Chapter 47: Accommodation
Two weeks after the wedding Katniss had begun to feel a fluttering in her stomach. Her sense of relief was overwhelming. Their baby was moving and that was a good sign. She told Peeta right away and he was so happy to know that the signs of the baby being healthy were improving. Katniss was five months pregnant now and decided to start to enjoying the feeling of this new life growing inside her. There was nothing they could do about the outcome, only hope for the best.
Things in District 12 were the same and winter was causing more people to stay indoors, so life was quiet and peaceful. Peeta would not allow Katniss to visit Prim's grave without him and, as it was dark when he left in the morning and when he came home at night, she had to wait until the weekends to make the short journey to the graveyard. She knew Prim would understand and Peeta was very accommodating, always agreeable to the walk when Katniss asked him. Little Prim was walking now as well, so the three of them would get rugged up and Peeta and Katniss would take a hand each to walk her between them where the paths were straight. When the ground became a bit uneven, Peeta would lift her onto his shoulders and Prim would get a whole new perspective on the world. She loved to stop and look at the birds and animals while Peeta and Katniss explained them to her. Prim was beginning to learn new words and would mimic some of the simple things they said like "bird" and "cat" or "dog". She would try to make the sounds that the animals made which caused Peeta and Katniss to laugh while Prim, all the while, was very serious in her endeavours to speak.
The bakery was busy as usual, though, and Haymitch sometimes minded Prim for Katniss so she could help out in the shop. She enjoyed serving the customers and chatting to people they knew. Peeta enjoyed having her there. The closer Katniss was to him, the better. In spite of their busyness during the day, the risk to Katniss and their baby was never far from his mind. He often thought of Gale as well, and wondered what was happening in the Capitol. Gale had promised to keep them up to date and Peeta knew Gale was a man of his word so he hoped they would get news soon, and that Gale was alright. Peeta thinks they would have heard if there were any problems, so he tries not to worry about Gale as well, although he can't say the same for Katniss. She is still having nightmares and Peeta knows it is the association with the Capitol, and Gale being there, that is affecting her. He still doesn't know how to explain Katniss' relationship with Gale to himself. He doubts Katniss knows how to explain it either. There is a genuine love and caring between them, a deep friendship, which has been renewed since the Rebellion. Peeta knows it is no threat to his relationship with Katniss, but there is still a little piece of her that does not belong to him and Peeta finds that difficult to deal with sometimes.
Gale's trip back to the Capitol had been enjoyable, travelling with Peeta and Kantiss' friends and experiencing the camaraderie between them. Finn had entertained them with his antics and Gale could see Annie would have her hands full with him. Finn was a bright and curious child who was so much like Finnick…people were drawn to him like moths to a flame. Annie was a proud mother and a much stronger woman now than she had been at the time of the last Games, and in the aftermath of the Rebellion. Her life revolved around Finn and she was obviously trying to be strong for him. Gale could see she was doing her best.
Katniss' mother alighted from the train in District 4 with Annie and Finn, while Beetee and Johanna left the train at the next stop in District 3. Gale and Effie continued on the journey to the Capitol and Effie asked Gale about his trip.
"Do you have business in the Capitol, Gale?" asks Effie.
"Yes", says Gale. "As head of the Peacekeeping force in District 12, I need to give them regular updates on what is happening there".
"I would have thought they'd provide transport for you if they wanted to see you" says Effie. She knows, even with the new Government, that Peacekeepers are an important part of the Capitol machinery and it seems a bit odd that Gale is travelling on the train like a regular commuter. The proper way to do things was for the Capitol to transport its Peacekeepers.
"I just wanted enjoy the wedding celebrations a little while longer" Gale tells Effie. "Since so many people had to travel back on the train, I decided time would go more quickly with some company to enjoy. Peacekeepers get time off, too, Effie" Gale says, teasing her and reminding her that there is a life outside of Peacekeeping. Sometimes Gale forgets that, too.
"Oh, I know" says Effie. "When I was given the job of conducting the Reapings in District 12, people seemed to forget that I had a life outside of the Games as well. It took up so much of my time". No one had ever bothered to find out about Effie's life outside of the Games. They all just assumed it was as decadent as the rest of the Capitol folk and not really worthy of note. How dismissive people in the Districts had been of the Capitol people. Gale had never really thought about that. He'd had some exposure to them during his time in District 2 and saw how vulnerable they had become since the Rebellion but his concern fell short of actually feeling sorry for them. Perhaps there was another perspective which did not require all of the Capitol inhabitants to be as evil as the dictator, Snow. Many of them had never known any other way of life or been outside the Capitol to see what was really happening in the Districts. Even then, the Government was always feeding them propaganda to maintain the status quo.
"Yes, that must have been difficult for you, Effie" Gale says accepting that Effie has a right to her experiences which were so different from his own.
The truth was, Effie had enjoyed her new found responsibility when she was given oversight of District 12 for the 74th Hunger Games, but the Quarter Quell, and her closeness to Katniss and Peeta, had changed that. She was glad there would be no more Reapings and that she would not have to send any more young people to their death. Fortunately for her, both her Tributes had returned, or been rescued, from the Games and they weren't just a team any more…they were family. Effie would not swap all the perks of the Capitol for what she had with her District 12 Victors now.
"Well, not as difficult as things were for Peeta and Katniss of course. But, I tried to help them as much as I could and I am so glad everything turned out for the best in the end" says Effie.
Yes, thinks Gale. In many ways it had turned out for the best, for Peeta, for Katniss, even for the whole of Panem. He still wasn't sure what the outcome had meant for him, though, or what it would mean for him in the future. Right now, it meant another confrontation with Paylor and a push to end the stalemate over Coriolanus Snow. Gale begins to prepare himself for this next confrontation as Effie continues to recover from her last.