It's been two weeks since Effie was in twelve planning Peeta and I's wedding. That means there is only two weeks left until our wedding day. Yesterday, Peeta and I met with the district's new Mayor, John Kravitz, at the Justice building to make a plan for signing the marriage papers. Since we are having the ceremony in the meadow, Mayor Kravitz said that Peeta and I could go ahead and sign them after the ceremony. Once he pronounces us husband and wife, everyone will walk to the Justice Building. Our guests will wait outside while Peeta and I sign the papers. When we finish, the rest of the district will join our guests to sing the traditional song as Peeta and I walk back to our home in the Victors Village. The day after the ceremony, Peeta and I decided to have a small dinner with our close friends and family; My mom, Effie, Haymitch, Johanna, Annie and her son, Cressida, Beetee, Pollux, Elroy and his wife Krystal.
Slowly but surely, our guests are receiving their invitations in the mail. The number of letters or phone calls from our loved ones informing us they'll be attending our wedding increase everyday. Lately it has felt like our phone has been ringing off the hook but today it's been oddly quiet.
The only phone call I gotten all day has been from Peeta. This morning before he went to the bakery he told me that he was going to start designing our wedding cake. He said that he wanted to practice so he could work out all the kinks and make sure I liked it. I told him that it didn't matter to me what the cake looked like, I was just happy to be marrying him.
He called me when he finished the mock up, as he called it, to come look at it.
I walk through bakery door and hear the bells ring above the door.
"Hey, Ms. Everdeen." Elroy greets me. "Are you here to see Peeta?"
"Elroy, I told you to call me Katniss."
"I don't mind calling you Ms. Everdeen."
"It makes me feel old, and I'm only 20. You call Peeta by his first name, call me by mine."
"Alright." Elroy smiles. "Do you want me to take you back to Peeta?"
"Sure." I nod.
We walk back to Peeta's office and find him looking at a bunch of papers scattered across his desk. He has his elbow propped up on the desk with his hand resting on his forehead. The other hand is holding a paper and you can tell he is thinking really hard about something on that paper. Elroy knocks on his door to get his attention. Peeta looks up at me and smiles.
"Oh hey." he says.
"Whatcha got there?" I ask.
"I got a complicated order today, I've just been trying to figure it out." he says as he puts down the paper. He gets up from his chair and walks over to hug me. I lay a kiss on his lips.
"Thank you for showing her back Elroy." Peeta says.
"No problem," Elroy says. "I'll leave you two alone."
Elroy leaves and Peeta wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me closer to him.
"I missed you." he says. He sways us from side to side.
"I missed you too." I say.
"Wanna see our cake?"
"Mmhmm." I nod.
"Come on." Peeta grabs my hand and shows me the way.
He walks me to his decorating table and has me sit on a chair.
"Stay here." he says. He goes into the freezer and walks out with a three tier cake, covered in white fondant with orange flowers. As he brings it closer I can see the flowers are roses and tulips, along with loose yellow-orange petals scattered around each tier. When he sits the cake down in front of me, I see it has white piping across the fondant.
"Oh Peeta, I love it." I say.
"You do?"
"It's incredible. You did an amazing job. Are these real flowers?"
"No, they are sugar flowers. They're completely edible."
"They look so real!" I say. "What flavor is it?"
"I used a yellow cake with buttercream filling for this one, but I have samples set up for you to taste so we can decide on an official flavor."
"That sounds like fun. Let's get to tasting."
Peeta goes over and grabs the sample plate. He tells me what each flavor is before I eat it.
There's the yellow cake and buttercream filling one along with a carrot cake and cream cheese filling, a chocolate sponge cake with a chocolate ganache and fresh raspberry filling, a red velvet cake and a vanilla buttercream filling, and a chocolate cake with a chocolate fudge filling.
"So... which one is your favorite?" Peeta asks after I've tried all of them.
"They're all amazing," I say. "I love the chocolate one with the chocolate ganache and raspberries. It's my favorite."
"Mine too." Peeta says and smiles.
"Peeta, we just got one step closer to the rest of our lives."
I take his face in my hands and kiss him. When we pull away he smiles.
"We did."
We kiss again.
"Well I'm sure you're busy, I'll let you get back to work," I say.
"Ok. I'll walk you out."
Peeta and I head to the front of the bakery. Elroy is helping a woman pick out some pastries. She has two children with her, both little girls. The mother is holding the youngest, who looks to be around 2, on her hip while the older daughter is standing on her tip toes looking into the glass case, pointing to the pastries she wants. Each time she points to a different pastry, her backpack slips off her shoulder. She looks like she is about a year or two into school, just old enough to have learned about the games in class.
My suspicions are confirmed when she notices Peeta and I. She immediately stops what she's doing and waves at us. I wave back.
Elroy is putting their pastries into a box, when the little girl walks over to her mom and tugs on her shirt.
"Mommy, can I go say hi to them?" I hear the little girl whisper. The mom shakes her head no.
"Uh Oh," I giggle. "I think we've been noticed." I say pointing to the little girl.
"Pretty please?" I hear the little girl beg.
Peeta walks up to the family and squats down next to the little girl. I follow and stand behind him.
"Hi there." Peeta says with a smile.
"Hello." the little girl says shyly as she clutches to her mother's leg.
"Are you helping your mom pick out some pastries?" Peeta asks.
"Un-huh." she says.
"What kind is your favorite?"
"I like cherry bliss bars and cannolis." she says, warming up a little.
"I like cherry bliss bars too."
"Oh, Oh, and cheese buns." the little girl says excitedly.
"Really?" Peeta asks.
The little girls nods.
"Those are Katniss's favorite too." Peeta says looking back at me.
"They are?" the little girl asks.
"Yes." I say with a smile.
Elroy walks over with the box of pastries and hands the to the mother. "It's $6.75." he says.
Peeta stands and the mother hands Elroy some money.
"Don't worry about it." Peeta says. "It's on the house."
"Thank you." the mom says.
Peeta nods.
Elroy hands the mother her money back and sets the box of pastries on the counter next to the cash register. The mom grabs the box with the hand that isn't holding the toddler on her hip.
The family is about to walk out the door when the little girls sprints over to give me a hug.
"I love you." She says still holding on to me.
I laugh and return the hug.
"Emily, let's go." The mother calls out.
"Coming mommy." the little girl says running back to her mother.
The mother looks to me and mouths the words 'I'm sorry' to me. I give her a nod, letting her know it's ok, and they walk out the door.
"That was cute." Peeta says while he walks me to the door.
"Yeah it was." I reply sopping in front of the door. Peeta wraps his arms around my waist again. I give him a kiss and leave the bakery.
On my walk home, I think about my interaction with the little girl, Hazel. Knowing that my face is always going to be remembered because of the games and the rebellion, something I would very much like to live without, I can rest assured that these little kids growing up, are growing up in a free Panem. Free from the games. And hopefully there will be more kids like Hazel, who think of me as a hero. It makes me realize just how much of a role model I am to them and just how important and vital it is for them to see me moving on. It's just like what Peeta said, people just want a sign that it's ok to move on and if I can do it, so can they.
When I got back to the house, the mail man must have come because the mail was laying on the floor of the entry way. I picked it up and looked through it really quick. There was a letter from Annie and President Paylor. I decide to read Annie's letter first.
Dear Katniss,
I'm so happy to hear about Peeta and your's engagement. Congratulations! A wedding is a very happy day. I remember the day Finnick and I got married. Even though it was in thirteen, it is a day I'll never forget. When you just enjoy the moment and realize you get to spend the rest of your life with the person you love, you'll learn on your wedding day, that the details don't matter. Finn, who still reminds me of his father more and more everyday, just celebrated his first birthday. It was really hard to be happy when all I could think about was Finnick missing out on his son growing up. I still struggle with knowing that even though I can't see him, he is sill present in our lives.
Finn is so happy that his Auntie Katniss and Uncle Peeta are getting married. We wouldn't miss it for the world.
Love,
Annie & Finn
Once I finished reading her letter, I saw a picture had fallen onto the floor. I pick it up and see it's baby Finn on his first birthday. All he has on is his diaper and a birthday hat and he is covered in birthday cake. He is smiling so big, it's adorable.
Paylor's letter is short and to the point. She gives us a congratulations and tells us she will definitely try and be in attendance. She said as long as nothing comes up, she will be there.
Even though she didn't have much to say, I appreciate her taking the time to even write a letter. She's a very busy person these days with having to figure out how to run a country, a country that is still redefining itself.
I make a mental note to show Peeta both letter when he returns.
After I go through the reaming mail, the phone rings. I walk over and answer it.
"Hello?" I say.
"Hi, Katniss. It's your mother."
"Oh, Hi Mom. How are you?"
"I'm good. How are you?"
"I'm doing great. Getting a little anxious about the wedding. Did you get our invitation?"
"Yeah, that's why I'm calling. I've already let the hospital know I'm going to be in twelve for a few days. I can't miss my daughter's wedding."
I can hear her smiling through the phone.
"Good. I'm happy you will be able to make it." I say.
"I'm planning on coming the day before the wedding."
"Ok, I'll let Peeta know. We will make sure to have a bedroom ready for you."
"Give me some details. Have you gotten your dress?"
"Yeah, it's gorgeous. You're going to love it."
"I can't wait to see it."
"Peeta and I just finalized our cake. It's going to taste amazing. We've got basically everything done, I think. Effie will be here in a couple of weeks to start putting the final touches together," I say.
"Well, it sounds like you've got everything under control," my mom says.
"It feels like I still have a hundred things to do."
"I want to say I understand, but I don't. Everything was a lot simpler back when I married your father, plus I wasn't an icon for the revolution."
"Trust me, if I could just do a simple paper signing and toasting with Peeta I would, but Effie wouldn't allow that," I laugh.
"Will there be cameras there?" she asks.
"Peeta and I haven't settled on anything. I want it to be private, but we ultimately know that the Capitol will want some sort of footage, so we've talked about having one camera during the ceremony or no cameras and Peeta and I do an interview before our honeymoon," I say.
"Is Cressida coming?"
"Yes. Why?" I ask puzzled.
"What if you have her film the ceremony? She did a fantastic job with all of the propos. That way you don't have anyone from the Capitol making you feel uncomfortable and the rest of Panem can share the moment with you and Peeta."
"That's actually a great idea. I'll have to talk to Peeta and Cressida about it."
"Glad I can help. You let me know if you need help with anything."
"I will."
"I'll see you in a couple of weeks," my mom says. "I can't believe my little girl is getting married."
"Neither can I. See you then, Mom."
"Bye, Katniss."
"Bye," I say before hanging up.
***
AN:
Ugh, so sorry guys. I promised this Thursday and this sucks.
Anyways, wasn't that little girl cute?! Ideas would be helpful! I think the next chapter is going to be all the wedding stuff!
The cake Peeta made is what's in the picture above!
I'm going to work on the next chapter for my other book and that should be up shortly. Check it out it you haven't already!
Comment what you think! ;)
-Chels