Chapter Thirty-One
There wasn't a knock or any warning whatsoever before the bathroom door swung open. He heard her heavy footsteps shuffling across the room before he saw her. Pushing his hair out of his face, he watched as Effie bunched the edges of her skirt up in her hand, pulling it up and moving right past him as if he wasn't there.
"Um… I am showering," he told from where he stood behind the shower screen.
"Yes, I noticed," Effie answered, lifting the lid off the toilet. "It's not like I haven't seen you naked, Haymitch, honestly. There is no need to act like a scarlet virgin. You've impregnated me after all."
His face scrunched and he blanched. Wait your turn or use the guest bath – what are you doing?!"
For a few seconds, all he could do was stare at her before he reacted. Wiping the mist off the shower screen in order to get a better view, the look of horror crossed his face once he realised what Effie was about to do. He spun around, abruptly turning his back to her in an attempt to afford her some semblance of privacy. It disturbed him immensely to note that she was not at all concern about him being there, seeing all of these. Especially if he took into account the kind uptight woman that she was. Pregnancy couldn't change her that much, surely?
Yes, they were separated by the shower screen but this was not okay. It was not alright at all. He was merely a few short distance away from her. It made no sense how she could simply barged in and… and… Haymitch took a deep breath, still refusing to turn around until she told him that she was done.
"There are certain aspects of a woman that a man doesn't need to know," he informed her. "It will ruin the image he has of a woman, which I must say, you are doing a good job of right now. I cannot unseen what I've just – "
"Haymitch," she gave him a warning look when he turned around to face her. "They are pressing on my bladder and let me tell you something, dear husband, it is actually one of the most uncomfortable feelings – having something pressing on your bladder. If you're in my position, you would have done the same."
"I would not."
He grabbed a bottle of shampoo and began to lather his hair with it just to distract himself.
"Besides, we're married," Effie continued, as if she had not just made him feel uncomfortable with her intrusion. "It's not like I haven't seen those unpleasant side of you – they are plenty and in abundance, so don't argue with me Haymitch Abernathy."
He glowered at her. "Like what?"
Effie looked at him pointedly, a look that asked if he really wanted her to say it out and bared it all. Haymitch raised an eyebrow in challenge as he let the water run over his back.
"Let's start with gas, shall we?"
There was a pregnant pause before his retort came back. "That's unavoidable. It's natural."
"Of course, that's natural but there's nothing natural about having to use the toilet," she rolled her eyes and washed her hands. "How about me seeing you vomit countless times? You'd think that would put me off."
"Only it didn't, not if yesterday was anything to go by," he smirked.
He heard her sigh but from her reflection on the mirror, he could see the small smile on her face. "I'm due for my 30 weeks appointment tomorrow."
Effie leaned against the sink and continued speaking to him even though he was still showering.
Does it not bother her that we are having a discussion in the bathroom?
"Already?" he poked his head out, gesturing for her to hand over the towel.
"Yes," she nodded. "They'll be here soon and we still haven't decided on any names! Have you given it any thought at all?"
"Oh, yes, every day," he answered quickly. "That's progress, right?"
"It is if you're not actually lying through your teeth."
Haymitch bit his tongue conveniently ignoring her accusation. He walked out of the bathroom hoping to put the conversation behind him. He hadn't thought of names at all, not since the last time they discussed it while they were in Four, and he had actually forgotten all about it until Effie brought it up again today.
Haymitch was sure they would have no problem whatsoever with the naming process. How difficult was it to name a child, anyway?
John, August, Harold, Williams.
Mary, Aria, Susan, Christina.
He would just pick one when the time comes. It shouldn't be too difficult except, of course, what was it that Effie had said?
Nomen est omen.
XxX
Things were tense between the pair, an occurrence that no longer fazed Haymitch. They managed to put it aside momentarily while in Dr. Bell's room, choosing to focus on the appointment instead.
"But a normal delivery is still within the realm of possibility, isn't it?"
"Of course," Dr. Bell nodded. "But in most cases, the position of the baby during labour determines a lot the type of delivery you would have."
"What about her uterine fibroids?" Haymitch interjected. "You told us once that fibroids could affect normal delivery."
"I did, indeed, but that is in cases where the fibroids are near or blocking the cervical opening. This isn't the case with Effie."
Haymitch nodded, satisfied with Dr. Bell's assurance. Effie turned to him briefly before facing to talk with the doctor once more.
"I really don't want a surgery," she said. "I want a normal birth."
"I don't think you have much to say on that matter, sweetheart," Haymitch said. "Weren't you listening? It's all very dependent on their positions later on."
"That's true," Dr. Bell agreed. "It's not recommended to have normal delivery if they're in a transverse position or breech. I would assess the situation and advise you accordingly."
"I don't think we should be making any decisions," Haymitch said, helping Effie off the examination table. "But she wants normal, maybe you could just put it down in your notes somewhere. For future reference," Haymitch added hastily when Effie shot him a look.
XxX
Effie was resolutely not looking at him as they walked out of the hospital after the appointment.
"Back to being annoyed with me, then?" he asked casually.
"Yes."
"Okay," he shrugged, walking quietly next to her. He bit into the apple he bought from the hospital cafeteria earlier, not at all concern about Effie's general state of unhappiness with him.
His indifference was aggravating her. Haymitch knew that. It was entertaining to see her trying to maintain her composure until they were at home where she could unleash her irritation. Effie would never lose her temper at him in public, not wanting to make a scene and embarrass them both, and Haymitch basked in that knowledge.
Her nostrils flared in annoyance. Haymitch moved slightly to the left, taking a step away from her. If she was a dragon from one of those tales she had been reading to the twins at night, Haymitch was sure she would have breathed fire.
Nonchalantly, Haymitch offered her a bite from his apple still waiting for a reprimand or a lecture from her.
"I already told you the night before," she swivelled to face him, lips pursed into a thin line.
There it is, he smirked. Haymitch continued chewing on his apple, eyeing her with an amused expression.
"You knew the appointment was slotted for 10 am today and you overslept," she hissed, swatting his arm pathetically.
A few passers-by stopped, glancing in their direction briefly before hurrying along as if they hadn't seen anything interesting at all. Haymitch understood their reaction. To them, this was just another couple spat, nothing nobody hadn't seen before. Haymitch and Effie were barely even fighting. He had seen far worse; husband and wife shouting at each other in public, hanging their dirty laundry for everyone to see. Usually they were married under the law and their disagreement suddenly made so much sense to Haymitch.
"You should have woken me up," he replied.
"I should have…the nerve of you! Why couldn't you take the initiative to wake up on your own! You're incorrigible, Haymitch. We're lucky we arrived on time! We could have been late and what would Dr. Bell think? That I have no respect for her time is what she would think. But that is just not true! The next – "
"Here, have you tasted this? Dried mangoes," he shoved the piece of dried fruit he just fished out from the pack into her mouth to stop her tirade. Effie wasn't shouting but that did not mean he wanted to hear what she had to say. "Not bad, don't you think? I'm gonna buy more of this. Store it at home."
"Don't try to change the subject, Haymitch," she swallowed. "I am trying to – "
"Mr. Abernathy! Mr. Abernathy!"
Haymitch straightened up at the sound of his name just as Effie staggered backwards in surprise, her hand reaching out to hold on to his arm. A young bespectacled woman barrelled towards them.
"Are you alright?" he asked Effie quietly.
She nodded and released her hold on him but stood close to Haymitch.
The young woman gripped his arms desperately, nails digging into his skin.
"You are manhandling me, Emily," Haymitch replied tersely. "And you nearly knocked a pregnant woman over. You better have a good reason for all this."
"It's okay, Haymitch. I'm alright," Effie told the girl when she noticed the extremely distressed look on her face.
"Please," Emily pleaded, her eyes brimming with tears. "You have to help me, please!"
Haymitch and Effie exchanged a look. It was not every day that someone ran up to him pleading for his help, especially not a young woman with tears in her eyes, tense and worried out of her mind from the looks of it.
"Slow down, Emily. What happened?" Haymitch asked the librarian. "Did a fire breakout at the library?"
It had to be the library. What could possibly send Emily into a fit of panic? Searching his memory, Haymitch couldn't recall ever seeing her outside of the library before. He had told her often enough that she took her job as a librarian far too seriously and that she should try to see the sun sometimes.
"This is coming from an alcoholic who stayed home all day unless he had to get more supplies," she retorted once before biting her tongue in horror when she realised what she just said.
Her eyes darted from Haymitch to Effie. The tears had finally spilled.
"You said you were going to stop it!" she cried, taking of her spectacles as she wiped the tears falling hot and fast with the back of her hands. "You said… You… the law…"
"Emily… Emily, darling," Effie stepped in when she saw the stupefied, confused expression on Haymitch's face. Knowing that Haymitch was not equipped to deal with crying woman, Effie gently took Emily by the elbow away from Haymitch. Silently, she pressed the packet of tissues she always carried around into the girl's hand. "Don't cry. Wipe your tears. Whatever it is that is upsetting you, we can talk it out, alright? Why don't we go over to Victor's Village? Will that be amenable? I'll make you some tea and you can tell us what happened, is that okay?"
Her voice was soothing and Haymitch could see Emily calming down slightly, nodding at Effie's questions. Haymitch was immensely glad that Effie was there. Had he been on his own, Haymitch would not have known how to deal with the situation at all. Effie had led Emily away, still holding on to the girl's hand as if she was afraid that Emily might break apart at any second. Effie turned then, looking to see if he was following. He nodded and hurried along, not at all eager to be heading home now.
He didn't want to have to deal with an emotional teenager. He had enough of that to last a lifetime. But something nagged at him. He doubted this was a normal teenage problem. Emily had mentioned the law. He had heard her said it in between her sobbing.
A slightly shorter chapter than normal. Please do leave a review and tell me your thoughts on Consortium so far.
If you're following me on tumblr, you'll know that I've begun to do research on labour so we're getting there. Give me maybe three more chapters?
To Cathy: To answer your question, it would be safe to say that we're in the middle of the story.