Gossip

"Ah, there she is!" Dorme waved from the table she and Rabe had grabbed. Having already downed two strong vodka sodas each, the buzz of alcohol was beginning to kick in. The two women cooed over their friend's figure-hugging black dress for a moment while Sabe settled herself down in the cushioned chair. "You look amazing! Where is this from?"

"Oh, it's just Dior," Sabe brushed her off and placed her clutch on the table, her tight-high pony swinging as she moved. "I've had it for years."

Rabe giggled and reached for the leather bound drinks menu, flicking through the pages of expensive cocktails. "How is everyone? I feel like it's been forever since we've all been together."

"Yes." Sabe nodded, gesturing for the waiter, "I swear I live in my office these days, it's ridiculous."

"I know the feeling…" Rabe sighed, "Hey, isn't Padme coming? She's normally a stickler for timekeeping."

Now, Padme Naberrie was someone Rabe hadn't seen in forever, they were busy women with demanding jobs after all. Between putting together this month's editorial for Nubian magazine before her boss shot her and planning the wedding, she hadn't had a spare moment in weeks! This little appointment for drinks with the girls had been the only thing keeping her going all month. She'd been looking forward to seeing Padme especially… Drunk Padme was so much more fun than sober Padme after all.

"Oh no, Padme couldn't make it tonight." Sabe sighed, "she has a date with her young man…"

The three women giggled together as the waiter carefully placed down three colourful cocktails.

"Wait," Rabe held up a hand, "this isn't the twenty-three year old is it?"

Padme had been dating a younger last time they'd gotten together but Rabe had shaken it off as a little fun, no serious career-driven twenty-seven-year-old women seriously dated a man four years younger. Her best friend had specifically talked about wanting to settle down, get married and start a family sooner than later so why she'd waste her time on someone so young was beyond her… She took a long sip of the strong pink cocktail while the other girls laughed.

"Have you seen him though? He's gorgeous! I'm jealous." Sabe smirked, "and it must be nice to have a younger man's stamina in the bedroom…"

"From what I've heard," Dorme raised a playful eyebrow, "he's the best she's ever had!"

Rabe rolled her eyes as the two of them clucked away. "Of course he's the best she's ever had! Look at her past few boyfriends, shall we? The politician, Bail? Boring. The banker, Rush? Creepy. The Italian artist… What was his name again, Paul?"

"Palo," Sabe laughed, gesturing playfully.

"Yes! He was pretty but all me, me, me… I swear, Padme has no taste in men!" Rabe laughed. Padme Naberrie could take her shopping any day, but she would never trust the lawyer with any romantic decisions. It was astounding to see someone so smart make such terrible decisions.

"I don't know," Dorme released her straw from her mouth with a knowing smirk, eyes twinkling in the dim light of the bar. Dorme had always been closer to Padme than the others, even Rabe could acknowledge that fact, they were almost one and the same. "She's definitely in love…"

"Padme's a romantic," Sabe shook her head, "she'd fall in love with any movie-star looking man sweeping her off her feet."

"What does this twenty-three-year-old do anyway?" Hopefully, he had his own money and wasn't looking for financial gain through a relationship with Padme. It wouldn't be the first time Rabe had seen someone be fooled by love. Seeing something so terrible happen to her friend would be heart-breaking, she couldn't handle such a thing.

"First of all!" Dorme laughed, "he has a name, y'know… It's Anakin Skywalker! You know, the race car guy?" When the two other women merely blinked blankly, she sighed, "he just won the US Grand Prix a few months ago… Seriously?"

"Dorme, my love, I can assure you, neither Rabe or I pay sports any attention whatsoever." Sabe squeezed their friend's shoulder lightly, "I'm amazed you know anything about it, really."

Rabe almost snorted into her drink. Well, Sabe wasn't wrong… The last time she'd partaken in sports outside of sessions in the gym was… Well… High School! How was she was supposed to know who was driving fast cars in races?

"What does winning that pay, anyway?" She asked curiously, draining the last drops of her beverage and placing the glass on the table, "I know they went to Hawaii for a week last month – that's expensive."

"Oooh, yeah, the pictures she sent looked incredible!" Sabe cooed. "Honestly, Michael could take some tips from this guy!"

"It's a lot," Dorme said sagely, "she didn't say how much but it's definitely in the millions if you're with the top companies… Which, he is."

"Do you think it's serious?" Rabe asked suddenly, "is she planning a future with this guy even with the age difference?"

"Rabe!" Dorme drawled, "it's four years, not forty! Geez!"

"I know, I know…" Something about it just didn't work in her mind… Maybe it was because Padme had always dated men older than herself before, or that she was so mature for her age that Rabe simply couldn't imagine her with someone younger. Maybe if she met this Anakin Skywalker guy it would be different.

"I think she is." Sabe smiled, "they've been seeing each other for almost a year now. If it wasn't serious, it would have fizzled out by now, surely."

Suddenly, all three women's phones buzzed on the table at the same time.

Upon flicking the message open, they were greeted by an image of a beaming Padme and a large, shimmering diamond on her finger followed by six words in a grey bubble.

"I can't believe it, I'm engaged!"