Learning to live

Learning to live: birthdays

May
Spring this year felt more like summer. We had to turn the aircon on high and sleeping was starting to get harder and harder. Peeta insisted on doing everything in the house which I would not complain about. Although i hardly seen anybody anymore. Annie had her new job so she worked all week, Johanna was always at her salon. Everyone else just simply became busy. I'd grown quite closer to delly over the months mostly because she has phoebe. We we're the only two in the baby club and I could tell it would be lonely. It was nearing my birthday however and everyone promised to come to my meal. To be honest the thought of turning 23 made me want to cry I still felt 18.

"Come on katniss we're going to be late" peeta shouted up the stairs.
"Right"I moodily replied. I couldn't find anything that fitted properly and anything that did fit looked awful. I wished I could just wear my jeans and a dressy top but no peeta insisted we all dressed up because the restaurant was 5 star. In the end I had to settle on a tight length fitted black dress that hung off both my shoulders.
"Kat everybody is already there come on"
I shoved on my black heels that I could surprisingly still walk in.
Slowly I made my way down our stairs careful not to fall down. I walked out the the front door while peeta put the alarm on and locked up. Over the victors village I could see Johanna and gale getting into their car.
"You're such a liar peeta" I groaned.
"Well I had to get you to hurry up" he replied.
Gale noticed us and waved "see you there" he shouted getting into the car.
I climbed into peeta's tiny sports car. Peeta got in with no struggle.
"I hate this car!!" I demanded
"Well I said we could take yours" he huffed.
He was right but I didn't want to be defeated just because I was pregnant.
"Let's just go" sighed throwing my hands up.
"Okay but cheer up its your birthday" peeta said placing his hand on my thigh.
I smiled realising I was being really uptight.

When we arrived at the restaurant everybody was already sat down. To be honest I didn't believe that everybody would make it considering we all hadn't been together in at least 2 months. But there everybody was sat on a huge table talking and laughing. I have to admit I got abit emotional and peeta placed his hand in mine. Johanna had left two seats spare for me and peeta. Johanna and peeta swapped places so he could sit with gale and thom. I sat with Johanna and Annie.
"I feel like I haven't properly seen you in ages" Annie said hugging me.
I seen her most nights when she picked Luca up but we never had a chance to talk because she finished work late.
"I know you never told me how your date went" I told her.
"Wait you went on a date?" Johanna asked.
"Yes and he was lovely but I don't know if I'm ready to actually start with somebody again" she shrugged.
"Anne it's been 5 years he would want you to move on and be happy" I said grabbing her hand.
"I know it's just scary because finnick is the only person I have ever been with, the only person I ever dated" she shrugged.
"The only thing you can do is give him a chance" Johanna told her.
Annie just smiled.
She changed the subject. "Wow how big are you getting" she laughed placing a hand on my stomach.
"I know I had a hard time fitting into this dress"
"Wel you've not got long left now, the last two months go so fast" Annie reassured me.
"I hope so"
"Hey have you seen mels flavour of the week" Johanna whispered to me Annie and delly who was sat next to Annie.
"Flavour of the week" I repeated laughing.
We took it in turns to look so it wouldn't be obvious.
"Oh my god he looks so young how old is he?" Delly asked.
"Surely no more than 18" Annie laughed.
"Jesus Melissa is a cougar" Johanna added.
I bit the inside of my lip so I wouldn't burst out laughing.
He looked so young he had short hair at the back with curls on the top. The shade was a golden blonde and his eyes were a warm brown. A complete opposite to Melissa she had long almost black hair like mine and the clearest sky blue eyes. She was also 24 and looked much older than whomever she was with.
"What's his name?" I asked nobody in particular.
"Riley" Johanna replied.
"Nooooo" I laughed. "He really is young"
"Have you met him?" Annie asked Johanna.
"Yeah she brought him to the bar and grill last week. Me and gale went for tea and Mel texted me saying what was I doing. So I told her and she said 'we will join you' so obviously I thought she meant Tommy but she came with that Riley. Me and gale thought he was her cousin or something until she kissed him and introduced us. God knows what happened to Tommy I really liked him" she shrugged.
"Yeah all the men got along with Tommy him and thom went out a couple times on their own when nobody else could make it. Thom said he was hilarious" delly said.
"Awwww don't I love Tommy he was in my year at school" Annie sadly told us.
"I wonder what happened" I chimed in.
"Melissa happened" Johanna whispered.
We all nodded in unison.
Three waiters stood at our table because of how many of us there were.
"So what would everybody like to drink?"
After 40 people had placed their order of drink everybody started to talk again.
"So I've thought of a name" Melissa said.
"Go on but she won't like it" Johanna replied.
"Evangelise"
"what" delly asked looking disgusted.
"Evangelise" she repeated.
"That is worse than gale's suggestion of Michaelangelo" Johanna told us.
"Hey everybody loves teenage mutant ninja turtles" gale chimed in.
"Yeah I want to call him Michaelangelo" peeta pleaded.
"1. We don't know if it is a boy and 2. It's Michael and then Angelo not Michealangelo" Johanna rolled her eyes.
"What about donnie" Luca beamed.
"Uncle gale and uncle peeta are being silly the baby won't be named after the ninja turtles honey" Annie said rubbing Luca's shoulder.
"That sucks" he replied.
"So you going to introduce us?" Annie asked Melissa.
She looked embarrassed and Riley's eyes fell to his lap.
"Oh god I'm sorry" she quickly said touching Riley's broad shoulders. "This is riley"
His eyes came back up to centre and smiled.
Everybody smiled back.
"So katniss how do you feel?" Effie excitedly asked.
"Just tried and very over weight" I sighed.
"I keep telling her to take it easy" peeta butted in.
"God I keep telling you I'm pregnant not an invalid" I replied.
"Have to admit she's right just because you're pregnant you shouldn't stop all movement" Annie defended.
"See" I said throwing my hands up.
"Hello is everybody ready to order?" The waiter asked our section.
Everyone nodded and the waiter took our orders. It would definitely be a long night all of us ordering starters and mains, and probably desert later on. No doubt everybody would want to stay for drink. It was weird to think I was just as lively as everybody else at the table this time last year. Drinking and dancing and laughing. Now I would count down the hours until it was acceptable for me to sleep again. I felt like such a bore I hated it.

5 hours later, 3 courses and countless alcoholic drinks later nobody had made a move to leave. Luca and phoebe had fallen asleep lay across a booth both not even making a murmur. Despite the loud drunken laughs of everybody. I however was stone cold sober which felt so strange. Not to find anything funny. I wondered how alcohol some how made everything funnier. Instead I sat sipping a lemonade while everybody else mixed theirs with vodka or Malibu. I couldn't even say I wanted to go home. I mean I was tired and I was now the designated driver of 4 passengers. Everybody else would have to leave their cars here and pick them up in the morning. I didn't want to rush anybody and I didn't want to seem like I was now a boring person. Delly or Annie didn't change because they were pregnant. Annie was pregnant during the rebellion and straight after it. In them conditions some days she managed to smile and she still climbed out of bed everyone with out one complaint. Delly had the worse morning sickness ever, she still made it on my hen do and my wedding. I guess I didn't want to see attention seeking, so I sat there engaging in conversations that were too crazy to be serious.
"Would you rather be eaten alive by piranhas or eaten alive by a zombie?"
That's what Johanna asked the group.
She would ask these questions every time she was drunk and usually I would answer with everybody else.
I knew if I had drank a full bottle, maybe two full bottles in that moment my answer would be eaten alive by zombies. Because it would be a cool way to die. Then everybody would argue over answers, the pro's and con's of each answer. Instead I didn't say anything just listened to everybody arguing the group dived to which way would be the best way to die. Because I was sober it seemed barbaric to talk about how we would rather die considering we had all been so close to it. I guessed we all needed to get over it some time.
I zoned out of conversation and began to think about it my baby would be a boy or a girl. I honestly didn't have a clue. It made me feel sick thinking about it. This was a whole new kind of scared.