Finding the Missing Piece: Book 4

Chapter Fifty-Nine

Katniss POV- (November, 28th, a day later)

"Katniss, I am gonna let you help me but since it snowed last night, you're not aloud to go outside or into the garage either. I'm gonna get the Christmas stuff from the garage, okay?" Peeta explains.

I shrug, "Fine."

He goes out to the garage and I stay in the kitchen while he lugs everything in from the snow.

"You're not aloud to pick up any heavy boxes either." Peeta says, looking at me and exiting again.

I roll my eyes at him as I continue looking outside at the snow.

It's the first one of the year and it's beautiful and it's still coming down hard and heavy.

Luckily, it happened after he went for my katniss tubers.

After another trip, Peeta is finished and covered in snow.

He sighs and takes off his jacket and wet boots and closing the front door. I walk over and wipe some snow out of his hair.

"It's getting bad out there, isn't it?" I say, caressing his cheek with my warm hand.

"A little." Peeta shrugs.

I walk over to where all our Christmas decorations and the tree is located in two big boxes and Peeta walks over too.

"Let's see, this year we have to make another ornament."

I look up at him and remember one of the many traditions we made last year, this being one.

"Could we make Willow one for each year too?" I ask him.

He laughs, "Of course. Do you want us to make it purple maybe?"

I nod, "What would be good with orange and green bulbs?" I ask.

He sighs, "Whatever you like."

I groan, "So much help." I tease him.

He smiles and takes out the tinier boxes full of lights, then the star, and then the large quantity of orange and green bulbs.

"Here's ours from last year." Peeta says handing them both to me carefully.

Things were so perfect this time last year.

"I still love yours." I laugh looking up at him.

"And I still love yours."

I laugh and shake my head. 

He sighs and plops down on the floor next to the couch where I sit.

"We have quite a few traditions to remember this year, don't we?" Peeta asks.

"I suppose so. If you want to."

He nods, "Of course I do."

"Okay, what where they?" I ask, I can barely remember our grocery list let alone something we did once, almost a year ago.

"Well, there's the Christmas bulbs."

"And..."

"And I believe that we went Christmas light looking."

I laugh at the way he put that.

"Do we have to walk this year?" I ask.

He chuckles, "Totally. I'm going to make my 6 month pregnant wife walk the town in the middle of winter."

I smirk, "Can we have hot chocolate again at least?"

"We could have cake if you wanted it. I don't care." He laughs nonchalantly.

"We have to make Christmas cookies again." I add in.

He smiles shyly, "Of course but we are also going to paint another Christmas picture. Maybe a tree this year?" He suggests.

I smile, "Are our snowmen from last year in your studio?"

Peeta nods, "Somewhere. The closet I think."

"I'll also have to find our Christmas pajamas even though I bet mine won't fit anymore." I sigh.

"How about I find us some new ones if you want?"

"And we have to read stories and watch movies again."

He smiles and nods.

"You'll have to read to Willow and see what she thinks about it." I say.

Peeta chuckles a little, "You think she'd like that?"

I smile and rub my hand across my belly, "I think she would love that." I tell him truthfully.

"Where are your letters?" Peeta asks.

"Upstairs." I say, "Why?"

"I was just wondering. Have you read any since the wedding?"

"Yes. A lot of them, actually." I admit.

Most of them pertaining to the 'bad days.'

The one where they were labeled 'Open when: You're mad at me' or 'When we need a break,' 'When you need to know how much I love you' and many more that aren't for the best times in our life.

I'm sure he intended to have these last a lot longer but no one knows when tragedy will strike.

I've used about 15 of the 40 in a little less than a year.

"The negative ones, huh?"

I shrug, "More like the ones for reassurance or the ones for our wedding too." I say. 

He nods, "Let's get this set up, huh?" He says, changing the subject.

I nod.

"I will put the tree up and do the lights if you want to decorate it. I'll do the star this year." Peeta says.

I nod my head, it's not going to be very fun but I can't very well pick up the tree or have Peeta lift me up or stand in a chair for the star.

He quickly sets it up, stringing white lights around the tree, beautifully if I may say.

"We can make the bulb for this year after we do these." He says as I pick the box up, resting it on my belly.

I will say Willow makes a good 'table' for my plate and other things.

Peeta helps me decorate the tree and we finish it all in roughly an hour.

It wasn't as fun as it was last year but we've grown up a lot since then. 

After we are finished and we are left with a plain green and plain orange bulb, we go upstairs into his art studio.

I sit at his desk while he gathers paint and some fine tipped brushes and we start.

I am not very creative so I write in nice print 'Forever & Always,' on the bulb not really knowing what else to say and I write the year on the back.

How am I gonna do this for every Christmas we live?

Peeta finishes and I could cry.

He hands it back and it's not anything fancy, just a note. 

'Thank you for standing by my side. Your companionship means the world to me. Soon, we will have another fresh start. I love you.' It says in beautiful, detailed writing.

I smile and look up at him, "I'm sorry it's not really decorated." He says.

"Mines not either but that is very sweet." I say, leaning into his lips and kissing them softly.

I feel him smile in the kiss and that makes me smile too.

And just as I open my eyes, the lights go out.