The wind was mild that morning. A breeze played through the hanging sheets, still damp after Miri had rung them out. The line that was now full of damp sheets prevented Miri from noticing that Obi-Wan had been watching her for some time. He smiled as he watched as his wife hummed to herself, straightening the linens so that they would dry properly and quickly. In that moment, Obi-Wan's heart swelled with joy, for he had no idea that he could have ever found this much happiness, after so much darkness had followed him through his young adult life.
"You know it's not polite to snoop," Miri said, peeking from behind a damp sheet, which whipped lightly back and forth in the breeze.
She ducked to avoid the last clothes line, and walked to her husband, wrapping her arms around his waist and kissing the exposed portion of his chest that peeked out from the ties in his shirt.
"And you certainly could have lent a hand," she added, swatting Obi-Wan's side as she went back into the hut. He followed her.
"What can I say?" Obi-Wan asked, hurriedly catching up with Miri, and grabbing her hips from behind, pulling her into an embrace. He spoke into her hair, just behind her ear. "You have me quite enthralled."
Miri's heart fluttered. Life had been like this for three weeks, since their very quiet marriage ceremony. Endlessly happy, and sheltered from the outside influences of Mos Eisley, Obi-Wan and Miri were prospering in their first days of marriage.
To Miri, it seemed like the last three weeks had sped by. So much had happened so quickly that occasionally she had to take stock of what had actually taken place.
In the minutes following Miri and Obi-Wan's meeting with Yula and Dorall Sayed, Obi-Wan had confessed to Miri that he could not wait any longer to marry her. Knowing the mean and ugly side of the man working for Miri's father, Obi-Wan became intensely protective, and had altogether refused to allow Miri to even go back to the grocery stall that day. With her heart feeling a hundred pounds lighter, Miri had gotten down from Obi-Wan's hover bike once he pulled up to his hut, and walked inside as if the place were already her own.
Without a word, Miri had set to pouring water in the tea kettle, and set it on the stove. Obi-Wan took off his cloak and hung it near the entryway, beside the plasteel door. He ran his hand through his shaggy hair, thinking to himself that he would have to have Miri cut it for him soon. He hoped offhandedly that she had steady hands before running his hand over his beard in thought, bringing himself back to the issue of the moment.
He sat in the large lounge chair, not bothering to take his boots off yet. He knew he would be leaving soon. Noticing Obi-Wan deep in thought, without a word, Miri began to open cabinets and pull out bread and a wheel of cheese for a midday meal that they would share. She was anxious to hear what Obi-Wan's plan was. She had hoped they were thinking the same thing. But, knowing her teacher, her lover, she gave him his peace and would wait for him to speak.
And speak he did, about five minutes after Miri had poured their tea.
"I'm going to Mos Eisley, and you'll be coming with me." Miri's eyes filled with concern. Eager to ease her fear, Obi-Wan kept speaking. "You will begin packing your things, and I will go speak with your father. Wait for me there."
"When will we be going?" Miri asked, breaking apart a piece of cheese, leaning against the small table, aware that she could be sitting in either of the small wooden chairs, but too anxious to do so.
"We shall go just before your father closes the stall for the day. I do not want to have this conversation while Bastien is around."
Miri nodded in agreement, and ate thoughtfully. She crossed her arms, and sighed.
"What's on your mind?"
Miri smirked. She couldn't get anything past Obi-Wan. "I just... Don't want to disappoint him."
"How would you be doing that?" Obi-Wan asked, setting his tea gently on his lap, and resting his arms casually on both arms of the chair.
"By getting married, leaving him..." She trailed off, picking at a nonexistent hangnail.
"How many girls your age are still living with their parents, single? Here on Tatooine?" Obi-Wan asked, leading her.
"None that I'm aware of," Miri admitted reluctantly. "But I can't help feeling... he'll be all alone."
"Only sometimes, Miri," Obi-Wan said. "We're not leaving the planet. I've been thinking about this, about what this marriage will look like."
"And what have you thought?"
Obi-Wan stood, setting his tea on the table behind Miri. He took her in his arms comfortingly. "You and me, here. I train you, teach you everything I know. We can get the moisture farming equipment up and running. Watch over Luke. We have to get supplies somehow; we'll go into Mos Eisley every week. And there's no reason you can't go out there more often, just to see him."
"That sounds reasonable," Miri said.
"I believe it is." Obi-Wan grabbed the braid that was slung over Miri's shoulder, and ran it through his fingers. "I will explain just enough to your father that he understands that you can't stay. But there's no question. Even if this Bastien isn't a part of the picture, you're not safe in Mos Eisley without me. You're not trained enough, you could be seen-"
"I know, Obi-Wan." Miri said, gently. She knew in her heart that it was time for her to move on. It still didn't make it any less painful for her. She had only a few hours to come to terms with it before they would speak with her father. And though Obi-Wan held her, he could tell that Miri was miles away, distracted by her thoughts.
"You must quiet your thoughts," Obi-Wan said, feeling himself sink back into his teacher's role. He ran a finger down her jawline affectionately. "We will meditate on this."
"Yes, Master Obi-Wan," Miri said through a sigh and a smile, her eyes slightly twinkling despite herself.
"And you're sure? You're sure these women are talking about the right man?" Lee Gorsa spun the glass of table wine in front of him, peering at his daughter and soon-to-be son-in-law from across the small table.
"Yes, I'm afraid that Yula was quite honest about her experience," Obi-Wan said. "She had not the slightest indication that she was being deceptive."
Lee scratched tiredly at his white hair, light and airy as virgin silk strands. "I can't believe I didn't know." Lee's tone was reproachful. "How could I not have known?"
"There's no need to beat yourself up over it, Lee," Obi-Wan said. "He took great pains to hide it, as did the girls' families."
"What will you do about him, father?" Miri asked, breaking her silence.
Lee regarded his daughter. He wanted to fire the young man right then and there. He just didn't know if that was the right course of action. "What can I do? I can't possibly do anything that would anger him, and make him lash out at Miri."
Obi-Wan's lips pressed together briefly as he nodded. "I agree. He cannot be let to think that he's being fired. This needs to be natural, if you are indeed going to dismiss him."
"I'll end the apprenticeship." Lee said. "I don't know what I was thinking with an apprentice in the first place. I'm not as old as I like to think. I can still run the stall. Even if he decides to set up his own stall, there have been other grocers in Mos Eisley before. It would alleviate some of the pressure from me, that's for sure."
"Then maybe this is your perfect out," Obi-Wan said. "Let him know that you're not yet ready to retire, but you still want to teach him the ropes. Help lighten the load for you until you do retire."
They all sat, mulling over the idea. Each drank from their glass of wine, seemingly content with the course of action that Obi-Wan had thought up.
"I will do it," he said. "But not until a week or so after your marriage, to avoid any suspicion. He sounds like he can be very sensitive about your status."
And it was agreed. Within the next hour, with the second sun nearly down, Miri packed up the last of her clothing that would help her make it a while at Obi-Wan's hut. She would be coming back intermittently for any of her other belongings, her books most importantly. But her father had agreed that she needed to be with Obi-Wan from now on. Miri had been shocked at how pragmatic he had been about the whole thing. He had even offered to ask the old priest in the neighborhood who would perform a no-frills ceremony, and would not make a big fuss with other people about their personal affairs.
Miri had stood in her bedroom, looking for something to wear the next day when she and Obi-Wan met with the priest. Everything she owned had been perfectly practical for Tatooine. No frills, nothing elaborate. Functional. In essence, nothing that she could see herself getting married in. Panic sunk in as she realized that this would have been the perfect time to have her mother around. She would have known exactly what to do. Just as the sting of tears had threatened, she heard a gentle knock at her door.
Turning, she saw her father. With his hands behind his back, he looked at his daughter with concern. "Is everything alright?"
Miri blinked back her tears and swallowed. She shook her head. "Yes, I'm fine, I just was thinking... I was thinking that I wished mom were here."
Lee sighed, and nodded. "I know. I am sure she would have made a production out of the affair, even if it was supposed to be low-key."
"Well," Miri said, unsure what else she could say. She looked about the room, trying to decide if there was anything else she couldn't live without for the next week.
While she was distracted, Lee advanced, and pulled his hands from behind his back, presenting Miri with what looked like folded fabric. It had a lacy quality about it, and was a light cream color. Miri looked at her father sharply. She knew exactly what it was, but hadn't remembered it.
"It was hers. She wore it for our wedding," he said, remembering fondly. "We were dirt poor. Dirt poor and deeply in love. She looked like a queen in it. It's yours to wear if you would like. I know you'll look just as beautiful."
Miri swallowed, unable to stop a tear from falling. She wiped it away quickly. "Thank you. Yes, it will be perfect."
At that, Miri was packed, and sped off into the Dune Sea to spend one last night with Obi-Wan before they were married.
There are times in your life when time seems to both speed up and slow down. You think, when you are saying your vows, you couldn't possibly forget them. You couldn't possibly forget every look, every touch, every sensation. And in a way, you don't. But when you look back, you know just how quickly it all went. It doesn't diminish its importance, or diminish how much it changes you. In a strange way it serves to make it just that much more special.
That's exactly how Miriam Gorsa felt, as she held both of Obi-Wan Kenobi's hands, and recited her vows (... I love you more than I thought it possible to love another person. When you entered my life, I knew you would change it forever, and I was right...) Miri knew she would forever remember how handsome Obi-Wan looked in his Jedi robes, with his hair and beard trimmed, eyes full of hope. She might not remember every word, but she would remember the way he looked at her. Just as Miri knew this, Obi-Wan knew that the image of Miri in her cream, antique lace dress would be seared into his mind until his dying breath. The heartache he had known before was, for that time, gone completely from his mind. No more Anakin, no more Qui-Gon, no more Mace Windu, or even Padme. As he said his vows (... I wasn't half of what I am now when you first met me. I was hollow. You've filled the empty spaces in my heart...) What replaced it for that day was how happy he had become.
The two of them knew how unorthodox the whole affair had been. It still did not take away from how much they would cherish the event. The only witness to the ceremony was Lee. What had made the ceremony even more special was that the priest had used Obi-Wan's real name. He, of course, would have his memory altered by Obi-Wan later on, as being old and nearing senile, it would be easy to alter the memory. Not that Obi-Wan felt it was necessary, but for the sake of Luke, Miri and himself, he took no risks.
Having done the most unexpected thing in his life, Obi-Wan drove his bride back to the Dune Sea, sure that in this moment, a single person in all the universe could not have been as happy as he was. Obi-Wan was right. It was surprising then that, given how much love two people could possibly have for one another, that there was someone else on Tatooine whose heart burned with hatred and anger at their shared happiness.
AN: Ok! I know I have been the absolute worst writer and updater. First, I'm sorry to have made you wait. But, as other readers have noted, sometimes real life has to be more important. Not to make excuses for myself, but I did move cross country one week, find a new house in the same week, and this week have been struggling to get my own house sold/closed on. Lots of boring grown up stuff. Can I please give back my adult membership? Can I at least demote myself to college student again? No?
There's nothing I would have liked more for the past few weeks to have been spent writing, and not packing, going on long flights and trying to be a fully fledged grown up.
In any case, I am still not finished with this story. I know it's a slice of lemon pie, but we all like lemons now and then right? But I want you to know that this is not the "the end" of this story. I had hoped it would be super clear that the story hasn't been tied up yet, but some people get to the wedding and go "well, nothing more to see here!"
There are a few more plot developments to work out, but I feel like we could be done somewhere in the 30s, when it comes to chapters. So, now that life is starting to level out and calm down, I hope you'll enjoy the next few things I have planned. Hope you all are well.
