Elusive Chanteuse
Chapter One
"Everybody! Give it up for Bonnie Abernathy!" The MC announced as Katniss Everdeen gave a brief curtsy in a sleek body-hugging silk sheath dress. The smile on her face from the applause from one of the most popular jazz clubs in New York city always thrilled her. Heading off the stage, Haymitch Abernathy met his niece just behind the curtain.
"Are you sure you want to take a trip back to Panem County now?" He asked.
"Yeah, it's time I went home to visit mom and I haven't been back in six years. Mom is always visiting me in whatever city I'm in while touring or here in New York. It's only fair I go see her at home. This is a good time, I'm between albums and this being my last night of the "Nightingale" Tour. I haven't had a proper vacation or break in four years." Katniss said heading to her dressing room. At nineteen years old, Katniss had burst on the jazz scene with her impressive first album Song Bird and her career soared.
"But don't you think people in Panem County will recognize you?"
"I don't think may people in Panem County listen to jazz singers, but that's also why we agreed on a stage name, right?"
"True, but there's bound to be someone there that will recognize your singing voice. I still can't believe you went with Bonnie Abernathy." Haymitch stated.
"And Portia's suggestion for "Glimmer" was a better idea?" Katniss asked sarcastically. Haymitch chuckled.
"Nope, no one will recognize my voice. I only sang for my family. There was that one time in school, but that was elementary school. After dad died, I just didn't want to sing anymore." Katniss explained.
"So, the twins are why you started singing again?" Haymitch asked, even though understanding was lighting his eyes.
"Yes and no. I had no idea what would happen to me. What else was I supposed to do? I was barely eighteen and the only guy I was ever into dumped me before I could tell him I was pregnant. I didn't have time for college or training." Katniss replied with a shrug, while removing her makeup and eyelashes.
"So, how did you land on jazz as your genre of choice?" Haymitch asked, while pacing in a small spot in her dressing room.
"It was the least likely genre where anyone back home would listen to and just in case they did. Besides, jazz singing helps me work through my emotions, especially the sad ones. Then there's the advantage of singing standards when I run out of songs when making albums. Lastly, I'm just famous enough, without it interfering with me or the twins. The vast majority of the public never seems to recognize me when I'm walking down the street, and I have money enough to be comfortable. Its not perfect, but those are the pluses." Katniss said, while changing behind a screen.
"I never thought about all this until you mentioned wanting to take an extended vacation back in Panem. Shit, I haven't been back to Panem in over 20 years. Managing musicians is time consuming."
"You enjoy it, right?" Katniss asked, coming from behind the screen and giving Haymitch a worried look.
"I do now, especially since I get to manage my niece. You're my only client, and I have to be honest, you're also my last client. You moved to New York just in time, because I was just turning over my last two clients to new management companies. I have to admit, the jazz crowd is way more palatable and easier to deal with. Don't get me wrong, some of the musicians can be a real pain in the ass, but its not like other genres of music." Haymitch explained.
"Oh, wow, I had no idea." Katniss replied, looking alarmed.
"Now stop that. I have to admit you and your mother turning up on my doorstep that day, explaining your situation, was a way out of a tense situation with a former client. Although, I did wonder what you were going to do during the first few months. Lucille explained that you needed a little space and time to heal and figure a few things out. Why did that asshole you dated dump you anyway?"
"He thought I cheated on him." Katniss said, plopping down on the loveseat in the dressing room. She let out a deep sigh, and it seemed sad to Haymitch.
"You still care about him?"
"Yeah, he's really not an asshole, but the guy that kissed me is. He allowed my ex to think we had something going on. I tried so many times to explain, but after several weeks, I just wanted to leave and never go back."
"If he really loved you, he would've tried to find you." Haymitch said. Katniss said nothing to this statement so he looked over and saw a strange blush spread over her face.
"What the hell, Katniss! He did try to find you?"
"By that time, I was still so angry with him, I refused to take his phone calls."
"So, what did he say when you told him about the twins?" Haymitch asked, and then Katniss looked completely terrified and guilty all at once.
"Don't say it…" Haymitch replied in alarm.
"Don't say what?"
"Please don't tell me you haven't told him."
"I really did try, Haymitch. Its just, when I finally called to tell him, he had moved on. He wouldn't answer his phone and when I called the bakery, his mother chewed me out. I even tried his parent's house and his mother or brothers always seemed to be the ones to answer the phone and once again, they refused to put me in contact with him." Katniss explained. "I even had mom go over there twice and try to explain, but none of them would listen to her… then again, Mr. Mellark never seemed to be around." Haymitch whirled around.
"You mean to tell me one of the Mellark boys got you pregnant!?"
"Yeah, I thought mom told you."
"She did not. So, let me get this straight. You're returning to Panem County with the twins in tow, and no one in town knows that they belong to…"
"Peeta Mellark."
"Peeta!? The youngest son and Panem pride and joy!? Damn it, Katniss! No wonder you insisted on a stage name. Now that I think about, the minute someone sees Rhian, they'll know she belongs to Peeta, that is if Rickon's blond hair doesn't give it away. Now that I know they're Peeta's kids, that does explain why Rhian looked so familiar to me." Haymitch said shaking his head.
"You don't think Rickon looks like Peeta?"
"No, he looks like you with blond hair, but Rhian looks like Peeta, with dark hair and down to that striking shade of blue for her eyes." Katniss was quiet, thinking about how this conversation had never happen until now. Haymitch was just accepting that Katniss was in trouble and had her reasons for reticence.
"Let's just hope Peeta Mellark no longer resides in Panem County." Haymitch finally said.
"Yeah, its not like his family will be rushing over to see me." Katniss replied in a matter-of-fact tone.
"And to think, I was actually going to stay home during your extended vacation." Haymitch replied. Katniss glared at her uncle and then headed out of the dressing room with Haymitch in tow.
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Primrose Everdeen ran into her mother's herbal shop as if being chased by some unseen enemy, her blonde hair flying all about her face.
"Mom!" She called out, thankful that the shop was currently empty. Lucille Everdeen rushed out from the back to see what all the commotion was about.
"Prim, what's wrong!?"
"Peeta Mellark is coming home and he's bringing a woman with him." Lucille Everdeen froze in place.
"Oh dear. How in the world will we ever stop him from running into Katniss and the twins?"
"We could always tell him about the twins." Prim offered.
"No, that is Katniss' job. We'll just have to tell her she needs to face this when she comes into town." Prim sighed in frustration.
"Well, he needs to know sooner or later. I would've preferred sooner myself."
"Katniss will try and avoid him; you know she will."
"Well, she can try, but I have to be honest. Once people see her with the twins, it won't take long before they put two and two together. Rhiannon looks so much like Peeta, that it would be hard to ignore questions about who the father of the twins is." Lucille said to Prim.
"I'm trying to figure out how the Mellarks are going to handle not knowing about the twins for over five years, and now Peeta is bringing someone home… this is not going to go well." Prim said. As if on cue, Mrs. Mellark strolled into the herbal shop.
"Hello Lucy." Mrs. Mellark said with awful smugness
"Hello Helen." Lucille Everdeen replied politely, trying not to cringe at the use of her shortened name. Lucille did not mind anyone else calling her Lucy, but she hated when Helen Mellark called her by that over familiar name.
"Just picking up a few things for Peeta's arrival. He dearly loves your herbal teas. He's coming home to introduce us to a young lady he's finally found worthy of him." Mrs. Mellark was hoping for some sort of reaction from Mrs. Everdeen, but that woman kept her face a careful blank.
"I'll wrap up a variety pack for him. I hope he enjoys his time back in Panem, you know how summer can be here, always full of little surprises." Lucille went on, Prim coughed to hide an outburst of laughter at her mother's statement. Mrs. Mellark looked over at the youngest Everdeen girl sharply.
"Please excuse me." Prim said and headed to the back of the herbal shop, waiting for her mother to complete that sale with that awful woman. Soon, Lucille was in the back of the shop with her daughter.
"As much as Katniss' visit will be a complete shock to the town, it will be interesting to see how she reacts to having two grandchildren she didn't know about." Lucille replied.
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Peeta was waiting patiently in the car for Clove to come out of the bathroom of the gas station where they had pulled over for yet another rest from driving. He was beginning to regret the decision to bring her home. Ever since he asked Clove to meet his family, she had changed. Suddenly, there were wedding magazines all over his house, obvious hints about jewelry and engagement rings. The sudden need for Clove to introduce him to her married friends' husbands and it was all too much. He wanted to bring Clove home, hoping she would get along with his family, particularly his mother.
Seeing this side of his girlfriend alarmed him, and he was pretty sure now, more than ever, that this creature would more than get along with him mother. Admit it, you were attracted to her, because she has dark hair like Katniss and a similar figure. He banished the thought almost as soon as it ran through his head. He didn't want to admit any such thing, because it meant he still wasn't over her.
Clove opening the car door brought him back to reality. "Ready to get back on the road? We'll be there in less than forty minutes." Peeta said, with a slightly tight smile.
"Thank goodness. This ride has taken forever." She complained. Peeta said nothing, but continued to drive. Forty short minutes later, the couple were standing on the porch of his family home. Mellark house was quite large and pretty and all Clove could think about was the day Peeta would inherit the house from his parents, conveniently forgetting about his two older brothers, Wheatly and Braeden.
Before he could ring the doorbell, the front door flew open and his mother and father greeted the couple excitedly.
"Welcome my dear." Mrs. Mellark said.
"Mom, this is Clove Downes." Peeta introduced the two women, and just as he suspected, they began hitting it off right away, leaving father and son in the doorway and heading in the direction of the kitchen. Peeta sighed, wondering how long he had to wait before dumping her.
"How have you managed to date her? She's so much like your mother." Mr. Mellark asked, with a small chuckle, as the two men walked back out to the porch.
"Honestly, she was great, up until I told her I wanted her to meet you two. I knew that would be the deciding factor for me. Once I told her I wanted to bring her home, it was like a switch went off." He explained to his longsuffering and patient father.
"Well, I'd say give it a month after your visit. Then decide if you won't suit."
"How do you do that?" Peeta asked.
"Do what?"
"Read my mind?" Peeta asked his father. Mr. Mellark let out another laugh, this time, this one was loud and long.
"I don't know, but maybe its because I know my son." He replied. "By the way, there's a bit of a rumor going around. I went to try and confirm it the other day, but I couldn't get a response from the person I needed to get a confirmation."
"What's the rumor?"
"Katniss Everdeen is coming home from wherever she's disappeared." Peeta's body froze in place.
"Before you say it, don't lie. I know you still love her, because that Clove woman has a slightly passing resemblance to Katniss, what with the dark hair and slim figure."
"Has Gale heard this rumor?" Peeta asked.
"Would it make a difference? He's married with a kid on the way. I'm curious, why did you believe Gale over Katniss?"
"Because they always spent all that time in the woods together. I never knew what they were up to, and they would never take me with them because they said I didn't know how to move quietly."
"Katniss begged you to believe her, plus she doesn't lie, she can't lie. I'm just surprised you got so jealous. Look, let's drop it, I have a surprise for you." Mr. Mellark said, once he saw his son was going to protest his comment. He beckoned Peeta into the house and went over to his desk, picking up a narrow brown paper bag. He handed it over to Peeta. Peeta opened the bag and practically leapt into the air.
"How did you get these on vinyl?" He asked his father, as he pulled out two Bonnie Abernathy records. "You found her first album?" Peeta asked his second question in disbelief as her held up his copy of Song Bird and then he pulled out the copy of her latest record, Nightingale.
"I know you're a huge fan. How did you get into jazz anyway?"
"I don't remember, I just know it helped me after failing so miserably with Katniss. I really love Bonnie's rendition of "Nature Boy", I always feel like she's singing it to me specifically." Peeta replied, looking at the sultry brunette with a Veronica Lake peekaboo bang covering half her face, in a chic jumpsuit and high heels and beautifully made-up face, on the cover of her Song Bird album. There was something slightly familiar about her, but he couldn't put his finger on it. Then he gazed at her on the cover of her Nightingale album, the beauty was wearing a strapless sundress with a large hat covering half of her face, again, the sense of familiarity rushing over him.
"Have you given her a listen?" He asked his father.
"Yes, and I completely understand why you like her and her music, she sounds amazing, but there is something familiar about her voice, I just can't place it." Mr. Mellark said.
"I've never heard anyone like her before." Peeta replied, staring at the two vinyl albums. "I cannot wait to get these records home and play them."
"So… back to this rumor that Katniss returning to Panem County," Mr. Mellark tried again.
"Dad…"
"What are you going to do? What will you say to her if she does actually visit Panem?"
"I have no idea… it's not like she ever tried to contact me." Peeta stated. Mr. Mellark was mysteriously quiet, so Peeta looked over at his father and noticed he wouldn't quite meet his eyes.
"When did she call?" he asked his father is a deceptively quiet voice.
"That's something you'll have to ask you mother and brothers. I was never around when she called. I think she even wrote a letter, but your mother refused to show it to me." Mr. Mellark confessed.
"Why didn't you ever tell me?" Peeta asked calmly.
"It wasn't from lack of trying, Peets. Anytime I mentioned Katniss you would either rage or walk away completely. Then after your fist fight with Gale, we all decided it would be best to avoid the topic of Katniss all together. I think that episode actually scared your mother and so she didn't want to upset you like that again." Mr. Mellark explained. Before Peeta could respond, "And when Peeta was in high school, he was a champion wrestler," he heard his mother telling Clove. Peeta threw his father a look that screamed help and Mr. Mellark stepped in to divert his wife. Clove then went up to Peeta.
"Are you going to show me our room?" She asked. Peeta couldn't think of anything worse than sharing a room with his girlfriend in his current state of mind. Before he knew what he had said, "We're in separate rooms, while visiting my family." Clove looked crestfallen, and behind her, Mr. Mellark gave his son a quizzical look.
"Come on, I'll take you to the guest room." Peeta said in his charming, smooth-talking way. Clove seemed to recover a bit, and followed Peeta upstairs. Mr. and Mrs. Mellark waiting until Peeta and Clove disappeared from sight, before they started talking to each other.
"She's a keeper, I just know it!" Said Helen Mellark excitedly.
"I wouldn't hold my breath." Franklin Mellark replied to his wife. She looked at him as if he had sprouted and extra head.
"Why don't you think they'd suit?" She asked.
"Because the boy doesn't love her, I think he brought her home hoping for something else, and I can tell he's not thrilled with her." Franklin replied.
"Well, she comes from a good family, even went to an elite academy and finishing school. She's perfect!" Helen exclaimed. He didn't bother to respond to his wife, because for some reason, when it came to their youngest son, she could be blind and unreasonable. He hoped and prayed Katniss did return to Panem County, because his son needed to see and hear reason.
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"Come Rickon, its time to get up." Haymitch said to the stocky five-year-old while picking him up. Rickon muttered something unintelligible and went back to sleep.
"I can't believe we're here already." Katniss said nervously, as she picked up and equally sleepy Rhiannon. "Please keep that cap on Rickon's head, I don't want people noticing just how blond his hair is." Haymitch threw Katniss a look full of mischief.
"I mean it, Haymitch! There will be plenty of speculation as it is, I don't need people comparing his hair to the brothers Mellark five minutes after arriving back here." Katniss hated that she felt she had to sneak the twins into Panem County, but she wanted to have a day or two of rest before the questions started. The Mellark family was noted for their combination of shocking platinum ash blond hair, and this gene did not escape Rickon Everdeen. No one would notice Rhiannon as quickly.
Haymitch quickly made his way through the car rental line and withing forty minutes, the party of four were in a minivan headed to Everdeen house in The Seam. The Seam wasn't what it used to be, now being a more respectable area of town. Katniss had arranged to have her family home fixed and renovated to a lovely cozy farmhouse with a pretty garden and a decent size pen where Prim raise several goats. Soon, the minivan pulled up in the driveway of the gray and white house, and Katniss' heart gave an almost pain lurch. She hadn't realized how much she missed home until she saw the home where she grew up.
"Doesn't look like anyone is home." Haymitch said, getting out of the car and stretching his legs.
"It's fine. Mom and Prim are probably finishing up their day in the shop." Katniss said, heading to the front door. She had a key. Once she opened the door, she and Haymitch carried the still sleeping children inside and then grabbed their luggage. As soon as the door was closed behind them, Haymitch announced he was heading to the showers and going to bed. He was not to be disturbed until he woke up on his own. That left Katniss to putting twins to bed in her room. Once that was done, Katniss crashed on the sofa, grateful to be home at last.