#everlarkx2

She was 32, and she was now divorced. She didn’t have any romantic prospects. She didn’t have any children, which was in some ways a blessing and a curse. Good in the sense that no one was getting hurt in this divorce but her. Bad in the sense that at 32 years old, after dissolving her marriage of 5 years, she was now completely alone. No family to speak of after the accident that killed her mother, father, and sister when she was 19. Most of her friends had moved away from the small town where she grew up, in favor of going to big universities and chasing prestigious jobs and internships. Katniss was one of the rare ones that stayed and drove 2 hours to the local community college for classes when she finished highschool. She had gotten a degree in accounting and her small business did fairly well in the sleepy town of Panem. 

She wasn’t rich by any stretch of the imagination. But she would be able to get by without Gale. Piers had made sure she got to keep the house she had inherited after her parents passed. And her new car she had just purchased at the beginning of the year, which was all she really cared about. Gale got to keep his truck, the antique collection of hunting rifles that he loved, and his new girlfriend that was 5 months pregnant. 

Katniss should have known something was up the minute he stopped pressuring her to have kids. But she never thought Gale would actually cheat on her. Especially not with his blond, barely legal secretary. 

Her sister Prim had often accused her of being blind to matters of the heart back when she was alive. And Katniss’ friend Johanna had nicknamed her Brainless during the time they had classes together in community college when it came to dating and relationships. That was before Johanna moved away to start her new job in the big city. 

Suffice to say, any idiot would have seen it coming. Looking back there were so many signs. But she had been oblivious to the affair until Gale had taken her out to a restaurant a week before their 5 year anniversary and broke the news to her over a bowl of her favorite lamb stew. 

Kantiss had promptly poured the hot soup all over his head and fancy suit before walking out. On the drive home she had looked up local family law attorneys. The only one in town just happened to be the man sitting across from her today. 

At first Katniss had worried it would be incredibly awkward to hire an old classmate to handle her divorce. But Piers had been a godsend. He was quick, efficient, hadn’t tried to squeeze her  for every cent she was worth, and he was also great at using humor to diffuse tense situations. There were many a day when his self-deprecating jokes had saved her from dissolving into a puddle of tears. 

He looked over at her then and Katniss realized how much she was going to miss seeing him and talking to him regularly now that this was all over. He had been more than a good divorce attorney. He had also been a really supportive friend. So had his brother. Throughout the whole ordeal.

“Piers, I just wanted to thank you. For everything. You’ve made this process as painless as possible. I would have lost my mind if it hadn't been for you, and Peeta.”  Katniss told him in a quiet voice, as her eyes misted over with tears. 

Piers seemed startled for a moment at the earnest and sad look in her eyes but he recovered quickly. He reached across the table and covered her small shaking hand with his large one and squeezed gently. 

“None of that now Kat, you know it was purely out of self interest I helped you divorce that prick. I would help you divorce a hundred husbands if it meant hanging out with you on Tuesdays and eating my brother’s RIDICULOUSLY UNDERPRICED BAKED GOODS.” Piers called out the last words loud enough for his twin brother,  Peeta to hear from where he was standing over by the counter pretending to wipe down the glassy surface that was already pristine. 

Katniss laughed heartily, brushing at the corner of her eyes as her small frame shook with amusement. Piers always knew when to insert his own particular brand of humor into a situation to relieve the tension. One of his running jokes was how Peeta  was crazy for coming back to their small town to sell his delicious goods at rock bottom rates even though he had a culinary degree and was a professional pastry chef. Peeta took his constant ribbing in good humor and usually gave as good as he got, saying that Piers was the one wasting his talents in Panem, when he could be partnering at a huge law firm in some big city. Usually the only targets of their jokes were the brothers themselves. Although in the last few months that she’d been seeing them more often, the twins had by mutual agreement taken to also making cutting remarks about her soon-to-be ex husband and his lack of intelligence or taste. Katniss knew that both men were just trying to be good supportive friends, knowing that neither man had a truly unkind bone in their strong stocky bodies. 

Katniss heard Peeta’s loud steps before she saw him, and the fact that he and his brother had the same equally thunderous gait made her bite the corner of her lips to keep from bursting out laughing again. The brother’s similarities and differences always astounded her. She turned in her chair to face a disapproving Peeta who wore a festive  holiday themed apron of green and red. She took in his broad shoulders, and his toned torso underneath the apron and brown sweater he was wearing with an almost lurid fascination. But his gaze was aimed at Piers not at Katniss. 

“What are you shouting about now Piers? Is he being obnoxious, Katniss? Because I’ll throw him out, just say the word.”  Peeta threatened as he stared his brother down with mock seriousness. Kantiss shook her head and answered in the negative as she giggled obnoxiously. But not before Piers muttered a pretty loud ‘I’d like to see you try’, quip. 

“No, no. He’s fine Peeta, I promise. Piers was just trying to save me from embarrassing myself. Like always. I was about 2 seconds away from melting into a puddle like Frosty the Snowman on a summer day. Except no one will have compassion on a 30 year old divorcee crying into her cheese buns like they would for a magical snow creature.” Katniss joked but Peeta’s expression became concerned. 

“Of course they would be Kantiss. Everyone in this town loves you. Gale’s an absolute idiot and he was so wrong in the way he treated you. I just heard today that Haymitch told Gale he’s upping the rent on his building space. I think the old crotchety bastard is trying to run Gale off out of spite.” Peeta told her as he placed a large hand on her shoulder and smiled down at her. 

“Oh that’s great! Way to go Abernathy!” Piers commented excitedly before starting to chuckle. Peeta dipped his head in agreement as he locked eyes with his brother and some kind of unspoken amusement flickered between them, but then turned his gaze back to Katniss. She was biting her lip distractedly. 

“I hope he doesn’t lose his business. The hunting goods store is all he has now to support his family with.” Katniss murmured as she looked out the window and down the street. The store in question sat at the end of the block, its sign proudly declaring the name Hawthorne’s Hunting & Wilderness Wares in green and gold. But it had seen better days. And now that Katniss wouldn’t be there to help Gale keep the books and stay on budget Katniss worried that the store might not survive long past the new year. 

Katniss recalled the day she and Gale had picked out the colors of the sign together. Her favorite color and his. It seemed so long ago, a memory from an infinitely happier time that made her heart ache with longing. Not for the husband that left her. Katniss had realized during the divorce that she never should have married Gale when it was clear they wanted such different things out of life. But she mourned the loss of her best friend, her partner, and confidant. 

Things would never go back to the simple way they had been, when she and Gale were young adults struggling to make it in a world with just their wits and their survival skills. For a minute Kantiss even felt she’d never be happy again at all. 

So when she felt an unstoppable wave of tears coming on she did the only thing she could think of doing. 

She choked out a barely audible “I’m sorry, I’m a mess right now. I need to go.” Before her metal chair was scraping loudly against the floor as she pushed up from the table and tried to flee. 

Peeta and Piers' simultaneous cries of “Kat wait!” and “Katniss, where are you going?” could be heard throughout the empty bakery as she darted away. 

End Part 1.