Cato’s POV
It’s about three weeks before school starts again and all of us are in the car going to the beach. Since the beach is so close to Clove’s parents’ house we’re going to visit. I turn on the radio and Glimmer starts to sing along to Rihanna’s song ‘Diamonds’ – badly. Thankfully, the song was just ending when I turned it on. Another horrible song came on and then Glimmer and Rue start singing. “You’re insecure, don’t know what for, you’re turning heads when you walk though the door….”
I guess Peeta was trying to sleep when he woke and shouted, “Turn that gay crap off! I’m not even joking. It’s fucking annoying!” I sigh and Clove yells, “Peeta!” He rolls his eyes and leans his head against the window. Finally, Peeta’s eyes close and he is softly snoring. I guess the trip takes a little too long because all of the kids are sleep when we get caught in traffic.
The car sits in the same position for almost three hours. I look over and Clove has a frown on her face. “What’s wrong, babe?” I finally ask. She looks at me and sighs. “We should have been there hours ago.” “I know. I can’t move traffic though.” I kiss her temple and look back at the road. No movement yet. The struggle. Having grown up near Disney World, Clove never saw this much traffic in her life. I mean, when you live next to the beach and down the road is Disney, you’re pretty content with the small town.
We drive for about a mile and soon stop again. Tears are going down Clove’s face and she wipes them away fast. She never let’s anyone but me see her cry. Clove looks back at the kids to check on them. Peeta has his head against the window still and Rue is snuggled under his arm while she uses his arm for a blanket. Glimmer and Marvel have their heads against each other’s. Turning around, Clove grabs my hand and says, “Kind of makes you remember the first time.” I nod my head.
I know what she means…
FLASHBACK
I had just gotten home from work – back then I used to work twelve hours. I walk in the door and Clove was there. ‘Hey babe’ I had said. She motioned for me to follow her up the stairs and into our bedroom. We had been trying for a baby and we did get pregnant but it ended in a miscarriage after about a month. We were depressed and it took a toll on our daily lives. I worked and still work as a surgeon and Clove worked as an interior designer. She became a stay at home mom after the twins were born.
She had told me to sit on the bed and she walked into our bathroom. A few seconds later, Clove held out something and told me to read it. It was a pregnancy test and it was positive. I looked back up at her and she was smiling. I jumped up and swung her around. Then she said, ‘I think it really going to happen this time.’ Her confidence made it so much more real.
One day during a doctor’s appointment he told us we were having a boy. Clove rolled her eyes and took out her wallet and handed me 20 dollars. We had had a bet on the gender and I won. We decided on the name Peeta because throughout the whole pregnancy she craved pita chips, pita bread and anything with the name. It would have been weird to spell it Pita, so we spelt it Peeta.
Clove was in labor for about three days with Peeta. I stayed throughout the whole time and she broke my hand from the pain. She also said a bunch off rude thing to me like, ‘Get this bitch out of me!’ or ‘We are NEVER doing this again, stupid ass!’ and my favorite, ‘I’m going to chop your balls off!’ After it was over and done the nurse handed us our baby boy wrapped in a light blue baby blanket. ‘Cato, he looks just like you.’ Peeta did and still looks just like me. Blonde hair and blue eyes.
He was a child worth waiting for.
Can’t say the same for the twins though. They were the hardest to deliver. With both being breech babies, it took twice as long (about 5 days maybe even 10 days) and a little surgery. Rue, her birth was the easiest. One hour and she was here. I’m still a proud father to this day.
I come back from my flashback and Clove has fallen asleep. The traffic clears some but not enough to get us out of Jacksonville and to the highway to Orlando. I look in the rear view mirror to check on the kids. I see Rue waking up and rubbing her eyes. “Go back to sleep Rue, Daddy’s still driving.” She nods and curls back up against Peeta. He stirs in his sleep and looks at Rue, shrugging, he fixes Marvel and Glimmer’s position and grabs a blanket from the back and cover his little sister with it.
Peeta looks at me and says, “Good night Dad.” “Good night, son. Good job on taking care of you siblings too.” He nods and dozes off again. Five hours later we arrive in Orlando. Now, the only problem is getting my family out the car…..hm…..?
A/N: Sorry I haven't updated but I had some family issues. So there you have it.
