**

Dear Tam,

Poulin came to last meal tonight and it was very nice. It's funny, he says he's not too much older than Pay-pa, but he really seems to be. He brought some wine for Pay-pa and Ma-mere, and some sweets for me (which were very nice).

Ben was all wiggly and kept trying to climb up his (Poulin's) leg – he didn't want to be picked up, but he wanted to use Poulin as something to hang on to – Ma-mere apologized and said that Ben was doing that to everybody but Poulin didn't mind. At his home he has a baby boy who is between me and Ben's age. He showed us a holo of him and his wife 'Lila' (who is very pretty). I asked Poulin if he was going to teach his son how to be a Jedi, and he shook his head.

I asked him (Poulin) then if he was like my Pay-pa and left his wife and baby a lot and he said that he had only left to see Pay-pa in person, that a lot of people didn't think that Pay-pa was real (or still alive for some reason) and that he was going to go back to his quiet life as a Healer. (Ma-mere told me that I shouldn't ask so many questions so I stopped for the most part).

Pay-pa sighed and said that sometimes he wondered that himself and envied him a bit, and that he was tired of being 'a figure head' and wondered 'if he was doing the right thing.' Poulin said that he was always taught to 'do what was right' and 'to listen to the Force, even when you didn't understand' and he got a funny smile on his face.

Pay-pa seemed so sad though, and said sometimes it felt that he couldn't hear the Force for all the people talking, and that he 'couldn't just walk away from who he was', and Poulin agreed. He told Pay-pa that Grey-pa Skywalker had felt the same way, and had once actually tried to.

Pay-pa got all wide eyed and asked how much Poulin knew about Grey-pa Skywalker and what had happened to him (as not a lot of people will talk about him much but for Gra-mere and my late Grey-pa) and Poulin said that he didn't really know for sure, but he thinks it was in part because Grey-pa Skywalker kept trying to please everyone and then lost himself.

Poulin asked what happened to Grey-pa Skywalker, if Pay-pa knew the truth, (and when ever Grey-pa is brought up, Pay-pa flexes his fake hand) about how he died and when Pay-pa told him 'he died as Anakin Skywalker', and that seemed to make Poulin sad and relieved at the same time. (I wanted to tell you that when Poulin asked about Pay-pa's hand he told him that he had made someone pretty mad once, and Poulin laughed and touched his shoulder and said he had too. I wonder who that was?)

Ma-mere asked Poulin if he minded if she excused herself to feed Ben and put him to bed and then maybe even go to bed herself (she seemed strangely shy around him) and Poulin said it was OK, that he would have to go soon anyway, but I know Pay-pa wanted to talk to him more. She kissed me and Pay-pa and took Ben (who was alternately fussy and sleepy, I think he liked Poulin a lot too) and Pay-pa said it was time for me to go too. I asked Poulin if I could kiss him goodnight and maybe could I visit him sometime and he said 'Of course'! Then he said 'good night little toboo' and he laughed when I asked him what it meant. He told me it was a really old word for 'little child' and then said goodnight.

I know he and Pay-pa stayed up late talking, but I'm not sure about what though. When I woke up the next day, Pay-pa told me that he and Poulin had talked a lot last night, and then he asked me if one day soon, would I like to move away from the Temple (all of us). I said I would miss my friends but if it made him and Ma-mere happy that I would, and Pay-pa said it wouldn't be for a while yet, but he was glad to know that.

Both Pay-pa and Ma-mere seemed really happy today, so whatever they all talked about must have been good. Maybe they've changed their mind about another baby?

Love,

Pem