The next morning, we all make our way to the train station together, except Johanna. I tried to get her to come down, but she's too livid to see past last night. Gale carries a large duffle bag over his shoulder. His eyes keep darting up to the street, hoping she will show up, but I don't think she will.
"I'll miss you so much, Gale," Delly blubbers. "I brought you these for the ride." She presses a packet of cinnamon fireballs into his hand. They are Gale's favorite. He smiles at her.
"Thanks, Delly."
He goes around saying his goodbyes to each of us. Gale and Peeta shake hands and Peeta pulls him in for a quick embrace. Gale ends with me. He scoops me into his arms and I wrap mine tightly around his neck. I've said goodbye to him too many times in my life. Gale's always been the one I've left behind, and now with the situation reversed I can appreciate how truly awful it feels to be on the other end. We don't talk. We've never needed to. He just holds me and my toes skim the ground. "Thank you, Catnip." He puts me down. I smile stupidly and brush away tears with the back of my hand. I've become such a blubbering idiot lately. Soon no one will be able to tell me apart from Delly. Peeta squeezes my hand.
Gale shoots one last look up the street before finally boarding the train, resigning himself to the fact that Johanna is not coming. I don't know if he was hoping she'd come say goodbye, or if he was thinking she might have changed her mind about leaving with him. Somewhere, though, he knows better. Johanna is the happiest she's ever been here with us. She spent years isolated and alone. She bristled at affection. I still remember her screaming at Snow in the Arena.
No one, ever, says anything like that in the Games, but I have heard her and I can never think about her in the same way again. She'll never win an award for kindness, but she certainly is gutsy. Or crazy. She picks up some shells and heads toward the jungle. I can't help but catching her hand as she passes me. "Don't go in there. The birds-"
"They can't hurt me. I'm not like the rest of you. There's no one left I love," Johanna says, and frees her hand with an impatient shake.
She spent years letting no one in. Protecting her heart. And now she's let Gale in, and all of us, really. I barely got her off the floor this morning. We've all lost people. Gale, Effie, Peeta, Delly, me. But there is a whole other kind of pain when you lose everyone. That pain is reserved for Johanna and Haymitch. They lost every single person they cared about until the Capitol broke them. Johanna retreated to her head, Haymitch retreated to a bottle. Getting someone like that to open up again is no easy feat. Gale did that, and now he's leaving.
"GALE!" We all hear her scream from the top of the hill. Johanna is barreling toward us, running as fast as her legs will carry her. I think back to Cato, running for his life from the Mutts. Johanna is running for her life now. "GALE!" she screams.
I see Gale realize she's there through the window of the train. He pounds the glass. "JOHANNA!" He's gone from the window now, and I see him shove the attendant out of the way and hang himself out the door of the train as it pulls away.
"GALE!" Johanna is at the train now, running with all her might. Tears are streaking down her face. Gale looks back at us as the train pulls him away. He looks at Johanna as she loses ground as the train speeds up. "GALE!" she screams. He's reaching his hand for her, but she's not going to make it. A footrace is an inevitable losing battle against a locomotive. She finally drops to her knees. I see Gale brace himself. I expect to see him pull himself back inside, but instead he leaps from the moving train and rolls onto the platform. He's hurt, I can tell, but he pulls himself up and limps his way toward her. Johanna is on her feet now too, and she runs forward and throws herself into his arms. They are kissing and crying, her legs around his waist like last night, but instead this time they are falling into each other.
"But Paylor said you had to go," Johanna says, tears streaking her face and a smile bursting through all the same.
"I can't. I can't go. I choose you," he says back.
"So you'll stay?"
"Yeah, I'm gonna stay here and cause all kinds of trouble." He winks at me, and squeezes Johanna tight into his arms.
Gale is on the phone with Paylor's administration all afternoon. I have to keep reminding myself that I like her. Haven't we given enough? I know Gale wants to serve, but for once in his life he wants to be selfish. He sacrificed everything in the war effort. He lost himself. He almost lost me. He's just finally digging his way back out; remembering who he was before and learning who he is now. And who he is now is desperately in love with Johanna Mason. If she's in 12, so is he.
I wonder what their relationship was like before they came to 12. I know Johanna was still in the Capitol when Gale took up his post in 2. Apparently she was the only one still talking to him after the fall of the Capitol. Johanna and Gale spent every night on the phone together. He was completely lost after the death of Prim, and she pulled him through it. If there was one thing Johanna knew, it was loss and grief. When she finally convinced him to come here and see me, he begged her to tag along. I don't think either expected to stay. I don't know when he fell for her… or when he realized he had. I remember Finnick, in the bunker.
"Did you love Annie right away, Finnick?" I asked.
"No." A long time passed before he added, "She crept up on me."
Gale is late to dinner at Delly's. She's attempted to replicate my favorite, lamb stew with prunes. It's surprisingly good. When I tell her so, she beams. Gale drags himself in and plops at the table. We all watch him, expectantly, but instead he just fills one of Delly's pristine pieces of china with stew, leans back in his chair with the bowl on his chest, and shovels it into his mouth. Years of hunger don't make Seam folk the most polite eaters. Effie clears her throat and he promptly sits up.
"So…?" Delly breaks the ice. "Can you stay?"
"Yes, on one condition," Gale says.
"And what's that?" I ask, the caution dripping from my voice.
"If I can get elected Senator, I can stay here. Well, I can stay here most of the time."
"Well that's wonderful!" Effie declares, clapping her hands. "When do you start?"
Gale sighs. "That's not how it works now, Effie. The Senator isn't appointed. Neither is the Mayor. In the new government, the representatives are elected by the people. I need to convince the people of 12 that I should represent them."
"Well, that will certainly be easy, Gale. You saved all of their lives, practically. Literally! You literally saved all of their lives. They owe it to you," she says back. I know she thinks she is helping, but Gale is disheartened and I understand. No one else at this table will, but I do. He doesn't feel like he's earned this. He's certain he'll win, but he thinks it will be because the people are repaying a debt, not because he's the best man for the job. It undermines the whole system. Once again, the choice of the people is taken away from them. If they vote for him out of obligation, how is that any different than Snow appointing a loyalist?
"Then you'll have to beat me." I say. What am I doing? I don't even like people, let alone do I want to voluntarily go to the Capitol once every three months. Sit in on meetings. Vote on things. Ugh. But he needs to earn this.
"What?!" Johanna chokes on her stew.
"You heard me. If you want this, you'll have to take down the Mockingjay," I say. Everyone else at the table is astonished, but Gale grins wickedly at me. As does Haymitch.
"While I'm sure he appreciates the sentiment, sweetheart, you aren't exactly real competition," Haymitch says.
"What's that supposed to mean?" I scowl at him.
"Well, for starters - you're unpleasant to be around, you have the personality of a wet mop, the entire country thinks you're mentally unstable, you assassinated our last President, you aren't even allowed to leave District 12, you have an insatiable murderous streak, and I think Gale would have more competition campaigning against a drunk wombat with a speech impediment than he would campaigning against you." He sips his coffee. "Frankly, I'm not sure what the kid even sees in you."
Peeta's face is turning crimson as he tries to bury a laugh, but everyone at the table is losing this battle and soon they have all joined. I don't think it's funny at all. I push my chair away from the table and slam the door as I leave. Gale is right behind me.
"Hey, Catnip…" he grabs my hand. I turn and look at him. "I appreciate it."
I'm more embarrassed than anything at this point. I was just trying to help my friend, and now I've made myself look like a fool. I'm too proud to get over things right away, so instead I go home.
As it turns out, Gale didn't need me to volunteer as competition at all. The race for District 12 Senator is more diluted than we thought. Alongside Gale's name on the ballot is Arlo, the man who runs the Market, and Thom. The special election is held the first week in September. On election day, we all head down to the Justice Building to cast the first vote of our free nation. In the voting booth, I circle Gale's name for Senator, and I write in Thom's name for Mayor. Haymitch has assured me that's allowed. I hold the ballot in my hand for another moment. It seems so insignificant and slight, but this piece of paper is what we fought for. This is why we are here. Free will.
Johanna arrives next at the table to collect her ballot.
"Name?" the attendant asks.
"Johanna Mason."
"You're not on the list," the attendant replies. "Next."
"What do you mean?" Johanna demands, blocking the next person in line.
"You aren't listed as citizen of District 12," the attendant says. "That's all I know. You need to see the District Clerk. Third floor."
Johanna kicks the leg of the table, turns on a dime, and storms out of the room. Gale, Peeta, and I all follow. She's taking the stairs two at a time until she arrives at the Clerk's Office.
"Who's the District Clerk?" Johanna demands of no one in particular.
"I am," a middle-aged woman steps forward to the counter. "What can I help you with?"
"The bitch downstairs says I'm not a citizen of District 12. I've been living here for months!" Johanna's yelling now.
"Well, to be a citizen of District 12, or any district for that matter, you have to meet one of the following criteria: you must have been born in District 12, you must own property in District 12, you must have completed an official residency transfer from another district in Panem, or you must be married to a resident of District 12," the clerk finishes.
"Fine then, transfer me."
"Of course. Let me acquire the paperwork. The typical transfer takes about 4 to 6 weeks, so we should have you…"
"What? I can't wait 4 to 6 weeks. I want to vote today."
"I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do..." the clerk start before Johanna interrupts.
"Let's do the other one, then," Johanna demands.
"Which one, miss?" the clerk asks.
"The marriage one. Let's do that. I can do that today, right?" Johanna says.
"Well, yes of course, but…"
"Just get the paperwork," Johanna spits at her. The clerk returns with a marriage license. Peeta and I just stand there with our jaws dropped. I am flabbergasted. Gale joins her at the counter. Johanna signs and initials in a few places, and then slides the paper across the counter to Gale. She slams the pen down in front of him. "Sign this," she insists, without an ounce of romance or love in her voice. If anything, she's annoyed.
Gale scribbles his name. "We need a witness," he says, and his gray eyes meet mine. "Katniss? Wanna be my best man?" I step forward and take the pen. I never thought my name would appear on a marriage license, let alone with Gale's. I sign my name on the witness line, get on my tiptoes, and kiss his cheek.
"Is that it, then?" Johanna asks the clerk.
"Yes, that's it. You are officially a citizen of District 12, Mrs. Hawthorne." Johanna shoots her a death glare and takes Gale's hand.
"Don't ever call me that again or I'll bury an axe in your chest," she seethes at the woman. Johanna grabs Gale by the shirt. "Come on, Mr. Mason. It's time to go vote." Johanna drags him from the room.
With that, Gale is married.