Chapter 45: Surprise!
Prim has wakened from her nap and the celebrations begin in earnest. She is overwhelmed by the decorations and all the people. They take it in turns to give her presents they have brought and Prim is more interested in playing with the ribbons and wrapping paper than the presents themselves. Peeta has painted two beautiful portraits, one of Prim and one of their family, which they will hang on the wall for her. He has also put together the rocking horse which Katniss' mother had delivered from the Capitol. Prim loves it. Finn wants to try it, too. They take it in turns to ride the horse with everyone watching on. Finally, Katniss decides it is time to eat and the guests gather around for food in the garden. The day has remained bright, thankfully, so they enjoy the wintry sunshine and good company.
Eventually, Katniss excuses herself saying she has to get ready for the most important part of the day. Her mother and Effie go with her while Annie oversees the children playing. Gale had finally arrived and Peeta has taken him across to Haymitch's house to have a word.
Beetee begins setting out some chairs in the garden so Katniss and Peeta's guests can sit in the waning sunshine a little while longer. Soon they will have to head inside again, out of the cool evening air. Beetee brings a communications pod outside and sets it on a table to the side. After inviting people to take a seat, he sets it to play.
Images of Katniss and Peeta, their moments of coming together during the Games, begins to play. Peeta confesses his love for Katniss, tells her to "go!" to escape being captured by the careers and then is injured by Cato as she flees. Then, there is the announcement allowing for two Victors if both come from the same District. Katniss finda Peeta, feeds Peeta, and kisses him for the first time. Peeta tells Katniss about the first time he saw her, tries to keep her from leaving to get his medicine and then Peeta treats Katniss' wound. Finally, Katniss and Peeta prepare to take the poison berries, together. Next are images from the Quarter Quell. Peeta volunteers in Haymitch's place and then tells the Capitol audience that Katniss is having a baby to try and stop the Games. Katniss is overwhelmed with grief when Peeta hits the forcefield, then relief when Finnick finally revives him. The final scene is of Peeta and Katniss with the locket on the beach.
The images fade out and Peeta appears in Haymitch's doorway with Gale by his side. The two of them are dressed in black suits and vests with white shirts and green bow ties…Katniss' favourite colour. They have green kerchiefs in their pockets and white Primrose flowers in their lapels. There is a uniformed Peacekeeper with them and they walk across to stand beside the table Beetee has set up. The guests have already turned their chairs to watch the screen and now begin to understand the significance of the day. As the screen fades and music begins to play behind them, they turn around.
Katniss appears in the doorway of their house, her mother and her mentor on either side. She is stunning. Wearing a full length white gown with long sleeves and overlaid with a simple lace, it fits like a glove down to her thighs and then splits into cascading sections of tulle in a Godet style which reaches to the floor. Primrose flowers are intertwined through her hair which is in one braid that falls over her left shoulder and she is wearing Peeta's locket around her neck. Peeta has never seen Katniss look so beautiful. He is in awe of her again. They begin to slowly walk down the steps, as Haymitch takes Katniss' arm and her mother carries Prim, making their way to the front of the guests. Katniss' mother takes a seat as Haymitch gently gives Katniss' hand to Peeta while Gale watches on. He is the best man at Peeta and Katniss' wedding and, after being surprised at Peeta's request, knows this is the right thing to do. Gale feels privileged to be given the honour.
The Peacekeeper begins the ceremony as Peeta and Katniss look on eachother with love. It is perfect. A moment, at one time, the two of them never dreamed they might have. After the preliminary words are spoken over them, it is time for Peeta and Katniss to exchange their vows. Peeta begins:
"Katniss, I loved you from the first day I saw you. I remember everything about that day…how you looked, what you did, how you made me feel. I cherished that day because somehow I knew it was special. I knew you were special. That has never changed. Then, without warning, fate intervened in a way that neither of us could ever have imagined. Being brought together for the Games changed our lives, and the lives of those around us, forever. It made us realize what was important and taught us how to survive…relying on eachother, protecting eachother, keeping eachother alive. I know I could not have survived without you, Katniss. I do not want to survive without you. There is no one else for me. There never has been. I want to tell you that again today".
Katniss is overwhelmed at Peeta's vows and knows she could never deserve him. Haymitch's words ring in her ears again…"You could live a thousand lifetimes and never deserve that boy". She speaks from the heart:
"Peeta. I don't deserve you. I have never deserved you. You saved me. From the moment you threw that bread to a starving girl until this moment, today, you have been there for me. At first, I didn't know it and then, I couldn't accept it, I was too caught up in just trying to survive. Especially in the Games. It was all about surviving. But then, there was that moment during the First Games when survival became not just about me, but about you. I wanted you to survive, I needed you to survive. Then, during the second Games, I realized…I couldn't imagine my life without you. I still can't". Katniss wants Peeta to ask her the most important question again, the question he asked her on the night they had finally become one.
Peeta asks Katniss in front of the witnesses at their wedding, "You love me, real or not real?"
"Real" replies Katniss as Peeta smiles brilliantly at his beautiful bride. Katniss and Peeta exchange rings and the Peacekeeper pronounces them husband and wife.
"You may kiss the bride" he says and they become locked in an embrace which neither of them ever want to end.
The guests cheer and eventually Peeta and Katniss break their embrace to take Prim in their arms. They are finally married and have put a permanent seal on their relationship. This is their gift to Prim on her first birthday. A promise to one another, to her and their unborn child, that they will always be together. They couldn't be happier. Katniss pregnant belly has not gone unnoticed either, the dress finally revealing the good news. It is time for more congratulations. Effie is all in a fluster. She has been since she saw Katniss put the dress on.
"Katniss, you told me the dress needed alterations, but you didn't tell me why!" Effie had said.
"I wanted it to be a surprise, Effie" she had said, smiling.
Effie was disturbed. "Well, I am only getting used to the idea of you having one baby, and now this…" says Effie, as though she was the one who had to carry the child for nine months or would actually be taking care of it after it was born. People in the Capitol controlled their childbirth rates and one or two children spread far apart was the norm. You just didn't go and get pregnant "willy nilly".
"It's OK, Effie. We will try to be more careful the next time" Katniss had said, poking fun at her good naturedly.
"Well, I would hope so. That was always the problem in the Districts…too many mouths to feed".
Effie had her Capitol blinders on and there was nothing Katniss could say to her in that moment which would be either decent, or change Effie's mind. She decided it was better to walk away. Katniss would deal with Effie later.
The local hall has been commandeered for the rest of the celebrations and there is more food and drink, music, dancing and plenty of camaraderie. Haymitch is drinking his fill and Effie has to put up with his overtures. Katniss thinks Effie is secretly enjoying the attention, but she is very proper and won't tolerate Haymitch if he gets too drunk. Annie is excited at Peeta and Katniss' news and shares Katniss' concerns around the pregnancy. She is one of the few who knows about the encounter with Snow and has also been sworn to secrecy. Annie tells Katniss that she is always available if she is needed. Katniss appreciates her continuing support and promises to spend some more time with her soon. Prim and Finn seem to enjoy eahcother's company so they would enjoy the visits, too, Katniss thinks.
Finally, it is time for Peeta's cake to be brought out. He has decided to keep it simple, like Katniss' dress, and he hopes she likes it. As it is wheeled out on a trolley, Katniss can see it has three circular layers decorated in a white icing. Surrounding each layer are Primrose flowers made of icing. But, it is not just the flowers on display, Peeta has constructed the leaves and stems as well. It is as if a bed of Primrose had been planted around each layer of the cake. On the top, in miniature, stands a woman with a heavily pregnant belly. Her arm lays across the shoulders of the man sitting beside her who has a child on his lap. This is Peeta's representation of their family. They are not just a bride and groom…they are a family. Katniss is overwhelmed again at Peeta's thoughtfulness and his creativity. When did he find the time to do all this? She is in awe of him. Standing side by side with Prim in their arms, they light the solitary candle for her first birithday and sing Happy Birthday to her. Then Peeta and Katniss cut the cake, together, for their guests to enjoy.
A short time later, the day finally is coming to a close. Katniss wants to see Gale before he leaves. She wonders how he felt about Peeta asking him to be Best Man at their wedding and she also wonders when she might see him again.
"Gale, when are you heading back to the Capitol?" she asks.
"Tomorrow morning" he replies. He has hardly seen Katniss all night, she has been so taken up with the many guests. He has congratulated Peeta on the pregnancy and realizes how much more the couple have to deal with than he had first imagined. It was even more important now to ensure Snow was caught.
"Oh" Katniss says. Gale had said he was leaving tomorrow, but Katniss is still not prepared.
"You look beautiful" Gale tells her. There is appreciation in his eyes. He always knew Katniss would look beautiful on her wedding day.
"Thank you" Katniss replies. She goes on: "Peeta wanted you to be a part of the wedding. You two have become friends and he admires you so much, too. He really appreciates everything you have done for us" she tells Gale.
"I know, Katniss. I admire him, too. No one else would put up with you or your antics" he says with a grin. Katniss knows that means Gale is OK. He has accepted the inevitable and is actually joking about it at her expense. Still, she doesn't feel like joking right now. She gives him a quick smile and then becomes serious again.
"Gale, I want you to be careful when you go to the Capitol. It's not just Snow who is devious. They all are. Wherever there is power, there is corruption and we both know that. Please, don't take any chances you don't need to take. We really want you back here, safe and sound". Even as she says that last sentence, Katniss knows that Gale is a long way from ever being safe and sound in the battle against Snow. But, she does want him back, and she wants him back in one piece so that she doesn't have to fear for him as well as Peeta, Prim and the baby.
"Don't worry, Katniss. They haven't managed to kill any of us yet, and the odds are in our favour this time. Snow knows he's been exposed and so does the Capitol. The rats have been smoked out of their holes and now we just need to capture them. That's the easy part" he says.
Katniss hopes so. She hopes it is easy and that no more people get hurt in the process. It is going to be a long winter.
Authors note: Theme song for Peeta and Katniss wedding celebrations (and for Valentine's Day for anyone reading this chapter today): A Thousand Years – Christina Perri. Happy Valentine's Day xox