Chapter 12
When they met up again the day after, Effie came prepared with information of the school her nephew was enrolled in; the benefits and merits, its reputation and insisted that Prim would love it there.
"That won't work," Haymitch disagreed. "Prim is everything to Katniss and being separated from her that way… I don't think she'll bite."
Effie had scheduled a house visit for a meeting with one of her clients when she had asked him along, he agreed to it simply because he had nothing else to do that day. It was a good experience, he thought, to leave the touristy areas of Marina Bay Sands behind and stepped into the local neighbourhood.
"You won't know until you ask," Effie argued. "If she cares about her sister, she would want only the best for her, like you do."
Haymitch shot her an annoyed look. She can be quite persistent when she set her mind to it. It was just his luck, he supposed, to be surrounded by exceptionally stubborn people.
"I need coffee," he mumbled distractedly and made a sharp left into a coffee shop he saw in the neighbourhood.
The array of stalls greeted him and it took him a while to locate the drink stall tucked at a corner. He moved towards it where the steam from boiling water rose to the air. There was a queue which he joined with Effie.
"I'd like a cup of Milo," she smiled at him.
He had never had a Milo before and had no idea what it was.
"I thought you'd be more of a tea kinda person."
"I had tea before I met you," Effie answered. "Now, back to what we were discussing. If the only reason you agreed to work for my father is for Prim, then really, Haymitch, talk to your girls about my suggestion."
"I told you that ain't the only reason," he muttered. He moved forward in line and then peered at the old lady behind the counter. "Coffee and uh – milo."
"You want Dinosaur? Milo peng? What you want?"
"I'm sorry - what?"
Haymitch frowned and Effie laughed.
"Normal, hot milo," she intervened. "And one coffee, aunty. Takeaway."
The old lady gave her a soft smile and turned her back on them, mixing and preparing the drinks in Styrofoam cups for them. The process was entertaining, to say the least, as she poured the ground coffee into what he thought with horror as a sock which Effie was quick to assure was actually just a filter. The lady handed him their drinks with a loud, "handsome boy, your drinks!"
He glanced at Effie, a little embarrassed. She seemed more amused than anything.
"Why do you call her that?" Haymitch asked as they left the place. "You don't know her, yeah? She's not your aunt or anything."
"When I first arrived, I did think it was peculiar but now, I have accepted it as their way of life. They seem to address anyone older than them as Uncle or Aunty. It is as if the entire country is one big family. I think they do so out of respect," she mused, "but still, it is the way things are and I am just… adapting to it."
"Right," he nodded.
"Well, do not be surprised if someone were to address you as Uncle," she chuckled. "It happened to me quite a number of times."
"Listen, I'm not outright dismissing what you suggested," he told her. "But, let's take a rain check and see if you father holds his end of the bargain. I gave him an update yesterday night after I left your place… Told him I'm gettin' somewhere with you. So we'll see."
"Oh, he will hold his end. My father believes strongly in seeing through with any deals that he makes as long as he sees results. We should take a photo together," she suggested out of the blue.
"What the hell for?"
"Why, to send it to him, of course," she deadpanned. "If he sees that you are friendly with me, gaining my trust, so to speak, it will likely give him the nudge to do what is necessary for Prim."
"Am I gaining your trust?" his eyes sparkled as he teased her.
"Do not push it, Haymitch. We both have something we want out of this."
He held up both hands in surrender and passed his phone to a girl for the photo. Effie pressed herself against his side, tilting her head slightly to smile at the camera except at the very last second, a passer-by accidentally bumped into her. He steadied her with a hand on her waist just as she looked up at him.
"That's good," she nodded her approval at the photo. "Send that to my father."
He wanted to take another photo, a simple one of them just standing side by side but Effie was adamant that he sent that in particular.
"I think it would give my father quite a scare he might even pull you back from the job," she said with an uncharacteristic wink.
The result showed hours later on that very night. They were walking down Orchard Road, the city's shopping district, with Effie fully intending to make use of her father's credit card when Haymitch's phone went off.
It was from Katniss with a text to say that the tutor was meeting Prim in an hour's time. They would be discussing and tailoring the curriculum to what Prim required so texted Beetee to oversee the meeting in case anything were to come up, and if he trusted anyone to know more about academics than the tutor, it was Beetee.
"See," Effie declared smugly. "What did I tell you? I know my father quite well. Do you know what this means, Haymitch? Two can play the game – you and I against my parents."
If he thought it was that simple to mislead the Trinkets, he was wrong. He received a call not long after from Lysandra Trinket demanding an explanation for that photo.
"You want me to convince her home, yeah? So that's what I'm doing," he snapped. "Quit questioning my methods. All I'm tryin' to do is to gain her trust before she can run off to who knows where this time round."
"How exactly do you propose to that? By getting cosy with my daughter?"
"You're shitting me, right?" he snorted. "I ain't cosying up to her. How do people trust other people? By offering a hand of friendship – you should try it sometimes," he was sure the woman could picture him rolling his eyes at this point. "Be a friend and you'll realize you don't have to buy your way into people's good graces."
That clearly hit a nerve because there was an indignant cry before he was greeted with a momentary silence.
"That is all well and good, Mr. Abernathy," she said once she had herself under control, "but my daughter is a very beautiful woman, very irresistible."
"What's your point?" he growled.
"I will not have you falling for her charms. You will not even think about sleeping with her in an attempt to persuade her or worse still, you will not fall in love with her… It is not uncommon for men to delude themselves into thinking that they are in love with my daughter. She might convince you to let her stay otherwise. I will risk not have the job compromised by such trivialities."
Haymitch scoffed. If she only knew how close they came to sleeping with each other…
"Your daughter is an adult," he shot back instead, "and what the hell do you take me for? You'd think I'd sleep with her to lower her defenses? Give your daughter some credit at least. She ain't stupid."
He let his gaze trailed over to where Effie was busy in a shoe shop, trying on a pair of killer red heels.
"Do not have any feelings for her, Mr Abernathy. I do not like what I saw in that photo you sent to my husband."
"You don't have to worry about anyone falling in love… or having feelings," he spat.
If earlier was any indication, the reason Effie Trinket was even talking to him and giving him her time of day after knowing who he was and the reason he was here was so she could have him work with her instead of her parents.
He sighed. Since when did he become a double agent?
"I know why I'm here – get your daughter home, get Prim a tutor and get my record cleared. I'll hold up my end of the deal, you make sure you hold up yours."
Haymitch ended the call just as Effie excited from the shop with two bags.
"I've got myself two pairs of Louboutin," she announced proudly.
"And a Louboutin is a…?"
"Christian Louboutin, Haymitch," she explained. "No…? Doesn't ring any bell?"
"Nah."
"It doesn't matter. Let's go. We'll find something for you," she gave him a charming smile and handed the credit card she used to purchase the shoes back to him.
They never said it out loud but it would seem that Haymitch & Effie are slowly working together! Let's see how that pans out in future chapters. :) Leave me a review!
Background: Our coffeeshop (fondly call a 'kopitiam') is not like walking into Starbucks or any other coffee places. I'll upload a photo of it on my tumblr, if you're interested. 'Milo' is a chocolate malt drink. Not sure if you have it in US/Europe, but I think not? Anyway, 'Milo Dinosaur' and 'Milo Godzilla' is chocolate drink with Milo powder/ice cream/whipped cream, basically diabetes in a cup. It's an all time local favourite. 'Peng' means ice in Hokkien (I think). So, the lady is actually asking, if Haymitch would like ice in the drink. Ordering coffee/tea in a local coffeeshop here is an art which even I have not mastered. If you're interested, you can check out these websites: en_ & /2010/02/28/a-rough-guide-to-ordering-local-coffee-in-singapore/