#bue he does because HE LOVES HIS SON!!!! HE IS PROUD OF HIS SON!!!! | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ellanainthetardis · 6 years

Photo

Let’s be honest, it couldn’t stay fluff up until the end...

[ff] or [ao3]

72. 22 Months & 10 Months

“Blue, really, do you think?” Effie hummed, accepting the color pencil April handed her. Half of the kitchen table was occupied by pencils, felt-tip pens and stacks of white papers. The almost two year-old loved to draw picture after picture and the fridge was covered with what could only be described as abstract art. Effie had been distractedly sketching an evening gown that would never see the light of day because nobody in Twelve would order one. Apparently, it was to be a blue gown.

“When isn’t it blue?” Haymitch snorted from the stove where he was stirring the tomato sauce for the pasta that were boiling in another pot for lunch. He had a point. April loved blue. Every declination of it.

“Bue best.” April beamed, slamming her own blue pencil on the drawing she was working on – a blue tangle of lines.

“Is the best, darling.” Effie corrected.

Their daughter looked up at her with a focused expression on her young face and then looked back down at her drawing. And yet, Effie knew that the next time she used that phrasing, more likely than not there would at least be a verb in there. Her speech abilities were advanced for her age, Larcher had confirmed it.

And it made Effie and Haymitch so proud they could burst.

They had very gifted children.

And Aidan demonstrated that by using the cupboard’s handle to stand up from where he had been sitting in the corner of the kitchen, trying to interest Snowball into playing with him. The dog hadn’t really been in the mood but had indulged the boy in a game of tug with his purple monkey.

Aidan was unsteady on his legs still but he could take a few steps alone before crashing down.

Effie dropped the pencil and opened her arms, grinning wide when her son’s lips stretched into a bright smile and he stumbled toward her. It was a short distance and he collapsed into her arms with a delighted laugh.

“Well done!” she praised, peppering his face with kisses.

“Apil too!” April exclaimed, bolting from her chair to run around the table, stretching her arms above her head. Effie hauled her on her other knee with the ease of practice and started kissing and tickling her too. Soon, she had two children in hysterics on her lap and Snowball was barking, jumping around her chair, clearly more interested in that sort of games. After a couple of minutes, April twisted around and outstretched a hand toward Haymitch. “Dada!” she half-screeched, half-giggled. “Dada, hep!”

“Oh, Dada must help, yeah?” Haymitch chuckled, lowering the flames under the pot so it wouldn’t burn before making a show of slowly stalking toward them. “But does Dada have to help the shrimp and the jellyfish or Mama?”

“Mama!” Effie requested, playfully pretending to bite Aidan’s ear. “I think we should have them for lunch, Haymitch. They look tasty.”

April screamed in fake terror. “Hep Apil! Hep Apil!”

“I don’t know, little princess…” Haymitch wriggled his eyebrows. “The two of you do look tasty!” He pounced, then, pretending to eat the children while kissing them and tickling them at the same time. Effie made sure to keep a strong hold on them so there would be no accident but they were wriggling like worms on a hook.

Aidan was laughing hard, not quite following the game but happy to play nonetheless.

“Balls!” the girl called, out of breath from too much laughter.

Snowball immediately barked in answer and lifted on his hinder legs, propping his front paws on Haymitch’s side. He didn’t growl or even made any sign that he was about to attack but his desire was clear: he wanted Haymitch to step away from April.

“I’m just playing, you silly dog.” he mocked. He shrugged the Samoyed off but took the time to scratch him behind the ears. “I think Mama’s more tasty anyway… What do you say, kids? Should we eat Mama?”

“Yes!” April shouted and, helped in no little way by Haymitch, started taking her revenge by tickling Effie’s side and her neck.

She wasn’t particularly ticklish but she couldn’t help but laugh, straining her neck to escape the little hands and Haymitch stronger ones. Aidan was the only one who didn’t turn against her and tried to help her attack his sister instead.

It was in that joyful chaos that the phone started ringing.

“Enough…” Effie begged. “I surrender.”

“We win!” Haymitch triumphed, grabbing April by the waist and lifting her high over his head to the girl’s obvious delight.

Effie shook her head but she knew it was only a way to take the girl off her hands without making it too obvious that Aidan was still on her lap – the two were thick as thieves but there were some jealousy problems between the two of them sometimes – so she bit back her instinct to remind him to be careful.

He was always careful with their children anyway.

He propped April up on his hip when they reached the phone and picked it up, his grey eyes still alive with mirth and the simple happiness that always shone in them when he spent time with their babies. Effie could only relate. Lately, she had felt completely happy too.

“Hello?” he said in the phone in that tone that meant he expected to talk to her mother – because Elindra was the house’s main caller.

She arranged Aidan on her lap and let him grab one of the pencil, quickly switching a few blank papers for her half done gown design and making sure he didn’t draw on the table. She had spent hours trying to get the felt-tip pens squiggles from the glass coffee table the other day and she wasn’t too keen on a repeat. If April’s art could only be described as abstract, Aidan’s was barely more than random lines crisscrossing, he lacked the dexterity to do much else.

“Plutarch.” Haymitch made a face in Effie’s direction and she pouted, silently telling him to be nice. It wasn’t that she was particularly well disposed toward the former Gamemaker because he tended to be very liberal about what he let the press print about them but he had his uses and he never begrudged them a favor if he could grant it. Haymitch rolled his eyes but shrugged, jostling April and making her giggle as if it was still part of the game. “No, it’s not that I’m not glad to hear you, it’s just that when you call, it usually means I’m not gonna like tomorrow’s headlines.”

It had been months since the last mention of Twelve’s celebrities in the newspapers, since the children’s engagement had become official. The star-crossed lovers being finally about to properly tie the knot had been on the front of every magazine for weeks – and had puzzled some people since they had been pretending to be married during the war. They hadn’t made the headlines for a while but every time paparazzi managed to sneak a picture of them with their children, Haymitch raged against Plutarch’s hypocrisy.

Truth be told, the Capitol’s hands seemed only tied when it suited him.

She couldn’t begin to guess what they had done now that warranted a phone call from the Secretary of Communications. She wasn’t pregnant, she hadn’t killed anyone, they weren’t having a secret wedding and she hadn’t had a public panic attack. She hadn’t had a panic attack in months actually. Life was good and peaceful, which meant that they were boring to the press, which suited her perfectly.

Unless it was about Lyssa’s engagement but she didn’t see why Plutarch would call to warn them. Lyssa was famous in her own right, just like her mother was. She was sure her name would be mentioned once her sister released the announcement but it should be all about Lyssandra not…

“What about it?” Haymitch frowned and then scoffed. “No, I don’t plan on coming. I haven’t come the last four years why would I…”

“Where does he want you to go?” Effie asked, wrapping her arms more tightly around her son. She didn’t like the thought of him going anywhere.

“The fifth anniversary of the surrender.” he explained for her. “Apparently, it’s gonna be huge this year.”

“It would be.” she hummed. “Five years is a milestone.”

Not to mention, elections would take place not long after that for the second time since the war and, from what she had seen on news channel, it wouldn’t be as much of an easy win as Paylor probably wished for.

“What?” Haymitch asked, clearly distracted by Plutarch. Then his face really turned sour. “Oh, yeah, we have that…” He glanced at Effie. “He’s asking if we can put him on video and speaker. You mind?”

She glanced around the kitchen, took in the mess that never used to be there before – a lived-in mess of toys, bottles, children winter boots and woolen mittens – a mess she was usually ashamed to show anyone who wasn’t their family or Eileen Clarke’s but just like she had resigned herself to bring her customers in the slightly untidy house, she granted permission with a wave of her hand.

The new phone had been a gift from her parents, the latest Capitol technology and Haymitch’s newfound most hatred object. It could work as a phone usually did but it also had a square screen and a camera that allowed to see and be seen if that was one’s wish. He had only relented faced with her parents’ fears that the children would forget what they looked like and that they wouldn’t otherwise be allowed to see them grow up. It had been pure emotional manipulation on her mother’s part but, for some mysterious reason that she attributed to something that had happened during her second pregnancy while she was trapped in the clinic, Haymitch was now firmly considering Elindra like a part of their family and let himself be manipulated more easily than before.

Haymitch tinkered with the settings, always a bit hesitant when it came to handling the new phone, and suddenly Plutarch Heavensbee’s face appeared on the screen. He looked older, Effie immediately noticed, and if she wasn’t mistaken he had had some Botox shots done. He was sitting in what she assumed to be his office given the bay windows she could glimpse behind him. There were skyscrapers in the distance but she couldn’t identify them.

April, who was used to seeing her grandparents or her aunt and nobody else on that screen, immediately hid her face in the crook of Haymitch’s neck.

“Oh, hello there, little lady!” Plutarch beamed with a genuine smile. “Why, you look just like your mother…”

April took another peek at the former Head Gamemaker and then pressed her face against Haymitch’s woolen sweater again. “Who he, Dada?”

“A friend.” Haymitch answered even though the word clearly cost him.

“Good morning, Plutarch.” Effie greeted politely, standing up so she could be in the camera’s line of sight. She kept Aidan in her arms but the boy wanted to wriggle free and, eventually, she placed him down, letting him crawl back to the dog. Snowball bumped his head against the boy’s and then crouched low, wriggling this way and that, leading Aidan on a merry crawl chase all around the kitchen. Effie smiled but returned her attention to the phone. “I trust you and Fulvia are well?”

“In perfect health.” Plutarch assured. “And yourself?”

“We are all doing very well, thank you.” she answered.

Haymitch rolled his eyes.

“So polite.” he muttered as if it was a bad thing. He crouched and put April back on her feet, gently detaching her arms from his neck. “Why don’t you go play with your brother and Balls, sweetheart?”

“Don’t encourage that nickname.” Effie pleaded because her daughter shouting for balls in the street had drawn more than one stare.

“Your children are positively cute.” Plutarch declared.

He sounded sincere and Effie was never one to pass on an opportunity to accept compliments about them so she grinned. “They are.”

“So? What were you saying about the victory anniversary?” Haymitch said, once he had convinced April to go play with Aidan and the dog.

He kept an eye on the three of them but he also moved back to the stove to turn it even lower so the sauce wouldn’t burn. Katniss was supposed to come over for lunch, she thought, and Peeta too if he could get away from the bakery and, between the lot of them, they went through more food than they used to. There needed to be something on the table in twenty minutes and preferably nothing charred.

Plutarch sighed and played with something on the top of his desk just out of the camera’s range, maybe a pen or a paperknife. “I was saying it would be opportune for you and the children to attend. And, before you ask, Johanna, Annie, Beetee and Enobaria will be my next calls although if Enobaria declines to attend I won’t be too sorry. Her position in the war was ambiguous. The rest of the Star Squad all confirmed they are coming.”

Haymitch let out a snort. “Want to reunite the whole gang?”

“It is an election year, Haymitch.” the Head Gamemaker sighed. “And President Paylor herself asked me to call you in hopes… You still support her, do you not?”

Haymitch and Effie exchanged a long glance. She wasn’t interested in politics, she never really had been, but that was a topic Haymitch could be very passionate about – and on the subject of which he had shared numerous debates and fights with Peeta, her father and sometimes Lyssa’s boyfriend – she knew he disagreed with some of Paylor’s policies, the ones he attributed to a need to accumulate political capital rather than doing the right thing.

There were a lot of debates about what Paylor had managed to accomplish in the last five years lately. Mostly, it seemed to be positive but there were still sore points, like the welfare system. Amongst other things, the fact that wealthy people had access to medical technology an average insurance couldn’t hope to cover divided the country. Her main opponent, if she wasn’t mistaken, was campaigning for a more equal repartition of resources – which in her opinion didn’t seem fairer at all given that it would be brought through taxes.

“Yeah.” he said after a few seconds, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “I still do. But I don’t see how…”

“If you follow the news, you know her main challenger is a man from Thirteen.” Plutarch cut him off.

“I’ve seen a few of his speeches and I’ve read about his program. Not anywhere as bad as Coin.” Haymitch dismissed. “A bit more conservative than Paylor but he didn’t trigger any alarm.”

“That is not the point.” the Capitol countered.

Effie started losing interest in the conversation. She knew it could go on and on forever when those two started talking politics so she gathered the papers and the pencils and cleared the table so she could get it ready for lunch.

“Seems the point to me.” Haymitch shrugged. “If he’s not a tyrant…”

“Do you want to see Patina reelected or not?” Plutarch argued. “According to the polls we have running… The Capitol, One and Two are going to be decisive.”

“Don’t see how us coming to the anniversary’s gonna help.” he grumbled and lifted his hand before the Capitol could object. “Yeah, I know. Optics. It’s good for her to be seen with victors and famous rebels, never mind the Mockingjay. You’re gonna lose Thirteen though.”

“Thirteen is already lost to Danos.” Plutarch shook his head. “So is Eight, Four and Ten. We’re hoping having Annie over will help with Four but… Truly, the swing Districts will be One, Two and the Capitol.” Hence the invitation extended to Enobaria, Effie figured, placing plates on the table. “Haymitch, if we are going to win this, we need a show of unity. We need you at the anniversary events. There will be a commemoration ceremony… We’re having a monument in Capitol Park with the names of fallen soldiers… There will be interviews too but we can limit Katniss’ and Peeta’s participation to that, I promise.”

“You get I have a two year-old and a ten months baby, yeah?” he scoffed.

Plutarch lifted his hands as if it was no problem at all. “Everything will be taken care of. We can arrange for babysitters and nannies for your children and Finn Odair. Lodgings will naturally be provided too. I was thinking perhaps your old quarters at the Training Center…”

“No.” The word passed Effie’s lips without her consent and she paused, her fist bundled around a handful of forks. The two men had stopped talking and she was aware of their dual gazes on her but she simply cleared her throat and resumed dressing the table. “If we are doing this, we are not staying in the penthouse. Do I need to remind you what was going on underneath the Games Compound? I do not understand why you haven’t tear that building apart yet.”

She wasn’t entirely surprised by the venom in her own voice but she slowly breathed out, forcing her erratic heartbeat to something calmer. Her eyes fell on the children playing a game of roll the-more-than-wiling dog on the floor and she relaxed.

It was long ago, she reminded herself, it is over now. Over.

Haymitch’s gaze lingered on her long after Plutarch had awkwardly coughed.

“Of course.” the Head Gamemaker said. “My apologies. It was insensitive.”

“Yes.” she said simply, fetching glasses from the cupboard. “It was.”

She glanced through the window over the sink, checking the grey sky, wary of more snow coming down. February had been plagued by short snowing sessions that left the ground muddy with patches of ice. Winter didn’t seem in any hurry to die.

“Say, I’m willing to come…” Haymitch let his sentence trail off, probably waiting for her to interrupt.

She didn’t. She understood that he had been more or less cast aside at the end of Katniss’ trial, when he had volunteered to be her guardian, but that, initially, he would have liked to have been involved. He had fought for that new government and he had his own set of ideas. If things had been different… She wouldn’t object to him getting involved now if that was what he wanted to do. He liked Patina Paylor and if he wanted to support her more actively…

“It would be a huge help.” Plutarch breathed out.

“What about my wife?” he challenged, making Effie frown at him. “Cause I know you and your politician tricks. She ain’t exactly a point that’s likely to make people scream unity. If you make us come all the way over to the city only to ask her to keep a low profile…”

“Effie is more than welcome to appear with you.” the Secretary of Communication eagerly assured. “In fact…” The Capitol winced and then cleared his throat, his attention turning to Effie. “My dear, I am afraid I have news that may upset you as well as an offer… The decision is entirely up to you, understand, we will not force your hand. Despite what her advisors would have us do, President Paylor and I stood very firmly on that, the decision is yours alone but I must stress it would be a tremendous help if you…”

“What are you talking about?” Haymitch barked, far too aggressively.

“Dada?” April asked, a touch of uncertain fear in her tone.

Haymitch hardly ever raised his voice in the children’s vicinity. They weren’t used to it.

“Everything is fine, sweetheart.” Effie promised with a loving smile she had to force a little. “Do not worry. I think Snowball would like to play some more, don’t you?” April’s attention wasn’t so easily averted but instead of running to one of them, she wrapped her arms around her brother’s shoulders and hugged him like she did with her stuffed toys. Her eyes remained on Effie until Snowball distracted her with a lick on her face. When Effie was sure her daughter wasn’t listening anymore, she stepped closer to Haymitch and placed a hand on his shoulder. “I am fine.”

“Until he upsets you.” he mumbled, too low for Plutarch to hear. “This is gonna be bullshit, I can smell it.”

She squeezed his shoulder and turned to the screen. “What is it you would have me do?”

The former Gamemaker lowered his eyes and played with whatever it was, betraying how nervous he was. Whatever they wanted to ask her, he knew Haymitch wasn’t going to like it. “You heard of the AFCR, I presume? The Association For Capitol Recognition?”

There was a lump in her throat and she leaned against Haymitch’s side a little but jutted her chin in the air. “I will not dispute their claim that some Capitol people were victims in this war, Plutarch. I will not lie to cover how out of hands the Purge became and I will not say no Capitol were tortured by Snow’s government despite what Thirteen would have us believe.”

Haymitch’s arm sneaked around her waist and held her firmly to him.

“We are not asking you to, Effie, you misunderstand.” Plutarch denied. “At the commemoration, President Paylor is going to give credit to Calmus Caldwell’s claims and publicly acknowledge that Capitol citizens were detained, tortured and killed during the war and that, of those who survived that treatment, some of them were afterwards killed in the Purge. She will acknowledge that the Purge was little more than a revenge bloodbath, that there was no more justice in shooting the defenseless eighty year-old escorts and Gamemakers than there had been in sending children to arenas. She will also acknowledge that while some met their fair end during the trials, some had been forced into the Games business the same way victors were. She will, in short, acknowledge that there were zones of grey in this war and it is going to cause no small amount of uproar, I believe.”

Both she and Haymitch remained speechless for a while because this was huge.

And then Haymitch let out a bitter snort. “The Capitol, One and Two… That’s who you need so that’s how you get them.”

Because One and Two were the most Capitol friendly Districts.

Politics.

Suddenly, the idea of leaving Twelve, her house, behind to go back to the city and its smoke screens and mirrors left her nauseous. Ever since the conversation had begun, she had thought she might be able to do it now, that it would be a good opportunity to grant her mother’s request for a visit because Tadius and Elindra kept making the trip and it wasn’t quite fair… A part of her was curious because according to her sister the Capitol looked like a completely different city… But now that she was reminded of how fake everything always was there…

She wasn’t sure she wanted to bring her children there, not even for a few days.

“Always the cynic, Haymitch.” Plutarch rebuked. “Paylor is doing this because it is the right thing to do and it might be her last opportunity. If Danos is elected, there will be a power shift toward Thirteen and good luck to the Capitol then.”

“And I’m supposed to care because…” Haymitch scowled.

“Because I do.” Effie finished before Plutarch could. She rubbed her forehead. She truly hadn’t missed that sort of games. “It was not that upsetting a news. What was it you wanted me to do, then?”

“Ah…” Plutarch winced. “I am afraid I haven’t got to the upsetting news yet. Again, I want you to know you do not have to do anything you do not want to do. If you decide to stay in the Victors Village where you are safe from the media circus… I would not hold it against you and I will shield you as much as I can, I promise.”

“What the fuck are you going to do?” Haymitch hissed, tightening his hold on her waist.

She whacked his arm. “The children.”

Haymitch’s grey eyes darted to their children but soon came back to Plutarch. “Spit it out.”

“It is not me, personally.” the Head Gamemaker shook his head. “I was actually against it. Paylor always advocated an open book presidency, in the interest of transparency. In the wake of that announcement… The war archives will be made public so that the families of people who were executed after the war but who had actually been tortured by the Capitol can find their peace and know the truth. The list of captives, the list of…”

“No.” Effie cut him off, trying to take a step back but only bumping into the kitchen counter. The walls were closing in on her and her ears were ringing. It had been so long since the last time it had gotten that bad that…

Haymitch turned her around and brushed her hair back, framing her face in his hands. “Breathe, sweetheart.”

She focused on him and blinked fast, working to keep her breathing steady. Once he was sure she wasn’t going to have a panic attack, he looked past her shoulder to the screen. “You can’t do this. You release her name, they’re gonna pounce on her. You know what it’s gonna be like! We have kids for fuck’s sake!” He shouted the last part and Aidan started crying, scared by the raised voice. April’s lips were wobbling too. “Shit.” he spat and let go of Effie to march to their children. He lifted both of them easily, one in each arm, and pressed a quick kiss on their daughter’s head before nuzzling Aidan’s blond hair. “I’m sorry. Papa’s sorry. It’s alright. Everything’s alright…”

“If my name comes out…” Effie whispered and then she repeated it louder so Plutarch could hear her over the boy’s crying. “If my name comes out…”

“Please, believe me, I am deeply sorry.” Plutarch insisted. “I suggested redacting some of the names from the list for privacy reasons. You are not the only one on that list I would rather protect from that kind of attention… My request was denied. Apparently, transparency cannot be redacted.”

Plutarch snorted that last part with bitterness and some weariness.

Haymitch was staring at her, their children close to his chest. “We’re not going. We’re staying here. We’ll… We’re gonna stock up on food and we’ll wait for the storm to pass, yeah? Elections are in less than two months… It’s gonna blow over fast.”

But it wouldn’t.

And hiding wasn’t a solution.

Perhaps it would save them from the press for a little while but when they eventually ventured out of the Village…

Everyone would know.

They would look at her and they would know. Everything she had been through, they would know.

Perhaps the government would only release the names but how long before the details were leaked? Every humiliating word, every insult, every time they had spat on her or peed on her just for the fun of it… Everything that had been perhaps worse than the physical pain of being torn apart.

They would know.

Everyone would know.

She was going to have to walk to the grocery store, look at the nice man who owned it and see the pity in his gaze. Every man and woman whose eyes she would happen to meet in the streets, she would see the knowledge in their eyes. And she would never be able to forget. Because it would be forever there, on their faces.

And it wouldn’t be just pity.

It would be hatred. The satisfaction that she had gotten what she deserved.

“What do you advise?” she asked Plutarch, resolutely ignoring Haymitch. Because Haymitch would want to protect her to the last and she wasn’t sure there was any way of protecting her that didn’t involve facing the reality of the situation.

Her dirty secret.

She had always known it would come back to haunt her, always.

“I advise accepting our offer. Take a hold on the story before it takes a hold on you.” the Head Gamemaker said gently.

“You need someone famous to confirm the AFCR’s claims.” she deduced. “You need someone with firsthand knowledge, so to speak.”

“If you are agreeable, we would have you make a speech before Paylor’s acknowledgement.” Plutarch confirmed. “You could… Honestly, I think it would be the time to properly clear your name, to explain why you were pardoned. Whatever crime people felt you committed, you paid for it down in those cells, Effie, I firmly believe that it would turn Panem’s opinion about you.”

“I do not care much for Panem’s opinion.” she snorted with some bitterness.

It hadn’t always been like that but now… Now the only opinions that mattered…

She looked at Haymitch who was simply standing there, the now calmer children still in his arms. Her family.

She wanted to be strong for them. She didn’t want to be the escort who escaped execution because she was Haymitch Abernathy’s lover. She wasn’t sure being the escort who escaped execution because she had been tortured to a breath of her sanity was better but… At least it was the truth and she found she was ready to acknowledge it.

She had been hiding what had happened to her for so long…

It was a weight around her neck, the dirty secret that made her feel filthy and weak…

“What do you think?” she asked Haymitch.

He studied her for a long time before shrugging. “I think I took the decision for you once and I don’t want to do it again. You want to do it, I’m gonna be right beside you. You don’t want to, I’m gonna make sure they don’t come near our family. Your choice, Princess. I’m with you no matter what.”

She held his gaze, swallowing hard around the heart that seemed to be beating in her throat. “I think I need to.”

“We can have someone write something for you…” Plutarch suggested.

“No.” she denied. “If I do it… It will be my story, my words.” She licked her lips and twisted her shaking hands this way and that. “They will want interviews. After…”

“You won’t have to do anything you do not want to.” the Capitol promised. “I will make sure they leave you alone. I can only do so much, please understand. I know you sometimes think I control every newspaper in Panem but it is a free country now, I cannot very well advocate for democracy and then tell them what to print but… I will do my best. And we can have you shipped back on a hovercraft at a moment notice if you feel the need to go home.”

“Alright.” she whispered, aware that Haymitch was coming closer. She melted against his side, pressing her face against their daughter’s back. The children looked puzzled, clearly picking up on the tension. It wasn’t long before Snowball came to lean against her leg, offering silent support. Surrounded by her family, she felt brave, braver than she had felt in a long time. “I will do it.”

Plutarch nodded once and then turned to Haymitch. “I assume that means you will make an appearance at the anniversary, then?”

“The two of us for sure.” he grumbled. “I ain’t speaking for the kids. And April and Aidan stay out of the spotlight, yeah? Tell your minions… Tell them I’ll record an exclusive interview if everyone agrees to leave my babies alone. No stolen pictures, no harassing them, no following them around in the city.”

It was a major concession but that was the game. You didn’t get anything if you were not ready to compromise.

She was already tired of the whole thing.

“That seems completely acceptable to me.” the Head Gamemaker agreed. “Do try to convince Katniss and Peeta.”

Haymitch rolled his eyes and handed the children to Effie before stalking to the phone. “Bye, Plutarch.” It wasn’t exactly polite but he just hung up and the screen faded to black. Then, he turned to her. “You’re okay?”

She took a deep breath and then offered him a shaky smile. “I think so.”

“Going back to the Capitol…” he hesitated.

“I do not like it much either.” she offered and then she placed April and Aidan down on their respective chairs. “We will stay at my parents’ if it is alright with you. Or at Lyssa’s if you prefer. I do not want to go to a hotel. I…”

“It’s fine with me.” he cut her off. “Whatever.” He sneaked his arms around her waist and held her close, coiling his hand around the back of her neck. “As long as you’re sure it’s okay.”

“You will be with me and I will be safe.” she countered. “We will be safe.”

He answered that with a kiss that had April clapping in delight and Aidan wrinkling his little nose because he wanted to be the only one to get cuddles from his mama.

The children barged in at that point, laughing and carefree like they had been before that phone call. It didn’t last. As soon as they glimpsed their faces, both of them grew apprehensive.

“What happened?” Katniss asked, grabbing Peeta’s hand.

“Sit down and let’s have lunch before it is entirely burned.” Effie sighed. “We will tell you all about it.”

Haymitch did most of the talking. She mostly pushed her pastas all around her plate, staring at her glass of water or helping April eat without putting food everywhere. She felt Peeta’s knowing gaze on her a few times but she never glanced back.

“And you’re going, then?” the boy finally asked, once Haymitch had finished explaining.

“Yes.” she said directly to her plate of pasta. “I am. But do not feel you have to. I am sure the anniversary events will be fabulous but I know how much you dislike parties and…”

“That’s not about the parties or the anniversary, Effie.” Katniss cut her off. “It’s about you. What you’re going to do… It’s huge.”

“Paylor’s announcement will certainly make history.” she granted.

“No.” the girl countered again. “It’s huge for you.”

Effie licked her lips but still did not look up, not even when she felt Haymitch take her hand.

“What Katniss means…” Peeta declared after a few seconds of silence. “Is that, of course, we’re coming. We want to be there to support you.”

Stupid tears burned her eyes and Haymitch’s squeezing her hand didn’t help one bit. It did not help either when Peeta stood up and walked around the table to hug her and she completely lost it when Katniss did the same.

Nerves.

It was all nerves and she got the tears under control before it turned to an embarrassing display but...

“I love you all so much.” she confessed.

Her family.

They made her feel like she could move mountains.

#hayffie #effie trinket #haymitch abernathy #april showers

16 notes · View notes

wineanddinosaur · 5 years

Text

It’s Time to Start Treating Southern California as a Serious Wine Destination

If someone you knew were planning a trip to California wine country in previous years, it meant they were going to Napa or Sonoma (or, perhaps, both). Now, a new generation of winemakers in a small patch of Southern California real estate is looking to change that.

Temecula Valley lies in the southeast corner of Riverside County, less than an hour north of San Diego. It is home to 40 wineries and a Mediterranean climate. Thanks to the gap between the coastal California mountains and the high rises separating Temecula from eastern deserts, the area gets long sunny days, breezy afternoons, and cool nights.

“We have a perfect climate for growing high-quality grapes and making high-quality wine,” Devin Parr, brand marketing partner for the Temecula Valley Winemakers Association, says. “Most people don’t realize it… They think Temecula Valley is going to be too hot.”

That misperception is one of many that surround Temecula’s wine community. Many winemakers here feel that long-haul travelers and national media are biased against Southern California as a viable wine destination.

“It’s recognition that we’re looking for,” Jon McPherson, master winemaker, South Coast, says. Right now, most wine media “won’t go south of Santa Barbara,” he says.

And so we are exploring Temecula Valley, the California wine region no one should overlook.

Climate And Community

Outsiders may think of Southern California as the land of surf and sunshine, but the weather in Temecula mirrors the Rhône Valley, certain parts of Tuscany, and southern Italy.

“We have sandy loam soil, a lot of decomposing granite,” Parr says, “which your vines kind of want. [They want] to struggle a little bit. They don’t want to be bombarded with water so they want to be in well-draining soil so that they can dig deep and find all these nutrients deeper and deeper in the soil.”

Parr believes the success of Temecula Valley wines is due to equal parts climate, competence, and community.

“One of the things is the level of collaboration as far as rising tide lifts all boats,” Jim Hart of Hart Family Wines, says. “Everyone helps one another here, and that’s unique. You don’t see the level of collaboration and camaraderie in other wine regions.”

There’s incentive for every winery to make good wine, and not for one winery to stand out among the mediocre. And so it’s incumbent on the old guard and newcomers to learn from one another.

“There are the pioneers that are still here dropping wisdom,” Damien Doffo, CEO of Doffo Winery, says. “They’re very approachable. The sentiment within the community is great. There’s a big focus to continue to develop better wines. There’s a core group of people really trying to elevate the game.”

That sense of community is also attracting winemaking talent who, in previous years, might have carved out careers elsewhere.

“We get together, taste each others wines. It’s all because we want everyone to improve year after year,” Olivia Bue, winemaker, Robert Renzoni, says. Bue is one of the region’s brighter stars. After studying viticulture and enology at UC Davis, she worked in Australia and Napa. Eventually, the Encinitas native found herself back in Southern California.

“We all share the same goal, which is to be recognized for the quality of the wines here,” Bue says. “Most other wine regions have reached their peaks as a region. They’re all so credited. They’re more individually trying to become successful. In Temecula, we’re as a whole working together to achieve more.”

To many in the wine industry, Temecula still feels like an underdog. The region began producing wines relatively recently, in 1968. Some locals believe previous generations of winemakers lacked the expertise needed to navigate its climate and terroir.

“Our wines in the beginning were hit and miss as far as quality,” Hart says. “These days, you can find well-made, varietally-appropriate wines. The primary thing that’s changed is the knowledge base and talent of winemakers.”

“Every wine region faces their own challenges, and we’re no different, but over the years we’ve found ways to better deal with these challenges – varieties and clones more suited to our terroir, as an example,” Tim Kramer of Leoness Cellars, a Temecula pioneer, says. “These adaptations have helped to increase the quality of Temecula wines in general.”

Overcoming Biases

Many Temecula winemakers cite consumer and media biases about Southern California wine among their top challenges today. Doffo believes that most national publications treat Temecula as an interesting place to travel, not a serious winemaking destination.

“In reality, we make as good wine as any other region in the state,” Joe Wiens of Wiens Family Cellars, says. “If we took one of our high-quality Cabs and slapped a Napa [price] tag and not a Temecula tag, it’d get a ton more respect.”

“Our main focus is wine quality,” Bue says. “We just need people to try and visit and give the wine an unbiased opinion. We want to be recognized all over the world and for people to identify us as a quality wine region.”

Of course, for the 23 million people living in cities within two hours of Temecula (San Diego, Los Angeles, and Palm Springs), the word is out about Temecula. According to the area’s tourism bureau, travel to Temecula wine country has been steadily increasing year over year, with nearly 3.3 million overnight visitors in 2017.

“We make great wine,” Wiens says. “Why are we bending over backwards to say we’re as good as Napa when people who come here know that?”

“I love it down here,” he adds. “I wouldn’t want to do it anywhere else but Temecula.”

Six Temecula Wines to Try

With over 40 vineyards to choose from in Temecula Valley, there are ample options. Here are our picks:

Hart Family Winery

In 1980, Joe Hart left teaching to open Hart Family Winery. His son Jim is now at the helm. “We always have a stellar Sauvignon Blanc,” says Hart. “We’re really proud of our Arneis.” Hart Family’s Estate Syrah, a varietal that typically does well in Temecula, has won numerous awards in the style. True to their nature, the Harts remain teachers. Jim teaches Intro to Wine at MiraCosta College.

Recommended bottle: 2015 Arneis ($28)

Doffo Winery

Founded in 1997, Doffo Winery is 100 percent family-owned and operated. Come for the award-winning Zinfandels and world-class Malbecs, an homage to the family’s Argentinean roots, but stay for the motorcycle museum. (Marcello Doffo, the patriarch, started a collection of motorcycles that today hang on winery walls like art pieces.) “People started associating us with motorcycles,” his son says. “For us it was funny. We put them in the tasting room because we had nowhere else to put them.”

Recommended bottle: Any of the MottoDoffo Reds (from $46)

Robert Renzoni Vineyards

Robert Renzoni Vineyards specializes in Sangiovese and Pinot Noirs. The Renzoni family has been making wines for over a century, starting on the northern coast of Italy and continuing today in Southern California. Its tasting room resembles a Tuscan villa and is one of the region’s most picturesque spaces.

Recommended bottle: 2015 Brunello di Sangiovese ($45)

South Coast Winery, Resort, & Spa

This vineyard also has a resort and a spa, just in case you’d like a massage after your Merlot (and before another). Everything produced by South Coast comes from the estate. (“Cradle to the grave,” says McPherson.) Don’t miss South Coast’s Carter Estate Wines, which McPherson calls the “cream of the crop.”

Recommendation: 2015 Carter Estate Penrose ($30)

Wiens Family Cellars

Wiens Family Cellars came to Temecula 10 years ago and has one of the more prolific wine profiles in the area. Focusing mainly on reds, the five-person operation has produced over 60 wines in the last year, hoping to create “a different tasting room experience every time,” Wiens says. “People are adventurous in a tasting room. They’re open to trying wine styles they’ve never heard of.” Wiens also has an eponymous brewery across town.

Recommendation: 2015 Reserve Zinfandel ($65)

Leoness

Leoness has the best of three worlds: Its facility is beautiful, the wine is delicious (and at a fair price point), and its on-site restaurant is one of the valley’s top spots. These wines have consistent quality, but Leoness strives to always “be better, and make wines that really wow your guests who take the time to visit,” Kramer says.

Recommendation: 2015 Cellar Selection Meritage ($40)

The post It’s Time to Start Treating Southern California as a Serious Wine Destination appeared first on VinePair.

source https://vinepair.com/articles/temecula-southern-california-wine-country-travel/

0 notes