"Hey Padme, look at this!" Sabe exclaimed. They were in the baby clothing section of one of the many stores in the shopping complex.
"What is it?" Sabe held up a little onesie with the words 'Babe's dig me' on the front. Padme burst out laughing.
"That's really cute. Put it in." Sabe threw the outfit into the bag.
"Where'd Preston go?" she wondered out loud.
"I think he's avoiding us. He's finally realized that men and woman are practically different species. He's kind of weirded out by what happened at the house."
"But I accepted his apology."
"I know. That's what's got him so confused. You were pretty upset with him, and he didn't think you'd forgive him just like that. As strange as it sounds, it's true. I have to admit; even I was a little surprised.
"I did kind of touch base pretty quickly huh?" Padme nodded solemnly.
"I didn't mean to weird him out. But I did deserve an apology. And I got one. And he really meant it."
"I understand. Don't worry, he'll come around."
"I hope so," Sabe muttered.
"Hey guys!"
"Preston! Where were you?" Sabe asked quickly.
"Notice anything different about me?" he asked spinning around.
"You got your hair cut!" Indeed, his hair was neater and shorter then when he left.
"At first I was just going to the bathroom, but I had some money in my pocket, and I saw the hair salon and thought 'What the hell?'"
"Aw. That was really nice of you Preston. You're mom will be so happy."
"Yeah. That's mostly why I did it. So what do you think?"
"It makes you look a little more distinguished, but it's still long enough to be kind of…roguish. I definitely like it."
"Thanks."
"Hey Padme look at him! He got his hair cut!"
"Wow Preston. It looks really good. Mom will be so happy."
"Yeah thanks. Do you guys know any good places to eat around here? I'm starving." Sabe got a huge smile on her face.
"I do. My favorite restaurant is really close by. Come on I'll show you." Preston and Padme followed her through the shopping complex to the restaurant section, where the wonderful smells of the various types of food mingled and it smelled like what Preston thought must be heaven.
"Here it is. Pedro's. The best restaurant this side of the galaxy."
"For someone who can't cook, you sure seem to have a lot of opinions about restaurants."
"Well that's because most of the food I eat is take-out. I may not be able to cook, but I know good cooking when I taste it. Pedro's older brother Pablo is the head chef and he's the best cook in the world," Sabe declared as they walked in.
"Was the best cook in the world," a passing waiter muttered.
"Whoa. What do you mean was?" The waiter sighed and walked back to answer.
"I mean…Pablo died of a heart-attack last week."
"Oh my gods! Poor Pablo…poor Pedro!"
"Yeah. He's filling in for Pablo right now. We all told him to go be with his family, but he said that Pablo wouldn't want him to waste time grieving over someone who lived life to the fullest. Plus I think cooking gets his mind off of things."
"Thanks for the update William."
"Sure Sabe. I'm glad you're here. Pedro would love to talk to you I'm sure. Come on, I'll get you and your friends a table." William led them to an empty table in back, close to the kitchen entrance and gave them their menus. A few minutes later, a tall man with gray hair and a beard came out of the kitchen.
"Oh Sabe it's so good to see you!" he exclaimed.
"I'm so sorry Pedro."
"What do you have to be sorry about? You're our most loyal customer."
"How have things been?"
"Chaotic. With the funeral arrangements and changing the name of the restaurant…"
"You're changing the name?"
"Yes. To Pablo's. I'm the business man behind this place, but Pablo is the one that kept this place going. It's already falling apart without him. In fact…I'm afraid this place won't be around long enough to have the name changed. I'm only half the cook my brother was. And most of his best recipes he never wrote down."
"Half is still pretty good."
"Yes but for a lot of our customers it's not good enough."
"It will be good enough for me."
"Yes but I'm afraid that you won't be enough to keep this place going."
"True…but I think I know who is!"
"Oh who! If there's anything you think might help…"
"Preston!"
"Huh? Me?"
"Yes you! Preston that stew we had last night has been in my family forever. And last night, it tasted better than I ever remember it! I know you put something in it."
"Maybe two or three little things here and there."
"Hmm…We're looking at new chefs tomorrow. If he gets here at eight o'clock sharp tomorrow morning he might just get the job. Especially if he's as good as you say Sabe. You know I trust your judgment."
"And you won't regret trusting it this time either. I promise."
"Alright. Well have you decided on your order?"
"I'll have the pasta with the famous sauce," Padme said.
"I'm afraid that's one of the recipes Pablo never wrote down. It's just plain pasta sauce now."
"Oh. Sorry."
"It's alright. You will get some right away Senator."
"Don't rush mine just because,"
"Milady, look around. We're going out of business remember."
"Not for long," Sabe reminded him.
"If you say so. I'll be back with your food as soon as I can."
"Sabe, I'm not sure you should have given him so much hope in me. I'm not that good."
"Preston you're one of the best cooks I know!" Padme said.
"And you improved a recipe everyone in my family thought was perfect," Sabe added
"Yeah but…That was child's play,"
"Exactly. And you need this job. Even if you aren't as good as Pablo, I know you'll be better than anyone else trying out for the job. And my recommendation will put you over the top. As you could tell everyone here respects and trusts my opinion."
"Why is that?"
"Well, Sache worked here when she was in high school and she always had to bring Joel and me in all the time because both of my parents worked. And I became a waitress here too for a while after I stopped being a handmaiden."
"They let you in the kitchen?" Padme said in disbelief. She had experienced some of Sabe's cooking disasters first hand.
"I wasn't allowed to touch the food that wasn't already finished. I caused one too many accidents while I was a kid. But Pablo always managed to fix it. That's how good he was."
"Wait…is this where the cheese grater incident was?" Sabe's face paled and she shuddered at the memory.
"I'd rather not talk about it."