I rushed back to Rory's after my visit with Peeta. I was feeling good about this letter. Terrible about everything else, sure, but good about the letter.
When I got back, I reached for the phone and called Clementine. She picked up after one ring. "Clem!" I exclaimed.
"Gale, how is it going this time?" she inquires. I realize how much I miss the sound of her voice.
I sigh. "It's okay, actually. Could be much better if you were here. I got to meet with Peeta today."
"With Peeta? How'd that go?"
"Katniss refuses to see me. But I got him. We talked...he told me about their life. They've been doing really well, and turns out Katniss forgave me for the Capitol bombings. But, I really scared her and her kids. They have two kids, a girl and a boy. And I don't think they'll let me see her and explain if I scared her kids, they're the love of their lives."
"Well hey, at least you got to see him, and she forgave you. That's a victory. But the kids...that's really tricky. What are you going to do?"
"I convinced Peeta to let me write a letter to Katniss. I'm going to put something in there that I want them to tell their kids, that I want, that I need to apologize to them too. Hopefully...hopefully you were right about this."
I heard Clementine laugh on the other line. "Gale. Please. When have I ever been wrong?"
I laughed back. Clementine had been wrong many times before- until very recently she thought a carpenter was someone who put carpets down in new houses. But I knew what she meant. Her moral compass was very strong.
"Not even once" I said to her. "Anyway, I better go write the letter now, but I'll call again later. I love you."
"I love you too Gale. Talk to you soon."
I hung up the phone. And sat back in my chair. Time to start writing.
I go get a pen and paper from the kitchen and sit down at the table to write.
Dear Katniss,
Wait. I couldn't start with 'Dear Katniss' like an idiot. It's not just a letter to her, I just sat down with her husband and got him to do this for me! This letter is for both of them. I crossed it out.
Dear Katniss & Peeta,
Alright, this was better. My '&' symbol took a little while to write but that's okay, it was inclusive.
Dear Katniss & Peeta,
I'm writing this to tell your family
-Oh, right. Their family. They have a family. Damn it! "Katniss & Peeta" would not suffice, I needed to make sure they know that I'm aware of what I'm doing to their whole family, and I want to fix this with all of them. I crossed it out.
Dear The Mellarks,
Am I supposed to say 'The'? Is that a thing? It sounded kind of weird. I crossed it out.
Dear Mellarks,
It sounded more correct, but still kind of strange. I couldn't get the 'The' out of my head. I crossed it out.
Dear The Mellarks,
Okay no, that was definitely wrong.
Dear Mellark family,
Yah, I liked that. It grouped them together, it was inclusive, that was definitely it. I was about to start writing the actual letter, when the door opened. It was Angela.
"Hey!" She said when she saw me. I didn't know you'd be home."
"Yah, I just got back from the bakery."
"Oh, you met with Peeta? Did you meet Pane, he's such a cutie."
"No, not yet. But hopefully I will soon. What are you up to?" I asked her.
"Oh nothing, I was just going to look for a present for Rory- you wanted to come right?"
Crap, how did I forget again? His birthday was on Saturday and I had nothing. But I needed to write the letter by tomorrow too…
I looked at the time. It was early, I could get back to this by tonight. At least I had a solid opening, right?
"Yah, sure, I'd love to come" I said to Angela. "Did you have anything in mind?"
Angela scrunched up her face and shook her head no. She chuckled and said "Not really? Is that bad?"
I laughed and grabbed my stuff. "I'm sure we'll be able to figure something out. Rory isn't that complex" I said as we walked out the door. "Let's go!"