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Throughout the years, Blair and I keep in touch. Blair joins the mines and I hunt, trying to focus more on building the wildcrafting portion of my business. It’s dangerous work. I almost get caught a handful of times, coming home with more bruises than product, but it makes good money.
Asterid helps a lot, bandaging me up when it happens, and providing me with descriptions of plants, which I ask my momma and uncles about. They know a lot about plants. Asterid knows about the ones that can heal, but my family teaches me about plants you could eat – boiled, roasted, raw, some that you could only drink the syrup within, or ones where the flowers were edible, but the leaves were not.
Too bad most people in Twelve don’t want to eat any plants they don’t recognize, so I mainly stick with selling game and wild fruit.
Mr. and Mrs. March still aren’t the biggest fans of me. But over time, they grow to tolerate me more and more as I bring in a larger variety of healing plants, and even some rare ones that they can’t order from the capital. I think Mr. March would like me more if it wasn’t illegal business, he’s the one who has to take care of the people the peacekeepers punish after all.
Asterid and I officially start dating in secret, only our closest friends know and my family. I imagine even the Marches might know, though we never discuss it. Asterid and I never address it publicly, we rarely hold hands when we walk, and I can only sneak kisses in alleyways or behind some buildings. We date for a long while, until I am able to save up enough for a house.
It isn’t much, just a regular run-down house in the Seam – but it’s mine. I tell Asterid she doesn’t have to leave the town for me. I understand that I can’t provide her with everything that she’s used to, but she doesn’t care. Mr. March still doesn’t approve of us, but he makes no plans to stop us. Asterid’s still disowned although that’s pretty typical in our situation, I think, because the town folk don’t seem to completely hate me after the fact.
I know that because of the cake Otho gives me on our wedding day. I enter the bakery, planning on buying just bread. But Otho says that the cake on the display is half-off, on account of being out for too long. However, as he’s putting it in the box, I can tell by the look of the frosting it’s freshly made. It doesn’t have that hardened film from slowly melting throughout the day, or that matte look from all the dust that would collect from people walking in and out of the bakery.
Otho has always been nice in his prices while buying my squirrels from me. Even though they are much harder to clean and don’t have much meat on them, especially compared to my rabbits and birds. Most people don’t even bother buying them from me. But this is a whole different story.
Neither of us mention it, but I try to slip an extra two dollars to Otho anyways. It isn’t anywhere close to making up what the cake is actually worth, but it‘s all the money that I have, and I want to do something in return. But Otho just gives me back my change, and throws in the customary piece of bread that comes with wedding cakes.
I’m surprised at the gesture. If Asterid didn’t marry me, Otho was one of the town boys who would have been in the frontrunning to be with her. And here he is, giving us a wedding cake that I wouldn’t have been able to afford without another month’s worth of hunting, at least.
I think back to six years ago, the day of Haymitch’s reaping, and how I had punched Otho in the leg to keep him from getting shot by peacekeepers. Honestly, I don’t know whether Otho knows that was me, or if he was just sweet on me and Asterid like that. Surprisingly, most of Twelve secretly is. Something about being lovers from different sides of the tracks, I suppose.
I don’t notice until that night, but the bread Otho gave us is not the typical loaf of bread from the stack either. But rather the nice stuff the bakery sells for slightly more, the ones with raisins and nuts in them.
None of the members of the town were at our wedding though, unspoken lines and all that. But Otho still buys squirrels from me, as do the Donners with fruit, and the butcher with rabbits. The Marchs don’t buy from me anymore, but I think that’s more to keep appearances. Also with Asterid gone, there’s no one to pass the store down to, so the apothecary slowly stops producing some of its products and begins closing down.
Sometimes, I feel real bad about it. That Asterid could have married anyone else, a town boy, not even a particularly talented one, and been better off. Even if her husband wasn’t much, at least she would have the store. And Asterid is all smart enough to manage it by herself too.
I think if that would have happened, I would have continued selling to the apothecary for the rest of my life. Whistling my tune to the back of the store, at that one back window, hoping to see a light in response. But whenever I see Asterid’s smile while I sing to her, a selfish part of me thinks it’s all worth it in the end. I make sure to sing to her often.
Asterid also brings to the new house with her, a book about plants. I start logging all the plants I know about in it as well, so I won’t forget them. My momma and uncles always lament about how they can’t remember some of the plants they ate as kids, or would argue about which plants were actually edible, if the right ones had three or four petals to them. Having it nearby us helps the both of us remember what we need at times.
It’s not a bad life, I make enough for two people to get by and then some. I teach Asterid how to skin and clean game. It’s hard and a little unsightly, but she doesn’t complain, not even once. At the very least, we always have fresh food in our stomachs. Asterid also takes in some clients with the herbs I find for her. She doesn’t charge much, we don’t have an array of tools and other important ingredients shipped by the capital like the apothecary does, but it’s more than enough.
Blair still stops by occasionally, but we’ve begun to drift apart. It's never been the same without Haymitch, and seeing our former best friend every year on his birthday is a cold reminder of that. I think, I remind Blair too much of him – two boys from the Seam, with illegal businesses, who spent too much time in the woods, with partners we had no right in loving. I’m just luckier, I suppose.
When we’re twenty-three, Blair dies in a mining accident. Bad air, one of the most common mining deaths. Blair’s the first to hear the canary stop singing. But instead of yelling and running, Blair decides to go further into the mines to warn everyone. He saves a lot of men, but by running to the back of the mines, he doesn’t give himself enough time to come out.
I’m devastated at the loss and Asterid comforts me the best she can. I wonder if Haymitch even cares, as I see him drunk in the Hob just like every other day. But I swear I see a silhouette similar to his, standing in front of Blair’s plot hours after the funeral, as I try to drop off some wildflowers.
Asterid and I continue getting by, but when we’re twenty-four, it’s suddenly not enough. That’s when the most beautiful little bundle of joy comes into my arms.
My little Katniss Everdeen.
And I wouldn't have it any other way. I show off my little girl everywhere I go. When Asterid finishes giving birth to her, I show her through the window to the tiny crowd of kids; who are curious as to what happened to the local healer; they squeal, before running away.
“She looks just like you,” Momma says as she finishes helping Asterid with the birth. I joke with Asterid that we have to have another one because I need one that looks just like her this time. Asterid just hits me upside the head and mutters, “You’re gonna have to wait a couple years for that, mister.”
Katniss is such a joy. I’m there when she takes her first steps, when she says her first words. Even though I have started working in the mines to provide for this little one, it’s like she knows that I want to share every important moment I can with her.
And share everything with her, I do. When she’s old enough I take her to the Hob, people congratulate me as I thrust Katniss in their faces. I try to teach her everything I can about hunting, but I don’t mention my family.
My momma has passed, buried alongside my pops. And my uncles, Tam Amber and Clerk Carmine, have officially retreated into their own in their old age. I don’t tell her about the Covey. Asterid asks that I don’t and I agree, it’s too dangerous. But I share our songs with her. To her, they’re just lullabies, nursery rhymes, and little folk songs that she never notices no one else seems to know.
It’s a good life. Though mining is hard, coming back home to my two girls makes it all worth it. Not to mention, having money from both mining and hunting on the weekends makes getting by actually quite easy. Asterid gets to work less, mostly just taking care of Katniss now. I know she never felt much comfortable taking people’s money for healing them anyways, she has a soft soul like that.
And thankfully, Katniss has a great knack for the outdoors. It makes leaving on weekends easier, getting to take her with me from time to time. I don’t know if I can hunt as much as I do, if Katniss didn’t love the woods as much as she does. Asterid still hasn’t gone into the woods, she doesn’t like me bringing Katniss too much either. I understand why, it could be scary for someone who’s never been, and though it’s less now, the threat of being caught by peacekeepers is still here.
But I show Katniss all my spots, the strawberry bushes hidden on the east end of the woods, the dandelions that seem to gather closer to the fence, but are less populated when you go farther in, and one day I’ll show her the lake.
The lake is this beautiful peaceful little area, and has this concrete structure with glass fixtures. I think long ago there had to be something out there, but it’s a little too far for Katniss now. Katniss needs to learn the dangers of the woods too, wild dogs, cats, bears, and how to protect herself from them. It’s best to stick closer to the District while she’s young.
Maybe one day, I’ll show her the meadow too, when it’s safer. She and I will probably be buried in the Everdeen plot in the cemetery. But I don’t want the Covey to be completely forgotten. My cuz is there, and what I assume is my distant family. There’s a lot of stones there whose names I don’t recognize, but that doesn’t mean they should be forgotten.
One day, Asterid puts my hand over her belly and tells me the news. Katniss screams and hugs Asterid, jumping up and down at how excited she was to have a little sibling. I just know she’s going to be a great big sister. I gave Katniss her name because she was my first child, my first Everdeen. I knew she had to be strong, resilient, a survivor, especially growing up in the Seam.
But now my anxieties quell as I watch Katniss, healthy and hale, frolic in the woods. She gifts me some wildflowers and that’s when I notice them, primroses. They’re harder to find in the woods, most of the wildflowers around here being of the smaller variety. I look at the rose and I think of Asterid, whose name also means a collection of flowers.
I also think of Lenore Dove, and the Covey tradition of colors for middle names. Prim…rose. “You like this flower Katniss?” Katniss nods at me, smile as wide as can be, “Yeah! I like it a lot, it’s pretty.” I chuckle in response, “It sure is.” I join her in gathering flowers. When we go home I give the bouquet to Asterid.
The day Primrose came into our lives, was the day I knew my fate was sealed. I would do anything for my three girls. Prior to having Prim, we had more than enough to get by, now the expenses are a little tighter but I don’t mind. Prim grows each day to be more and more like her mother. I wonder if Asterid is right, and my words really do have magic in them, because she is just like her. Blonde hair, blue eyes, never fusses, a shy little thing, just like how Asterid was the first time I walked into the apothecary.
I’m starting to get older, but each day is like new with my girls. I continue to teach them songs, show Katniss the woods, and try my best to care for Prim when I’m home. Prim’s in second grade now, so maybe Asterid will start teaching her about plants and healing too. Maybe Prim’ll even warm up to going to the woods with me and her sister, but if not, that’s okay – she can stick with Asterid.
It’s still a long ways away, but I think Katniss will be an excellent hunter. I helped her shoot a rabbit last month and Asterid was so proud. Not a day goes by where I regret having them, or having to work in the mines to provide for my family.
I think about that as I put on my hard hat, and head to the elevator shaft that leads down to the mines.
Not a day.