Chapter 5

"She is such a great woman!"

"Yeah."

"And so smart," Chaff added.

"Sure," Haymitch replied, absent-minded.

"She's just separated from her husband," Chaff pointed out.

"You don't say," Haymitch answered, bored.

Both men were sitting at a table on simple plastic chairs in the university canteen. While Haymitch's hands played with a cup of black coffee, Chaff had chosen a soft drink.

"She would be perfect for you." Chaff didn't hold back his enthusiasm. "A dentist, nearly the same age as you, with two lovely children. You could have your own family overnight."

Since his return from the Caribbean, Chaff had tried to match Haymitch with an endless flow of attractive single women. Apparently his friend had decided to get him married by the end of the year. So far, Haymitch had said yes to a blind date with a distant colleague of Chaff's. The evening had not exactly been a disaster, but sparks didn't leap either.

Afterwards, Haymitch had politely turned down her invitation to a midnight coffee; he was not after meaningless sex and certainly not with the idea in his mind that Chaff was perhaps a little bit more than just a platonic friend to her.

"Do you know what a dentist earns, Haymitch?" Chaff added conspiratorially. "According to Forbes she must be rolling in money, trust me, she would be a real hit!"

Haymitch's gaze fell on the well-known dark hair of Katniss Everdeen, who walked into the small cafeteria, a couple of books in her slender arms.

"Yeah, Chaff, she would be a hit." Haymitch replied, his eyes still on Katniss as he took a sip from his coffee.

"Very good. I knew I could convince you." Chaff beamed. "I will arrange a date for you next Saturday."

Haymitch groaned and looked over the edge of his paper cup at his friend.

"But before meeting her, you have to change your neglected look."

Haymitch raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Your unkempt stubble must go before the date."

"What?"

Pretending not to hear his friend, Chaff continued, "The best thing would be if we were to change your whole look. Your hair must come off, completely, radically. I guess we should give you a smart business look, more suitable to your age."

"Chaff – what? –"

"We also need an interesting hobby for you. What about paragliding or white-water rafting?" he continued, determined. "And do not dare to tell her that your only remanding hobby is reading, or she'll think you're completely boring, and I guess she'll figure that out for herself soon enough."

With every new comment, Haymitch's gaze darkened.

"And your car, which looks like it's due to break down at any moment… sorry Haymitch, but you must replace it. I thought a sports car would do it. A silver Porsche would be just the thing to impress women and –"

"Stop that nonsense!" Haymitch snapped, staring at his friend, horrified. "Ok, maybe I have no fashion sense, maybe I'm boring, but why should I change myself for a woman I don't even know? If she likes me, then she likes me the way I am."

Chaff laughed humourlessly and hit Haymitch on his broad shoulder.

"Welcome to the present, my friend." He sighed. "If you want to impress an amazing woman you have to try harder. With your wooden charm alone we'll never find you anyone, believe me."

"Sorry, Professor Abernathy, do you have a minute?" A clear young voice spoke from behind Haymitch's back.

Still glaring at Chaff, he turned slowly around. "Sure. How can I help you?"

The psychology professor realized that he was no longer welcome. But before leaving, he hissed a "Saturday evening, sober." at Haymitch and walked stiffly away.

Katniss waited patiently until Chaff was out of sight before sitting in his empty chair.

"Professor Abernathy, I..."

"Haymitch," He said casually.

"Excuse me. Haymitch," She replied gravely and pulled a dark lock back behind her ear. "I didn't know if it was ok for you, here on university ground."

Haymitch shrugged his shoulder; he didn't care much about his remaining colleagues anymore.

She glanced at her hands nervously. Small wrinkles had appeared on her forehead and her full lips pressed together tightly. From her behaviour he could easily tell she searched for the right words.

"Well, Haymitch." She swallowed, still looking at her fingers. "I would like to say thank you for everything you have done last winter."

"You're welcome," He answered genuinely with a slight smile on his face.

"Without your help and encouragement, I would have simply given up," She continued. "Your idea about a study partner was the right decision. It's so much easier to follow all the lectures now."

"I'm really glad to hear that." He kept the fact to himself that her last test was not brilliant either, but at least she had passed. After teaching pupils for nearly twenty years, he had learned to be thankful for the small improvements.

"Well." He cleared his throat and shoved his hands into his jacket pockets. "Actually, your learning partner is by far one of the best students at Richmond."

"Yes, and one of the nicest," She added. Finally, her gaze left her twisted fingers and found his eyes.

After she'd collapsed in his house, he had spent the next few hours calming her down. At some point, her flood of tears dried up out of pure exhaustion. Sitting stoically on the wooden floor of his study, knees under her chin, her rigid gaze down on her hands, she had told him in a monotonous voice about the tragic accidental death of her father and her mother's inability to care about her children anymore. About her desperate struggle over the past years to keep everything together as well as she could, and her deep concern for her younger sister. And finally, on top of everything, her fear of failing her studies.

It had hurt him deeply to see her like this, devastated, totally exhausted. At some point, Haymitch had considered taking her in his arms to comfort her, but a close look in her rigid face had told him that so much physical closeness wouldn't be welcome.

Watching the snow falling heavily in his backyard, long after the sun and Katniss had disappeared, he decided to establish contact with one of his students from a senior semester. A study partner would help Katniss come out of her lonely shell and his choice, Peeta Mellark, with his positive, calm manner would be the perfect counterpart to the always tense and gloomy Katniss.

"Katniss, listen a second." Haymitch cleared his throat and ran his hand uncertainly over the back of his neck. "I'll be travelling home next week for the semester break, so if you want to join me –"

"Thank you very much. But Peeta already offered to give me a ride home. He's visiting his aunt near Kingsport and he'll take me with him until Lynch. That is luck, isn't it?"

"Sure." Haymitch crossed his legs and glanced at his now-cold coffee, trying to conceal his disappointment. "That is luck. Indeed."

As she rose from the uncomfortable plastic chair, Katniss stretched out her slender hand to say goodbye. "I wish you happy Easter holidays, Haymitch, see you in two weeks." Catching the hint of a warm smile in her eyes, he took her hand gently to squeeze it.

With swift, firm steps she walked away from him and his thoughtful gaze followed her until she was out of sight. Maybe he'd done a little bit too much…

…

Haymitch Abernathy twirled his teacup slowly. It was filled with the finest British tea in combination with the finest American whiskey. It was his personal interpretation of English breakfast tea and he enjoyed every sip of it. If he patented this creation, he could sell it to alcoholics around the world, he thought with a bitter smile on his thin lips.

A loud knock at his front door made him listen. His weekly order from the nearest supermarket had already been delivered hours ago. A second knock followed. Maybe the courier had forgotten something? Slowly, he rose from his wooden chair on his large terrace which overlooked the valley, and walked through his house to the front door.

"Katniss?"

Taken aback, he looked at the devastated girl at the foot of his steps. Her usually fine dark hair was a mess while her chalk white face was a stark contrast to her red wept eyes and Haymitch could hardly suppress the impulse to close her in his strong arms.

"What happened?"

"I..." Katniss said between sobs. "I've come to say goodbye."

Bewildered, he simply stared at her.

Wiping off the tears with the sleeves of her denim jacket, she continued, "My mother tried to kill herself last night."

"Shit!"

"We called the ambulance..." Katniss sobbed and his image was more and more blurred away by her tears. "The doctors took her with them and she must stay in the hospital and maybe she will never come back..."

With two long steps, he went to Katniss and took the trembling girl into his arms. Feeling deeply sorry for her. Life was not fair, never, and certainly not when you came from a meaningless, shabby mining town.

"I'm so sorry, Katniss," He whispered softly, as he gently stroked her dark long locks, trying to comfort her. "We'll find a solution. There is always a solution."

Truly, Haymitch?

As far as he knew, there was no answer for everything in life. The cosmic order had not planned a happy ending for everyone, unfortunately, and he was the living proof.

He could easily imagine what would happen next. The hospital would demand money, which Katniss didn't possess. So she would have to sell the small house, and without the house Katniss's sister would be homeless and without a mother or father. If Katniss went back to the university, her sister would be a case for the welfare services. As far as Haymitch knew his student, this was the last thing she wanted. Katniss Everdeen would sacrifice herself for the happiness of her sister. Always. Even if she had to cancel her scholarship.

"I'm gonna look for a job maybe I could work fulltime in a coffee shop or…" Her usual clear, strong voice sounded very small and desperate in his ears. "Or at a gas station, or..."

Haymitch sighed and tightened his embrace around her, burying his face into her long hair.

Sharing a cup of coffee in his kitchen last winter, she had told him that she sometimes went into the woods to hunt small animals with her late father's bow. On good days she managed to catch a rabbit or a turkey which she sold on the black market in a neighbouring town.

He could still remember the day she'd told him her little story. The way he'd felt, speechless with anger because of her stupid, mindless behaviour. Didn't she know that it was totally forbidden to run into the woods and kill wild animals? The local sheriff could lock her up for it in a second and she could say goodbye to her sister for a long time. How could such a smart girl behave so stupidly sometimes?

His gaze went to the clear blue horizon, while he held the sobbing girl in his arms. Katniss had buried her tear-stained face into his shoulder, desperately trying to stifle her sobs. No, he would never allow that she and little sister should waste their young lives in this abandoned place.

If someone asked him why he cared so much for her, he wouldn't be able to come up with a satisfactory answer.h a satisfactory answer.