Chapter Seventy-One

Last year, he argued that the twins' were too young but this year, Effie declared and insisted that they were at the age where they would be able to actually appreciate the fireworks exploding in the skies above. Knowing that arguing would lead him nowhere, Haymitch relented and the four of them welcomed the New Year at the meadow, watching the sparks and the flares filled the sky. It was worth it, he thought, as he listened to Ethan squealing, his face lighting up each time the sky glowed and Haymitch couldn't take his eyes off Tristan who was staring in amazement. He had not seen the boy this happy since Ari left.

"See, I told you they'll love it," Effie grinned.

With the start of a brand new year, the three months' timeline set by President Paylor passed in a flurry of activities. Even as the details of the election was being finalised by the Council, the Government was also busy launching their own form of persuasion to sway the public's mind. There were fliers and posters hung at the town centre, and on the walls at the market and community centre to remind citizens for the need of a population growth. They extolled the benefits of having children – education subsidy, baby bonus and medical schemes – and stressed the importance of building a family. There were pictures of families in domestic bliss, holding the hands of two children on their posters which could be seen everywhere in every district.

In the City, at the Council's chambers, Haymitch knew from Adler and Plutarch that the Government was steeling itself for the outcome of the Referendum. They were drafting policies, setting up procedures and outlining the measures that they would have to enforce almost immediately depending on the mandate of the people. It gave Haymitch great pleasure to know that even as he walked down the streets, trying hard not to roll his eyes at all the posters lining up the walls, somewhere in the City, the Council members were getting ready for an event that the law were called to be abolished.

Reporters were sent out to the streets to get the general mood of the people and to better understand people's views and thoughts for the upcoming vote.

In Twelve, Greasy Sae was among those who were interviewed.

"See that girl over there," the woman pointed to the other end of the eatery. The camera panned over to where her granddaughter was sitting, staring out the window at the activities on the street. "She oughta have the right to choose who she gonna marry… when she gonna marry. I will vote, yes, 'cause that's what I want for her. Her life - she gets to choose, gotta have the freedom to live it. You have a daughter?"

"Yes, mam, I do," the reported nodded. "I'm guessing your vote will be a 'no'?"

Voting was meant to be confidential, but with all the media attention and the campaigns, some people were vocal about their stance, Greasy Sae included because she was not hesitant when she answered, "that's right," and cackled into the camera.

In his living room, Haymitch chuckled quietly as he watched the interview. That evening, he brought Effie and his sons over to her diner, leaving behind a generous tip for Greasy Sae before he left.

"Musta seen my interview," Greasy Sae mused when she noticed the tip. "Like it, did ya?"

Haymitch smiled, giving her a thumb-up.

When they left the diner, there was a reporter waiting idly outside. Effie declined to be interviewed but Haymitch gave a few words out of necessity amidst the Government's propaganda. He reiterated the main points of the campaigns and reminded the public of how the law was affecting them. That interview quickly gained popularity because of Ethan. For all of his efforts to shield the boys from the cameras, the reporter had managed to catch him leaving Greasy Sae's diner with Ethan clinging to him on a piggyback ride. The child refused to let go even when Effie tugged on his arms, leaving Haymitch to answer the reporter's questions with Ethan on his back.

It had worked in Haymitch's favour by softening his image. People were already beginning to forget that Haymitch was the very same drunk they had mocked for years, and the interview helped. People saw him as a father and a family man. It appealed to the public and it made him more endearing.

"It's not your charming personality that made that interview so well-liked," Effie teased. "It's your son. He's winning the hearts of everyone with that smile."

"A smile that he got from me," Haymitch retorted, not wanting her to have the upper hand.

"Not those cute dimples, he didn't. Those, he got it from me," her voice was smug and boastful, "and that's what's important, isn't it? Those dimples on his cheeks when he smiles."

Haymitch pretended not to hear that. This was one of those times where he certainly did not need to indulge her.

XxX

The purple hue of the twilight filtered through their bedroom window, marking the beginning of dawn. Haymitch was still fast asleep, disarmingly unaware of Effie's increasing agitation as she lay next to him, staring at the ceiling and counting slowly in her head to calm herself.

When that did nothing to soothe her, Effie propped herself on her elbow, watching Haymitch sleep. There was a time long before everything when Haymitch could not sleep without his knife and alcohol but those days were long gone. She almost could not remember what that was like for him, for them. He had changed, subtly and slowly but he changed all the same and so had she.

"Haymitch," she whispered, shaking him awake.

Her breath was warm against his skin. He began to stir, mumbling incoherently under his breath.

"I can't sleep."

"Hmm?"

"Haymitch," she called out again. "We were married this month, five years ago."

He rubbed his face, blinking rapidly in the darkness to clear the sleep, and bring focus the outline of her face against the pale moonlight. Haymitch switched the lamp and rolled over to face her.

"You woke me up to tell me I missed our fifth anniversary?" he muttered, clearly unhappy at being woken up.

His brain was foggy with sleep but he knew enough to know that they had not celebrated their second or their third or their fourth. Those days passed without him realising and without her bothering to point it out to him.

"In two weeks' time…" she went out as if she had not heard his question. "In two weeks, we're going to vote."

A pair of pensive eyes bore into his imploringly. Haymitch released a breath, propping himself on the headboard. He scratched the stubble on his jaw, his mind working furiously as he tried to think of what to say to her.

"What's going on, sweetheart?"

It was the way she was looking at him that made his breath caught in his throat. The sparks in her eyes were gone. The muscles on her face were taut as she bit the inside of her cheek. Effie reached out for him, scooting over to where he was half lying on the bed and rested her head on his shoulder.

"I have been thinking about it for the past few days. I don't know… Haymitch, I don't know what to vote," her voice was strained, pleading with him to understand. "That third option…"

"Effs," he ran his fingers through her hair, working out the knots that had formed overnight. "This law… You know it can't go on."

Effie tilted her head back to look at him, a forced smile on her lips.

"I know. I know every pros and cons of it. It's just… My grandmother… She used to tell me and Felix that the first five years of a marriage is a test of endurance – old adage - and we've passed that mark, Haymitch. I just never thought… that we would last this long, that we would be married this long."

"I…. Effie, we should – I never meant for us to stay -"

"No, I remember," she nodded grimly, lips set into a line. She swirled meaningless patterns on his chest, her eyes fixed at a point somewhere outside their window. The sun was already peeking out of the horizon. Soon they would have to get up but for now there was only them. "I've never forgotten, Haymitch, not once. I wanted to but I always remember why you wanted this law to end, what drove you to seek Plutarch and work on this law in the first place. When this law is repealed, I should be given credit for being your main motivation," she chuckled, the bitterness dripping from her voice. "For all the wrong reasons."

Bitterness did not suit her, he thought.

"Don't say that," he said harshly. "This was as much for me as it was for you. It started that way. You shouldn't… Not with me," he rubbed his face and then he took a deep breath, changing the subject altogether. "What do you want to do for our fifth?"

"Nothing," the word left her mouth, surprised at his question. Their anniversary was never a topic for discussion. "I don't need us to do anything."

She pecked his lips as if to assure him of it and disappeared into the bathroom.

It didn't sit right with him. He couldn't explain the reason but there was a heavy feeling settling in his stomach. There was just something about this year that made him jittery.

Haymitch bought her a wooden jewellery box. It was smooth to the touch and beautifully carved. The top lid was engraved with her name – Effie Trinket – and it was only after he had bought it that he remembered. Feeling foolish, Haymitch went back to the shop and bought the exact same box but this time he had it engraved properly while studiously ignoring the shopkeeper's judgmental stare. He handed the piece to her wrapped in an old newspaper without much fuss.

"It's beautiful," she marvelled, kissing his cheek. "Thank you."

Her thumb brushed over the engraving – Effie Abernathy – and she smiled, though there was nothing joyful about the way she carried herself. Her eyes were downcast, her shoulders droop slightly and her gaze lingered on the present. Haymitch had only gifted her with two things throughout their marriage – his mother's bracelet years ago and that jewellery box – and in both occasion she managed to make him feel as if he failed to meet her high expectations.

"Don't you like it?"

"I love it," she smiled again. "I never expected it and I… like the surprise."

He clenched his jaw. Haymitch stared at her and then as if someone had turned on a switch inside him, he began to understand why she was acting the way she did. He swallowed the lump in his throat and turned away from her.

Anniversaries were always a cause for celebration but it had never been that way for them. She had made the effort but he had ruined their first year, and all the other years passed without a thought, forgotten (on his part) and unmarked. This year, it was shadowed by the referendum and it was becoming evidently clear to him that Effie was treating it as their last anniversary together. She had marked the end, the way Johanna and Gale had marked theirs.

That realisation sent him reeling in surprise, a punch in his gut. It sent him running out into the backyard where he spent the rest of the afternoon fixing the geese pen with a drink in his hand.

XxX

The only time the Community Centre was bustling with these much activity would be at the end of the month when the Government handed the cash pay-out for the baby bonus scheme. But today, on the first day of the month, the Community Centre was exploding with commotion.

Throngs of people packed the walkway towards the two story building, some spilling through the double doors, all brimming with excitement to fulfil their civic duties. Everyone above the age of 18 - the age that the law required people to enter into a marriage - was allowed to vote. There were children in attendance, running around in the square under the bright morning sun. They were oblivious to the importance of that day and how it would eventually be written down in history books for being the first referendum to ever be held in Panem.

Haymitch spotted two SNG vehicles stationed near the Centre, the large discs on each van was a dead giveaway that it was there to gather the news.

It did not take long for words to spread that he had arrived. Haymitch and Effie found their paths blocked by two reporters before they could past through the doors.

"Haymitch had worked hard for the voting to be held, so my only message to the people is for them to think wisely of their choices, and to choose the option that they think is best for this country to move forward as one," Effie said into the microphone, smiling pleasantly for the cameras.

"Over the course of the many appeals, you have been asked this question again and again but I don't think we were ever given a clear answer, so, maybe this time it will be different. What will your future with your husband be like if the law is repealed, Mrs Abernathy?"

The dazzling smiled stayed fix on her face and Haymitch was reminded of the escort that she once was during the Games.

Haymitch stood tensed next to her, waiting for what she would say.

"We're taking it one step at a time," she answered, glancing at him. He gave an imperceptible nod of his head to tell her that that answer was satisfactory. The camera panned to include him in the frame. Effie reached out for him and he took her hand, lacing their fingers together. It was a sign of solidarity, that she would stand by him and this was strengthened by what she said next. "First, we vote. Then we shall see the results of the poll. Whatever the case may be, Haymitch and I will always think of our children, first and foremost. They're our priority now."

Haymitch nodded at the camera, conveying his agreement with Effie. He then steered her away from the reporters at the earliest opportunity before they could pry more answers out of her.

"Peeta and Katniss are waiting. I saw them on the way," he informed her.

Haymitch took the lead, parting the crowd to make way for Effie and his sons. He could already feel the sweat on his back by the time he reached Peeta and Katniss calmly lounging on one of the benches, watching the crowd as they passed.

"It's intense in there," Katniss nodded towards the Community Centre. "There's a long queue to vote. I think anyone who can vote has come down."

She clutched on to Prim, moving the girl to her lap in fear on losing her in the crowd. Haymitch glanced behind him. The crowd had swell as the morning grew older and people had begun to rouse from their slumber.

"Good," Haymitch nodded, satisfied. "That's good news. Casted your votes yet?"

"Yeah, we were among the first. Wanted to beat the crowd," Peeta grinned.

"Will you look after the boys?" asked Effie.

"Sure."

"Be good for Uncle Peeta," Effie told the twins' and they nodded in unison.

As Effie and Haymitch climbed up the steps to enter the Centre, Effie slipped her hand in his.

"Look around, Haymitch," she gestured. "You have every reason to be proud. It's because of you that this is possible."

"One step at a time, like you said. Nothing to be proud of until the law is well and truly gone."

"Oh, Haymitch! Take credit when credit is due, will you?"

He shrugged. "You gonna tell me what you're voting?"

"I'm not going to!" she laughed, shaking her head. "Voting is confidential."

He rolled his eyes. As if he needed reminding. Haymitch wanted to point out to her that there were people who were not hesitant about making their stand known but he didn't want to push her so he wisely kept his mouth shut.

"Effs," he grabbed her hand, pulling her back to him when she moved to join one of the five queues to the voting booth. He tucked a loose strand behind her ear, his eyes fixed on her lips. "You should know that I wouldn't … This wouldn't be possible without your help. You should be proud of this, too. You once told me that you were proud of me… Likewise, sweetheart."

When she parted her lips to say something, Haymitch silenced her with a kiss. He didn't want her to ruin it or to contradict him. People passed by them, some giving them curious glances but others paid them no attention. He curled his fingers behind her neck, drawing her closer and kissing her again when she pulled back slightly.

"You shouldn't have done that, Haymitch," she whispered, out of breath. "I might just vote 'yes' to the law now."

"No," he said, brushing his thumb over her lower lip. "No, you wouldn't. Remember the law. Remember what it's done to you," he advised, not realising that they were never on the same page when it came to the voting and his words only made her question her choices even more.

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