"Hi Bligh," I say, unable to hide a mischievous grin.
"Hello, Katniss," Bligh smiles awkwardly, turning his eyes to look at Johanna, "I didn't expect to see you girls here."
"You should have guessed," Johanna says. She isn't looking at him, instead opting to stare at her painted fingernails. Peeta's face alternates between shock and trying not to laugh and Bligh looks like he could die, "It really doesn't take a lot of thinking."
"Do you know each other?" Haymitch asks with a frown.
"Johanna and I met him last night at the party," I say, "Peeta saw him too."
"So you're all acquainted, good," says Haymitch, "You'll see a lot of Mr. Bligh from now on. He has agreed to come to Twelve to be Lana's interpreter."
"Just call me Bligh, please," the boy says, "Or Icarus."
Lana starts gesturing, trying to get his attention.
"Mrs. Abernathy wants me to tell you", Bligh starts, until he sees the scowl Lana is directing him, "I'm sorry. Lana. Lana wants to tell you that I just graduated from the University of Capitol with a Degree in Sign Language, and she hired me to help her communicate with all of you."
Lana glares at him.
"Sorry," he chuckles awkwardly, but then gets very serious, "Lana also said she asked for the top graduate, and it was me."
He looks at Lana to gauge her approval. In response, she gives him a grin and nods.
I wonder how well this is going to work. While Bligh is socially awkward, she's motherly and domineering. I can only guess what he will do when he's forced to translate her fights with Haymitch.
"That's brilliant," says Peeta, "Whose idea was it?"
"It was mine," Haymitch says and smiles bashfully. We smile too. Lana is here to stay, after all. Haymitch doesn't plan to send her away like he had wanted to, if he's hiring an interpreter.
Peeta smiles and shakes Bligh's hand, "I'm Peeta. How come you chose to study Sign Language?" he asks.
"There was no specific reason," Bligh stammers, "When I was offered the possibility of going to university I didn't know what I wanted to do. I thought it would be nice to train Avoxes, get to know them, you know. There was a training center for new Avoxes. They went there to learn sign language and adjust to their new roles in life, before they were bought or required to work for the state. Teaching sign language to Avoxes was a steady job during Snow's regime; did you know there was an estimated population of about a million Avoxes that were never accounted in the census? Well, the other reason is because I enjoy the silence and alternative ways of communication -"
"You're talking too much for someone who enjoys silence," says Johanna.
Bligh blushes, then seems almost angry, then calms down and looks at Lana, trying to be professional. Haymitch's wife is staring at Johanna too, her lips parted in surprise. The boy really doesn't talk that much, so it's offensive for Jo to say so when he's trying to open up.
"I want to hear it," Peeta says to Johanna, but Bligh's mouth has been shut.
They call this a warming-up session, a common practice for Avoxes in rehabilitation at the Capitol. It consists in the following process: family and friends – which means us, in this situation - are asked to interact with Lana so that the translator can start working with her. No personal questions, because she and Bligh are still getting to know each other and it could be uncomfortable for her. And, although she can hear us, he translates our words into gestures so that she gets used to his communication style.
Haymitch asks Lana how many years she lived as an Avox. She replies sixteen. He strangely nods in approval.
Peeta asks Lana whether Thresh and Rue ever talked to her, because she worked on their floor; she says no, the poor girl was frightened and Thresh wasn't communicative at all. She gives us, however, detailed information about their daily lives at the Training Center and how fond they seemed to be of each other.
I ask Lana about Darius and Lavinia. She tells me about being Lavinia's roommate, the Avox secret lives and says that Darius fancied me. I deny it, but she insists he did: they used to tease him about it.
Johanna asks her if she isn't scared of being around four famous killers, and Lana just laughs and says we're some of the least menacing people she's met.
"What about you?" Johanna turns to Bligh, "I've killed people of your age and bigger than you. Doesn't that make you scared?"
"I saw it when you killed people," the boy gulps, "It's a little bit scary, now that you talk about it."
Johanna guffaws; I can tell he gave her the answer she wanted.
"Would you like to see me using an axe? Mellark has one," she says with a smirk.
"Sure," Bligh replies with a shrug.
"Let's do it now. Just be careful, I get crazy when I see an axe –"
"Stop, Jo. She's just being mean," I tell Bligh, "The Games are over, we have no reason to kill anymore."
"Say that to Coin," Johanna snorts. I don't find it funny at all. Peeta puts his arm around me.
"The axe is for me to chop wood to keep Katniss warm in the winter, not for you to show off to Bligh," Peeta says to Johanna.
"Johanna doesn't hurt a fly," Haymitch says, "She's all talk."
Lana makes some complicated gestures that Bligh doesn't translate, but she glances at Jo, so we know she's gesturing about her. He just nods and chuckles.
Haymitch doesn't look right. He's grumpy, shaky and has dark rings under his eyes. He suddenly turns to Lana and says:
"My love, why don't you show Bligh how you feed the geese?"
She smiles to Bligh and gestures for him to follow her. Haymitch grins at her as she leaves, making sure she's gone before he closes the back door behind her.
"This needs to be quick," he says, "She never takes long when I tell her to feed the geese. This marriage is hell."
We stare at him. It sure didn't seem like hell a minute ago.
"What's going on?" Peeta asks, voicing our concern.
"She's a stubborn mule. Won't let me go anywhere without her. Is any of you going to town tomorrow?"
"I am," Johanna replies.
"Can you please bring me some bottles of liquor?"
Days ago, Lana sent Thom a note asking him if it would be doable to forbid alcohol in the district. When Thom replied, telling her that such a prohibition was against the new constitution of Panem, she decided to take the matters in her own hands and sent a note to the station master with enough money to buy the whole stock of alcohol that the train brought for the week. She bought all the alcoholic beverages and sent them to the Harvest Festival. She also informed the station master that all alcohol that the train may bring in the future is to be bought by herself upon arrival and distributed to the workers of the district, with the compliments of Mr. Haymitch Abernathy.
Haymitch still doesn't know the full story, but now, having no way to get a bottle of liquor himself, he asks for our help.
Peeta comes to Johanna's rescue.
"This is not our business, Haymitch," he says.
"Lana is right to want you sober," I add.
"I beg you, I'll do anything for you to get me one. One is enough!" Tears come from Haymitch's eyes and I feel my heart break at the sight. I never thought it could hurt me to see Haymitch cry for a bottle. It should make me laugh at the ridiculousness, but it doesn't.
"I'm sorry, Haymitch, but that's between Lana and yourself," Johanna finally says, glancing at Peeta and I with raised eyebrows.
"Please –"
We hear Lana humming on her way back and Bligh's clumsy steps after her.
"Shit, let's pretend this conversation never happened," says Haymitch, wiping his face and running back to the couch before Lana and Bligh come inside the room. He feigns a smile and asks Bligh if he liked the backyard.
"Oh, yes, it's very nice. Who takes care of the flowers? Is it you, Lana?" the boy asks, coordinating his words with movements of his hands, and Lana grins and melts, because it's obvious she loves flowers. She has planted a whole garden that the geese seem committed to destroy.
Peeta and I look at each other, still worried. How long have we been ignoring the symptoms of alcohol withdrawal? "This is bad," he mutters to me.
"Hey," Haymitch calls us, "Do you know that I'm going to have sign language classes with Bligh?"
I'd never imagined that Haymitch would have the patience to have classes.
"Can I have them too?" Peeta and I both ask at the same time. We look at each other and giggle. It has been happening a lot lately: we finish each other's thoughts, or say the same thing at the same time. We always joke about it, saying we are turning into the same person.
But maybe it's just obvious that we would want to have these classes. We think Lana is here to stay and we need to talk to her too. Also, we're wealthy and have no obligations, so we have the time to do it.
"What's your price for us, Bligh?" Peeta asks. The boy grins, rubbing the back of his neck.
"I'll pay for everything," Haymitch says, "Any expense related to my wife and her interpreter is for me to pay."
"Including food and the second best bedroom at the Inn," Johanna mutters to us. We know Beetee has rented the best accommodations while he works in Twelve, but it's astonishing to know how well Bligh is settled, "He's sparing no expense."
By the end of the afternoon the four of us leave together, Peeta and I holding each other's hands, Johanna in front of us and Bligh coming behind.
"This was my first day," he says, "Do you think it went well?"
"Yes," I say, "Lana seemed very satisfied today. You'll make a difference for her here."
We talk for a while on the front porch. When we invite Bligh in, he says he needs to be going, but addresses Jo with a shy smile.
"Johanna," he says, "Do you want to have dinner with me at the inn?"
"I don't think it's a good idea," she explains, "I came here to be with my friends."
He looks at us, "But you can come too."
"Maybe another time," Johanna says, rolling her eyes.
The boy blushes, "Sure."
After dinner, Peeta, Johanna and I go to the Harvest Festival again. She's complaining that she lost me as a dance partner now that Peeta and I are all cuddly, but we know she's happy for us.
As we get out of the house, we see Lana and Haymitch sitting on their porch with sulky faces.
"Wanna come with us?" Peeta asks them.
Haymitch shakes his head.
"But you can come, Lana. I'll dance with you," Johanna says. Lana only smiles and shakes her head, pointing at her husband. The sign is clear: she wants to stay with him.
"Go with them, woman, I won't run away," Haymitch grumbles. Lana glares at him and shakes her head again. His shoulders sag and his head falls on his hands before he pulls his hair.
When we get to the party, it's weird to remember how estranged Peeta and I were last night, wary of each other, how afraid I was of his reaction to me. Tonight we're light years ahead, stronger than ever before, with our bodies close together and matching grins that hide secrets only we know.
The obnoxious guy is there, getting wasted again, trying to flirt with random girls. Newly paired couples are dancing along with the old ones. Half a dozen children are running around with balloons.
We talk to the workers and to everyone we know. Rory is dancing with Posy and Vick dances with Hazelle. Greasy Sae seems a little bit drunk and wants to dance with everyone, so Johanna takes the chance. Poor Sae's feet.
Delly's brother is selling raffle tickets to help raise money to rebuild the school. There's a new prize every night. The winner tonight gets a kitten. Peeta buys every child a raffle ticket because they ask him to, although I don't know what anyone can want a kitten for. They are a plague, and I know what I'm saying, I have a cat at home. We buy a raffle ticket for us too, just because that boy is a really good seller and he insists we must buy one.
Bligh arrives. We watch him ask for a drink and look around until his eyes find Johanna and his face changes to an expression of pure delight.
"Jo," Peeta says, "Look at who's there."
"Oh, fuck," Johanna says when she realizes what he means. She throws a glare to the guy, but he doesn't seem to understand the message, as he comes right away.
"Hello," he says, "Do you dance, Johanna?"
"Not if I can refuse," she smirks, "I've got two left feet."
He is taken aback, "I – I don't mind if you step on my toes."
She snorts, dismissively, but he's still staring at her. She groans, "Whatever, let's go before I regret it," and takes him to the dance floor.
Johanna is a real disaster, but Bligh isn't any better. They keep stepping on each other's feet and laughing, almost falling to the floor because of the laughter. Jo never falls because Bligh's arms always steady her. He seems to find it funny, at least. After a couple of drinks she starts kissing him fiercely, like last night.
It starts raining. It's unexpected in a warm summer night like this, after such a sunny day. The rain gets heavier by the minute. I immediately think of Johanna's trauma of water. But I look at her and she seems collected, staring at the floor and walking quietly towards us while people run to cover themselves. We rush to her, trying not to panic so that we don't trigger her flashbacks.
She meets us halfway.
"Guys, help me," she asks us softly, soaked in water, still staring at the floor, "I'm not feeling well."
Bligh, soaked like Jo, comes after her and touches her shoulder. I can see the moment the touch registers on her eyes as an electric shock.
"Johanna –" he starts.
"Don't you dare touch me!" she yells.
We can guess what's coming, but none of us can avoid it: the next thing we see is Bligh lying on the asphalt while Johanna screams and covers her ears like she's gone mad. I see Peeta pulling the redhead back up in a hurry. At least the boy doesn't seem badly injured.
"Jo," I say, "It's me, Katniss. We're in Twelve and we're safe. Come with me, I'll get you dry and you'll be okay again."
Somehow, she takes my hand and allows me to guide her.
We get under a roof and I start undressing Johanna to get her rid of her soaked clothes. I ask people for a piece of cloth; Hazelle, shaking her head in disbelief, rushes to give me a dish towel.
Peeta doesn't look, but Bligh is staring at her as if he doesn't realize the nudity.
"It's nothing personal," I hear Peeta tell him, "Johanna was held captive by the Capitol after the Quarter Quell. They tortured her with water."
"They tried to drown her?" I hear Bligh ask.
"They soaked her in water and gave her electric shocks for weeks in a row."
Bligh's eyes get wide and he stares at Johanna again. In a bold move he sits next to her, takes her in his arms and whispers in her ear. At first I don't know what he's saying, but then I realize he's singing a lullaby from district Seven, the same one Johanna used to hum to remind herself of home when she missed her family in her Games. I had no idea how much she had caught his attention even before they met in person.
Her eyes register surprise, but she seems to calm down just like that. She watches Bligh with curious eyes for a long time. None of them seems to realize Peeta and I are still there.
"Did I hurt you?" she asks.
"Not really," he chuckles, "I expected more from a girl who brags about being deadly."
When the rain stops for a while, Bligh takes his chance.
"Johanna," he says, trembling, "Do you want to have a drink with me at the inn?"
That's incredibly brave and sweet of him to ask her out after everything he witnessed: he saw what a loose cannon she can be, but he still accepts her. Johanna, now covered with a blanket, checks for rain and seems satisfied when she sees it's stopped.
"Okay," she replies, "Do you offer clothes and bed for the night as well?"
The boy blushes, "Sure, if you want."
"Good," she smiles, "The Mellarks need a lot of privacy if they want to repopulate this district. Bye, Mellarks."
We're stupefied as we watch them leave, Johanna pulling Bligh in a dominant way while he looks at us sheepishly and waves goodbye.
"How did that happen?" I ask.
"It's Jo," Peeta chuckles.
He hugs my waist from behind, pressing himself against me, and I tilt my head for a kiss. An idea comes to my mind: I want to dance with him tonight. I don't care if it's raining and we're wet. He has become my real husband today and I want to make the day unforgettable.
"Dance with me?" I ask him.
"I don't know, Katniss," he says, blushing, "My leg… it's awkward."
Of course he's self-conscious about his leg. People are still around. He limps a little, although it's barely noticeable by now, but of course dancing will be much harder than walking.
"I just don't want to hear anyone laugh at me," he says.
"I see."
The heavy rain is now a slight drizzle. I guide him towards the tree where we talked last night. We can still see the party lights and hear the music, but people can't see us. It's perfect, exactly what we need.
He grins and offers me his hand.
"Dance with me?"
"Of course, husband," I reply, "It's our wedding night, after all."
He holds my waist and I put my hand on his arm. I look up, he looks down and we start moving smoothly under the tree. No toe is stepped on, at least.
We dance there for over an hour. Slow, tight, a little bit awkward… and incredibly sweet.
At the party, Delly's brother is yelling names. I guess the raffle is taking place. I hear him shout some names and people clapping. Then he yells something like Mark. As no one seems to respond and he keeps yelling, Peeta says:
"I guess he may actually be saying Mellark."
We're still resting under the tree, fatigued and ready to go to bed, but we follow his voice anyway.
That's it. That's me he's calling: Katniss Mellark. Everyone cheers and applauds me at our arrival. This is not a first for us; the names of our family tend to get chosen in lotteries, and it has never been good news.
Luckily for the inhabitants of district Twelve, tonight there were not one, but seven prizes. We all concurred for a full litter of kittens. The Mellarks got the cat number 4, whatever that means. There are cats of every temperament and color in a basket.
"What are we going to do with a kitten?" Peeta asks, receiving the cat in is arms from a little girl who must be the owner of the cat's mother.
"Just give it to someone," I suggest.
"No, it's bad luck," Delly's brother says. It's the first time I hear about this superstition. It must be a merchant saying, maybe created to make them feel good about giving nothing to anyone. I don't know if they're saying it's bad luck to give out an animal or a prize, but people around us are taking it seriously. Maybe no one wants it, that's why they're making the effort to convince us.
We go home with Peeta carrying a very stubborn orange male kitten in his arms.
"We need to name this guy," Peeta says.
"Wait, is he going to stay with us?" I ask him.
He shrugs, "He needs a family, Katniss. We have a very loving home to give him."
I scowl. This boy is too kind for his own good. No one wants cats and we were made to pay two panemian dollars to get this one, but Peeta makes it seem that we're very lucky.
"Can he stay?" he asks with sparkly eyes, like a child would ask a mother.
I realize Peeta has always been an indoors boy and he missed a lot of experiences. He was kept at the bakery all the time when he wasn't at school, and a bakery isn't the place for cats, for obvious reasons. It means he has never had a pet before Buttercup and, even though they adore each other, Buttercup is an adult cat. A baby pet is too cute and fun in a different way. I think everyone should experience it at least once in his life and I can't take it away from Peeta.
"Okay, but you'll take care of him" I scowl, "Make sure he doesn't have fleas before he goes home. He must sleep in our room tonight so that Buttercup doesn't bother him."
"You're so good," Peeta says, "I love you."
"I love you, too."
Sleeping soundly on his arms, I can see the appeal the cat has to Peeta. It's just like a baby, and Peeta is a natural born daddy. He grins at me and starts checking the kitten for fleas as I had told him.
"What about names? Ginger. Carrot. Butterscotch," he suggests.
"Quite the pair, Buttercup and Butterscotch," I chuckle, and he laughs.
"Pumpkin? Tiger? Copper? Goldie?" he tries again.
"I like Tiger," I say.
We get inside the house and Peeta talks to the cat.
"Welcome home, Tiger. This is your home now. You'll sleep with mommy and I tonight."
Mommy, seriously? Mother of a cat? Is this real or is he trying to make me long for a human baby? If he thinks it will make me want to bear his children, I think it may backfire on him.
Before we go to sleep, Buttercup comes to the room, sniffs Tiger and us and walks away disdainfully.
The kitten sleeps on a pillow next to our bed so that we can cuddle with each other.