A god-awful tone pierces the room. Hands cover ears. Glares are pointed. Obscenities whispered grudgingly. The boy with the clarinet winces at the scrutiny given by his peers.
"Was that any better ?" he hoped. I didn't have the heart to tell him no. I nod encouragingly.
"With a little more practice you'll be fitting right in with the class." I lie. Trent Odair looked proud that he had accomplished something. I was just walking away when I heard the girl beside him speak up.
"Hey. My name is Ginger Kevinski." The girl turned her body to face his. Her long golden, red hair, flicking behind her.
"Nice to meet you I'm Trent" he greets. They shake hands and she goes on to give him pointers. I have never heard Ginger speak except when I ask her a question. This sudden out of character action startles me. Then again, Trent Odair is the boy she is talking to, and he is just as handsome, if not more handsome than his father. Trent is a little less cocky though thankfully. Ginger seems like a good match for him, well mannered, quiet, extremely intelligent. She picked up the clarinet and played a short piece for the class once when she first enrolled. I asked her how long she had been playing and she said it was her very first time. Ginger is a person who is able to figure out things right away. I bet she could beat Haymitch at chess even. Trent seemed to take quite an interest in her. She wasn't very thin but her smile was incredible and so were her doe like eyes. I wonder which captivated Trent. I moved on to my other students. Priscilla Grenet was practicing the violin.
"Very nice Priscilla" I praised as I passed her. She grinned up at me and her twin sister Evelyn only scowled.
"You to Evelyn" I added to save Prisilla from enduring her stormy disposition. The sisters came from a rich family in two. After the war, they lost everything they had. The only reason they could attend the school was because of the scholarship program we started. Still the sisters were snooty and dignified.
Bennett Tilbant was the next boy I crossed. He wore glasses and his hair always strayed outward to create a messy hedge upon his head. However, Bennett was by far the best musician in the class, specializing in the piano. No doubt he would become famous someday. I check my watch to see if my vocal instructor shift had started. I was five minutes late. Quickly I made my way through the wind section, then the percussion section until I reached the door that led to the next room. Leevy shook her head in mock disappointment.
"Shame on you Katniss. Five minutes late" she tsked. I apologized and left back through the door I arrived out of. There were four students in the vocal arts. Krescentia Frener the very stubborn girl who refuses to believe anyone but herself knows how to sing. Thiele Larkson the deep voiced, dramatic boy, who could easily become a star actor, yet settled for singing. Lily Cadbaurn the young five year old who could make a grown my cry tears of joy with a single note. The very best singer, Bunny Crowel, a romantic young woman who will be the best mother I've ever seen. Four months ago the twenty year old got pregnant out of wedlock but I've never seen her shine more
"Good morning." I greeted and a collective good morning was returned. They had already warmed up and finished their exercises with Leevy. I just had to present the song we were to practice.
"I wrote this song about those who we loved and lost during the rebellion. None of you were probably there for that except for maybe Bunny" I say. She nods from her seat. Her eyes on the ground beyond her feet. Even though she was only about six when it happened, it looked like it was going to be emotional for her.
"Even if you weren't there for that, you have heard the stories, and you have been effected by the event. This is just another tribute to those lost souls who sacrificed for us." I explain. Each nods solemnly. I begin singing the song.
"Waiting, wanting
Just for a little while
A moment with your smile
Somewhere with you
Wishing, hoping
For another last goodbye
No more tears to cry
Somewhere with you
Somewhere with you in the place we love
No more cares in the world above
Soaring through clouds
No water for us to drown
Somewhere
Somewhere
In heaven
Growing, Living
Going on into this life
With peace instead of fight
Somewhere with you
Someday we'll be together once again
But tomorrow comes and the times not yet
But tomorrow comes and the times not yet"
When I finish, I hand out the sheet music and we take turns practicing until each one has mastered it. Thiele and Krescent had troubles because of the high notes but with a bit of adjusting they also acquired it.
"Okay now we shall try with instrumentals. Leevy has introduced the song to the musicians next door. Let's head over to the stage." We entered through the other door. We were about to make the trek through the narrow hallway, that leads to the stage, when a hand grabs my shoulder. It's Johanna looking rather anxious.
"What? Johanna you better not be messing with me. I have to teach…" I stopped when I saw the look of distress on her face, something that is never worn on Johanna's face. It was even rarer than her smile.
"She's in labor" she growls. I give her a seriously disbelieving look. Johanna pulled this on Peeta and I a few days ago. After we got in an argument he spent the night in his old house to blow off steam. She thought that the whole "Madge is in labor" would be a good way for us to face each other at a vacant hospital. Standing out in the cold. Waiting for a nurse to come out and tell us her room number. Only to find out Johanna had pulled our leg and Madge was at her home asleep. Luckily the plan worked and Peeta and I made up. We were both still angry at Johanna though.
"I'm not (Johanna expletive) making this up! Madge's (Johanna expletive) in labor and having a (Johanna expletive) baby!" Oh Johanna. So many dirty words. She's a mother now so she better learn to stop that foul mouth of hers. Then reality hit. Madge is in labor!
"Oh well lets hurry!" I exclaim.
"Oh well lets hurry!" she mocks in an obnoxious voice. "Well no (Johanna expletive)! I thought we were gonna sit and have tea first, maybe talk about the weather!" she said sarcastically. Johanna was nervous. And a nervous Johanna is almost as bad as a furious Johanna. I tell Bunny the new plan and she guides the rest of the group down to the stage. I turn back to Johanna. Her eyes are filled with fear and I can actually see her shake. I know what it's like. The fear that something terrible will happen. A bomb will be dropped on the hospital. Or Snow will shove the baby into the merciless hands of a peacekeeper and command him to "squeeze". But the bombs are gone, the war is over, there are no games, peacekeepers, or Snow. I did something daring. Something I wouldn't do if Johanna wasn't so distraught. I hugged her tightly.
"Johanna it's okay. There is nothing to fear anymore. And if there was, nothing would ever hurt your baby. I wouldn't let it. Peeta wouldn't let it. Haymitch wouldn't let it. Leevy wouldn't let it. We are a family and families protect each other." I honestly express. Johanna doesn't hug me back but doesn't move away. I didn't expect anything more or anything less from her.
"Let's go" I say and together we run. We run out of the music school. Down the street. Around the corner. Down another street. The hospital is in view.
"Wait, slow down guys!" I voice calls from behind us. I make out Leevy bounding toward us out of shape. She is huffing out uneven breaths. Wow, she should go running with me in the morning. The situation came back to me when I heard Johanna groan.
"Go Johanna. I will wait for Leevy and catch up with you." She gives me a thankful look then dashes through the double doors. Leevy makes an effort to hurry but ends up walking. I try to be patient but it's hard. Finally Leevy is choking on her breath before me and I practically shove her through the hospital door.
"Sorry" she makes out before going into a coughing fit. "I had to find Teniel and Greyson to sub for us. Plus yeah I'm out of shape" she admits. I roll my eyes and tell her it is fine. We find a nurse walking by and I stop her.
"Excuse me" I interrupt. When the blond woman turns around I am ecstatic to find it's my mother. She was supposed to arrive here today at four and its only two thirty.
"Mom!" I hug her. "I thought you wouldn't be here till four"
"I had a hunch I should get here earlier. It was a pretty good hunch."
I separate from her and ask what room Madge has.
"Room four" The three of us race down the hall to four. It was easy to find considering we only have twelve rooms in our new hospital, yet they were as up to date and modern as the ones in the Capitol. Outside the room marked as four, chairs had been set against the wall. One held Haymitch. Another held Peeta. took the third seat, probably only here to see my mother. The last chair was occupied by Effie, who came here a week ago 'for business purposes'. Really I think she just missed us and wanted to visit. But that was nothing Effie would ever admit to.
"Can we go in?" I asked them. Effie nodded.
"Johanna told us, for you to enter. They want you there for the birth." I should hope so. Madge and Johanna are two of my best friends. I would be rather disappointed if I was unable to be there for the birth of their child. Leevy would to. She is just as close to Madge as me and even though she doesn't see eye to eye with Johanna, she expects to be there. We take deep breaths and turn the knob. I have never witnessed the birth of a baby. Sure I have had my own two children, but I was in too much pain to notice what was going on. This would be different. Leevy seems cool as we enter. She had been there for the birth of my children and for her little brother's many years ago. This is nothing new to her. I saw a glimpse of her old self. The girl who asked me what she could do when she saw Gale's maimed body being carried away. The girl who sat in my kitchen and watched bravely as my mother cured her deathly sick little brother. This is the same girl who enters hospital room four. Who looks at the contorted face of her best friend suffering through contractions. Who smiles warmly, brushes the slick blond hair off of her sweaty forehead. I see the sweep of pain that radiates off Madge for a moment and then it ebbs. She is left looking relieved and tired. Then my eyes travel around the room. To her thin blue hospital gown, the one I have had to wear more times than I can count. To the sun setting outside of the window. To Johanna who I hadn't noticed previously. She looks angry. If anything makes Johanna angry, it's seeing her wife in pain (and Leevy's heart beating). But right now it's as if the only thing in the room to Johanna is Madge. She rests her hand gently on Madge's bulging stomach, feeling it tense and rise and fall. Feeling something stirring inside, something that would soon be out in the world.
"Why are babies so lazy? I mean, why can't they just crawl out? Why do they make the mother do all of the work?" she demands grumblingly. This makes Madge smile weakly. I think that was the real point of the statement, otherwise it would be chalked full of swears. I noticed long ago that Johanna never swore near Madge, purely out of respect.
…
It was the September and summer was being ripped from our grasp no matter how hard we held on. Our music school had been open for three months. People from all across Panem were intrigued by the idea as soon as news of it spread. We had applied for a grant so we could buy the instruments and it passed. They came on the train. Shipped in boxes of every size. Opening them was like the birthday I never had. A flood of students enrolled, so many that we had to make plans to expand the building. A stage section would be added as well as a storage room and vocal training room. It kept us busy during the summer but fall was starting and the new public schools would be opening. We transgressed to the old ways of early America where school was required, and began in September, ending in mid-June. I thought it was a good idea. I like smart people. As long as they aren't too smart. It also meant a well needed rest from music. I spend my days at Peeta's now. I watch him paint. I give him suggestions and critique until he tells me 'I'm distracting'. Then I hang out with Leevy, Madge, and sometimes even Haymitch. We learned of some new games to play outside. Early American games called golf, and croquet. We were playing golf one day, it was my turn. It was late afternoon and rather chilly. I had let Madge and Leevy borrow some of Cinna's warm fall outfits, created for the victory tour.
"Good luck Miss Everdeen" Leevy said in a fake Capitol accent.
"May the odds be ever in your favor" Madge finished darkly. It was a sadistic exchange after all we had gone through. Maybe that's why we laughed so hard. We needed to laugh about it. It made us sane.
"And with that I shall make my move" I state in my own accent. I put the small round ball with the club. It curves and misses the hole, going four feet too far. I mutter to myself. Tsks come from the group in disappointment.
"Never in your favor are they sweetheart" Haymitch chuckles. Double entendre. A cruel double entendre. I hand him the club with a glare. He wears a smile. Carefully he positions himself, double checking, triple checking the distance and angle. Put. Plunk. Stupid Haymitch. Cheers come from the others.
"I believe we have a victor" Leevy announces following the persona still. Madge takes the ball out of the cup and places it back on the ground.
"Ha! Can never win anything can you sweetheart? Not even either of the games. Not truly" This was said with malice not tease. Haymitch was bitter, fire was in his eyes. This started happening to him after he gave up alcohol. They are a lot like Peeta's episodes. They come without warning, they cause damage temporarily, and then it ends. I stay strong and calm.
"Haymitch you won. It's over. Congratulations" I say carefully. He ignored that I even spoke.
"You never won the Hunger Games. You never won the rebellion. You were a piece, a player and you played along like they all wanted you to. You never fought. You pretended to fight so that others would. So you wouldn't get killed but they could because you could care less. You were the Mockingjay and that made your life more important than anyone's. You had the right to be a damn cowered. And the worst part? When you came back after all that, they were dead. Your family, your friends, and even your girl was as good as dead, because she hates you. They were dead because you did what Snow never wanted you to do. You did what was unexpected." I didn't know who he was talking about, me or him. He had gotten angrier by the second. Stepping so close to me that his chest was against mine, the veins bulging in his neck. I had never seen Haymitch like this. It scared me. His hands reached up as if about to choke me. Then they clasped tightly around the club. With a scream he hit the ball as hard as he could. We watched in slow motion as the ball flew through the air until it could be a bird. Then it stopped soaring and time sped up. It came crashing down over the edge of the hill, out of sight. A yell was heard. Oh no. The four of us raced over the edge of the hill and saw a young woman lying on the ground with her blond hair flailing around. Is that blood? Blood dyed her blond locks red.
"Shit" Haymitch whispered. His episode was over and he noticed what he had done. "Oh shit" he said again. Madge was the first to reach the girl, brushing her blond hair back to see the damage.
"I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry" Madge told her. She gave a look to me. "Katniss, can we take her to your house?" Madge pleads. I nod, unable to speak. Haymitch and Madge help the girl up and rest her weight on themselves. Her head droops and her long hair dangles in front of her face, making it impossible for me to judge the injury. They practically carry her to my house. When we get there, they lay her on the couch, as I go to the kitchen to find the emergency kit and an icepack. I return to the living room and hand the items to Madge. She grabs the antiseptic and a gauze pad and prepares to clean the wound.
"This might sting" she tells the stranger.
"I'm no stranger to pain" Johanna? I move closer and cross the other side of the couch. Indeed the stranger is not a stranger at all, it's Johanna. Her hair has grown back in to form the long strands she once had. No way hair could grow that fast. She has been altered by the Capitol. I wondered where she's been all of this time. She looks really good, healthy, even better than before the Quarter Quell. Except for the gash on her forehead. It would bring a nasty bump but it didn't seem too threatening. Madge placed the cloth over it and sopped up the blood.
"Does it hurt?" Madge asks gingerly.
"Yes but keep doing it anyway" Johanna replied. Madge nodded and did as she said. When she was finished she unwrapped some gauze from a clump, and then began rewrapping it around Johanna's head. Johanna winced a bit but it didn't seem to affect her. Her eyes trained on Madge. Even after Madge was done, her eyes never left her.
"Better?" Madge asked concernedly. Johanna lost her words.
"Hm?" she hummed dazedly.
"Did I damage her hearing or something to?" Haymitch questioned as he paced.
"Better?" Madge asked again. Johanna nodded lightly. Suddenly reality came back to her and she regained the function of her voice.
"Oh uh yeah. It's perfect. Thank you. So much. Are you a nurse?" Madge blushed and shook her head.
"I'm not that good at first aid. But I have had to heal a few injuries in the past." She admits. She holds up an ice pack.
"Do you want ice?" Madge offered with a smile.
"Sure" Johanna reached for the pack but Madge nudged her hand back to its place on the couch cushion, leaving her own hand on that spot over Johanna's.
"No you look too weak. I don't want you to move much in case you have a concussion" she explains, placing the ice on Johanna herself. Both Leevy and I give each other looks. There was no way Johanna could have a concussion. She doesn't even have that bad of a bump. Surely Madge knows this. Haymitch notices too from the look on his face. He was about to voice his thought when I interrupt.
"Johanna? It's Katniss" I say. I step further into view. "What were you doing here in Twelve?"
She turns her head slightly to see me. She rolls her eyes.
"I should have known these were your friends who almost killed me. Sorry Haymitch. I didn't recognize you for a minute. Getting kind of old aren't you? Is that grey hair I see?" Johanna snarls. Haymitch glares at the comment but doesn't say a word.
"Johanna" I scold.
"I just like to wander you know? I wanted to see if this shitty little district was making all the others look shabby. I was right. Why do you live in this dump? It's filthy and drab." She complained, inspecting the blood that tinged her hair. Madge took some of the clumps and began cleaning them with a damp rag. Her nose crinkled at Johanna's words about our district.
"I mean what was the mayor thinking? Did he ever notice how disgusting it looked? Why didn't he update it? Maybe put in a spa or something else of at least slight class. Instead you have what? Ash, soot, and that grimy dirt?" She drawled on with superiority. Madge dropped her grasp on Johanna's hair. She snatched her hand away from Johanna's and leapt back from her like she was on fire.
"You…you brat. My father was the mayor! He was a very good man. He suffered everyday seeing our district's people crumble and starve on the streets. He couldn't do a thing! He couldn't help anyone. The Capitol had its hold on him harder than anyone else I knew. They twisted him and bended him and tortured him until he almost broke. Then when he finally had the chance to fight back, he was killed. Blown up. Burned. Falling to a million flakes of ash. That grimy dirt that you were referring to is my father's body. And my mother's. And my servant Castor, who I loved like an older brother. And the rest of our districts citizens who perished." She yelled out. Wow Madge! Her fists clenched so tightly I was sure she was going to hit someone. Johanna looked at her wide eyed and with what I think is regret. Madge threw the ice pack on the floor and it exploded, ice cubes shattering and flying. She left the house with a slam of the door. God Madge, if she keeps slamming the doors in my house they are going to fall of their hinges. Then the gravity of her words hit me. Someone talked back to Johanna. No, someone yelled back at Johanna. That has never in the course of history, happened. Johanna simply looked shocked. She tried to say something but she couldn't.
"Damn" she finally muttered. "She's feisty"
"You hurt her really badly!" I snap. "What do you expect?"
"Not that. Definitely not that. I've never had anyone talk back to me before"
"You should go apologize. You offended her." I sigh. Johanna just doesn't get it. She nods slowly as if the information is sinking in.
"Okay I will. But I'm using your shower first." She announces. Haymitch checks around the corner to make sure she was gone.
"What was that all about?" he wonders, jabbing his thumb in the direction Johanna left in.
"She's just being Johanna. I'm not surprised. But Madge has been through too much to take her abuse." I shrug. He shakes his head.
"That's not what I mean. Did you see the way they looked at each other?" he whistled. "Looked like love"
I blinked. I stared. I burst into peals of laughter until I was choking, until I was snorting. Johanna in love? Johanna in love with Madge? Someone please get Haymitch a drink, he needs it dearly. He's delirious.
"Haymitch I think you need a drink" I chuckle.
"No sweetheart. I'm serious. I've know what love is. I've had to see you and Peeta dance around it for years. I'm familiar with the crazy things it makes you say and do. Johanna is just as defiant as you were" he surmises. He wanders around, looking for something.
"What are you looking for?" I query. "I don't have any alcohol."
"I'm not looking for alcohol. I'm looking for a mirror."
"Why?"
"I want to check to see if I have grey hairs" he says, tenderly pulling at his wispy strands. I can't help but smile. Maybe Haymitch was right. No, not about the grey hairs but about Johanna and Madge. My father used to work in the mines with two men who were in love. Ezra and Gregory. I was six at the time and I didn't see any differences with the couple. All I remember is that they were always so kind to me and loved me as if I were their daughter. The peacekeepers didn't like it, back before Cray was here. The rules were stricter. Then one day, on a Wednesday, they didn't come back from the mines. Gregory didn't swing me around and Ezra didn't tell me his funny stories. My father looked very pale. He didn't laugh, or smile, or sing. I wanted to go into town like we used to do every Wednesday to buy the food for the following week.
"Not today Katniss. You promise me to be a good girl and stay far away from the town square today." He said, cradling me in his lap and hugging me close to him.
"I promise" And for a reason I didn't understand then, he cried.
The next day, on my way back from school, I saw some peacekeepers burying two new graves. I never saw Gregory and Ezra again.
"Why are Gregory and Ezra not coming from the mines anymore?" I asked him innocently. My father would attempt to smile back at me but it was hard.
"They moved away Katniss. Because people didn't like them being together. So they went to a place where they could be together in peace." He explained, teary eyed.
"Well I hope they are happy, where ever they are." He nodded.
"Me to"
"Katniss!" Haymitch was shaking me.
"What? What?" I looked bewildered. He looked concerned.
"Nothing, you just started shaking and blanking out" the worry in his voice seeped through. I was having one of my painful flashbacks.
"I'm glad there are no more peacekeepers" I mumbled. He nodded.
"Me to" Sometimes Haymitch would do or say something and all I could see is my father. It happens rarely but it does happen. Johanna come down stairs looking fresh and clean, except for the bandage around her forehead. It could just be me but I think Johanna is a little dressed up.
"I took one of your outfits" she tells me. I was right. I roll my eyes.
"Thanks for asking first." I speak sarcastically.
"No prob" she snipes then continues to the door. "Wish me luck."
"You'll need it" Haymitch quips. Johanna hears this and shoots him a deathly look. The door closed.
"I'm not missing this" Haymitch decides. He began to climb the stair way.
"What are you doing?"
"Eavesdropping Katniss, nothing new to you" he lets out a dry laugh. I follow unsurely. We reach the second level and he moves to the door of the room on the right. He reaches for the handle and I slapped it off.
"No" I whisper. It was Prim's room. He gives me a look.
"Locking up a room won't fix anything" he philosophies. No but it can help you forget. I take a breath. Oh Prim. Oh Prim I'm so sorry. I'm ready, ready to let you go. I don't know what possessed me, but I opened the door. The sunlight flooded through the curtains and lit the area with a soft glow. Everything was peaceful and still here. Like time had stopped in this room, waiting for her to return when she never would. Her furniture, her photos of Lady, a necklace I had made for her when she was younger, were covered in a layer of ghostly dust. The breath caught in my throat. Haymitch put his hand on my shoulder for a fraction of a second and then crossed the room to the window. He gave a heave and it lifted to let in the crisp air. The spirits in the room escaped through it. It was just a room now. An empty place. I went to Haymitch. Down below was the entrance of his front door. Johanna adjusted her hair and smoothed out her clothes. Finally she knocked on the tall oak door. She waited a moment then knocked again. It opened after a minute or two and revealed a very dignified looking Madge.
"What do you want?" she demanded. Johanna looked nervous. I had never seen Johanna nervous before. It was a look of agitation with hints of anxiousness fought to be concealed.
"Is that how you always greet people Princess? Not very flattering is it" Johanna snaps. No Johanna! You are screwing it up all ready! Keep your cool for once.
"Only to people who deserve it" Madge retorts. Johanna narrows her eyes at the other girl, sizing her up. Madge didn't look deterred at being looked over. Her head was high and her back straight with poise.
"Well is that so? You're not very well mannered for a mayor's daughter."
"Not to tramps" this statement made Johanna rage. A sickly sweet smile forming on her lips.
"A tramp?"
"Yes" Madge says definitely.
"Why?"
"Because you are impolite. You swear"
"Well it's better than being a prude"
"A prude?"
"Yes" Johanna repeats, mimicking Madge.
"Why?" Madge mocks Johanna.
"Because you are stuffy"
"How am I stuffy?"
"You are too predictable, too innocent."
"Oh really?"
"Yes really!"
"No I'm not…" but Madge was starting to falter.
"Yes you are."
"No I'm not!"
"Priss"
"Degenerate"
"Anal-retentive!"
"Repulsive!"
"Princess!"
"Brat!"
Madge and Johanna leap at each other in one move, tearing at one another skin, hair, clothes. Kicking, biting, clawing. Then kissing. It was short and passionate and slow.
"What was that?" Madge asked dazedly. Johanna smirked.
"You being spontaneous"
They only got closer from then onward. Made became less stuffy, Johanna became less loose (at least around her). They became a very unlikely, very comical couple. Yes, they argue and fight but it's always resolved. People do that when they are in love. Years later Johanna wants to get married. Madge is quizzical to the idea but after some time she agrees. After another stretch of time, after seeing my children eventually born, she also wants kids. Madge didn't know how that would be possible but Johanna assures her that it is if they go to the Capitol. They leave. Months past. When they return to twelve Madge has a little bump on her stomach.
"We're having a baby" Johanna says, tears in her eyes. She rests her hand gently on Madge's bulging stomach, feeling it tense and rise and fall. Feeling something stirring inside, something that would soon be out in the world. Madge's face contorts a second time and the contractions come again. They go on for hours. Sometimes Leevy goes to take a break for food or the use of a bathroom and I stay. Other times I go and sit with Peeta and Leevy stays. The men are nervous, not as much as Johanna but still. Effie seems excited, blabbering on about planning a baby shower.
"Mr. Mellark could make raspberry tarts! Couldn't you Mr. Mellark?" she suggested hopefully. He had been giving her recipes for the last hour but his eyes kept wandering to my mother. My mom tried not to take note of it but it was quite obvious. It even made Haymitch awkward. But mostly Peeta and I. Leevy emerged from the door.
"The contractions are really close now" She divulges. My mother and I jump up and follow Leevy through room 4. Madge screams and Johanna attempts to comfort her.
"Hang on it'll be over soon Princess" Johanna soothes. Madge grips her hand and gasps for breath. Her eyes roll back in her head, overcome by the sharp pain. My mother checks her various medical measurements. The pain passes and she tries to regulate her rapid heartbeat.
"I hope it's beautiful. It owes you something" Johanna jokes. Madge laughs groggily. The pain resurges. This goes on, back and forth for several minutes until a scream resonates through the cramped hospital room.
"I see the baby" my mother tells us. "Madge you need to start pushing." Madge looks frightened through the pain. Johanna strokes her cheek and tells her everything will be alright.
"Do as says, it's time" Johanna coaxes her with a kiss. Madge manages a nod and groans. Screams. There are screams all over, filling the hot air. I feel sick to my stomach. Blood. Fluid. Screams. Coaxes. More blood. A little more fluid. A really loud, blood curdling scream. More coaxing. A head. An arm. Another scream. Another arm. A kiss. A screech. A moan. A baby. Madge collapsed on the pillow and my mother holds a screaming flailing bundle. It's bloody. It's obnoxious. It's beautiful.
"Oh my!" Johanna exclaims. We watch as the umbilical cord is cut. We watch as the child is cleaned. It's a boy. He is wrapped in a blanket and handed carefully to Johanna.
"Oh…he's beautiful. His ours" Johanna tears up. The body is small with tiny hands and tiny feet. Its voice is gurgly as a newborn's often is. The sight made me smile. Johanna looked down into the tiny face of her child.
"Madge, Madge look. Isn't he beautiful?" Johanna swoons. She bends towards Madge's limp, recovering, figure. Her eyes travel to Johanna then to the child, then to Johanna again. She doesn't have the strength to speak but she does manage a smile and a single tear.
"Our baby" Johanna whispers. Leevy nudges me and I turn to see her teary eyes. We move to leave but a hand stops us.
"No stay" Johanna pleads. "Hold him first" she offers and before I can think I am holding him. The heartbeat against my hand. The little eyes trying to focus on me. Oh my…
"Hey little fella. I'm your aunty Katniss." I whisper. "I love you very much. We are going to have fun together. I can teach you to sing and to hunt… and I'll always protect you." I smile. I caress his hand with my finger and he holds on to it, staring straight at me with his black orbs. Leevy is staring at him over my shoulder.
"Would you like to hold him?" I ask. A grin stretches across her face. She looks to Johanna for approval. The two never did get along. Johanna grins back and nods.
"Go ahead aunty Leevy" she teases. I hand the boy to Leevy.
"Careful now, don't drop him" I warn.
"Never" she breaths. When Leevy and the baby collide a connection is created. It is obvious from that moment that they would be inseparable.
"Aunty Leevy, would you be the godmother?" A voice interrupts. It's Madge. Leevy glows.
"Oh I…yes, yes of course." She tries not to cry. She walks over to the bed.
"Are you collected enough to hold him?" She asks. Madge nods and outstretches her arms. The room is silent as Madge holds her child for the first time.
"My baby. My sweet little baby boy." She kissed its forehead. Finally we leave the room to let Johanna and Madge alone. Just before we closed the door I hear Madge speak.
"I'm glad Haymitch hit you with a golf ball."
"Me to" Johanna chuckles.