Updating is fun. I'm really hooked on Gally now, I'll be so sad when this ends. Side note: I'm writing a fic for the strangest crackship I could think of, Delly/Cato. * _* Yeah. I'll tell you when it's up. But let's have a wedding! YAAAAYY! FREAKING EXTRA-LONG CHAPTER!
Come up to meet you
Tell you I'm sorry
You don't know how lovely you are
Coldplay, The Scientist
Chapter 21- A Wedding
Gale
"Hold still." Mom's voice is the first thing I hear when I enter. I can see her in the living room fixing Vick's tie. Rory stands against the wall with an off-white shirt and his brown slacks. He's wearing suspenders and I might make fun of him, but he looks good. Like some kind of 1940s soldier, and I know later tonight he'll pop the first two buttons and roll up his sleeves to give him the same look as the soldiers in old photographs. While Vick looks uncomfortable, he looks good. Posy prances in with a fluffy white dress, the edges trimmed with green ribbon.
"How do I look Gale?" She asks running over to me. She's the first one to see I'm here, it makes me feel kind of better. I crouch down to her height.
"You look very nice Posy." I say sincerely.
"She's going to be the Flower Girl." Mom says glancing over.
"She is?" I ask. "But Posy hasn't been to any of the rehearsals."
"You show up and throw petals while walking." Rory says. "Even Posy has that kind of hand-eye coordination." Mom gives him a look and turns to me.
"It's about damn time you showed up. Where were you?" She asks. "The wedding is in half and hour, we've been waiting for you. It takes us 20 minutes to get into town, not mentioning traffic and finding somewhere to park."
"I was out." I say, and she gets the message. Mom's face crumples.
"Kids, get in the car." She says. They exit the room slowly and I know Rory will be listening through the door. "What happened? I don't want any bullshit from you."
"I got drunk." I say. "And I drove to a park and went hiking to sober up. Then it got late so I checked into a motel and now I'm here." I say.
"What happened between those points?" Mom asks. I sigh and run a hand through my hair. "Take off your damn sunglasses and tell me why Delly didn't come back at all during Katniss' bachelorette party and why she was in such a hurry to get out of here this morning. She's a good liar, but you aren't." I remove the sunglasses and look at her. "You think I don't know what's going on between you two? I can see things, even if I'm not around all the time. When she first came here everyone told me, 'don't bring a girl like that into your house, she's just going to want to date him, she won't care about helping him'. I told them they were all wrong, and they were for a while. But there's something else I told the wives and moms, I said, 'If Delly falls for my son, so be it. She is a lovely girl and cares about people. If anything, she deserves someone like Gale.' "
"You said that?" I ask.
"Now I'm not so sure." She says. "I don't know what you two did, but from the way you've treated her and yourself, I don't think you deserve her. In fact I know Delly deserves better."
"That's nice Mom, really boosts my self-esteem." I retort.
"Gale Hawthorne, you-"
"I know what I do! You don't think I'm aware of the fact I get drunk all the time?" I shout. "I'm wide awake when it happens. But it's like I'm standing in a corner watching a video of a friend get drunk, and the camera's out of focus. It's not like watching me get drunk until the moment before the hangover kicks in. Because it's fuzzy and I can tell what's happening, I think to myself, 'Huh, this guy looks familiar.' Then at the last second I go, 'Oh shit, this bastard is me.' During hangovers I always replay the video with the camera shooting in HD and I hate the guy in the video. I hate me, don't you get it? I hate myself because I mess up. I mess up my life and my family. I thought I could do good fighting for my country but I fucked up that too, and I killed my best friend. I go around thinking that I ruin everyone, then I try to pop a few pills to end everything and when I wake up everyone around me comes to the rescue telling me how much they care and that I can't leave the world. So for a while I'm fine. But then someone like Delly comes into my life and I mess her up too. I get a near-perfect person and I break them. That's why Finnick doesn't like it when I'm around Annie, he's afraid I'll mess her up even more. We all know she went insane while he was gone. Finn and I are opposites, he infects people when he leaves and I screw everything I touch."
Mom doesn't say anything for a moment. I can hear Rory breathing against the door.
"Your uniform is on your bed. Please get ready quickly." She says finally.
"Are you serious?" I ask. "You've got to be fucking kidding me. After everything I said, you still want me to go to my ex-girlfriend's wedding? Where she's marrying the brother of my newest victim? Delly is going to be there, I really don't want to see her right now. I'll just make a scene and mess up everything."
"Did you rape her?" Mom asks shakily.
"Hell no." I say.
"I mean, date rape." She says.
"What part of 'hell no' don't you understand?" I snap. "She's still a pure white virginal angel holding onto her pretty little flower."
"Gale, please. Katniss wants you to be there, she called last night." Mom says.
"I'm not going." I say. She finally gives up.
"We'll be back by ten. Could you pick up Rory at least, he wants to stay the whole time and he just got his Learners' Permit." She says.
"Okay." I say blankly.
Delly
It sounds stupid, but we all act like we're in a wedding movie. Katniss stands in our guest bedroom in front of a full-length mirror while Prim, Leevy, and I fix her dress and fuss over her. We shower her with compliments and Katniss just offers a weak smile and nods. Madge enters the room, she and Katniss were always kind of close.
"Hi, wow Katniss you look great." She says. I never hated her, but I never liked her. Now I think I do. Maybe the fact that Madge is only wearing a touch of makeup and a simple baby-blue dress makes her seem like less of a goddess and more like a human to me.
"Thanks." She says. Clara comes out of the bathroom and smiles at her daughter. "So why are you here Madge? I thought you'd be downstairs."
"Gale and I broke up two days ago, I just saw his family and I didn't want it to get awkward." Madge says coolly. She reaches into her purse. "Plus, I wanted to give you this." She pulls out a little black box and opens it. There's a pin resting inside. It's a bird made of gold, with a few blue gemstones dotting the wings.
"Oh Madge, you can't-"
"No, it's a wedding present. Plus you need something blue." Madge says pinning it to the corner of Katniss' dress. "My aunt called it a 'mockingjay'. It's supposed to be a cross between a blue jay and a mockingbird I think."
"Thank-you." Katniss says hugging her.
"So you have mom's dress, that's something old. And the pin is blue. You borrowed Delly's shoes and the veil is something new. You're all good to go." Prim says. Cinna enters.
"It's time." He says winking a gold-lined eye. Katniss nods and smooths out her dress. I follow Madge and Leevy down the stairs.
"Madge," I say before she leaves. "I'm sorry about you and Gale ending."
"Delly, you know that I'm the one who broke up with him right?" She asks. I blink. "Yesterday he showed up at my house, I told him that I knew neither of us were into the dating part as much as the physical part anymore and that one of my ex-boyfriends came back into town and wanted me back. He nodded and it ended."
"You dumped him?" I ask. Madge nods.
"I could kind of tell he wasn't into me." She says. A tall blonde boy leads her out the French doors and Clara closes them on her way out. My mind is spinning. Prim hands me a bouquet of flowers.
"We're going to walk side by side since the aisle is big enough." She says. I'm suddenly very aware of the fact that my dress drapes down lower in the front than I wanted it to. I hold the flowers over my belly button, the petals touch bare skin. Prim smiles at me, I turn around and see Katniss at the top of the staircase. My worries melt away, it's her wedding, even if Gale is here it doesn't matter. My brother is getting married. I turn back to Prim and smile.
"Okay then, let's do this." I say.
"Alright I found her hiding in a closet." Haymitch says pulling Posy by the hand.
"Posy, why were you in a closet?" I ask.
"I was sad because Gale isn't here and I wanted to be alone." She says softly.
"Gale isn't here?" Katniss takes the words out of my mouth. "I called last night, I really wanted him to be here. He's my best friend."
"It's okay if he isn't here Posy." I say. "If Gale didn't want to be here, I'm sure he had a good reason."
"Delly's right Posy." Katniss says. "If he isn't here, I know he wants to be. Gale just gets weird sometimes. But maybe his cute little sister is good enough to replace him." Posy smiles and Clara hands her the basket.
"Hey," Cato peeks his head in through the curtains. Foxface is a lucky girl, I've never seen a Best Man look so good. "Do you want me to alert the musicians? We're all set out here."
"Tell them we're ready." Clara says. Cato smiles and nods.
"Hey babe, I'm loving the cut on your dress." He says with a wink. "Save a dance for me."
"You know I will." I say smirking. Cato runs off and I can hear the music start. Clara and Haymitch head out first, Prim and I count in our heads how long it will take for them to walk down and take their seat. We smile at each other and link arms.
"We're going to be sisters in twenty minutes." Prim says as we stand outside the curtain.
"Let's walk down the aisle." I say. We brush past the curtains and all eyes fall on us. We're smiling like crazy, we probably look like sisters. Step pause, step pause, step pause. I glance around. My mom smiles at me. She's sitting next to Effie of all people, but they're friends so I know why she's here. I stand opposite to Marvel and Prim stands across from Cato. Posy tosses rose petals like a boss and takes a seat next to Hazelle. Rory and Vick sit by her and I see Rory looking my direction, he smiles. Then his eyes sweep to the side as everyone rises. He mouths, "You look beautiful." I know that it's for Prim. She blushes and looks down. Rory rolls his eyes and smiles to himself. "Thank-you." She mouths back. The music changes and Katniss comes down the aisle with Cinna, she isn't smiling, but you know she's happy. Her eyes are wide and locked on Peeta, her gaze goes out to the audience. I follow it to Finnick and Annie, Hazelle and the Hawthornes, Clara, me, Prim, and then back to Peeta who's smiling at her. I glance at my brother and for a moment he smiles at me, then takes his bride's hands in his. Prim holds Katniss' flowers as well as her own. The ceremony is short and sweet. The vows make me cry and Prim and I share a small tissue. I'm thankful we chose waterproof mascara. People mingle as they find their way to the second tent set up for the reception. I take my seat at the head table next to Peeta. I hug him and my new sisters over and over. Haymitch waters his champagne down and gives me a look when I smile at him.
"Alright Blondie, that dumb class did work." He says. "I hope someday you can work things out with your dad." Haymitch sounds like he really means it.
"Thanks, I'm happy that you're drinking less." I say.
"Me too. Hangovers are a bitch." He laughs. "Even if I'm not getting drunk, other people will be. Just a fair warning to you and your dress." So much for worrying about not looking feminine.
"Hey, are you single?" I ask. He looks at me.
"I'm a little old for you sweetheart."
"No, there's someone here." I say. "I hate to set you up on a blind date, but do you see that pretty blonde woman over there? She's wearing the pink dress."
"I can try to talk to her." Haymitch mumbles getting up to sit by Effie. Then the speeches begin.
"I figured as Katniss' mom I might want to get the ball rolling." Clara says. "Katniss has always been a tough girl. There was a rough patch in our life when her father, my husband, died. I went into shock and Katniss took care of Prim. It was a dark time and I regret it deeply, that I let something like that take me. But what I guess I'm trying to say is that her whole life, she's been a fighter. Never a lover. Until now, I'm happy to call Peeta Mellark my son-in-law. After all that time she took care of us, I don't know a better person to take care of my daughter after all that time that she took care of us." Clapping. There are pauses between each speech. People mingle and eat and drink. Clove wave to me from the table she sits at with our old high school crew. Glimmer already has someone's number before they make the second speech.
"For those of you who don't know us, we were friends with both Peeta and his sister Delly during high school." Marvel speaks for everyone. "Cato here, is the Best Man in fact, so we're more than just high school friends. In freshman year, and all our high school years, we worked on stage crew for the drama department. But freshman year's musical was Les Miz. The role of Fantine was played by none other than Katniss Everdeen. She had one of the most important songs to sing in the musical, I Dreamed A Dream. Now, we all knew she had to be pretty good if in her first audition, she could get the most moving lead. So the director worked with her privately because of stage fright. The first time any of us got to hear her sing was during the first dress rehearsal. Peeta and I were offstage with our headsets on, ready to move the next set into place when we got the cue from the lighting crew after the blackout. I was into my stage crew part, with the headset and all black on, you kind of do." There's a soft laugh as Marvel pauses. "But right before Katniss broke into tears Peeta grabbed my arm and said, 'Watch. When she sings, even the birds would fall silent if they listened.' I figured it was my romantic best friend being dramatic since were in the theatre and the girl he'd loved since kindergarten was onstage singing. But I did listen, and it was the most beautiful thing I'd ever heard. I'm not quite sure if there's a point or moral to this story, but Katniss Everdeen, you married someone who is completely in love with you. Congratulations to the happy couple." Everyone raises their glass. The whole group takes their time to talk to Peeta and then make it back to their table.
There are several more speeches. Hazelle talks about seeing Katniss grow up and Rory, Vick, and Posy make a few comments. My dad talks about how worried he was for Peeta, and in the end he had the world's most romantic son. My mother talks about how nervous she was when she married Christian because I was so shy and he had children, then tears up over the how close Peeta and I got. Later Jonathan reads a letter from Asher who couldn't fly out from France in time and gives his own short speech. As the Best Man Cato gives his own speech about Peeta and that he'd better watch out, because we know who I'll marry if I catch the bouquet. Leevy and Madge team up gushing about how gorgeous Katniss is and end their speech with, "She's a tomboy. We had to embarrass her." But I think everyone is waiting for Prim and I to give our speeches so Prim goes first.
"Being the younger sister in any family can be fun, and it can be awful." She begins. "Katniss and I were very close. So close, that I saw all the good and all the bad. Now, I have waited a long time to get back at her for the pranks she pulled. So since this is her wedding and we're all telling stories, it's time to get even." Everyone laughs and Katniss covers her face with her hand. "As much as I would love to do that, I think Leevy and Madge already take the cake. So I'm going to a different approach. My sister, is the most important person to me in the world. I love her more than anyone else. Or so I used to think. I'd known Peeta; he was the same year as my sister, he was an artist, popular, wrestling team, funny, and not bad looking." She winks at him and I think Cato whistles. "But I never thought about him as a person. I just saw his dimensions. The third dimension was added when my sister called me at one in the morning in early September. 'I met someone!' She said. And I knew he had to be something else, because my sister never called at one in the morning and never got excited over a guy. 'We just went out and we had so much fun and lost track of time. Prim, all we did was talk but he knows how to talk to people. I really like him and I think he likes me.' So I asked her what his name was. 'Peeta Mellark. He went to the same high school as me, he was one of the popular kids. But not like a mean popular kid, he always hung out with his sister, the really short blonde girl.'- Sorry Delly." I laugh, 5' 6" is fine by me. But I was even shorter back then. "I never thought that my sister would go for someone like him though. But then I met him, and I knew that my sister had someone special. I'm so happy for you both. I love you Katniss."
"I love you too Prim." Katniss says while everyone claps. They hug and Peeta and I make a big show of shouting, "AWWW!" Then I stand up to give my speech.
"For those of you who don't know me, I'm Delly Cartwright. The short blonde sister who's going to try to catch the bouquet." I begin.
"I'll tie you down." Peeta says smiling and everyone laughs.
"Sister of the groom and now sister of the bride." I say. "Everyone here has talked about how Peeta was a born romantic and how Katniss is the personification of strong. But now that they're together, I think that they will both be more vulnerable. Because, well- that's what love is. It's letting someone see all of you. From a young age we're taught not to show our darker sides, that it's unattractive. I think just the opposite is true. When you open up to someone, that shows them that you have trust in them. You're saying, 'Here, I love you. This side of me might not be your favorite side, but it's part of me. If you can't love it then you aren't in love with me.' And we will fall, but after we fall, we stand. It hurts- we all know that it hurts- but it's the best way to figure things out. I've seen the good sides of my brother, the sad sides, and he's shown me the dark side of himself. But it doesn't make me love him any less. Katniss, you are lucky. You have found someone who will love you to then ends of the Earth. You two will open up for each other, you're going to feel pain, but when you fall it will be into each others' arms. Loving someone is a hard thing to do. You have to love them because of your differences and their problems, not despite them. But seeing you two here together puts out any doubt in my mind that you weren't doing that from the start. Peeta, my older, not always- but most of the time- wiser brother. I'm so happy for you and your wife, and I love you." He gets up to hug me as Prim screams,
"THAT'S SO CUTE!" When I sit back down Peeta makes the final speech. He talks about how I stole his thunder, talking about love and all. But then he talks about how nervous he was, and that it turned out the whole time Katniss was nervous too. He talks about how it might be different and difficult to be married in college but that they're happy they did it anyways. He confesses any love he didn't already and tells her that he knows she's not the type to give speeches or say those things back but that he knows she loves him and they seal the night with a kiss.
The tent that was used for the wedding is open again. The chairs have been cleared and the sound system is set up in the corner. The bride and groom take the first dance to the song "Lover is Childlike" by The Low Anthem. The father-daughter, mother-son dance is second. Katniss dances with Cinna, Haymitch, and Christian. Peeta dances with our mom and Clara. A third dance is added, the siblings dance. I dance with Peeta, then Katniss. After that the fun starts. I dance with Prim, Rory, Vick, Posy, Peeta, Rue, Thresh, and yes, when the first slow song comes on Cato and I dance together, and halfway through Foxface cuts in. I see Prim and Rory dancing together. I see Leevy standing against one of the tent posts talking to Gale. Wait, talking to Gale? Katniss runs over and I pick up the words, "Sorry, had to, and happy". He looks good in his suit. Given that Finnick is wearing the same suit and I saw him a few minutes ago, Gale still looks handsome. A second slow song starts playing. It's very beautiful, the lyrics are kind of sad for a wedding, but beautiful nonetheless. All the couples make their way to the dance floor. Clove and Marvel, Peeta and Katniss, Cato and Foxface, Haymitch and Effie.
"You say your time has come
You're tired of waking up
I start to cry
You kiss my eyes and say I'm not allowed to
You say you drag me down
No one should want you now
Don't be obscene
I can't conceive of living without you
Burning beacon in the night
Can't feel its heat or see its light
That single solitary guide it must get lonely there sometimes..."
"Prim and Rory look great together." I don't jump because I knew this would happen.
"Yeah. They really do." I reply. "I can't believe you showed up at a wedding to talk to your one night stand."
"Is that what you think you are?" He asks. I refuse to look him in the eye.
"No, I'm not even worth your time to be a one night stand." I say. "So I don't know what I am."
"You're someone who made an amazing speech, looks perfect in her dress, and deserves an apology." Gale says. "I'm sorry."
"Wow." I say. "That didn't make anything better."
"Look, what I did was an asshole move. And, I'm sorry. This is going to sound so stupid, but I didn't think what we did would hurt you. What I did."
"That's a load of bullshit and you know it." I snap.
"We're at a wedding." Gale whispers. I sigh. "See? I'm smart; I knew you wouldn't make a scene here, so you'd have to listen to me."
"Cut to the chase Hawthorne, my patience is wearing thin." I say.
"I like you. Like, a lot." He says. "I think you're smart, I think you're really beautiful and you can make me laugh, and you're kind of dorky... And most guys would have a problem with that, but I don't. Like in your speech, you said that you have to love someone because of not despite. I love you because of your dorkiness, not despite it. You're different, and you depend on other people, and I want to be one of those people. I want to be the person." I think my heart stops momentarily. I have to look at Gale to make sure he's real and he's not joking. And then the words shoot out of my mind and get trapped in my chest. Then they fly into my throat and get stuck there. So I'm staring at his grey, grey eyes and my mouth opens but nothing comes out. The words in my throat are blocking the air and I feel light-headed. All the champagne sips I took earlier catch up with me and I can feel all the dancing I did in my legs- either that or my knees are buckling- and he's waiting for my response but I just keep staring and blinking at him.
"Y-y-you u-u-u-used the L-word." I say finally, which isn't at all what I wanted to say. I wanted to lecture him about how he can't just lead me on, give me what I want and then leave, then come back again expecting me to fall into his arms. I want to tell him I'm not a slag heap girl, that I wasn't on the list for a reason, that I'm not his yo-yo that he can just bring close then push away and bring close and push away. That if he really cares about me then why the fuck didn't he stay the night and tell me this on that morning? For one thing it would've been a helluva lot more romantic.
"I guess I did." Gale says.
"You can't just show up here an expect me t-"
"Delly Cartwright, won't you dance with me?" He says smiling grabbing my hand, forcing me onto the parquet dance floor. I can feel Madge looking over her boyfriend's shoulder to peek at us and I know Leevy must be peering over here. I catch of glimpse of my group standing together and I avoid Rue's gaze. I glance down and take a slight step back from Gale. He forces me closer, moving his hand from my shoulder to the small of my back. "Smile, we're supposed to be having a good time."
"Gale, don't- do this to me." I say. "Don't, force me into stuff like this and expect me to go with it. You have this perfect idea that I'm going to react the same way and kiss you in front of everyone and say 'I love you too' but I'm not going to do that. You had this whole summer to make a move without an excuse. But you treated me like a kid and went for someone else. You had to get drunk to finally show interest in me and your girlfriend dumped you so now I'm your rebound? No. I waited for you this whole summer, I was waiting for a long time and not that long ago I decided to give up. I figured it out and I stopped trying. And of course that's the time you notice me." I look up and him and I hate me being 5' 6" and I hate him for being 6' whatever. "So just stop right now because then you're going to feel like me- and while I'm not your biggest fan- I don't want you to feel the way I felt." He looks away pulls me into him and my cheek rests against his suit. I'm staring at the medals pinned to his chest.
"So that's it then?" Gale asks. "You're just not going to give me any chance at all?"
"No." I say.
"Well that's kind of funny." He says. "Because the 'perfect idea' I had didn't involve you kissing me in front of everyone and saying that you love me. You came up with that on your own." I could slap him again I'm so angry.
"That... That doesn't mean anything. I-" Gale lets go of my other hand and we uncomfortably shift into the I-put-my-arms-around-his-neck-he-puts-his-arms-aro und-my-waist position. He leans down low enough for me to hiss into his ear, "I hate you Gale Jacob Hawthorne." In one swift move he brushes his cheek against mine and whispers into my other ear,
"And I love you Delilah Lilly Cartwright." I want to cry and scream and throw up all at once. He repulses me and turns me on and makes me want to slap him. "And you can't tell me that you don't enjoy this, or feel anything. If you do, then you're fooling yourself because if you really waited this whole summer, then at least one piece of you is happy right now." He's right and I hate him and love him for being right. "Just give into it. You've been through a lot and I've been through a lot. So if you don't owe it to me you owe it to yourself."
"I don't owe anything. What I went through was nothing, so many people have had it worse." I say. Gale grabs my neck with his fingertips forcefully, cradling my jaw with his thumb and I feel his mouth on mine for a second. I could've kissed his hand and I wouldn't know the difference. Hell, I could've been kissing a really warm, really soft piece of fabric and I might not have known the difference if I closed my eyes.
"Now you don't owe anything." He says resting his chin on my head. My hatred for him and the euphoria of finally having a sober kiss with him cancel each other out and I'm numb. "Can we be alone?"
"I can arrange that." I say pulling him by the wrist and leading him off the dance floor. I pass Rue who gives me a desperate look. I bite my lip and shrug. I pull him past the other tent where the reception was and past the pool and- God has my backyard always been this big? There's enough moonlight for me to see his face. "So what do you want to talk about?"
"Us. Is it going to happen?" Should've seen that coming.
"Gale, you don't know me. It's barely been three months and you're saying you love me." I say. "Do you know what love is?" I motion over to the reception. "That. That is love. They've devoted the rest of their lives to each other. Would you be willing to do that for me?" He doesn't answer. "You know so little about me. If I didn't live with you this summer I would've been re-reading John Green books. I would've started planning my Harry Potter Party and maybe began sewing my costume. Because that's what I like to do. I might've done some of the volunteer work at the library, or maybe after Clove's play Rue and I would've done community service. I could've started working on chorography for the next flashmob. I might've gone to the Humane Society and worked there for a week or two. I don't know and neither do you because you don't know me that well."
"So that's your excuse?" Gale asks.
"I can't date you anyways. You've broken the law already by kissing me." I say.
"What?" He asks confused.
"The law is that there is no sexual activity or 'sensual encounters'. So no making out, and no groping. Both of which you did when you got drunk."
"Once again, sorry about that." Gale says. "But you looked so goddamn sexy in that dress."
"Stop." I say putting up my hand. "I don't want to do this. I don't want some dramatic love story in my life and right now I don't even think I want a boyfriend."
"Delly, please-"
"Stop! I don't want this. I'm going to be a senior this year and you're a really good looking single guy. We'll manage." I head back to the party.
I'm just in time to watch Cato catch Katniss' garter. He runs over to me and picks me up, spinning me around. Peeta rolls his eyes and Katniss gets ready to throw her bouquet. Prim and Rue stand on either side of me.
"Catch it for us babe!" Cato shouts. I jump into the air and my mom laughs. Katniss tosses the flowers over her head as I catch a glimpse of Gale leaning against one of the tent poles. I think he wants me to catch the damn roses just to prove some sort of point that fate wants us together. But the stems brush past my fingertips and the flowers fall into the surprised hands of Annie Cresta.