Chapter 26: Friendship
Annie arrives in District 12 a couple of days later. Peeta is there to meet her when she gets off the train and the two of them walk silently back to the house. Katniss doesn't know that Annie is coming. Peeta hopes that will keep her from shutting down before Annie sees her. Prim is with Haymitch until they can gauge Katniss' reaction to Annie's visit.
When they get to the house, Peeta leaves Annie's bags downstairs and takes her hat. The summer sun is beating down on District 12 and Annie has to protect her fair skin from it's burning rays. She asks Peeta to wait downstairs while she goes up to see Katniss first.
The door to the bedroom is open and Annie sees Katniss lying on the bed. She appears to be asleep. Annie goes across to her and gently speaks:
"Katniss?"
Katniss is immediately alert and recognizes Annie's voice at once.
"Annie!" she says, sitting up in the bed.
"I came to see you. I heard you haven't been feeling very well".
Katniss knows this is Peeta's idea and a part of her wants to shout at him for invading her privacy again. At the same time, she knows Annie is their friend and so she says:
"I've stopped feeding Prim". Maybe another mother would understand.
"I know" says Annie sympathetically. "You've had a shock and it has affected you badly. Prim is still getting what she needs, Katniss. Peeta got some advice from the Apothecary". Katniss should have known that Peeta would make sure Prim was OK.
"I want to feed her, but I can't" says Katniss.
"That's OK, Katniss. Finn gets his milk from a bottle now, too".
Katniss thinks this is interesting and wonders why. She asks Annie.
"His teeth have started coming in and it was getting a little too uncomfortable for me to keep feeding him".
Prim doesn't have any teeth yet, but she will soon. Katniss knows this is not the reason she has stopped feeding Prim, but it makes her feel better to know that she is not the only one who is no longer breastfeeding her baby.
"Do you feel guilty?" Katniss asks.
"No" says Annie. "He is eating solids now so he doesn't need as much milk.
Prim is also eating solids, thinks Katniss, so maybe her not feeding Prim isn't the end of the world after all.
"Prim likes mashed up vegetables from the garden. We will have to give you some to take home for Finn. I grow them myself" says Katniss.
"That's wonderful, Katniss. The soil is too sandy in District 4 for us to grow vegetables well, so Finn gets lots of fish in his diet. He can't have the seaweed yet because it's too salty, but we get other food from the market for some variety".
"I sometimes hunt still to get meat and Prim likes turkey with gravy" says Katniss.
"Oh, that sounds good. Do you feel like getting up and showing me the vegetable garden? Maybe we can find something there to make with the dinner".
Katniss hesitates. She hasn't been in the garden for a few weeks and isn't sure it's been tended to while she has been sick. She decides, for Finn's sake, that it might be a good idea to check and see if there are some vegetables she can retrieve for Annie.
"OK" she says.
Annie waits for Katniss to get dressed and the two of them head down the stairs to visit the garden. Peeta has made himself scarce so that he doesn't interrupt Annie in her efforts to coax Katniss out of the room and down the stairs. He watches from a doorway where Katniss cannot see him, but Annie notices him on the way out and gives him a smile. Whatever she is doing seems to be working.
Peeta decides to go and check on Prim over at Haymitch's house. Haymitch is playing "peek a boo" with her and she is squealing with delight. It's good to see her so happy. Hopefully she is young enough that Katniss' absence at the moment will not affect her too much.
"Well, Haymitch" says Peeta.
"Peeta. Did you pick Annie up from the station OK?" he says.
"Yes. She has coaxed Katniss out to the garden for a little while so that is a good sign" says Peeta.
"Women get eachother in a way we men never will" says Haymitch. "For us, it's always damned if you do and damned if you don't. I'll never work them out!"
"I know what you mean" says Peeta. He can't understand why Katniss would respond to Annie and not to him. Well, he can in a way, but he wants to be the one reaching out to Katniss and drawing her back from the darkness.
"How long is Annie staying?" asks Haymitch.
"Probably a week or two for now. She has left Finn in District 4 so she can't stay away too long".
"Well, keep me up to date on how it's all going and you can leave Prim here any time. She's great company" Haymitch says with a smile. He gets another squeal out of Prim before Peeta takes her and brings her back to the house.
When he walks in, Annie and Katniss have returned from the garden and are sitting at the kitchen table. They have some vegetables in the centre and Katniss is helping Annie to peel them.
"What do you think about these for dinner, Peeta?" says Annie.
He has had to do all the cooking lately and thinks it will be nice to have a meal cooked for him again. It will probably taste better, too.
"They look delicious" he says.
"The garden has been weeded" says Katniss.
"Yes, I have been looking after it for you" Peeta says.
"Thank you" Katniss replies. He wonders if he sees a slight hint of a smile playing around her lips. She always loved it when he did things for her. He knew she loved his thoughtfulness. It was one of Peeta's trademarks and one of the many reasons Katniss had fallen in love with him. Peeta tries not to get too caught up in the moment and says:
"You're welcome". He gives her a smile and she feels that stirring again. The one she often feels when Peeta smiles at her. It has never changed. Prim is in Peeta's arms and Katniss decides to reach out for her. Prim clings a little more tightly to Peeta. She is unsure about her mother now, even though she is only a babe in arms. Katniss notices her hesitation and suddenly feels overwhelmed by sadness. She has done this to Prim.
Annie notices the exchange and suggests that Peeta make a bottle for Prim while she holds her. Prim is reluctant to go to Annie as well because she is a stranger. Annie hopes now Katniss will not feel so badly about Prim's rejection. It is happening to her as well. Peeta decides to sit Prim in her high chair and suggests Katniss give her a peeled carrot to suck on while he makes her bottle. Without teeth Katniss knows she can't bite it and take a chunk out of it. She washes the carrot and brings it to Prim. It is nice and cool on Prim's gums and she starts to chew down on it enthusiastically. Katniss is grateful that Prim has accepted the carrot and seems to be enjoying it.
After the bottle is ready, Annie suggests Peeta and Katniss take Prim up to the room with them and lie down with her while she takes her milk. She says she will fix the vegetables for the dinner so the family can have some time together. Katniss takes the bottle and Peeta lifts Prim from her chair. They head up the stairs and lie down on the bed, one on either side of Prim. Katniss still has the bottle in her hand and thinks about handing it to Peeta, but Prim turns to her mother expectantly and Katniss places the bottle in Prim's mouth. She begins to gulp down the milk and Katniss wishes it was her milk Prim was enjoying. Tears begin to fill her eyes.
"It's OK, Katniss. Prim is still getting what she needs and you are still giving it to her, just in a different way" he says.
Tears spill down her cheeks as Katniss begins to grieve for what she has lost, what Snow has robbed her of again. Peeta knows her tears are a good sign as it shows Katniss is now allowing herself to feel something. He takes the two of them in his arms and Katniss accepts the quiet and comforting strength of Peeta's arms around her. He gently wipes her tears away and, when Prim is finally finished her bottle, Peeta places her in her cot to sleep. He moves back to the bed and takes Katniss in his arms again, holding her close. She is turned away from him, but the turning back, Peeta hopes, will not be far away. He can sense her beginning to respond to the caring of others.