When Madge is leaving work on Friday, she's relieved that the day is over and slightly sad that she has to drop Dakota off today. Overall, it was a good day. The station ran smoothly and everyone was rather nice.
"Are you leaving?" Haymitch grumbles when he sees her putting on a coat.
Madge nods hesitantly. "Yeah, I need to go pick up my daughter from school, like I do everyday."
"Not next week though right?"
She's surprised her boss has even the slightest grasp on her schedule. Usually he's busy in long, drawn out meetings or toiling around in his office after giving her vague directions. "Yeah, not next week. Her father is taking care of her."
"I guess you could pull some more weight next week then," Haymitch suggests, smiling to himself a little bit. Madge is shocked, she's operated on the same schedule forever now and suddenly it seems as if he's threatening her.
"I beg your pardon? Do you think I'm not busy just because my daughter is out of my hands?"
"I was joking," Haymitch chuckles with his hands up in surrender. She huffs and laughs slightly too, knowing that it was a mistake to take him too seriously. Although his humour is dry and it makes Madge slightly uncomfortable, her boss means well. "I know you have a lot on your plate, and I'm not that evil. If you ever need time off, or you need to do something for your kid or whatever, just let me know. Okay?"
She's not used to this newfound kindness. Even though she'll admit that she's never tried to know him better, Madge always assumed Haymitch Abernathy wasn't the accommodating type. She'll take whatever he gives though, so she nods quickly.
"Thanks."
"No problem, Madge. Have a good weekend."
"You too," she smiles, picking up her purse and the weekly bag to head out the door.
The office is still busy and bustling, and Madge can barely hear the receptionist calling out her name from down the hall over the chatter and the noise. The girl runs up to her and taps her shoulder, making Madge stop and turn around. "Hi, is it something important? I need to go pick up my daughter." She's been so good this week with being on time, it would be a shame to disappoint Effie now.
"Yeah, there's just a man waiting for you in the lobby."
"I'm not working right now," she states simply.
"It's not for work, he says. He just wanted to wait in the lobby for you, maybe you know him? He's tall, dark hair, kind of handsome," the receptionist offers.
Madge wonders what Gale is doing here for; she's supposed to be at his apartment in an hour, after all. It can't be anything too serious because he decided to wait for her to get off of work, but she's still curious. After a short walk down the hall she searches for him in the waiting area, but instead she finds a different, tall, dark and handsome guy.
"Thom," she calls, and Delly's boyfriend snaps his head up and gives her a warm smile. He's also Gale's best friend, and Madge swears that they could be related in a distant way, because they both share similar features: tall frames and thick, dark hair. Thom is a bit more lanky and his face is a bit longer, but she knows why the receptionist found him handsome.
"Hey, Madge. How are you?"
"I'm good, why are you here?"
"Do you have a minute to talk? I can buy you coffee," he asks vaguely, not giving up any context.
"I have to go pick up Dakota from school, but you can walk with me if you'd like?"
"That sounds perfect," Thom nods. "I'll buy you coffee along the way, come on."
So they grab a cup from the joint just around the corner, and when they start to make the walk over to Dakota's school, Madge finally gives Thom a good look. He looks tired, and there are spots of paint on his jeans. Delly did say something about him being really busy with work, so it makes sense.
"Did you just get off from work too?"
"Yeah, I'm actually doing some contracting work for a friend of mine tonight as well, so good thing I have this gap to come talk to you."
Madge frowns. Delly needs him talking to his own girlfriend, not her best friend that he rarely speaks to personally. Everything that Delly was concerned about at lunch just days ago comes back to her, and Madge's brain starts to try and connect the dots. "Must be important then," she comments casually.
Thom scoffs. "Yeah, you could say that."
Hoping that it's not bad news, she prods him. "What do you mean?"
"Uh..." Thom lets out trying to start. He looks nervous and unsure, which gives Madge unease. She has no clue where he could be going with this. "I've been working a lot more lately, doing stuff outside of the company like the contracting work."
"Why? Are you and Delly doing okay financially?"
"Yeah, yeah," he reassures. "No, everything is fine."
They're quiet for a couple moments again, she doesn't want to push him into letting her know and lets Thom speak at his own pace. After too long though, she prompts him gently. "So why do you do extra work?"
"Not for fun," Thom shrugs jokingly and Madge lightly laughs. "Delly and I are doing fine, but I need the money for something else."
"For what?" Now that he's admitted that the work was for the money, Madge can see how Thom would forget about Delly's loneliness when he's so tired and busy too.
Thom smiles deviously. "Something else."
"What?"
"A wedding," he states simply, and for a second Madge doesn't register his words. Then it hits her.
"Your wedding with Delly?"
"Who else, Madge?"
She instantaneously brightens up and smiles. Apparently she forgets to keep walking too, because they're stood still and she wraps her arms around her friend tightly. "Oh my god, Thom. That's amazing! That's so amazing."
"Thanks," Thom grins.
Everything makes sense now, he's been saving up for a ring and the wedding. To think that Delly considered that Thom could've been cheating on her seems completely ridiculous at this point. But Madge remembers that Delly even right now is feeling this doubt. She still doesn't know, and she won't know until Thom proposes.
"I'm going to ask her on Wednesday," he shrugs. "Feels like I've been planning this forever, honestly."
"You've probably been thinking about it since forever," Madge suggests, and Thom laughs in agreement.
"Since the day I met her."
Madge sucks in a breath. Delly is so lucky.
"So, what do you need me for?" She assumes that the reason he's letting her know isn't because they're great pals. Thom needs her to do something, and she's more than happy to help.
"We're going to go out for dinner and I'm going to propose in the park, the one where we went for our first date, I was showing her around the city" he explains. "But you know Delly, and I think she'd love it if we got drinks with a bunch of friends afterwards."
"Like a surprise party."
"Sure, I already let all my friends know, but could you get Delly's friends to know? It's less suspicious that way."
"Of course," she nods eagerly. "Did you have a place in mind, or?"
"Do you know Redwood?"
"Sure, it's near Gale's right?"
"Yeah, there. He's in on this too actually, he's going to show up at the bar early to reserve a table, set up corny decorations and what not."
"Do you want me to do the same?"
Thom laughs and scratches the back of his neck. "I mean, if you wanted to, you could."
"I will," she insists. They aren't fighting and they're adults, they can put up some goddamn decorations together.
"Okay, great! Our dinner reservation is at 6, so by the time we're done eating and we'll get back to the bar it will probably be around 9:30?"
"We'll tell people to get there around 9 then," Madge promises, and Thom smiles and nods. They're almost at Kota's school, and she notices Thom glancing at his phone for the time. She puts a hand on his shoulder and nods. "When's your job?"
"Six"
"Delly's working a shift right now, right? Go bring her a snack or something, spend some time with her. She'll appreciate it."
He nods. "Yeah, that's a good idea. Are you sure? I could walk with you the rest of the way."
"Don't worry about it, I'm only a block away."
So they say their goodbyes and Madge congratulates him one more time. She can't wait to tell Jo, she'd be so happy for their friend too and she needs to tell someone, anyone. They engagement is happy news that can preoccupy her life until Wednesday, she'll go to the florist this weekend to pick out some flowers to give Delly. Thom parts ways when he hails a cab, and she's left to speed walk the rest of the way to the school.
And Kota is playing in the courtyard with some other friends when she arrives. Madge leaves her be for a while and heads over to say hi to Ms. Trinket.
"Hi Effie."
"Madge, how are you, darling?"
"I'm alright, how was Kota today?"
"She was great, a bit quieter than usual, but she seemed to be having fun nevertheless."
"That's good," Madge offers, and soon Kota notices her mom and runs over to her. They hold hands and Madge gives it a squeeze. "Hi Dakota, how was school, baby?"
"Good," the little girl answers with a sweet smile. "Are we going to Dad's today?"
"Yeah, are you excited?"
"Mhm," Kota nods, and they wave at Effie one last time heading out towards Gale's apartment. They hop on the bus, because it's fast and apparently Dakota is tired. Madge lets her take the empty seat while she's keenly watched over, and her mom has to tap her on the shoulder before their stop so that she can remember. They quickly exit the bus and head towards her father's place.
Gale answers the door quickly this time, unlike two weeks back. He welcomes them in and this time Madge obliges. They have an engagement party to organize afterall, and she could use a drink or a couple minutes of rest before heading home.
"Daddy!" Kota exclaims, dancing around his feet and giving his leg a hug. "I missed you."
"I missed you too, princess."
At this point, Dakota has so many nicknames her mother can barely keep up. She seems to register them well herself though, smiling happily at the insinuation of royalty. Madge's heart warms up too, and she nods towards the kitchen where Gale seems to have set up a juice box and some veggies.
"I think Dad made a snack for you, baby. Wanna check it out?"
She scampers off happily and Madge plops the weekly bag onto the couch along with the miniature backpack. Gale acknowledges it and looks casually at her, constituting a greeting. He was never one to use more words than necessary.
"So I just talked to Thom," she starts, bubbling with excitement just by thinking about the engagement.
He raises a brow. "About what?"
"About Wednesday."
"What are you talking about?' he asks again, and Madge rolls her eyes.
"He literally just told me about the proposal, I'm in on the plan."
Gale shrugs and smiles. "Just making sure."
"It seems like such a long time coming."
"Right? Well, it has been four years. I think that's long enough. But I know what you mean."
"It doesn't feel like four years."
"You're right."
They just politely smile for a bit, and Madge decides it's time to leave. "Okay, I think I'll be on my way then."
"Daddy," Kota prompts from the kitchen table playing with a stick of cucumber. "Is it just you and me today?"
"Yup, just you and I, princess."
"What do you mean, Dakota?" Madge asks curiously, with no malicious intent. She knows exactly what her daughter is referring too, the fact that Gale dates girls on and off. And that's not the problem, Madge dates her fair share too, but Gale is more than comfortable to bring them home while she isn't and she wants to know what KoKo thinks about that.
"Sometimes Daddy's friends are here and there are three of us," she explains as if she's reciting a script. "Sometimes they're nice, sometimes they're mean."
"But the mean ones don't get invited back," Gale tries to justify, giving Madge a look trying to incite some sympathy into her. Madge can't relate though, and she only laughs at him and shakes her head.
"And I always tell Daddy that I like it best when it's just me and him."
"He and I," Gale and Madge correct in synchronization, then sharing a knowing look. Their daughter will have impeccable grammar by the time she's ten if they can do anything about it.
"He and I," Kota repeats. "When it's just he and I. Because then we get to do things I like and eat kids food instead of adult food."
"Adult food is gross," Madge jokes scrunching her nose. All that does is give her a nod of approval from Dakota while she sips her little juice box and a groan from Gale. "I'm going to go now, KoKo."
"Are you sure?" she asks, pouting her lip.
"Yes, I'm sure. Come give Mommy a hug?"
"Okay," Kota shrugs, and she runs back from the kitchen and right into Madge's crouching body. They hug gleefully and Madge squeezes her extra tight this time inhaling the smell of her fruity kids shampoo and whatever detergent the laundromat decides is right.
Madge looks up at Gale, who's been staring intently. "Wednesday at 8:30, we'll meet at Redwood to set up?"
He nods. "Sounds good. Bye, Undersee."
"Goodbye."
"Bye, Mommy!"
Madge kisses her cheek tenderly and waves one more time before heading out the door.
Once all that sentimental business is complete though, she's back to obsessing over the idea of an engagement. It's everything Delly wants, Madge needs to tell Johanna so badly. She stops by the convenience store on the way back and picks up a bottle of red and a bag of chips (her cravings took over).
When she bursts through the door, Jo is unsuspectedly sitting on the couch, presumably binging another episode of her repetitive crime dramas.
"Jo!" Madge greets happily, shedding her coat and joining her there.
Her friend smiles tiredly, it's probably been a long day for her too, but she notices the bag of Salt & Vinegar chips. "Snacks?"
"Yeah, I'm just going to get a bottle opener and some glasses, hold on," she says, gesturing to the bottle she's set on the coffee table. When she's flipping through the kitchen drawers she hears the television show being muted, and she's glad Johanna's in the mood to talk. "How was work?"
"Alright. It'd be better if Chaff would give me the fucking promotion."
"Still not budging?" She hands Jo the bottle and the opener, knowing she'll do a better job.
"Nope, even though I feel like he was hinting it to me. Oh well, I guess I didn't read the signs right." Jo started doing bookkeeping for Chaff's hardware store two years ago between jobs, but it turned out that he needed more help than he let on. Soon, she was picking up a couple of real shifts and organizing more than just expenses. She's floor manager now when she's at the store, but Johanna rants about how she needs to be promoted to manager for real. "No one even has that title, Chaff just filled the role himself," she used to say.
"Hey, you never know. Great things happen all the time," Madge shrugs, and Jo raises a brow.
"Why are you like this right now?"
"What?"
"Optimistic. Did something exciting happen?"
Her best friend can see right through her. It's just that she's bursting with this happy secret and she needs to learn how to contain is better, lest everyone call her out on smiling too much in the next few days. "You'll never guess what I learned today."
"Tell me," Jo insists with wide eyes and a mocking smile.
"Thom…"
"...is proposing to Delly?"
Madge stops in her tracks. "Wait, how do you know?"
"I didn't," is her response, shaking her head. "I just guessed from what you were giving me. That's fucking incredible though."
"Isn't it? He came to talk to me after work today and told me all about it. He's proposing on Wednesday and he wants to gather all their close friends to meet for drinks after. Wouldn't she love that?"
"Am I invited?" Johanna jokes, before Madge gives her an obvious face. "Okay, okay. I'll clear my schedule."
"I'm just so happy for them."
"Yeah, Delly deserves all of that stuff, I'm happy too."
For a couple minutes they crunch on the chips and sip on the wine, huddled in the throw that was draped over the back. Madge yawns, leaning back on the couch, but when she looks up Jo is gazing at her, thinking.
"What's wrong?"
Her friend furrows her brows and shrugs. "Nothing. It's just that you get really invested in other people's happiness sometimes, you know?"
"What do you mean?"
"Like you concentrate more on good things happening in other people's lives than your own. And I'm not saying that we can't be excited for Delly and Thom's engagement, because we both are. But like… don't forget your own happiness, I guess?"
Madge understands completely why Johanna would say that. She's right about the fact that she fixates herself on other people's happiness. It manifests in the engagement, but also in her relationship with Gale. And usually it's without consequence, until she forgets to take care of herself or voice her concerns. "I don't think I can help it."
"You can, I know you can," Jo insists, but Madge laughs with no confidence. "No really. You don't do that with me. You don't fucking care if I'm happy if it means that our place is filthy and I'm upsetting you."
She makes a noise of agreement and stares blankly out the window.
"And please tell me if I'm overstepping."
"You aren't."
"You sure?"
"Honest, I needed that. Thanks Jo."
"Sure," her friend sighs. They talk for almost an hour longer, chatting about work, about next Wednesday and just trying to catch up. Some weeks they barely see each other at home, always operating on parallel schedules that barely intercept.
But Johanna's advice lingers, pointing nakedly at one of Madge's weaknesses. She supposes that "too nice" is a cliche, but it's real and she is too nice. Maybe she can work on it and voice her point of view more often, but it starts with acknowledging the problem. She's already halfway there.
Somehow, they finish the bottle of wine. Jo downs the last drop and frowns at her empty glass.
"That was really good wine actually, what's it called?"
Jo's scanning the bottle when Madge just laughs. "It was the cheapest wine I could find at the liquor store."
"Are you serious?"
She nods, and Johanna chuckles lightly. "Wow, good thing we have no taste. My unrefined palette is fooled by everything."
Madge can only nod in response, she's too tired to offer another smart comment. But she appreciates the humour, appreciates Jo more than anymore right now. Perhaps if she sticks to her friend's advice, her good day could turn into a good week, a good month.
Perhaps more.
A/N: A huge part of me wants to crack ship Effie the kindergarten teacher and Haymitch the radio station man. Haha, what do you guys think?
I hope you guys liked it, I'm really excited for you guys to read the engagement party next chapter. Comments and kudos always appreciated! :)