Chapter 6

Katniss knew she should return to Effie with news of her discovery of Annie's whereabouts, but she didn't dare because she knew how Effie would respond. Instead she set off for the gazebo where Peeta, Haymitch, and a white-haired man were talking.

"Here's Katniss now," Peeta said, reaching for her hand to pull her near and then wrapping his arm around her waist.

"I'd like to introduce you to my godfather, Clarence Engel. Apparently Annie hired him to conduct the ceremony."

"I know you," Katniss blurt out as she took in the older man's white hair and blue eyes, the very same color as Peeta's. "You're the Capitol Mall Santa Claus."

The man laughed. "I'm surprised you recognized me without the beard. I shave it off after Christmas and re-grow it every fall. Having a real beard gives me an edge in getting that job."

He studied her carefully. "Do we know each other?"

"You gave me Peeta's business card at the mall last December and told me he needed help at the bakery."

A puzzled look came over the man's face. "Did I? I don't remember."

"My five-year-old niece told you about me. That I needed a job." Katniss almost added the part about needing a boyfriend as well, but she thought she'd keep that bit from Peeta. He might not appreciate that his godfather was passing out his business card and telling women he was available.

"Well thank you Clarence," Peeta said. "I had no idea you were the one that sent Katniss to me."

"It's my pleasure, but I wish I could recall it. Are you sure?"

Katniss nodded vigorously. You changed my life completely. How could you not remember? She almost said it aloud, but didn't because it sounded crazy.

She hadn't given much thought lately to the curious set of circumstances that had first brought her to Mellark Bakery. It was ironic that the man didn't even remember giving her Peeta's card, didn't realize the impact his simple conversation had had on her. She guessed the odds were in her favor when she took Wren to visit Santa Claus that day.

Or maybe it would have happened anyway. Maybe there was a bigger plan in place, a reason her life had fallen apart and was now being reworked into something far better.

Clarence's blue eyes twinkled back at her; their shape and color and warmth reminded her so much of her boyfriend.

"Are you and Peeta related? Your eyes are the same."

"Distantly," the man answered.

"Clarence was my dad's second cousin," Peeta explained.

A loud shriek sounded across the park. Katniss startled, causing Peeta to give her a curious glance. Effie must have figured out what had happened.

The conversation ended as everyone turned to look toward the parking lot where Annie and Finnick were exiting the back of the limo. Annie was straightening her dress, pulling it down in the back. Finnick was zipping the fly of his pants. Effie was waving her hands excitedly.

"Oh crap," Haymitch muttered. He'd been standing nearby listening to the conversation between Katniss and Clarence and Peeta. "I need to take care of this."

He rushed toward the parking lot leaving the three of them watching.

Though they couldn't hear the words, Effie appeared to be chastising the couple. When Haymitch arrived, he seemed to take charge. The four of them huddled together in conversation for a few minutes before they all walked toward the small building.

Clarence cleared his throat, drawing Katniss' attention away from the drama unfolding in the parking lot.

"So is this the young lady you were took to my cabin?" he asked Peeta. Clarence turned to smile at her. "You must be special. Peeta's never taken anyone there before."

Peeta blushed. "Er, no, we haven't gone yet. I was thinking maybe next weekend." He gave Katniss a sideways glance, as if to ask her permission.

Her face grew warm, but she tilted her head toward him as if to say "okay." Yes, she was more than ready.

Clarence chuckled. "That's not going to work, unless you care to join my fishing buddies and me."

Peeta frowned and gave Katniss an apologetic look.

It's okay, she mouthed back, squeezing his hand.

Two cars turned into the parking lot.

"I'm going to see if the photographer has arrived," Katniss told the men.

She excused herself. Already more cars were pulling in. It must be getting nearer to the start of the ceremony.

A man exited one vehicle carrying a wooden stool and a guitar case.

Katniss approached him. "Are you providing the music?"

The man nodded and Katniss directed him toward the gazebo. "The ceremony will be there."

What a mess, she thought. She introduced herself to some of the other guests, as well, and pointed toward the gazebo.

There was no seating around the structure. Even though Effie had complained, Annie had insisted that the guests didn't need chairs. Everyone was fit enough to stand for the short ceremony. Katniss hoped they wouldn't have to wait too long.

But they did wait. After ten minutes of playing traffic cop, directing more guests toward the gazebo, Katniss headed to the small building. Surely Effie and Haymitch must have finished lambasting Annie and Finnick.

As she got closer, Katniss could hear that the chastisement was continuing.

"I went to all this work to plan a wedding and you already got married." Effie sounded like she wanted to cry.

"It's all right Aunt Effie, we can do it again."

More guests arrived and Katniss sighed hoping the argument would be resolved soon. She turned back toward the parking lot.

Five minutes later, she headed back to the small building. It was past time for the ceremony to start. The sound of singing rang throughout the park. The musician was playing an old Bob Dylan song, Blowin' In The Wind. For lack of anything better to do, Annie's and Finnick's guests were singing along.

They really need to get the ceremony underway, Katniss thought.

But before she got to the building Annie and Finnick walked out, followed by Haymitch and Effie. Surprisingly, Effie was wearing Annie's lacy veil.

"What's going on?" Katniss asked.

"A change in plans," Annie said. She was beaming. "My Aunt Effie and Haymitch are getting married instead. Did you know that Haymitch was Effie's first husband?"

"What?" Katniss looked at her landlady in shock. Marry Haymitch? Was Effie out of her mind? But she remembered the woman's drunken lament the previous evening.

Effie's cheeks were pink. "Haymitch and I are going to give it a second go. Maybe this time around it will take."

"Are you sure?" How could Effie decide to marry someone in only a few minutes? It had taken Katniss a few agonizing days to make up her mind about a job offer.

"We are," Haymitch said, taking Effie's hand. He threw Katniss an irritated look.

Was Effie acting impulsively or did she simply know her heart? Katniss couldn't decide.

"I would have worn something different if I'd known I was going to be the bride," Effie said. "Something that matches your suit Haymitch. We would look so much better for the photographs."

"The photographer never showed up," Katniss mumbled, still in shock about the change in the couple to be married.

"I cancelled the photographer," Annie said. "It cost too much. Everyone can take pictures with their phones."

Haymitch snorted. "It looks like we're having a hipster wedding this time around."

Effie sighed dramatically.

The five of them walked toward the gazebo.

The musician had just finished playing The Beatles' The Long and Winding Road.

Finnick faced the group "There's been a change of plans. Annie and I won't be the stars of this event. My good friend Haymitch is marrying Annie's Aunt Effie."

"Have you gotten cold feet Finnick?" a woman with pink hair and a big tattoo of a fish on her shoulder shouted.

"No. Annie and I snuck off and got married last weekend. So we're sharing our day with Haymitch and Aunt Effie."

The guitarist began to play a soulful rendition of the wedding march as the guests gathered around the middle-aged couple. Finnick stood to Haymitch's side, while Annie came alongside Effie.

Clarence stood in front of the new bride and groom. "You do realize this isn't legal if you don't have a license."

"Well, we've done everything ass backwards already," Haymitch said, causing loud laughter among the guests. When it died down he continued. "Why should we stop now? I suppose we can get the license Monday when the Panem City Hall opens."

"As long as you understand," Clarence said.

Inexplicably Katniss found herself tearing up as Effie and Haymitch repeated the traditional wedding vows.

I'm turning into such a sap, she thought. She took a sideways peek at Peeta, noticing how good he looked in his gray suit.

Afterwards, Effie insisted that Annie and Finnick take the limo to the restaurant for the reception saying that she would ride with Haymitch in his car.

"I don't blame her," Katniss told Peeta. "I wouldn't ride in that limo either unless it was scrubbed out."

The reception was held in the outdoor patio of a restaurant near to the water. Once there, Effie and Haymitch faded into the background to join with the other guests. It was clearly Annie's and Finnick's celebration as they sat at the special table set aside for the wedding couple.

Midway through the meal, it dawned on Katniss that she might have to move again. Would Haymitch be moving in with Effie?

After Annie and Finnick cut the cake Peeta had baked, a delicious carrot cake topped with cream cheese frosting and decorated with a sea creatures, Effie and Haymitch found Katniss.

"Haymitch and I are going to spend the weekend at the Hilton."

"Beats our first wedding night at that dive with the vibrating bed, huh Steph."

Effie rolled her eyes, ignoring her new husband. "Would you please take care of Buttercup until I return? I'm not sure when that will be."

"Sure," Katniss said. She'd finally have the place to herself. She could actually invite Peeta up without worrying about Effie's prying eyes.

The party wound down. Annie and Finnick were the first to leave. They had planned an overnight stay at a hotel by the airport before jetting off to a tropical island for a week.

Effie and Haymitch left soon after taking care of the bill.

"What a day," Peeta exclaimed as he drove Katniss home. "That was probably the most surprising wedding I've ever attended with the switch in the couple getting married."

"Yeah, that was weird," Katniss agreed. "I still can't believe Effie agreed to marry Haymitch. It seems so reckless."

"Reckless?" Peeta turned to look at her with a quizzical expression.

"Maybe sudden would be a better way to put it," Katniss explained.

"Well sometimes a person just knows," Peeta said. He was staring at the road, and Katniss studied his face. Was he talking about Effie and Haymitch or about his feelings for her?

Feeling a bit uncomfortable, Katniss threw out a joke. "And now Effie's on her honeymoon without any clothes."

Peeta chuckled. "Haymitch can buy her more."

"Do you know what he does?"

"He said he herds geese."

"What?"

"That's what he calls the guys he sponsors. Apparently Finnick's not the only one. But anyway he doesn't need to work. Finnick told me that Haymitch made a killing in the stock market years ago. He's quite well off."

"Wow!" Katniss wondered if that had anything to do with Effie's pursuit of her ex-husband, but as she thought it over she doubted it. If anything, loneliness played a much bigger role in Effie's decision. The woman needed someone to nurture, well boss around. Katniss hoped Haymitch was ready for her.

Peeta parked his car in the alley behind the bakery and then walked Katniss back to the antique shop.

"Would you like to come upstairs for a bit," she asked. Both of them were completely sober after the nonalcoholic reception.

"Okay." His voice was husky and Katniss' hand shook as she turned the key in the lock. Once inside the shop she reset the alarm.

"I wonder if Effie's going to keep the shop," Katniss said, as they walked through the dimly-lit store. "Do you think Haymitch will move to Panem?"

"I'm guessing after today they have a lot to figure out." Peeta put his hand on the small of Katniss' back and she gave an involuntary shiver.

"I guess so," she murmured as she opened the door that led to the upstairs apartment.

Effie had left a light on, so the living room was bathed in a soft glow when they entered.

Buttercup was sitting in the center of the sofa, a haughty expression on her face.

Peeta's arm fell away from Katniss as he walked toward the cat. "Finally. I have been waiting a long time to meet the elusive Buttercup."

He held out his hand for the cat to smell. Buttercup must have found a scent she liked, because after sniffing Peeta, she rubbed her nose and ears onto him.

"I think she's in love with me," Peeta joked.

"She's marking you."

"Is that what you call it?"

He turned to Katniss and they both sat down on the sofa, causing Buttercup to mewl loudly and then jump onto the coffee table in front of them.

They fell into each other's arms and met each other's lips. There was no hurry. They had the place to themselves.

Enjoying the luxury of a long upholstered bench that they could stretch out upon, so different from Peeta's car, brought to Katniss' memory a similar moment months ago on the sofa in Peeta's apartment.

Was Peeta marking her? She was certainly marking him.

This time, though, Katniss was the first to pull away. She didn't want to consummate their relationship on Effie's couch. Not with Buttercup staring at them curiously from the coffee table. She wanted better.

"Not here," she muttered.

It was as if Peeta could read her mind, or maybe he felt the same, because he stopped immediately.

They moved into an upright position, holding hands and staring at each other, both trying to catch their breath. Fortunately or unfortunately they'd become good at cooling themselves down.

A loud "meow" interrupted the moment.

"Could I see that photo album of the cat?" Peeta's question redirected Katniss' thoughts.

Katniss smiled. "Sure."

She untangled her hand from his and got up from the couch to get it. She handed it over to Peeta.

He opened the first page to find Buttercup dressed as a nurse. He laughed loudly.

"This sheds a whole new light on Effie," he commented. "I wonder if she's showed this to Haymitch."

Katniss snorted. "I wonder how Buttercup will feel to be replaced by him."

Peeta turned the pages slowly. Katniss wondered at the special look on his face as he studied the photos. His interest suggested an entire world locked away inside of him.

In the soft light she noticed his eyelashes, becoming a bit fixated on their length. How had she failed to notice them before? How did they not get all tangled up when he blinked?

It had been a long day and she found herself leaning into Peeta's side, dropping her head onto his shoulder and dozing off. After a while she felt herself being moved to a more comfortable position, stretched out along the length of the couch. She sighed contentedly as she felt Peeta's weight behind her, his arm falling over her waist.

She woke to the caterwauling of the cat. She tried to turn onto her back but Peeta was pressed up against her, his face buried into the back of her hair.

She wondered how he could even breathe, but she knew he was breathing because she could hear the rhythmic hum, like that of a bee buzzing at her neck. Katniss was trying to figure out how to extricate herself from her position without waking Peeta.

The taste in her mouth was foul. She still wore her wedding clothes. She could only guess at the disastrous condition of her hair.

She wanted to get up and take a shower.

But Buttercup made that impossible. The cat jumped onto Peeta's legs and walked up the side of his body to his waist, startling him. He sat up suddenly, twisting onto his back and partially falling off the edge of the sofa, hitting his arm against the coffee table.

"Hey," he yelled.

Meanwhile the cat had jumped back onto the coffee table.

Katniss helped to pull Peeta back onto the sofa. They repositioned themselves and Peeta rubbed at his arm.

"Do you need ice or a bandage?"

Peeta shook his head. "I'll be okay. If anything it's my leg I need to worry about. I fell asleep with my prosthesis on and it's already a bit achy."

"Do you need to take it off Peeta?"

"I'll do it when I get home," he said. He stood up. "I probably should be going."

"Okay." Her heart gave a little twist. She didn't want him to go. What was she going to do all day alone in Effie's apartment?

"Look why don't you come over in an hour," Peeta said, as if reading her mind. "Give me time to clean up and make something for our breakfast."

"All right." Her spirits lifted immediately. She led him downstairs, noticing that he was limping.

"Walk back with me to the shop and I'll give you the keys after I open the door," Peeta said. "I don't want to take the stairs a second time to let you in."

He kissed her cheek after giving her his keys and she was grateful that he hadn't gone for her lips because she knew her breath was sour.

She raced back to the antique store. She fed Buttercup before showering. She put on comfortable clothing, a t-shirt and yoga pants, braided her hair, and brushed her teeth thoroughly so that her breath was minty-fresh.

Only thirty minutes had passed. Katniss tidied up the apartment, killing time for another fifteen minutes before heading over to the bakery. She hoped Peeta was cleaned up, but she didn't care if he wasn't, she was simply eager to be in his presence again.

She let herself into the bakery and locked up the front door behind her. She climbed the stairs. The door to the apartment was open and she called out, "Peeta, I'm here," before entering.

"I'm in the kitchen."

The smell of bacon washed over her. Other than baking bread, was there a more welcoming smell?

He was standing at the stove leaning on crutches as he flipped a slice of french toast in the frying pan.

"Are you all right?" Seeing Peeta on crutches made Katniss nervous.

"I took off my prosthesis. Since I don't have to work today, I thought I'd take a break from it."

Guilt flooded her. She should have sent Peeta home last night instead of falling asleep on the couch. She suspected he'd stayed behind because he didn't want to wake her so she could let him out and then reset Effie's alarm.

As if he could read her thoughts, Peeta reassured her. "It's okay. I've fallen asleep with it on before.

"Would you like your french toast topped with syrup or powdered sugar?" he asked.

"Syrup"

"You can get it out of the fridge then."

She opened the narrow refrigerator behind Peeta and took out the syrup, carrying it to the table."

"Do you need help with anything else?"

"Nah, I've got this." Peeta turned off the stove and plated the thick slices of french toast and bacon. He carried a plate to her at the table, and then returned to the kitchen to get his own plate to bring back. He sat down, setting his crutches onto the floor.

"You're very talented on those things."

Peeta grinned. "I've had lots of practice. I had the crutches for weeks before I got fitted for the prosthesis." He picked up a shaker filled with powdered sugar and sprinkled it onto his french toast. "If you want, later I can show you some tricks I picked up on YouTube on how to dance with my crutches."

Katniss laughed. "Are you serious?"

"Yes. But you'll have to help me push the furniture to the wall to give me space in case I fall down."

"Any other secrets you're keeping from me?" Katniss joked.

"Maybe." Peeta winked at her and put a forkful of the sweetened bread into his mouth.

"I don't think I've ever had french toast with powdered sugar," she commented.

"It's good, taste it." He stabbed a piece with his fork and held it out to her.

She opened her mouth and took it in.

"It is good," she said, when she'd chewed and swallowed it. "But I think I like syrup better."

She held out a piece of the toast that had been doused in the sticky liquid to him. He opened his mouth and took it in.

"It's okay, but I think I'll stick with powdered sugar."

She leapt to her feet when they were done eating. "I'll wash up."

"Just put everything into the sink Katniss. I'll take care of it later. I want to show you something."

Once she'd cleared the table, he led her to the guest room, the one she'd lived in for two weeks months ago. He had leaned the twin box spring and mattress sideways against the wall to give him more space to create an art room. An easel was set up and finished canvases rested against the walls. The bright colors of the paintings gave the room a cheerful glow.

"Oh Peeta," Katniss whispered as she looked around. "This is incredible."

She had no idea that Peeta was painting again. When they'd first met he'd told her that he'd stopped. That he'd lost his passion for it. She was so glad to see that he'd found it again.

He flipped through some of the works leaning against the wall to show her. Clearly Peeta took his inspiration from his day-to-day life. One painting showed a cup of hot chocolate next to a frosted flower cookie on a plate. Another depicted the meadow where they'd picnicked for his birthday. A third showed the orange-colored sky at sunset. There was even one of her in profile, dressed in her white Mellark's apron, her braid hanging over her shoulder as she helped a customer.

"I talked to an old friend. He wants to hang a few in his gallery. He thinks he can sell them."

"That's great."

"I thought I'd never go back to it, but watching you chase your dreams inspired me to pick up my brush again."

Katniss smiled. The idea that her personal struggles had helped to inspire Peeta to pursue his own ambitions both surprised and even humbled her.

"We've helped each other." She stood on tiptoe to plant a kiss onto his lips. What started as a simple buss quickly grew. They were standing in the middle of the room, and Peeta was leaning against her, balancing his weight on his good leg and the crutch supporting his left side.

When they parted to catch their breath, Peeta leaned down and rested his forehead against hers.

"This position is kind of awkward for me with the crutches and all," he murmured. "How about we go into my bedroom."

Katniss heart thumped loudly in her chest. Her throat tightened. She'd been waiting for this moment for months. But strangely she wasn't burning with lust. Instead other emotions flooded her: warmth, tenderness, love. A firm conviction that she was in exactly the right place at the right time.

She pulled her forehead back from Peeta's and looked into his eyes.

His pupils were dilated. He was nervous, but then so was she. This wasn't her first time but it was different. She loved Peeta.

"Yes," she agreed.

He led her to his room. Katniss had seen it before through the open doorway months ago. But like the rest of the apartment, it had undergone a change. Like the public spaces it was transformed, changed from spartan to homelike.

Art hung on the walls, an upholstered chair with a stack of books alongside sat in the corner. The double bed was covered with a fuzzy peach-colored spread. The lamp on the nightstand was already lit.

Peeta sat down on the bed, shoving his crutches underneath it. He patted the place next to him indicating Katniss to sit down.

In that moment she caught sight of his empty pant leg just below his left knee resting flat against the side of the bed.

Oh, Peeta. A wave of sadness came over her when she thought of his embarrassment about it.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

She smiled reassuredly and sat down beside him. "I am," she said as she twisted her head to kiss the side of his neck.

They both fell backwards onto the bed rolling onto their sides as they reached out for each other. Their coming together was slow and sweet and sensuous. The tender exploration of each other's bodies took a long time as Katniss spent extra time to reassure Peeta that the loss of his leg didn't make any difference to her. She loved him exactly as he was.

It was all so different from the rushed, frenzy that she had attempted to orchestrate on Peeta's couch months earlier.

Peeta had been right to put a halt to things. This was so much better. It had meaning.

Afterwards, as they cuddled together under the fuzzy coverlet, she couldn't help but think aloud. "I wish I could freeze this moment."

"Oh, Katniss there will be many more moments," Peeta reassured her. "We're only getting started." He drew lazy circles onto her belly with his hand. The tickling sensation made her tremble in anticipation.

Wrapped in Peeta's arms she dozed off. A nagging thought awoke her with a start, a memory buried deep in her subconscious. That inner voice that had whispered to her when she'd walked into the bakery for the first time. You're home. She should never have doubted herself.

She could hear Peeta's breath, feel the warmth of his body pressing against her bare skin. Katniss reached for his hand that was thrown over her side and entwined her fingers into his.

Yes, she was finally home.

Epilogue

One year later

Katniss sat in the hard chair in the terminal, and studied the two gold bands on the fourth finger of her left hand. The pearl engagement ring nestled snugly into a curve cut into her plain wedding band.

"Now boarding rows 28 through 33 for flight 451," a voice announced over the loud speaker.

"That's us, Mrs. Mellark." Peeta waved the paper tickets that he held in his left hand, causing his matching wedding band to sparkle in the glare of the fluorescent lighting overhead.

A silly smile crossed Katniss' face as she stood up. Even though the passport in her purse read Katniss Everdeen, Peeta had been calling her Mrs. Mellark ever since their wedding at City Hall yesterday afternoon.

A small dinner party with family and friends had followed. There had been some empty seats though. Effie had called at the last minute with an excuse. Apparently Annie's water had broken a few hours earlier and she, Haymitch, and Finnick were at the hospital awaiting the birth of the baby.

"Three whole weeks in Paris," Peeta said, jolting Katniss from her thoughts. "That's someplace I never thought I'd get to go."

Katniss smiled to herself as she and Peeta stood in line to board the aircraft, glad to be going to Paris to honeymoon, and not to work herself into the ground.

Refusing to accept the French company's job offer had been one of her very best decisions. Less than three months after Coriolanus Snow purchased Seneca Crane's business, he'd sued Seneca citing fraud. The case was still being disputed in an international court. If Katniss had taken the job, she likely would have been entangled in the lawsuit. She'd have been out-of-luck, out-of-work and starting over yet again.

But now she could enjoy the City of Love with her husband.

Peeta held out the tickets to show the attendant. He reached into his pocket to pull out his passport. Katniss opened her purse and handed hers over as well.

"Enjoy your trip," the woman said, after looking the documents over carefully.

Peeta beamed. "We will."

His boyish excitement made Katniss grin because as it turned out Peeta was far more interested in going to Paris than she had ever been. He was eager to visit the city because of its world-famous art museums.

The baker she'd fallen in love with had, over the past year, revealed some surprises of his own. So caught up in her own career struggles Katniss hadn't realized the extent of Peeta's concerns about his work as well.

His true love was painting; he'd only taken over his family's bakery after the death of his father.

"I can't bake cakes for the rest of my life," he'd admitted to Katniss in one of the first joint sessions the couple had had with Dr. Aurelius. "I want more."

She'd been stunned at the news. "But you're so good at it."

"Just because you can do something well doesn't mean that it's all you want to do."

That conversation had led the both of them to be more open with each other about their likes and dislikes and stop pretending to be something they weren't in order to make the other happy.

Katniss admitted that, while she enjoyed hot chocolate, she much preferred coffee in the mornings.

Peeta explained that taking Katniss out every week, sometimes even twice in a week, was impacting his finances, now that he was also spending money on brushes and paints and canvasses. "I know you offered to pay, but since I asked…" his voice trailed off.

"For crying out loud, we don't have to go out so much," she snapped. "I'd be happy to stay in and watch a DVD with you."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The air was stuffy and warm as they stepped inside the aircraft.

"Here are the seats," Peeta said. He opened the overhead bin and shoved in his bag, and then hers.

They sat down; Katniss next to window and Peeta in the middle.

"Will you be comfortable in the middle seat?" she asked. "We could switch."

"No. You take it. I'm going to sleep now. Wake me up when we get there."

Katniss snorted. "Still tired from last night?"

The look he gave her made her shiver. It had been their wedding night. Neither of them had slept.

Peeta was asleep by the time the plane lifted into the air. Katniss pulled a paperback from her purse and opened it. But she couldn't concentrate. She stared at her sleeping husband selfishly wanting him awake to talk with her. But she knew he was exhausted and not only because of their passionate evening. He'd accomplished a lot over the last few months.

He'd sold a half interest in the bakery to Haymitch Abernathy to raise money to purchase the building that formerly housed Effie's antique shop. He'd opened an art supply store and painting studio in that space.

After her wedding, Effie had decided to sell her business and move to Haymitch's town. Katniss had continued to live above Effie's shuttered shop, rent-free in exchange for taking care of Buttercup. "She likes you so much," Effie had told Katniss. "And I don't want to move her from her home." Of course Katniss didn't spend every night alone with the cat.

"Does she think the new owner with take on Buttercup as well?" Peeta had joked to Katniss when Effie had first put her shop on the market.

But that's exactly what happened. Effie couldn't find a buyer, instead she had a big "going out of business sale," before putting the empty building up for sale.

When Peeta bought the building, he moved into Effie's old apartment with Katniss and Buttercup. The apartment above the bakery became home to Vick Hawthorne, Mellark's new baker, and Prim's brother-in-law.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The plane leveled off and a flight attendant made her way down the aisle pushing a cart of drinks. She recited a list of beverages available, citing a complementary glass of champagne at the end.

"I'll have the champagne," Katniss said.

Peeta was starting to snore. Katniss gave a gentle push to his shoulder. He snorted loudly and his snoring ceased, but he didn't wake. Perhaps he would sleep the entire flight.

A frail, elderly woman with white hair sat on the other side of Peeta on the aisle. She turned to Katniss, speaking with a slight French accent. "You must know him pretty well to poke him like that."

Katniss grinned. "Well, he's my husband."

As soon as their relationship had become physical, Peeta had begun to mention marriage to Katniss. At first she'd been alarmed; they'd even discussed it in a session with Dr. Aurelius who had finally helped Katniss to understand her true reservations – she feared losing her sense of self the same as her mother had.

But after talking it through with the doctor and then Peeta, her thoughts slowly changed. She was her own person, not her mother. So when Peeta proposed to her the first night they came to live together in Effie's former apartment, Katniss quickly gave him an affirmative answer.

"Have you been married long?" the elderly woman asked.

"Only one day."

"Are you on your honeymoon?" the flight attendant blurted out as she handed Katniss the glass of champagne.

Katniss nodded.

"How sweet," the elderly woman said. She turned to the attendant. "I'll have one of those too."

Katniss took a sip from her glass, savoring the fizzy drink. Maybe she would take a nap like Peeta when she was done. Or maybe she should wait until after dinner.

Her life hadn't been as complicated as his lately, but she'd been busy too with her marketing business and occasionally filling in for Delly Cartwright, the woman who'd replaced her behind the front counter at Mellark's and who was presently babysitting Buttercup.

However, Katniss had been glad that Peeta had insisted on a long honeymoon break. That he was willing to close the art store for a few weeks. Katniss had been nervous that he was working too much lately; she knew the problems that overwork could cause.

Dr. Aurelius had also agreed, and said that the two of them needed a break from work, and surprisingly, a break from him as well.

Katniss had been in counseling for over a year and a half; for Peeta it was even longer.

"It's time," the doctor said. "Stop analyzing your life and start living it. Call me if you run into trouble."

Katniss expected there would be trouble somewhere down the road. After all weren't problems just a side effect of being alive? But still she thought they were off to a fine start.

The elderly woman on the aisle cleared her throat, catching Katniss' attention. "I'd like to propose a toast to you and your handsome husband." The woman stared at Peeta, whose face was unlined and relaxed in slumber. "He looks so kind. He reminds me of my late husband."

She looked back to Katniss and raised her glass, her thin, mottled arm shaking slightly. A tear fell from the corner of one eye and the woman brushed it away. "Here's to a wonderful life for the both of you."

Katniss smiled, tipping her glass in response and took a long drink.

THE END

Author's Note: Thanks so much for reading It Can Be A Wonderful Life, and extra thanks if you left a review. I enjoy hearing from readers. Your kind words motivate me to continue to write fanfiction.

Early next month, I'll be posting To Live And Learn, the story I submitted to the 2015 Fandom4LLS. The plot: Katniss Everdeen meets Civil War veteran Peeta Mellark in 1873 when she's hired to teach at a one-room school house in Panem, Connecticut. I'll be adding an epilogue to it that wasn't part of the Fandom4LLS contribution. If you want to be notified when it's posted, click on the "follow author" button below.

And if you enjoyed this story, be sure to check out my other ones as well.