Author's Note:
Hi All this is part two of Katniss & Peeta Getting Hayffie Together. I will be posting soon for Redo In Time...so keep an eye out for it. PS Let me know what you think, & Happy Friday
"HELLOhhhhh" Effie Trinket's singsong voice answered over the phone and Katniss immediately grimaced. She was hoping to leave a message.
Making a face Katniss swallowed. Taking a deep fortified breath Katniss began to speak just the way she and Peeta had practiced. "Effie, this is Katniss."
When she called Effie the day before, Katniss was discouraged when Effie's answering machine came on. Later that night when those geese showed up on her front lawn, Peeta had to remind her about her plan. They spent the night discussing at lengths, plausible ways to get Haymitch and Effie together.
For Peeta it was all about the romance. For Katniss, getting Hayffie as Peeta called them together was for selfish reasons. She wanted to get Haymitch's dammed geese in check and Effie Trinket was the only woman to do so.
"Katniss my dear however are you?" Effie could not contain her smile over the phone. It was a rare thing to receive a phone call from Katniss. "How are those wonderful Toastbabies?"
Katniss sighed into the phone. She still did not like her children being called that but for the sake of the mission she would allow it.
It hurt to smile over the phone. "They are great. Our baby boy is growing by leaps and bounds. Peeta sent you some pictures in the mail last week."
"Oh how delightful. I can not wait to see how much he has grown." Effie smiled thinking of that wonderful little boy of Katniss'. Effie picked up the small oval frame on her mahogany side table. She had baby pangs just looking at the picture she had taken of the Mellark family with their new born a few months ago. Effie was honored that they wanted her to present for the birth of their second child.
Katniss easily smiled as she thought of her precious son. Her son was the image of his father.
"I received your message rather late yesterday I wanted to apologize for not calling you sooner. It is not becoming to do so." Effie delicately sat down in her antique silk brocade winged back chair.
"It is okay Effie. You are, after all, a very busy woman." Effie had become a fashion consultant in the Capitol. She and Tigress styled people as well as their place of residence. She had helped Peeta decorate the nursery for their son.
"Thank you for understanding Katniss." Effie said then alluded to the strange message Katniss left for her the prior day. "So how can I help you?"
"Well I was calling about Haymitch."
Effie paused wondering what was wrong with that cantankerous man now. "Haymitch?"
"Well me and Peeta…"
"Peeta and I…" Effie corrected.
"Right whatever, we are worried about Haymitch." Katniss sat down on the floor of her home. She needed something to do with her hands; she had too much nervous energy. She began to put her daughter's toys away. Ironically her daughter was across the street with Haymitch. Her son was taking a nap.
"I assume it has to do with his vile drinking habit."
Katniss grinned, Effie's response almost sounded like a snarl. "Well he has slowed down some since we had the babies."
"I am glad to hear that he is taking serious responsibility toward those precious children of yours."
"Well Peeta would not let him be around our kids other wise."
"Peeta is such a good father."
"Yes he is. But I am not calling about Peeta." Katniss recalled Peeta telling her to stay on course.
"Of course not, I am just amazed he has become practically sober considering Haymitch did not stop his drinking even after he acquired his companions the geese. You know Haymitch has always had a fondness for animals. Did I ever tell you about this one time…" Effie prattled on about a miss adventure she had with Haymitch before Katniss and Peeta's time.
Katniss was desperately trying not to curse at the mention of those dammed birds. They woke up their kids every night. With her fiery temper riled Katniss closed her eyes. She needed to get a hold of herself. The conversation was not going the way it should have. Katniss leaned forward searching for the book she and Peeta had written notes in for her to use.
"It is not his drinking that I am calling you about." Katniss said interrupting Effie's story. She was getting frustrated, Peeta was much better at this than she was. She hated crap like this. But for the sake of a good nights sleep she was willing to do what it took.
"Oh really what is it." Effie's curiosity was peaked. Katniss never called to ask for anything. When she and Peeta were doing their son's nursery Effie had to impose her talents. Effie was glad she arrived just in the nick of time; else the boy's room would have never been finished.
Katniss was trying to come off as cordial instead of biting and argumentative. "Well…."
Effie impassively sat back in her chair. "Well what ever it is I am sure…"
Taking a small breath Katniss softened her tone of voice. Though, her voice, sounded nervous and jittery to her ears as she spoke over the phone. "How can I say this?"
At the foreboding note in Katniss' voice Effie's eyes flashed as she pictured the worst suddenly. She cared fondly about Haymitch. She licked her neon purple lips and in a strangled whisper uttered "Is he dying, is sick…"
Katniss smacked her forehead with the palm of her hand. She was royally messing this up. "No, no, no…" Katniss quickly added, her voice sounding higher pitched than normal. "Haymitch…is...um…um" Katniss looked for the right word. She recalled what Peeta told her suddenly and she blurted out "…he's lonely. Haymitch is lonely."
"Lonely" Effie said it out loud surprised. Effie never thought of Haymitch Abernathy as lonely. It was clear Katniss was embarrassed by the topic. The Girl on Fire who led the revolution was not one to gush about such girly things. However if Katniss was speaking about it the situation had to be dire.
"Well yeah," Katniss swallowed her silver eyes were wildly looking for the freaking note pad. She was crawling on her knees as she searched. "I mean he only has his geese." Katniss hoped that sounded good. She could only imagine what Effie was thinking of her botched attempt. She was mad at Peeta. And thought if she did not love Peeta so darned much she would tell him sleep on the couch tonight. He was the one who suggested she call Effie while he was at work.
"Oh dear those geese are a handful." Effie recalled the loud squawking smelly creatures that terrorized people who walked by Katniss and Peeta's home.
"They might be but they don't offer any kind of well you know." Katniss stalled.
"Offer what dear…" Effie knew Katniss' forte was not speaking. Yet it was endearing to hear her struggle.
Katniss swallowed as she saw the spiral edge of the note pad out of the corner of her eyes. "Comfort, even though he does come over to see the kids, afterwards he goes home to an empty house." Katniss found the blasted book hidden under her daughter's stuffed bear. She quickly flipped to the page where the notes were made. It was scribbled on, in pink crayon. She did not care at this moment as she gazed at the page. Thankfully Peeta wrote down several suggestions on how she could express what she was thinking to Effie.
Effie knew just how lonely it was to go home to an empty home. "What do you want me to do?"
"Well I was hoping you could set Haymitch up on a date. Since you know Haymitch better than any of us, you might know what type of woman he likes. You can set him up or even put him on those…" Katniss paused just as Peeta directed her to do snapping her fingers over the receiver part of the phone "…What did Peeta call them."
"Dating websites my dear" Effie said pleasantly but her left nostril was inflamed. Haymitch Abernathy was to Effie what heals and a dress was to Katniss. He was an unmitigated pain in the arse. She did not hate the man, but she did not find him pleasant either. Yet Haymitch was endearing especially the way he secretively took care of Katniss and Peeta.
"Yeah that is what Peeta called them." Katniss bit her lip as she grappled the book in her hand as she waited for Effie to say anything.
"So you want to put Haymitch on a dating website?" Effie quietly admitted to herself she held a certain fondness for him. There were instances in her past when she and Haymitch shared lovely moments. Snippets of time that were private and kept secret not just from Katniss and Peeta but from the world. Effie wiped her eyes as she became misty eyed longing for those long forgotten spaces of time.
"Can you help him? I, Peeta and I that is, want Haymitch to fall in love with a nice person." Katniss bit her bottom lip as she hugged her daughter's stuffed animal to her chest. If this worked she would be on the road to the first night's sleep in nearly a month.
"Let me see what I can do my dear, dear girl." Effie sighed feeling nostalgic. Effie was confident there was no woman in the world that would take up a project like Haymitch.
"Thanks Effie. I am going to call Delly next."
"Delly?" Effie frowned. She vaguely recalled the round faced blond.
"Well Delly thinks she has found the perfect woman for Haymitch. I am not sure about that. That is why we wanted to reach out to you. Now that you have agreed I am going tell her that you too have joined the hunt for a woman for Haymitch." As if on cue the baby monitor crackle to life with her son's plaintive fussing. "Oh I have to go the baby is up. Thanks Effie." Katniss said as she purposefully hung up the phone.
Effie frowned for several moments staring at the handle of her phone before she realized the dial tone let her know Katniss was not longer on the line with her. With shaking hands she put down the handle back into its cradle. It was one thing to entertain the idea of Haymitch dating it was another to actually see him date another woman. Effie pursed her bright lips together with unfavorable intent.
Effie did not like the idea of Haymitch Abernathy dating at all.
In her home Katniss fell forward onto the floor and moaned. Her hands were sweaty and shaky. The pad she held was crinkled. Katniss could not wait to share the news with Peeta. However at the moment her baby boy needed her.
When Peeta arrived home he immediately sought out Katniss. "Well? Did she answer how did it go?"
"Well she seemed to be on board." Her voice did not seem to convey much confidence.
"Don't worry" Peeta gathered Katniss in his arms. Last night the geese were feeling especially musical. Katniss wanted to shoot them from the window. It was then he brought her down from the ledge. They came up with this plan.
"You really want them to get together for real."
Peeta loved these moments when Katniss guard was lowered and she was vulnerable with him. He was the only person Katniss ever showed vast amounts of tenderness to. Sometimes she was rough but everything she did was done with love. "Yes I do. I think Haymitch and Effie are lonely."
Katniss spoke from Peeta's wide chest. "I kind of want them to be happy too."
Peeta smile and grinned down into her hidden face. With gentle fingers he propped up her chin. He did not say anything. He learned from Katniss sometimes words were not necessary, actions were. He placed a gentle kiss on her lips. The peck was enough to make her sigh. "Don't worry the rest is up to me. I already spoke to Delly and Thom. They spoke to Ginny Parks. Ginny knows exactly what to do."
Katniss nodded then shyly bit her lips as she heard her daughter coming down the stairs. "Peeta …" She gave him a look full of promise "later…"
Peeta grinned then winked salaciously "Later…"
As his daughter ran into his leg, Peeta recognized that while he genuinely wanted Haymitch & Effie to be happy, he had alterior motives. Peeta wanted was a little time with Katniss and for that to happen his Toastbabies needed a good nights sleep.