Chapter 37—off-balance
"Pick up the pace, Catnip," Gale chided as they headed towards the tannery in the early morning darkness.
"Sorry," Katniss said as she hustled to keep up with Gale's longer stride. "The groom's father offered to pay us extra last night if we played longer than scheduled. Rye said yes without asking any of us if we had early morning plans. And we've got another one tonight."
It was the second weekend in May. Katniss had turned 16 years old two days before. Despite her fears that Peeta would give her some silly gift she didn't deserve and could never repay, he respected her wishes.
Well, mostly. He did slip her a small paper bag at lunch that had a katniss flower drawn on it. When she opened it up, a small, gooey bar of pastry was inside, wrapped in wax paper. He told her it was called a "blondie." She was going to argue with him but she made the mistake of taking a bite. All of her arguments evaporated.
It was so good, she'd actually closed her eyes and moaned out loud at the lunch table. She wasn't sure how to take the look on Peeta's face but he said he'd make them again for her "anytime you want them. Seriously. Anytime."
Madge had laughed—a real laugh, not one of her timid chuckles. Rye told Peeta he was "fucking pathetic, dude." Katniss was too blissed out to care.
One thing that hadn't happened on her birthday? Katniss did not have to sign up for any tesserae this year. May was a popular month for toastings in the District. The weather was usually good, and it was still far enough away from the Games that it didn't feel inappropriate to be celebrating.
Gale and Katniss were not headed to their usual hunting grounds this morning. A couple of days ago—on Katniss' birthday, actually—Peeta had asked them both to meet him in the woods beyond the tannery on Saturday morning. He'd been vague on the reasons for why, only saying, "It's important for both of you."
Now that Sundays were their default "date" days with Madge and Peeta, Saturdays had become the most important hunting day of the week for Gale and Katniss. True, the Hawthornes had enough to eat at the moment thanks to the pig Peeta slaughtered. And the money Katniss earned with the toastings meant the Everdeens could eat a lot more of the game she killed.
But their current abundance didn't mean they should slack off on hunting. What the Hawthornes couldn't eat, Gale could sell for coin. And what Katniss earned through singing could be set aside for leaner times.
Therefore, Katniss had expected the always suspicious Gale to demand answers before agreeing to just meet Peeta in the woods behind the tannery on a Saturday. Instead, he'd looked shrewdly at Peeta, who had a small smile on his face. "All right, Mellark," he'd finally said. "Same time and place?"
"Same time and place," Peeta agreed.
Peeta was waiting for them just inside the tree line. He had a large canvas bag over his shoulder. The shape of the bag looked suspiciously familiar but none of them said anything until they got past the fence.
Dawn had broken by the time they arrived at Peeta's snare line. "When we were out here a couple of weeks ago," he said, opening the bag, "Gale said he wished he'd had a bow and quiver out here. I'm not going to be able to make it out here regularly much longer. Rye hopes to have me back in the bakery by the end of next week. " He pulled two large, oilskin-wrapped bundles and handed one to each of them.
Katniss opened hers up and pulled out an unstrung bow. There was also a small canvas bag containing a bundle of arrows tied up with twine. The arrows lacked fletching but had been notched at one end. Instead of metal points, each arrow had been sharpened at one end.
Gale stared at the bow in his hand. "How the hell did you get these?"
"I drew a rocking chair," Peeta said, "and asked Mr. Brown for help. Told him the only thing I needed his expertise on were the spindles and the rockers."
Katniss felt a chill go down her spine. Peeta could be executed for what he'd just done.
Gale unwrapped the twine from around the arrows and used it to string the bow.
"Peeta..." Katniss began.
"Before you start arguing with me," Peeta interrupted, "hear me out. There's large game out here and lots of it. You two are the only people in the District that can bring it down."
Peeta started working on his first snare. A nice, fat grouse hung in it. "When I go back, I won't just be working at the bakery. For all practical purposes, I'm taking it over. You'll be able to trade with us again. Only this time, you'll be dealing with me or Rye, not our father. I want to strike a trade deal with the two of you."
"What did you have in mind?" Gale asked. He'd already slung the bow over his shoulder.
"I want first crack at what you get. Make the bakery the first stop on your trading rounds instead of the last. Give me a chance to pay you fair for a turkey, instead of that bastard Cray."
Peeta had removed the grouse from the snare. Katniss absentmindedly took it from his hands while he and Gale dickered over trade terms. She yanked out some feathers and started making fletching for the arrows. The boys continued to pull game from Peeta's snares while she worked.
Peeta's offer didn't sit right with her. All he wanted in exchange for two weapons was dibs on their haul? What if they didn't live up to their end of the bargain? Peeta didn't seem like the type to come into the woods and take the bows back but people sometimes did things in anger they later regretted.
Gale was clearly sold on it. She could tell as much by the way he held that bow, like it was already his.
Katniss wondered how long this trade deal would last. A month? A year? Decades? She tried to imagine Peeta as a middle-aged baker, like his father. Would his wife trade with them?
Katniss had a sudden vision of standing at the back door of the bakery waiting to trade with Peeta's wife. She stood up and sank an arrow into a tree not far from where the boys were standing. They both jumped.
"The fuck?" Gale yelled.
"Just checking the fletching," she called back. She walked over to the tree to retrieve the arrow, not looking at either of them. Gale just shook his head and turned back to Peeta. Peeta listened to Gale but kept his eyes on Katniss.
The arrow did not survive the encounter. The end had splintered and cracked. Katniss quietly cursed herself. The boys came over to look at it. "Sorry about the tips," Peeta said. "Mr. Brown has a bin of scrap metal—bent nails, broken hinges, things like that. He sells it back to the Capitol but said he'd be willing to trade some of it for game. Come by the shop this afternoon, he'll be there. These arrows are the same measurements as Katniss' so they should fit the molded points you use."
"What did Mr. Brown want in exchange for making these?" Katniss demanded.
"A portrait of his late wife," Peeta said modestly.
"Who knew art could be so practical?" Gale said happily.
Peeta and Gale finished clearing the snare lines. Peeta was leaving with two grouse, and three rabbits. "I know you two need to hunt, so I'm heading back. Do we have an agreement on the trading?"
Gale ticked off the details he and Peeta had worked out while Katniss had been busy stewing. "We go to you or Rye, even if your father is there. You get first trade on small game. We ask Rooba to hold a portion aside for you and your family if it's large game."
"That's the deal," Peeta agreed.
"Then yes, we have an agreement," Gale said. He and Peeta shook hands.
Something about the two of them just assuming that she was on board really rubbed Katniss the wrong way. "I'll have to think about it," she said stubbornly.
Gale rolled his eyes. "What is there to think about?"
"I don't know if I want another duty in my life right now, thanks," Katniss said coolly.
Peeta looked at her long enough that the silence became uncomfortable. Then he said, "My mistake." He turned around and walked away.
Gale waited until Peeta was gone before rounding on Katniss. "What the hell is wrong with you?" he asked.
"Nothing. I just don't like feeling obligated."
"Obligated to do what? Trade game? You'd be trading game anyway."
"Which is why this doesn't make any sense. We haven't done anything to earn a favor from him."
"It wasn't a favor, Catnip, it was a solution. One that didn't cost him anything except his time and talent. We get access to bigger, better game. He gets the first trade. Everybody gets more to eat."
Katniss looked down at the bow, mulishly refusing to accept Gale's reasoning.
He sighed. "Right. You 'need to think about it.' Well think about this. That pig he brought down a few weeks ago is still feeding my family. We've had meat every day. Posy doesn't look like a strong wind would blow her away anymore. I haven't had to listen to Rory and Vic's stomach rumble at night."
Gale was right but it didn't make her less upset. Peeta should not have done this. A bow was too much. It was beyond price. Every time she used this bow, she'd just owe Peeta all over again. Just one more damn thing she'd never be able to repay.
She opened her mouth to explain this to Gale. What she said instead was, "They'd have shot him if he'd been caught" and she started to cry.
Gale put his hand on her shoulder and let her cry for a moment, before digging into his pocket and pulling out a mostly-clean flannel handkerchief. She blew her nose. Gale leaned down, looked her gently in the eyes and said, "You're scaring away all the game."
She choked out a laugh, then nodded and dried her eyes. Gale waited patiently until she'd composed herself. "Catnip, if I didn't know any better, I'd think you loved the guy."
"No," she blew her nose, "that's not possible. You know I made up my mind about that years ago."
"Hmm. I think you changed it."
"What would you know? Are you in love with Madge?"
Gale frowned. "Don't change the subject. Besides, we need to hunt."
The hunt was much slower than they had become accustomed to. These woods were new to them, so they moved cautiously, especially after they found tracks for both wolves and a bear.
They also saw deer, lots of deer but neither of them were convinced that wooden arrows would be sturdy enough to punch through deer hide. They focused on small game, instead. They each bagged a turkey, several rabbits and a few squirrels.
"I can't get over how much meat is just running around out here," Gale said. "Should we try for more?"
"I should probably head back," Katniss responded. "Your mother is coming over this afternoon to start altering a dress for me and I've got that toasting tonight."
"Then let's head back. I'll take one of these turkeys to Mr. Brown, see if he'll trade some of that scrap metal. If he does, I'll talk to Amando this afternoon. I need to see him about something, anyway."
They found hiding places for their bows and arrows and returned to the District. They traded with Rooba and Greasy Sae. Katniss kept her turkey for the Everdeens and used the coin she'd earned to purchase vegetables. Katniss almost felt guilty at the luxury of carrying several pounds of onions, potatoes and carrots that she hadn't gathered herself.
They couldn't purchase bread, though. The bakery was already closed for the day, its meager output sold out hours before. "It will be good to have the bakery functioning again once Peeta's the baker," Gale commented. "I miss real bread."
Katniss started to say, Peeta's the baker's son, not the baker, but stopped herself. Peeta would be the baker soon enough, a full-blown Merchant. The vision she'd had this morning of trading with Peeta's wife returned and her mood soured again.
Seeing her mother's and Prim's reactions to the abundance of food cheered her up quite a lot. After helping Rosemary and Prim prepare dinner, Katniss ran herself a bath. The lack of sleep was catching up to her and the warmth of the bath made her drowsy, so Prim's appearance with a mug of hot tea was welcome.
"Where's the toasting tonight?" Prim asked.
"The Justice building. It's some older couple, I don't know who. They already had the toasting, this is just like a party they decided to throw themselves."
While Katniss soaked, Prim washed her hair again. Her little sister's hands were strong and Katniss almost fell asleep when Prim massaged the soap into her scalp.
"You need more sleep," Prim told her. "Maybe you should skip the woods tomorrow morning. It's not like we need the food."
"Not today, we don't," Katniss agreed, "but anything I get tomorrow I can still sell for coin. Coin has a lot longer shelf life than game." And Sundays are for Peeta. She kept that last thought to herself.
"But you're so tired," Prim persisted. "All these Sundays in the woods are wearing you out, now that you're working at night. I really think it would be healthier for you to skip it."
Prim's words of concern were belayed by her teasing tone. Katniss splashed the suds off of her face and looked closely at her little sister. Prim's eyes twinkled merrily.
"What are you talking about?" Katniss tried to sound baffled but lying was never her strong suit.
"I'm not stupid, Katniss. Considering how little game you usually bring back, you sure are in a good mood every Sunday afternoon."
Rather than deny anything, Katniss just whispered, "Do you think Mom knows?"
"You don't have to whisper, she left to go check on the twins. And no, she doesn't know. Do you think she'd be letting you go out in the woods if she did?"
"No," Katniss said, a little relieved.
Prim picked up Katniss' menstrual cycle chart that Rosemary had ordered her to keep and studied it. "You two are being careful, aren't you?"
Katniss suddenly stood up and grabbed a towel. "Oh my god. This conversation was bad enough when I had it with Mom. I'm not having it with you, too."
"Wait," Prim blocked Katniss' exit from the bathroom. "Does that mean you're not being careful?"
Katniss grabbed a second towel and buried her burning face into it. "Prim, please. Don't make me talk about this stuff."
Prim crossed her arms and glared at her. "Katniss, if you aren't being careful, I will tell Mom what you're doing on Sundays."
Katniss raised her face out of the towel. Prim looked positively fierce.
"All we've done is kiss," Katniss managed to get out. "And honestly, not even much of that." That was true. Peeta always brought his blanket and something to eat. He'd sketch. Katniss usually managed to score some small game. They talked about anything and everything and nothing. They did kiss a little. Mostly they just cuddled.
But Slag Heap stuff? It was a door Katniss kept shut. It wasn't that she thought it was wrong. It just seemed to stir something deep inside her that scared the hell out of her.
"Oh, well, that's fine then," Prim said. She stepped aside and let Katniss open the door.
"I'm so glad you approve," Katniss muttered under her breath.
Hazelle and Posy stopped by to get the peach-colored dress that Katniss was going to need for toastings and the Festival now that the weather was getting warmer. It was still too big on her but not as much as it had been last month. Hazelle walked around her with pins and a tape measure.
Posy sat on Prim's lap as Prim read her a book. Gale was right. Posy looked healthier—a lot healthier. Her cheeks had filled out and her fingers didn't look like little twigs anymore. Somehow, it made Peeta's gift of the bows and arrows that much worse.
She really couldn't say no now, could she?
After dinner, Katniss got dressed and headed to the Justice Center. A young, red-headed Peacekeeper sat behind the security desk. His eyes lit up when he saw her and he jumped to attention.
"Miss Everdeen! Well, my whole night just got better. Finally changed your mind about my kisses, I bet. Oooo, you're even dressed for it, which I appreciate, by the way."
Katniss laughed. Darius was one of her favorite Peacekeepers. He was probably around Bannock's age but he didn't look much older than her. Unlike other Peacekeepers who pretended that they didn't know the Hob was a black market, Darius fully embraced it. Most of the traders liked him and Katniss was pretty sure that Greasy Sae regarded him as a favorite nephew.
A few months back, Katniss and Gale had bumped into Darius at Greasy Sae's stall after a bitterly cold day of hunting. Darius tried to convince Katniss to trade one of her rabbits for one of his kisses. "Two rabbits is probably a better price, you know," he'd said awhile he'd tickled her cheek with the end of her braid. "We gingers are the most virile men on the planet. We never leave our women disappointed. But I'm willing to give you a discount, so...one rabbit it is." He'd waggled his eyebrows suggestively at her as Greasy Sae howled with laughter. Then he pointed out all of the women he claimed to have kissed, saying they were references. "Thank goodness I'm such a gentleman or there would be red-headed babies all over this District."
Ordinarily this kind of talk would have made Katniss blush, but it was so ridiculous coming from Darius that she'd laughed until her cheeks hurt.
The only person who hadn't found it funny at the time was Gale. "Fucking District Two douchebag," was all he'd said as they trudged home from Sae's.
So Katniss was happy to see Darius' friendly face behind the counter at the Justice Center. "Hey, Darius. I'm here for the toasting."
"Guest?" Darius guessed.
"Nope. Band."
"Really? What instrument?"
"I'm the singer."
Darius crossed his hands over his heart and pretended to stagger backwards. "And she sings, too. For that, I'll reduce my rate to half a rabbit."
He shuffled through some papers before finding what he needed. "Let's see, let's see...band, Five to Twelve—ha! Very clever. Aaaaaaand...K. Everdeen. There you are."
Peeta and Rye showed up just then, Rye with his guitar and Peeta with the new Five to Twelve sign. The boys checked in and the three of them headed down the hall. Darius called after a giggling Katniss, "You let me know when you change your mind about those kisses, Miss Everdeen. I'm here 'til midnight. I have references! Don't forget about the discount!"
"What is he going on about?" Rye asked her.
"Nothing, he's just being an idiot," Katniss grinned as she opened the door to the ballroom and held it open for the boys. Peeta wouldn't look at her as he walked past.
While Rye and Peeta set up the stage, Katniss studied the new sign. It was still a clock, but only the upper left quadrant. The background was coal back. Instead of the numbers 9 through 12, Peeta had painted what looked like yellow moons but, on closer inspection, were actually coal-miners' headlamps. The hands of the clock (set at 11:55, of course) looked like elongated, silver triangles to almost anyone else. Katniss recognized them for what they really were—a stretched out version of the metal points she used on her arrows.
"That's brilliant," she told Peeta. She wanted to squeeze his hand but he kept his arms crossed.
"Thank you," he said formally before walking away.
Katniss frowned. Was he mad at her or something? All she'd done was compliment his painting.
She didn't get to ask him about it, though, because the rest of the band arrived and it was time to do sound checks. Not long after that, they started their set.
It took her a couple of songs to figure out that Peeta had left. It made her feel very lonely up there on the stage. She hadn't realized how much she relied on having Peeta to watch as she sang. She didn't know many of the guests here, except for Ander and Mona Bay, and Marsh's older sister, Doe.
The Bays didn't stay long. They waited until until the first set break and then came to talk to Katniss.
After exchanging pleasantries, Ander said, "We're been meaning to have your family over for supper. Are you free this week?"
She wasn't, really. The band was working hard each night either getting ready for the Festival or playing at toastings. She explained it to the Bays, who were gracious about it. "After the Festival, then," Ander said. "We're going to head out. This crowd tends to get kind of rowdy when they drink."
After the Bays left, Katniss approached Rye. "Hey," she asked quietly. "Where's Peeta?"
"I think he went home. He's been in a pissy mood all evening," Rye rolled his eyes. "Did you two have a fight or something?"
"No." Genuine confusion was setting in. "Who's going to walk me home?"
Rye shrugged, unconcerned. "Peeta will. He might be in a snit but he's not a dick. Now focus. We have a job to do here, Everdeen."
The Bays hadn't been joking about the booze. This toasting had a lot more of it than Katniss was used to seeing. These guests didn't want love songs. They wanted to dance. Katniss was suddenly grateful that Rye had been pushing them so hard to expand their song rotation. If they'd had this crowd for their first toasting, they'd have been a flop.
While all of the guests were getting pretty lit on the "punch," one guest in particular, a Merchant man in his thirties, was being super obnoxious. Even from stage, she could see that he was dividing his time between picking fights and sloppily hitting on any woman that still had all her teeth.
No surprise, then, when he became the Problem Drunk at the end of the night.
The toasting was over and the band had packed up their things. Peeta had not arrived yet but Rye assured Katniss before he took off that Peeta would be there. "He's probably changing a diaper or something, don't worry about it. He'll be here."
So Katniss sat on one of the benches just outside the Justice building to wait. Guests trickled out of the building. The obnoxious drunk saw her sitting alone and decided to make his move.
"Heeeeey, you're that singer girl, aincha. Should come home with me t'night, give me, uh..." he had to stop and think of the proper way to proposition Katniss, "A private concert."
"Leave me alone," Katniss replied in her coldest voice.
"Awwww, don' be like that," he pouted. "I got money, I'll pay you."
"I said," Katniss stood up and started to walk back inside, "Leave. Me. Alone."
He grabbed her, hard and angry, by the upper arms. His breath reeked. "You fuckin' Seam whore. Think you're too good for me?"
"Yes."
She saw the blow coming from about a mile away. He let go of her left arm to pull his fist back for the strike. Katniss twisted out of his grasp, dropped to the ground and swept his legs out from underneath him.
Had she not been in a skirt, she wouldn't have tripped over him and landed face first on the concrete as she tried to flee. In the few seconds it took for her to kick her way back into an upright position, he'd managed to get a hold of her hair.
Katniss screamed, more in anger than fear. Darius burst out of the Justice building and hauled the man off of her. He slammed the drunk onto the ground, flipped him over onto his stomach and handcuffed him.
Then he radioed for help.
While they waited for backup, Darius asked her in a clipped, formal tone what had happened. It was weird, seeing him go from a good-natured boy to a cop just like that. Using very official-sounding langauge, Darius informed the drunk that he was being charged with "drunk and disorderly on government property."
Of course, she though bitterly. "On government property." Not "assaulting a girl half your age and size." Nope, in the eyes of the Capitol, the sin was "on government property."
A few more Peacekeepers arrived to haul the guy away. They weren't gentle about it, Katniss noticed with some satisfaction. Darius came out with a first aid kit. "Here, Katniss," he frowned. "He got your face pretty good."
Katniss hadn't felt anything wrong until he mentioned it. Then she realized that her face did sting a bit. "That wasn't him, that was the concrete. He was too drunk to land a blow," Katniss told him. "If I'd been in pants, I wouldn't have tripped at all."
"Well, whatever, it's still that asshole's fault. Go to the ladies room and see to your face."
Katniss did as she was told. Really, it wasn't that bad. Most of her right cheek had been scraped raw but it looked way worse than it actually was. "Road rash" was what her mother called it. Katniss gently washed it and dabbed some of the antiseptic cream on it. She was going to be fine.
When she was done, she returned back to the lobby. Darius was leaning against the marble counter and Purnia was behind the security desk. She shook her head when she saw Katniss' face.
"Come on," Darius said, "I'll walk you home."
"Peeta Mellark is supposed to be meeting me here to get me home."
"Honey, it's nearly midnight," Purnia said. Katniss hadn't realized it was that late. "Your momma needs to tend to your face. If the baker boy shows up, I'll explain what happened." Katniss really wanted to wait for Peeta but when two Peacekeepers said you were going home, you were going home.
Truth was, she was worried about Peeta. Rye had seemed so certain that Peeta would be there, even though he'd seemed upset about something. The most reasonable explanations seemed to be that he'd been hurt, or he'd decided to dump her now that he was about to be the baker. Neither possibility made her feel better.
Darius chatted amiably on the way back to the Everdeen's, unaware of Katniss' distress. "It's a shame you aren't from District Two, the way you handled that guy. You'd be really good at law enforcement."
"Yeah, right," Katniss snorted. "seeing as how I break the law several times a week."
"So do most Peacekeepers. Hell, if all the Peacekeepers followed every single law, we'd drop from malnourishment after our first month here." He got quiet for a moment, then said quietly, "You know, I was sent her as a demotion."
"What?" Katniss asked.
"Yep. My first year out of Corps was spent in District Nine. I got in a little hot water because I didn't look the other way when I should have."
"What do you mean?" Katniss was curious enough about this that she temporarily forgot to fret about Peeta.
"I responded to a call of a disturbance on the Municipal campus. I saw a trail of blood on the sidewalk, followed it inside the building. Found a guy raping an unconscious woman in the storage room."
Katniss couldn't say a word as she listened to him, to the sadness in his voice.
"The woman was taken to the hospital and we arrested the guy. Standard operating procedure, right? She was a Muni worker. We thought he was just some random asshole. So, assault against a government employee on government property, blah blah blah.
"Except he wasn't just some random asshole. He was the son of one of President Snow's advisers. The day after we arrested him, I get called into my superior's office and told to 'scrub the file.' The adviser's son got released, all charges dropped, all arrest records destroyed." She could tell by the way his jaw clenched that this still upset him.
"What happened to the woman?" Katniss wanted to know.
"Died from her injuries."
They walked in silence for a moment while Katniss digested this.
"Anyway," Darius sighed, "Couple of days later, I got reassigned to Twelve. I've turned down every offer to transfer that I've gotten since I arrived here."
"Why?"
"Because, believe it or not, this is the most freedom I've ever had."
He might as well have told Katniss that he was President Snow, it was so absurd.
"But...you're from Two! The Capitol favorites. You guys have everything! Your people actually like the Games!"
"No," he shook his head firmly. "Don't get me wrong, nobody in Two starves to death. There's wealth there, real wealth. The Undersees would be poor folk in Two. But most people in Two hate the Games as much as the people in Nine did and everybody here in Twelve does. I sure never saw being a Tribute as some sort of honor. I could handle the dying part but killing a bunch of other kids? No way. Let the psychopaths volunteer. It keeps them out of the gene pool."
"Yeah," Katniss said, "except when they win."
When they arrived at her house, Mrs. Everdeen was up and pacing with worry. Darius quickly explained what had happened while Mrs. Everdeen tended to Katniss' face. He said goodnight and left.
"Where was Peeta?" Rosemary asked tightly, her lips pressed in a thin line.
"I don't know," Katniss said. "He left in a bad mood but Rye was sure he'd be back to take me home. He never showed up. I'm worried about him."
"Well," Rosemary sighed, "your face is going to be pretty scraped up for a bit but you shouldn't have any scarring, as long as you take care of it and keep it clean."
Katniss got ready for bed and cuddled up next to Prim, who did not wake up. She herself didn't sleep at all. Her face didn't bother her too much but it wasn't comfortable. Darius had given her a lot to think about. And she was still embarrassed that her own clothing had interfered with her self-defense.
Mostly, though, she worried about Peeta. She worried about them. He'd been so icy towards her when she'd told him she liked his painting. She wasn't sure if she'd done something wrong but if she had, she didn't know what it was. At 5:00 a.m., she gave up on trying to sleep and got dressed. She would go to their usual meeting spot by the water tower. If Peeta was there, she'd get answers.
If he wasn't, well, she'd go find Peeta and demand them.
A/N: I'd apologize for the delay in posting but it looks like this sort of schedule is destined to become my new normal. Thank you to everybody who has faved, followed and reviewed. I owe about a dozen of you responses on your reviews but real life has had other plans for me.
Greenwool and dandelionsunset did their usual cracking good jobs as a pre-reader and beta. This story wouldn't be moving forward at all without them.