I wake up in the morning, and the first thing I think of is Delly. I already have a plan for this afternoon. I check the time, and it's late , so I go downstairs to find Angela making toast in the kitchen.
"Good morning!" she says when she sees me.
"Morning." I reply, grabbing a muffin from the table.
"Any plans for today?" she asks.
"Yeah, I'm going out to see Delly Cartwright." She smiles warmly at the name.
"I love Delly. She's a great friend. She's from District 12, right?" she asks.
"Yep. Knew here when we were in thirteen though. She nice." I say. Angela seems about to say something, but changes her mind. She decides what to do.
"Listen, Rory's birthday is coming soon, and I don't have any ideas. Do you think you could help me come up with things tomorrow?" She asks tentatively. Oops. I completely forgot about Rory's birthday next week. I guess this is a plan to team up with Angela, and get him a gift before he realizes I forgot.
"I would be happy to help." I say.
"Good" she replies, smiling again. We talk more, until she finishes eating, about how things are going. When she gets up, saying she better go, I suddenly ask her a question I wasn't planning on saying out loud.
"Wait- do you know anything about...Katniss and Peeta?" I ask, surprising both of us.
"The Mellark's? I know Peeta well, but not Katniss so much. Their kids are great." she responds. I can see that she's wondering why I would want to know about them. Rory must have told her something. "Well, I'll see you around." she says, grabbing her bag and going out the door.
"Bye." I shout after her. What now? Rory isn't home. Angela left. I still have two hours until I see Delly. I settle on taking a long shower, thinking over Angela's words.
The Mellark's. Katniss changed her last name? She knows Peeta. I'm not surprised, everyone knows the amiable baker, while Katniss is probably more shy, spending her time it the woods. Then she said 'Their kids are great.' Kids. Plural. Another daughter? A son?More than that? How old? The daughter I met looked like a teenager. 16 years old or something. How old was their other kid?
I realize the water in the tub has gotten cold. I get out, change clothes, and see I have thirty minutes left. I decide to head into town anyway. I'm where I'm supposed to meet Delly in fifteen minutes. It's just a relaxing place outside with tables and seats around. In a little while, I see a blonde head running up to meet my table.
Breathing heavily, Delly says "Sorry I'm late."
"It's okay. I was early anyway." I reply. She sits down, and I let her catch her breath, before I can't take it anymore. "How many kids do they have?" She looks at me, a questionable look on her face.
"Well I guess we're jumping straight in. Katniss and Peeta's kids? They have two. How did you know?" She asks.
I explain to her everything, and it seems like the twelfth time I've relived that story. When I'm finished, I say again, "Two kids?" I can't imagine Katniss having any kids. It's unbelievable to me Peeta could convince her to do that. "Who?"
"The girl you met, Ivy, she's fourteen."
"Fourteen!" I exclaim. I was way off.
"I know, she grew up fast. Sure is a looker." she thinks out loud. "Oh, yeah. And they have a seven year old son, Pane. Probably the exact opposite of Ivy, blonde with grey eyes, and works in the bakery with Peeta. Sweet little boy. Idolizes his parents."
I think about this for a second. A seven year old son, who took after Peeta. I can imagine how much Katniss must love them when they're little. She worshiped Prim...before. "Are you...friends with them?" I ask.
She smiles at the question. Leave it to Delly to turn this into something happy. "I go by the bakery a lot. Katniss and I and friends now, we talk to each other. As for the kids, they always ask me for homework help. They're a nice family Gale. You would've been happy to see them grow up."
I wasn't so sure about that. I still need to tell her about the plan, though. "Delly, could you do me a favor?" I ask. She nods, encouraging me to go on. "Could you...maybe talk to Peeta? I just want to meet up with him, explain what I'm doing here. Apologize. Could you pass the message on? Tell him to meet me here in the morning tomorrow if he agrees?" Delly takes a couple minutes to thinks.
"Sure, Gale. But to be honest, I'm confused. Why are you here?" I realize now I haven't explained my self completely.
"Visiting Rory, seeing how things are in 12." I answer. She raises her eyebrows, asking me for the real reason. "My girl back in 2, she convinced me to come back. Apologize. Get re-acquainted with...Katniss. She nods her head, expecting my answer. She winkles her brow in confusion again.
"Your girl? You have a girl?" she teases.
"Hey, don't go there. I know about you and Thom." Her eyes widen,and she punches my arm. "What? Good for you, Delly." I say. She leans back I her chair, collecting her bags.
"We'll, I have to get down to the bakery before Pane gets there. I have a lot of convincing to do." I stand up, and she hugs me before walking off.
"Good to see you Delly. And thanks, for everything."
She smiles, saying "You too, Gale."