a phone call from the removal van had alerted us that they were close, and a few minutes later the truck was approaching. The whole family stepped out of the cabin and started to look around, and they looked quite happy. As I had missed the last few Wednesday afternoon time slots due to other obligations and specifically due to a two week visit to my family in late November and early December, I had not seen Rue much since the fall holidays. When she noticed me, she jumped right into my arms, wrapped her arms around my neck and hugged me tightly. Naturally I did not mind at all and hugged her back, probably a little longer than appropriate, as Prim interrupted after some time claiming that she wanted to hug Rue, too. Of course, I had also neglected to welcome Rue's parents, which I did now. While the Madison family was getting into the house, Prim whispered into my ear: "You like her a lot, don't you?"
I believe that I was somewhat embarrassed about that question, but this was Prim, always straight to the truth, or at least what she thought the truth was. After thinking about that for a few seconds I had to admit to myself that she was quite right, and I also admitted to her: "Yes, I believe that you are right – I do like her a lot!"
In the evening Rue was coming over to my house together with Prim. Mr. and Mrs. Madison were still busy with unpacking, and Rue was feeling too restless to help. In addition, I could see that she had again not slept well for some time, and she did not look too good. I thought that I knew what to do and invited the two girls into my big living room. I suggested that they pick a nice Christmas movie of their choice from my DVD collection, and they selected 'Miracle on 42nd street', which happened to be one of my favorites as well. Before we started the show, I asked Prim outside for a moment and talked to her: "Prim, the way Rue looks, she is probably very tired and exhausted. I expect her to fall asleep while we watch the movie, and I would not be surprised if she used my arm to cuddle with again. When that happens, can you please do me a favor and walk over to her parents so that they know she is asleep here. Tomorrow is Sunday, so that she can stay if her parents allow it. Ask them around for breakfast if they want."
Prim understood and nodded – I knew that I could rely on her; she was a real good and reliable friend. We went back into the room, made ourselves comfortable on the big couch and started to watch; of course I had placed a few drinks and snacks on the table. We had not yet passed the first ten minutes when Rue started to yawn a lot, and just a few minutes later her eyes were closed. I had just taken a blanket and wanted to spread it over her when she moved closer and, just as I had expected, grabbed my arm and pulled herself close to me. As I already had the blanket in my other arm, I spread it over both of us, hit the 'Pause' button on the remote control and gave Prim a hint to leave; she smiled and got up.
Half an hour later she was back and whispered into my ear: "No problem; they are happy that she is here, and they will gladly join us for breakfast."
"Thank you Prim", I whispered back, "you are a good friend. Want to continue watching the movie now?"
Prim nodded, and I pressed the 'Play' button while also turning down the volume a little. Rue was apparently really asleep and did not move. When the movie was over Prim took her leave, and I stayed with Rue. As I had expected that, I had dressed appropriately in loose jogging pants and a sweat shirt; I just switched off the lights which has already been dimmed before, stretched my body on the couch and made sure that Rue was also comfortable and could not easily fall down; eventually I fell asleep as well.
On the next morning I was getting awake as I heard voices, and my housekeeper, Mrs. Miller, was standing next to me: "Mr. Sinterguth, breakfast will be ready in ten minutes, and Mr. and Mrs. Madison will be arriving shortly. You may want to go to the bathroom before breakfast, I guess."
Indeed I wanted to, and now Rue was moving, too. She looked around and noticed where she had slept, but rather than looking a little embarrassed, she just smiled and told us that she had had a wonderful sleep. Mrs. Miller guided her to one of the guest bathrooms, and I went to my own.
At breakfast I was told by the Madison family that Wiress was to be coming here later today; a city vehicle was supposed to bring her. And indeed, before noon the car arrived and a beaming teenage girl stepped out. Mr. and Mrs. Madison had to sign a few final documents, and the car left again. Wiress had one bag with clothes and a large suitcase full of books, and we all walked them to the Madison residence, where Wiress could move to her own room. Of course they'd need some time to spend with each other and I took my leave, knowing that there was a very happy family in this house.
Next Wednesday early afternoon three girls walked into my house. Rue and Prim had resumed their usual visit, and Wiress was with them. I greeted them: "Welcome all of you. Wiress, I thought that you are in a different class – is school out for today for you as well?"
The girl smiled at me and confirmed: "Indeed. I am lucky as my timetable shows end of school lessons for Wednesday at the same time as for Prim and Rue, and they suggested to come with them. Is that all right?"
I nodded and said: "Indeed it is – welcome to my home again."
Wiress continued as we were sitting around a table inside: "I had a specific reason to come, too. When we met in the hospital some time ago, you mentioned that I could spend some time at your site and look at technical aspects for a few hours each week, as much as school work allows."
I nodded again: "Yes, I did say that, and if you are ready, you can do this. Why don't you spend the holidays with your new family, and soon afterwards we will have a contract for you. You will have a chance to look at what I am doing here, I will introduce you to my staff, and we will find out where you can potentially contribute. All right for you to start in the first week of the new year?"
Wiress beamed at me and nodded, and I gave the kids some time to get started on their homework, while I went to get Haymitch. When we got back, I introduced him: "Wiress, this is Haymitch Abernathy, my director of operations. When you start working with us, he will show you around. Haymitch, this is Wiress whom I told you about. Starting next year I want her to look into what we are doing, in particular the technical aspects, and see if we find something she can contribute to. I believe that she has a bright technical mind, but of course her work time will be limited by school."
I also introduced Wiress to the Miller family, my housekeepers, and soon after Prim left for her home, whereas I walked Rue and Wiress to the Madison residence.
Christmas was very close now, and it was going to be my first winter holiday season here in Panem. I had decided to invite all of my employees for a Christmas celebration and lunch. While I was expecting most people to spend the 24th and the 25th with their own families, the celebration was planned for the 26th of December. As everybody would not easily fit into my home, I had spent some effort together with the team to decorate and equip a huge empty barn. We had put up seats and tables for all, and a large Christmas tree was placed on one side. Mr. and Mrs. Miller had been busy for days together with some hands to get everything prepared, and I had hired a few additional people to help with food preparations; after all, I wanted my housekeeper family to be able to enjoy the event as well. In addition I had purchased small presents for everybody, including families, and the invitations had already been sent out.
While I spent the 24th at home together with the Miller family, I was invited to the Everdeens on the 25th. Of course I had small presents for everybody, and special one for Prim – I got her an own camera. Both her mother and she claimed that this was way too much, but I insisted and emphasized that Prim had grown to be a real good friend. It was good to see that even Katniss was not showing her trademark scowl, but had warmed up a little to the holidays. In addition I was happy to see that Peeta Mellark was also around, and once could not avoid the two of them looking at each other quite frequently. After lunch Prim found them making out in the kitchen, and Katniss could not avoid to admit that Peeta was now her boyfriend. Apparently she was not really happy about making that public, but I guess with the way they looked at each other everybody would be aware of that sooner or later, and Prim did not hesitate to point that out quite clearly. I also found the time to sit together with Peeta for a short time and ask about progress at the bakery. He told me: "We have done quite a few experiments with the different flour types you delivered some time ago. Why don't you stop by at the bakery some time in January and my Dad and I can show the details." I agreed to that.
On the next day the first guests started to show up in the barn I had prepared close to noon. I was there to shake everybody's hands and bid them welcome, while the service team I had hired provided some drinks. Due to my own conviction all of the drinks were non alcoholic. I knew that a few people, including my trusted Haymitch, would not be too happy about that, but that was one of the rules on my premises. Those who definitely felt like they needed alcoholic drinks would have to indulge at home.
When everybody had arrived and just before lunch was supposed to be served, I stood up for a speech:
"My dear employees and families, this is close to the end of the first year of Sinterguth operations here in district 12. You may have noticed that work in the company is somewhat different from work in most other companies. While we are also oriented towards making profit, my grandfather, who is the current leader, firmly believes that it pays to treat employees more than extended families than hired workers. We have been doing this for centuries to some extent at least, and the results have been mostly positive. Part of our family and company goals is to aid humankind and the planet. Global warming is now a fact rather than a theory, and those denying it are part of a small minority and no longer believable. Our company set up a foundation decades ago to focus on green energy and means to help poor people in poor countries, who do not have reliable access even to clear water and other basic needs. This site, as you know, mostly works on green energy, and we try to find what works under local rough climatic conditions. Results we have achieved will be patented, but we will make licenses available for little money. The main reason we go for patents at all is to prevent other companies to take patents and sell licenses only for very high amounts of money.
But enough about business. I am very happy to have all of you and your families here with me today, and I am looking forward to working with you in the future. Please feel always welcome to ask questions and to offer suggestions if you think something could or should be changed. For now, Happy Christmas to all of you and enjoy your meal and the time here!"
I sat down again and everybody applauded, and then lunch was served. Looking around, I was indeed feeling like being part of an extended family. I had thought about going home for Christmas and talked to my parents about that, but they had confirmed me in my idea to stay here and be available for the people around here. This was my home now, but my parents had promised to stop by a few days later.
After lunch I started to feel a little bit tired. I had been awake and busy since early morning making sure everything was properly prepared, and I decided to retreat to a comfortable chair in a corner for some time to rest my feet and maybe close my eyes for a few minutes, while people talked to each other and soft music was playing in the background. Before I noticed Rue was suddenly beside me and hopped on my lap, making herself comfortable for a nap apparently. Well, she was welcome from my point of view.
A few minutes later a few people noticed us in the corner and started to look in our direction. Soon Prim was getting closer and taking pictures with an expensive looking camera. I asked her where she got it from and she replied: "I offered to be the official photographer for the party, and Mr. Miller lent me the camera, while Wiress taught me how to operate it properly. Now smile!"
Of course, being the host, I could not afford to really nap and rest for an extended period of time, but I managed about twenty minutes at least, before I had to return. In the evening, when reflecting on the day, I had the feeling that everybody had been enjoying the celebration and that I should repeat something like that next year. My last thoughts before drifting off to sleep were about Rue and how nice it was to nap with her in my arms.
The next morning brought me back to reality, though. I recalled the thoughts I had had the night before and chastised myself about the thoughts related to Rue, or at least I tried to do so. On one side I knew exactly that I was not supposed to long for sleeping with a young girl in my arms, but on the other side it felt so right. Maybe I needed to consult a psychiatrist and something was wrong with my brain waves?
Anyway, my parents were coming today, and I spent a few very nice days with them showing them around, talking, and enjoying the quiet days.
[Author's Note: The 'Unimog' really exists and has been built in various versions for decades. See wiki/Unimog . My Unimog with snowchains clearing snow would look like this: ]