"Do you want another salty, Johanna?" Annie asks me even though I haven't finished the first salty, which is short for 'salted bread', District 4's breakfast obsession.

"No, thanks. I'm still good," I reply, smiling at Finnick from across the table.

I've been in District 4 for almost a month now, and have already fallen into a comfortable daily pattern that starts with a thirty-minute run, followed by breakfast at the Odairs and then attempting to fill the rest of the day. And once a week I do some household chores for Annie's mother.

"What are you grinning at?" I ask Finnick after he's been staring at me and Annie for over five minutes with a ridiculous, cheeky smile on his face.

He nods at Annie. "Tell her."

"No, you can tell her, you're her best friend," Annie replies. I can hear a smile in her voice too but she can't match Finnick's enthusiasm.

"Tell me what?" I ask when neither of them is telling me whatever it is they want to tell me.

"Okay," Finnick eventually says. "Guess who's going to be a dad?"

I gulp the piece of bread I had in my mouth down and raise my eyebrows. "What?" I yell, looking at Annie, then at Finnick and then back at Annie. "You're pregnant?"

Annie nods, a soft smile around her lips and a twinkle in her eyes.

I jump up in excitement. "Congratulations!" I shout, hugging Annie first and then making my way over to Finnick who's already waiting for me with open arms.

"That's so awesome!" I beam at them, sharing their happiness.

"We would like you to be the godmother," Annie says, her voice suddenly cautious. "If you want to, of course."

My mouth falls open for the second time this morning. "Well, duh! Of course I'll be the kid's godmother!"

Finnick throws his arms around me and pulls me in for another bear hug. "Go upstairs to our room," he says once he's calm again. "There's a little godmother present waiting for you."

"A godmother present?" I ask, a skeptical grin on my face.

"Well, it was actually just a welcome-to-District-4 present but since you now agreed to be a godmother…" Finnick trails off with a waving gesture of his hand. "Just go get it."

I smile. "Okay."

When I enter their room I'm taken aback by how clean everything looks. The room just screams 'Annie and Finnick', which is the total opposite of my own bedroom that has my name written all over it, especially over the various piles of clothes casually thrown on the floor.

On their bed is a blue box with a big white ribbon around it, and when I open it I don't immediately know what it is. Even after I've taken the pieces of cloth out, I still have no idea. It feels weird, a bit slippery but still dry..

"Err, what is this?" I say when I get back downstairs, holding the tiny pieces of fabric in my left hand, high enough for Finnick to see.

"It's a bikini," he says, trying not to laugh at the expression on my face.

"A bikini?"

"Yes. You wear it when you go swimming."

I furrow my brow. "Seriously? It's like underwear, only the fabric is different, and the shape..."

"It's underwear to swim," he says, now looking confused. "Do you seriously not know what it is?"

"Well, obviously," I say, throwing the bikini in his face. "And by the way, is it supposed to show off that much skin?"

Now Finnick actually bursts into laughter. "Didn't think you'd have a problem with that."

"Well, I don't," I say, crossing my arms over my chest, "but I just don't understand why people can't wear regular clothes in that kind of fabric to go swimming, like in the Capitol. Or nothing at all."

"Regular clothes are way too hot for a day at the beach, and they don't dry as quickly as this. But feel free to try out the 'nothing at all'. I think you'll have a lot of spectators out there."

I take the black bikini back from Finnick and then shrug. "Well, I have to go. Your mother asked if I could come over today."

Annie looks up from her plate. "I thought you already went there this week?"

"Yes, but she asked me and it's not like I have much else to do so…" I reply. "I wouldn't worry, Annie. I'm sure it's nothing, just laundry or something like that," I try to reassure her when I see her eyebrows go up in concern.

"Okay then," she eventually says, taking Finnick's hand in hers.

"Thanks for eh, this," I say, giving both Finnick and Annie a kiss goodbye.

"You're welcome. Say hi from us!"

"Will do."

As I walk out the door, I don't really know what to do with the bikini since I don't have any pockets. But thankfully, mother Maybelle's house is not that far away.

"Good morning," I say when I open the front door.

"Good morning, Johanna," I hear Annie's mom reply, a laugh in her voice.

I put the bikini on the table and walk towards mother Maybelle, who's sitting in her favorite rocking chair, even though she's not that old yet. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," she says. "Did they tell you?"

I smile. "Yes, they did."

"And?"

"And I'm going to be the godmother!"

That same twinkle that was in Annie's eyes just thirty minutes ago appeared now in her mother's eyes. "I'm so happy. I knew you'd say yes."

"Of course."

She's quiet for a moment before she asks me to make her a cup of tea. "And make one for yourself as well."

I do as I bid, and I'm happy to do it. Life has taken quite a toll on mother Maybelle, having lost one of her children at sea, trying to make a living for her other children when her husband died, Annie being reaped as a tribute and then having to take care of a hysterical person for years. And on top of all that, when Annie was held captive in the Capitol, mother Maybelle tried to talk to District 4 officials to get her daughter back but was severely beaten by peacekeepers until she could barely move. Seeing her smiling, hearing her say she's happy, that's why I love coming here.

I take both cups and put them on the coffee table.

"How are you doing?" she suddenly asks, just a slight edge in her voice that I can't really put my finger on.

"I'm good, why?"

"Just asking. What have you been doing?"

I let out a small laugh. "You mean between the day before yesterday and today? Nothing. I watched TV, ate ice cream and that's probably it."

Mother Maybelle nods, still that sweet smile on her face. "Why don't you try something new? You could go to the beach more, try to get over your fear of water."

I sigh and look at the steaming cup in my hand. "I know. It's just… I don't really feel like I can do that."

"What do you mean?" she asks in a soft voice.

"I don't know. I feel stuck. Everyone is moving on, and I'm just stuck. Finnick and Annie are having a baby, they're both in a really good place, and I'm still in the same place I was when I left the Capitol. I'm still afraid of water, and I can't do anything about it."

I look up and it's then that I realize mother Maybelle knew this all along. That's why she wanted me to come over, to have a talk.

"Why can't you do anything about it?" she says, sipping from her tea. "I heard Finnick and Annie gave you a bikini."

I roll my eyes at her comment. "Right, the bikini. I fear it's going to take more than that."

Suddenly, she takes my hand in hers. "Don't be afraid, Johanna. You just got your life back, enjoy it."

"Okay." I smile. "I'll try."