Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of Christmas week pass in a blur of studying, exams, and panicking over whether or not Katniss's Christmas gift would arrive in time. After not being able to find what I wanted for her either locally or online, I ended up having to call a sports paraphernalia store in the Mall of America to find the exact Minnesota Vikings blanket that I wanted to buy for her. The lady I spoke with up there was so nice, spending almost a half an hour on the phone with me, and even emailing me pictures of the items to make sure they were correct before I purchased them. Her accent was so funny I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing a couple of times. Especially when she said 'don'tcha know' at the end of almost every sentence.
It's exactly 3:30pm on Wednesday afternoon when I walk through the door of Dr. Aurelius' office, a block away from where I just finished my last final exam for the semester. The kind receptionist, wearing a downright gaudy Christmas vest over her black scrub top, smiles at me as she takes my driver's license and insurance card, handing me a stack of forms attached to a clipboard to fill out.
Sitting down in the small but tastefully decorated waiting room, I smirk at the list of questions running down the length of one of the forms, asking various things about myself and my immediate family members. Growing up, we never talked about feelings in my family. I never saw my parents hold hands or kiss each other in front of me, and most of the time my mother only barely tolerated the three of us boys. I don't remember my mother ever telling me she loved me, or going out of her way to show me affection. Often I felt like only a nuisance to her; the third son she got stuck with instead of the daughter she so desperately wanted.
It won't be that way with me, I think. When Katniss and I have a family, I'll make sure each and every person knows how much they are loved.
"Peter Mell-ark?" I hear, startling me from my thoughts. A nurse, also wearing an ugly Christmas vest, is standing by a door a few feet away, holding another clipboard.
"It's Pee-ta," I say, clearing my throat and getting to my feet. "Like the bread?"
"Oh, I'm so sorry," the nurse says, making a notation on the clipboard. "I'll have that fixed by the time you leave here today."
"No problem," I mumble. I'm so used to people mispronouncing my name, I'm almost shocked when they don't. It took the college almost an entire semester to get it spelled correctly in their computer system.
I follow the nurse down a short hallway and into a room furnished with a mahogany desk and leather swivel chair, opposite a comfortable-looking leather loveseat next to a small table. "Dr. Aurelius will be with you in a few minutes," she says. "Would you like some coffee or tea while you're waiting?"
"Tea sounds fine, thank you," I say, my eyes drawn to a painting hanging on the far wall. "No sugar, please."
"I'll be right back with it," she says, exiting the room.
She returns a couple minutes later with a cup of hot water and a teabag, inviting me to sit down on the loveseat. "It should only be a few more minutes. Please make yourself comfortable."
Once the tea is prepped I pick up the cup, wrapping both of my hands around it as I take a closer look at the painting on the wall. It's an absolutely breathtaking picture of a glassy-surfaced lake, with a single, small fishing boat off to one side and a beautiful sunset barely touching the water's surface. I can almost feel the light lakeside breeze wafting through my hair as I look at it. "It's so peaceful," I whisper. As I look more closely, I can see the artist's signature in the bottom left-hand corner. M. Aurelius.
"Ah, you like lakes?" I hear from behind me. Startled, I turn abruptly, almost spilling my tea, to see a bespectacled man wearing a Santa hat standing in the doorway. At first glance, he looks almost exactly like Dr. Erskine from the MCU.
"Um, no. Well, I mean-" I mumble, pausing to clear my throat. "What I meant was, I've never seen one that looks like that. It's very beautiful."
Dr. Aurelius, or who I'm assuming to be Dr. Aurelius, looks over at the painting. "Oh yes, they are quite beautiful. Especially on a calm evening such as that was, with the sun setting down in the background." Then he turns to me, squinting. "But, I daresay you were not simply looking at the painting, but more studying it? Are you a painter?"
I take a tentative sip of my tea before answering. "Yes. I mean, sometimes. I love to draw and paint, but I don't have a lot of time to do it right now. I'm in college."
"Ah, I noticed that, on your paperwork," he says, holding out his hand. "I'm Dr. Aurelius."
"Hello," I say, shaking his hand briefly. "I'm Peeta."
"Nice to meet you, Peeta," he answers, indicating for me to have a seat on the loveseat. After settling himself down on the chair next to the desk, he folds his hands, looking at me intently. "Now, I usually like to start with a prayer, if the patient wishes it. But I feel I must ask you a question first."
"Okay. What's that?"
"Do you mind if I take this thing off?" he asks, grasping onto the fluffy white ball at the end of the Santa hat, perched crookedly on his head. "It itches terribly."
"Um, sure?" He even talks like Dr. Erskine.
"Oh thank you," he replies, sounding relieved as he pulls the hat off his head. "Margaret out there at the front desk said I had to keep it on for the entire day. But, seeing as how you're my last appointment for today, well… as long as you don't tell on me, we should be just fine."
I can't help but smile. "No problem, sir."
Dr. Aurelius proceeds to say a quick prayer to officially open our session, then begins with a series of questions that I assume are meant to help him get to know as much about me as possible in the short time we have. He asks about my job, what my favorite thing is to bake. He asks about my favorite courses at school. He asks about my parents and my brothers. My church and my role as a group leader. And finally, he asks about my personal life.
"So Peeta," he says. "I have to think that a handsome young man like you would have a special someone. Am I right?"
"Yes sir," I say, draining the last of the tea from my cup. "I've been dating my girlfriend since mid-September or so."
"I see." He makes a note on the legal pad on the desk next to him. "Does she go to church, or school, with you?"
"Church. That's where I met her, actually. One of my friends brought her as a guest one weekend."
"And you enjoy spending time with her? You have similar interests?"
"There's no one else I'd rather spend time with," I say, rather emphatically. "In fact, I have to force myself to not think about her constantly when I'm not with her. It's even hard for me to concentrate on studying."
"I see." He taps the end of his pen against the notepad, his chin resting in his other hand as he looks me up and down.
"Do you think that's a bad thing?" I demand. Dr. Aurelius has responded with either 'I see', 'hmm', or 'that's interesting' to every answer I've given to his seemingly endless barrage of questions, and after an hour of it I'm starting to think this has been a colossal waste of time.
"Oh, on the contrary," he says now, recapping his pen. "I'd be very surprised if that wasn't the case."
"That's the same thing my friend told me," I mumble. "He's a pastor, down in New Orleans."
"Hmm, I've actually never been to the Gulf area," Dr. Aurelius says, thoughtful. "My family rather enjoys the beach, I should look into that sometime. But anyway," and he clears his throat. "Your pastor friend was correct, and I wouldn't worry at all about it. I can see just from the way you speak about this young lady that you're quite taken with her."
"I am," I say, fidgeting. I really need to get home and see if Katniss's gift has arrived yet.
"All right then," Dr. Aurelius announces. Setting his notepad down on the desk, he stands and walks over to me. "That's unfortunately the end of our time together for today, but I'd like to see you back here next week, if that will work for you."
"Um, yeah," I say. I get slowly to my feet, swinging my backpack over my shoulder. "I'm off of school for a few weeks now, so that should work."
"Wonderful!" he exclaims, shaking my hand. "I'm looking forward to it." He starts for the door, pausing with his hand on the doorknob. "Can I make one small suggestion?"
"Sure?"
"Sometime before our next meeting, pick up a sketchbook and some pencils, and start sketching. Don't think about it too hard, just draw what comes to mind. And then bring the sketchbook with you to our next meeting. Okay?"
"Okay," I say tentatively. "Can I ask why?"
"I'm hoping you'll be able to tell me," he says with a smile. "Have a lovely Christmas!"
"And you as well," I say automatically. He disappears around the door, leaving me shaking my head. Maybe this was just a waste of time.
But I do have to admit that I'm curious enough to at least give one more appointment a try. And it would be nice to start drawing again. I haven't picked up a sketching pencil in I don't know how long. I was going to use the J-term to get a jump start on my final paper for graduation, but I've already completed the research for the most part, and have an outline written, so…
After making my appointment for next week with Margaret the receptionist, I walk slowly to the bus stop, deep in thought and eager to get on to start looking at sketchbooks.
"Peeta!" I hear the manager call as soon as I walk through the front doors of the coffee shop, causing me to cringe. I'm hungry and tired and really looking forward to shelving my textbooks for a while. The last thing I need to hear right now, is that the part-time girl called in sick and they need me in the kitchen.
"Yeah?"
She hurries around back for a moment, returning with a large package. "You got a package delivered today." I see her eyes narrow at my harried expression. "I wanted to make sure you got it, I remember you telling me you were expecting one."
I quickly scan the address label on the big box. I roll my eyes when I see that it's addressed to Peter Mellark, but the return address is Twin Lakes Sporting Goods and Memorabilia. The store where I purchased Katniss's gift.
"Oh, thank you Jesus!" I exclaim, hugging the box to my chest. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
"Um, you're welcome?" the shop manager chuckles. "But my name is Andrea. You know that, right?"
"Huh?" I say, still ecstatic that the gift actually made it on time. I'm already halfway to the stairs before I process her reply. "Oh, and thank you too, Andrea!"
"Please don't be broken, please don't be broken, please don't be broken!" I chant as I unlock the door to my apartment. I toss my backpack haphazardly onto the futon and grab my pair of scissors, ripping into the box and praying that everything inside is intact. In addition to the Vikings blanket, I also purchased a pair of cozy socks and a large Vikings mug, planning to add a bag of the hot cocoa mix that we sell in the coffee shop.
To my relief the cup is perfectly intact, packaged so carefully inside the box you would've thought it was made of crystal. The thick, woolly socks and blanket look unscathed as well, and there's even a small roll of wrapping paper included. I hadn't thought to ask about wrapping paper, but I am relieved to see it. With everything that's been going on this week, I'd completely forgotten to buy any.
"I hope she loves these," I mumble as I get to work, clumsily wrapping the gifts. Gift-wrapping a pair of socks is no easy task, I realize once I'm finished. The mug at least has its own box, and the blanket is square-shaped, sort of, so those are a little easier. I hide the presents in various dresser drawers once I'm done, looking forward to Christmas night when she'll get to open them.
With the gifts taken care of, I unpack my backpack, arranging my textbooks on the single shelf next to the dresser. My stomach growls, reminding me that I still haven't eaten since before my exam this afternoon. A brief survey of my refrigerator leaves me less than enthused with its contents, so I decide to make a run to the Rite Aid for some more peanut butter and orange juice.
Returning home with a sack of groceries, I put together a peanut butter and honey sandwich, grabbing my laptop to start looking at sketchbooks while I eat. "Amazon Prime is so awesome," I mumble as I click SEND ORDER on a stack of three sketchbooks and a set of charcoal pencils. I can't help grinning in excitement at the thought of actually drawing for fun again.
After a very busy shift on Christmas Eve morning, I stumble back upstairs to find my grades waiting for me on the school's intranet. All A's, making my overall GPA at 3.94, and virtually ensuring I'll graduate Summa Cum Laude. "Yes!" I exclaim out loud, with a rather proud, satisfied grin. After a refreshing shower, I flop onto my futon to enjoy a long nap. I'm still riding the high of my perfect grades when Katniss arrives to pick me up for church, looking absolutely radiant in a pair of fitted black pants and a dark red top.
The Christmas Eve service is as beautiful as ever, with the band telling the story of the birth of Jesus through their song selection. Rue sings an amazing rendition of Mary, Did You Know, and Glory in the Highest is performed so well it gives me goosebumps. The band also performs several traditional Christmas songs, and the children of Kids Church do their parade through the auditorium, banging on their coffee can drums to The Little Drummer Boy.
Once service is over, Katniss and I pick up our dinner from Chick-Fil-A before heading back to my apartment to watch The Nativity Story. As she reluctantly leaves to go home after the movie, she tells me she'll be by to pick me up at 9:30 tomorrow to head to my parents' house.
Christmas morning dawns sunny and cold. I gradually awaken, enjoying the fact that I wasn't woken up by an alarm for a change. Once I decide I'm fully awake, I slide off the futon and onto my knees. "Dear Lord, thank you so much for the amazing gift of your life that we celebrate today. And thank you that we live in a country where we are allowed to celebrate the gift of your life without fear of prosecution. Lord, I ask that you bless my family's home today. Help my parents and my brothers be welcoming to Katniss. Help her to feel comfortable around them. And, please help me to hold my temper if I feel like Katniss is not being treated as she should. In Jesus' name, amen."
Katniss arrives right on time to pick me up. As we settle in for the forty-five minute drive, I think of how proud I'll be to introduce her to my family today. She's in a wonderful mood, wearing a fluffy turtleneck sweater under her warm jacket, with her shiny dark hair braided and her cheeks flushed. She holds my hand for almost the entire drive, telling me about various Christmases growing up at her house, describing things in such detail I can almost picture them myself.
That's how it'll be in our family, I think. I can picture it now: Katniss and I sitting in our pajamas way too early in the morning, mugs of hot chocolate in our hands, watching our kids tear into their presents. The thought of it makes me smile.
Once we pull into my parents' driveway though, Katniss's expression changes from joy to nervousness. "Hey," I say, taking both of her hands. "Everyone's gonna love you."
"If you say so," she mumbles.
I lean in for a quick kiss. "I know so. You have nothing to be scared of." Please Lord, make sure she has nothing to be scared of! Katniss doesn't look convinced, but smiles softly at me before opening her door.
The front door, decorated with a wreath and jingle bells, is unlocked when I test the knob, so we walk right in, Katniss clinging to my arm as I carry the gifts and homemade french silk pie that we brought. As we walk past the entryway and into the hall my brother Bannock appears, presumably on his way to the kitchen.
"Peeta!" he exclaims, actually sounding happy to see us. "I didn't know you were coming today!" Crossing the distance between us in three strides, he envelops me in one of his signature bear hugs, thumping me twice on the back. "It's so good to see you!"
"It's good to see you too," I say, feeling immensely guilty. Katniss was right. I should've reconnected with my family a long time ago.
"And who is this?" Bannock asks, smiling at Katniss and holding out his hand. "Hello. I'm Bannock, Peeta's biggest brother."
His overt enthusiasm is contagious even to Katniss, who takes his hand, smiling in return. "I'm Katniss."
"It's great to meet you, Katniss," Bannock says, taking the pie and whipped topping from me. "Everyone's in the living room, so go on in and say hi."
Katniss's hand re-latches onto my arm as we follow voices and laughter to the living room, where a decorated Christmas tree surrounded by presents sits in one corner.
"Peet!" Rye exclaims in surprise from his seat next to Madge. "So, you decided to come after all, huh?"
Feeling my face flush, I nod. "Yeah. Didn't Dad tell you?"
"Your father probably didn't want to tell us until you actually showed up," my mother says, turning around in her chair to look at us, her eyes narrowed. "Seeing as how you haven't been here in, how many years has it been again?"
I feel my jaw clench at the same time as Katniss's fingers dig into my arm. "Um," I say, swallowing hard and choosing to ignore my mother's barb. "Merry Christmas, everyone."
"Merry Christmas, Peeta," my father says, rising from his chair. The tone of his voice is apologetic as he smiles at Katniss. "And who's this lovely young lady?"
"This is Katniss Everdeen," I reply. "We met at church."
"How nice to meet you, Katniss," Dad says. "Please, come on in and sit down. Can I get you anything? Tea? Hot cocoa? Eggnog?"
"Hot cocoa would be fine," Katniss says in a timid voice, still clinging to my arm.
"Same for me, please," I tell my father as I scan the room. Seeing as there's no more seats available, I guide Katniss over to a bare patch of floor next to the tree, introducing her to Bannock's wife, Casey.
My father returns with two cups of hot chocolate topped with whipped cream, handing them to Katniss and me. There's an awkward stretch of silence as we all sort of stare at each other, no one wanting to be the first to start talking.
Finally, Bannock returns from whatever he was doing in the kitchen and settles down on the loveseat next to his wife. "So Katniss, are you in school as well?"
Katniss shakes her head as she swallows a dollop of whipped cream. "No. I teach archery at the Community Center. And we're also starting a Double Dutch club once the school kids return from Christmas break, so I'll be helping with that as well."
"Oh that sounds so interesting!" Bannock says, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. "I've always thought it would be so much fun to learn how to shoot a bow and arrow."
Katniss visibly relaxes, smiling slightly at my brother. I feel a little tension ease up from my neck and shoulders also. At least Bannock is trying to be polite. Rye hasn't said a word to Katniss since hello, but his eyes haven't left her either. It's almost as though he's leering at her, which is making Madge none too happy. Casey seems so bored with the conversation that she's started filing her fingernails, and Mom has her lips pinched together so tight they've almost disappeared.
After about fifteen minutes of forced conversation, Dad announces that we should start opening presents if we want to be finished by lunchtime. Bannock immediately takes over his usual role of playing Santa, and the ripping open of gifts commences. I see my father's eyes light up at the new golfing glove he opens from me and Katniss, and Rye tosses me a 'thanks' for the Frisky's Bar and Grille gift card that we chose for him. My mother, however, purses her lips even more at the cross-stitch kit that I spent way too much time selecting for her.
Lunch at least passes without incident, especially once Casey announces during the main course that she and Bannock are expecting their first baby. Mom gets so excited I'm afraid she's going to swoon, with her spending the rest of the meal discussing nursery decorations with Casey. The news also helps to explain why Bannock is in such a good mood today.
Once dessert is finished though, and I feel like we've suffered through enough strained small talk, I lean over to Katniss, whispering that we can leave after I collect some leftovers to take to Haymitch. The look she gives me is so plainly relieved it almost brings tears to my eyes for putting her through the torture of this afternoon.
"I'll be back in a few minutes," I whisper, kissing her cheek. She nods, getting up in search of the restroom while I head towards the kitchen. I'm only about two steps away when I hear my parents talking in loud whispers.
"If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times," I hear my mother say. "Nothing good will ever come from him going to a school like that. And now it looks like he's allowed some good-for-nothing girl from Seam County to latch onto him? Darn it Dan, you know how all those girls are!"
Even though I know I shouldn't be eavesdropping, I can't help but pause right outside the kitchen doorway anyhow, desperately hoping that my father will at least defend Katniss, who he seems to like.
"Oh I don't know, she seems like a nice enough girl to me," Dad replies. "Peeta seems very happy with her."
"She's hardly said a word the entire day," Mom snaps. "Oh, I shouldn't be too surprised. I mean, no decent girl would want a man with only half a leg. And she's not even going to college! What's she going to do when Peeta graduates? You know preachers don't make any money! She's going to be able to support him by teaching a bunch of school kids how to… to jump rope… and shoot a bow and arrow? Explain to me how those are useful skills to have! And explain to me, how I'll be able to tell my friends that my youngest son, for all of his apparent intelligence, decided to throw away what could've been a halfway decent life, just so he could marry a Seam slut and become a preacher!"
My fists are clenched so tight my knuckles are white, my jaw's so tight my teeth are scraping together, and I feel my entire body trembling in anger. Please Lord, just give me five more minutes, I pray as I inhale the deepest breath I can before walking into the kitchen, ignoring the guilty look on my dad's face, trying hard to make it look like I didn't just overhear their conversation.
"Um," I say quietly, clearing my throat. "Katniss and I going to head out now. Thanks for having us."
Mom doesn't say anything, glaring at me over the teacup she's holding. Dad gives me a brief hug before shoving several containers of leftovers into my hands. "Here. Have Katniss take these back to her family."
I nod, accepting the containers. "Thanks," I say, choosing to believe his statement as kind instead of loaded. "It was… nice to see everyone."
Katniss appears in the kitchen doorway holding my coat, her jacket on and bag in hand. She takes the containers from me while I shrug into my coat. "Thank you, for your hospitality," she says softly.
My mother blinks, no doubt wondering how a girl from Seam County would know such a long word as 'hospitality'. To my relief, my dad smiles warmly at her, pulling her into a quick hug. "It was our pleasure, Katniss. Merry Christmas."
"Bye everyone," I say to the rest of the family as we head towards the door. "Merry Christmas." A chorus of 'goodbye' and 'see ya' follows us out the door.
Although Katniss is visibly more relaxed now that we've left, she's quiet almost the entire way to Haymitch's house, making me wonder how much of the kitchen conversation she overheard.
"Are you okay?" I ask her once we've turned off the main road.
"You were upset, right before we left," she replies. "What about?"
I guess I didn't hide my temper as well as I thought. "It's nothing you need to be concerned ab-"
"Don't you give me that!" Katniss snaps, taking the sharp turn onto Haymitch's gravel driveway a little too fast. "Your mother said something that made you upset. Was it about me?"
"Yes," I say, my face flushing in shame. "It was about both of us. My mother… she's always thought of me as a lesser form of human since the accident. And, she's always held some really stupid prejudices about people, Katniss." As the truck slows to a stop, I cup her face so she can look at me. "I promise you, it wasn't anything I hadn't heard before. I was just extra mad because she didn't even try to get to know you today."
Katniss stares at me, searching my face. Finally, she nods. "Okay."
I lean in, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Okay. Now, let's go wake up Haymitch and remind him that it's Christmas."
Smiling, Katniss leans in for another kiss before clamoring out of the pickup. As expected, we find Haymitch sound asleep on the couch. Once he recovers from his usual displeasure at being woken up he proceeds to devour the food we brought, washing it down with copious amounts of his white liquor. We spend a couple hours or so talking with him and tidying up around the house until Haymitch announces that he's ready to resume his nap. So after we finish the dishes and Katniss starts a load of laundry, we head back up the mountain towards the coffee shop.
Katniss pulls a large package out from behind her seat once we arrive in the parking lot, winking at me as we get out of the truck. When we make it upstairs and into my apartment, her eyes light up like a little girl's as she sees the stack of purple-wrapped gifts sitting on the coffee table. "Oh! Are all of those for me?"
"Well, they're not for me!" I joke as I take her jacket, draping it over the dresser.
She squeals out loud, clapping her hands and bouncing on the balls of her feet. "Can I open them?"
"Of course you can! I can't wait for you to see them!"
Sitting down on the futon, Katniss grabs the first present in the stack, tearing into the wrapping like she's five years old. Finding the socks, she rips open the package, sliding them onto her feet right over the socks she's already wearing. Then she snatches the next package, ripping off the paper and nearly destroying the box in her excitement. She grasps the cocoa mug in both hands, clutching it to her chest before setting it gently down on top of the coffee table.
She takes her time with the third gift, shaking and squeezing it, trying to guess what it is, until she can't take it anymore and slides her slender fingers under a fold of the wrapping paper, tearing it free. She inhales sharply as she unfolds the full-sized woolen blanket, with the old-fashioned Minnesota Vikings helmet logo knitted right into the heavy cloth.
"Peeta!" she chokes out, her eyes brimming with tears. "How-, how'd you know?" The fabric clutched in her hands drops to her lap as she throws her arms around my neck. "How'd you know this was the one? The one my dad's grandfather had?"
I hug her to me fiercely, pressing kisses to her cheek. "I didn't. I just described what you told me to this lady, at this store up there in Minnesota, and she found it for me."
She pulls back, a single tear running down each cheek, and leans in to kiss me. "Thank you," she croaks. "Peeta, thank you!"
"You're welcome, love," I say, smiling so wide I think my face might split open. "You're so welcome. I'm so glad you love it!"
Katniss shakes out the blanket, laying it over both of our laps. "It's so big!" she says. "Usually these sports blankets aren't this big!"
"Well, I wanted it to be big enough for you to really burrow into," I say, snuggling closer. "You know, so you can become one with the blanket."
Giggling, Katniss hands me my gift. "Your turn now."
I make a show of trying to shake and squeeze the heavy box that she hands me, earning another giggle before I tear into the forest green wrapping paper. My eyes widen as I open the box from the Christian bookstore located about a block away from the Community Center.
"Katniss!" I rasp, pulling out brand-new copies of Strong's Bible Concordance and its corresponding Bible Dictionary, turning them over slowly in my hands. I currently own copies of both of these, but they were hand-me-downs from Finnick, are about ten years old, and covered with so much duct tape trying to keep all the pages in that you can't even read the titles anymore. "Oh, these are beautiful! They must've cost a fortune!"
In an instant, Katniss's expression changes from a smile to an angry scowl. "What do you mean by that?"
"Nothing!" I say quickly, trying to sound as contrite as possible. "Absolutely nothing, I didn't mean-"
"Just because I come from Seam County doesn't mean I can't afford to buy my… you a nice Christmas gift!" Katniss spits out. "You should know that by now, Peeta Mellark!"
"I do know that!" I say, raising my voice a bit. Dropping the books on the coffee table, I grasp onto her elbows, pulling her closer to me. "That was not a smart thing for me to say, and I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything by it."
She stares at me, glowering, for several seconds before relaxing her scowl. "All right. Apology accepted."
I bring my hand up to her face, cupping her cheek. "I'm not used to such wonderful Christmas gifts," I tell her, trying to explain my reaction. "And these are wonderful Christmas gifts." I rest my other hand on top of the two huge books. "They're perfect, Katniss. Thank you."
Katniss leans up to kiss me. "You're welcome. The man who helped me find these at the store said they were the best ones for Bible students."
Pecking her on the lips one more time, I hand her my laptop and get slowly to my feet. "Now. Why don't you look through my movie selection and choose something for us to watch, while I wash out your new mug and make you some hot chocolate. Sound good?"
"Sounds good," Katniss says as she takes the laptop, scrolling through my movie list while I prepare the hot chocolate and some microwave popcorn. "I don't think I've seen these new Star Trek movies yet. Can we watch one of those?"
"Sure!" I say as I set our snacks down. "They're really good! And, there's even a couple actors here in the first one that you might recognize."
Katniss smiles as she reaches for the popcorn bowl. "Oh, I love playing guess the actor!"
As we snuggle under the Vikings blanket with the laptop in front of us, I close my eyes briefly, breathing in the scent of Katniss's hair, the almost intoxicating combination of pine needles and lavender. I love you, so much, I say in my head. I so very much want to hear her say those words to me, but yet, I don't want them to be just an automatic response either. I want her to tell me she loves me on her own terms, and not before.
"Don't you ever think, that I think any less of you because of where you grew up," I say instead, whispering into her ear. "I'm not my mother."
Katniss nods, her head leaning against my chest. "I know you're not. And I know you don't."
"Don't ever forget it either, okay?"
"I won't. Merry Christmas, Peeta."
Song references:
Mary Did You Know by Gaither Vocal Band (has been recorded by several other artists)
Glory in the Highest by Chris Tomlin
The Little Drummer Boy by Trapp Family Singers (has been recorded by several other artists)
All of the songs in my story are available in iTunes and on YouTube
So, what did you guys think of Peeta's family? Be sure to let me know in the reviews! :)