Chapter 44: Celebration
The day of Prim's birthday celebrations dawns bright and clear. Everyone has arrived and Katniss is up early to begin the preparations. There is so much to do. First, she has to organize the food and Annie is going to help her with that. Luckily, Finn and Prim are up early and, after giving Prim a big birthday hug and kiss, feeding and changing her, Katniss brings them both across to Haymitch so they can concentrate on what needs to be done. It is one of the few times Katniss remembers seeing Haymitch first thing in the morning when he wasn't grumpy. He is happy to see Prim and gives her the first birthday present of the day – a doll. Not just any doll, but a talking doll ordered from the Capitol. Effie had brought it up yesterday. When they take it out of the box, Haymitch pulls the string at the back and the doll say "Mama". Prim squeals with delight and begins to pull at the string as Katniss thanks Haymitch for his thoughtfulness. She hopes the children will be good for him while she and Annie go back to prepare for the day.
Peeta is up when she returns, organizing the decorations with her mother's help. They want to make the house as bright and cheerful as possible. Effie, of course, loves a good celebration so she has supplied a big bag of balloons, streamers and other items for display. There is so much colour, it takes away some of the darkness of the impending winter. Katniss gives Peeta a hug and kisses him softly on the lips. She thinks back to the day she gave birth to Primrose, how unprepared they had both been that day, and how valiantly Peeta had stepped up to help deliver their baby girl. The experience had created a bond between them that could never be broken.
After kissing Katniss, Peeta tries to get out of her way as she and Annie begin the food preparation. He needs to go up to the bakery to see about the cake, so he tells Katniss he will see her soon. Peeta is excited about the day and the surprise they have in store for everyone later. It is too early for Gale to arrive yet, but he hopes to catch up with him as soon as he gets there. Gale doesn't know it yet, but he will be part of the surprise, too.
Katniss' mother finishes placing decorations around the house and decides that Haymitch could probably use some help, so she heads across to his house in the Victors Village to help mind Prim and Finn. This place had never felt much like home to her, but Katniss and Peeta were doing a fine job of making it cosy since Primrose had arrived. She thinks Katniss sometimes misses their old home in the seam, but there was so much heartache around it, too. The memories of Katniss' father, long gone now, but never forgotten. The terrible trepidation they experienced each year after Katniss, and then Prim, turned 12 and were eligible for the Reaping. And then, the Reaping that changed everything. Katniss' mother knew it was best to leave the past where it was. Everything had happened for a reason and led up to today, to her beautiful granddaughter's first birthday. She was going to celebrate with Katniss and make sure that Katniss knew she was there for her, and for Prim, too.
When the preparations for the party are finished and, after putting Prim down for a nap, Katniss gathers with some of the visitors to catch up on their news. Johanna has stayed close to Beetee's side. Not a very sociable person, Katniss seeks her out first to try and put her at ease. The truth is, there is something that will always set the Victors apart from everybody else, including Katniss and Peeta. People look on them differently, with a combination of awe and repugnance. They have had to kill other people, innocent people, to stay alive. Not having a choice did not always mean their actions would be favoured. Only the Victors knew the true cost, to themselves and to their families.
"Johanna" Katniss says. "How are things in District 3?" Johanna had not wanted to return to District 7 after the Rebellion. She had no one left there and wanted to get away from the memories. The damage the Capitol had inflicted on her hadn't destroyed her, but it had robbed her of anything meaningful in her life. Right now, Johanna clung tenuously to the lifeline provided by the only other Victor she had anything much in common with…Beetee. He was also alone and a loner of sorts.
"Fine. Boring. But it's better than going back to 7 and seeing what the Capitol did there. It will take years before it will be productive again. The wildfires set by Snow burnt down thousands of acres of trees". Katniss heard that this is what Snow had done. People from District 7 needed to move to other Districts just to survive, some even went to the Capitol. Katniss remembered the beggars she had seen on the streets when she searched for her wedding dress with Effie.
"I heard" says Katniss. "I'm sorry".
"Not as sorry as Snow was when the Rebels finally got their hands on him" Johanna says as a look of smug satisfaction crosses her face. Little does Johanna know that Snow has still not paid the price for all the misery he caused them. Hopefully, he will soon, thinks Katniss. "We've still got Capitol Rebels to deal with though, so I am working with Beetee to see what we can do to disrupt their plans. Guess we never really got out of the Games after all" Johanna says. It's true. Katniss knows it. But today is not about the Games. Today is about what has come out of the Games. Something real, something tangible. Something good and worthwhile. Something Katniss never wants to forget. Prim.