Lamenta walked with her uncle down the halls. Neither she nor Anakin said anything for a while.
This felt a bit awkward. Lamenta mostly just held onto Lammy and walked beside her uncle.
Anakin knew Lamenta was a shy kid. He'd seen that behavior in Boba when he first got adopted. But Lamenta was only four and a girl. Anakin never faced shyness issues with Gabby, so he did not have a lot of experience with this kind of thing. He hardly ever saw his other nieces, though technically they were Padme's nieces and only became Anakin's nieces when he married Padme.
He wasn't sure what to do with her. So, he thought for a bit.
"So...Lamenta." said Anakin. "How did you like traveling across the galaxy with your parents?"
Lamenta was silent for a bit. That question, she usually got about how she liked traveling with famous singer Count Crescendo. But this time, it was about her parents just as her parents.
"Oh... uh... well, I liked it." said Lamenta. "I got to see lots of places. And I got lots of great souvenirs too. I kept my favorite ones in a special box. But it's under my bed back at the penthouse."
Anakin then had an idea. Some of his kids' friends talked about how some of their relatives liked to spoil them whenever they came around. Maybe he could do the same for Lamenta. She was his biological niece, and he'd already missed four years of her life.
"Well, let's go to the penthouse and get it, and you can show me some of your souvenirs." Anakin said, starting to get some ideas. "And later, maybe we can get some ice cream. How's that sound?"
"Can I get it with sprinkles?" Lamenta asked.
"I'll buy you three scoops." Anakin said. "This is our first day spending real time together, and I'm gonna make it extra special. We'll have a great day."
Anakin and Lamenta rode over to the penthouse and got Lamenta's box of her favorite souvenirs.
Lamenta showed her uncle a little gold statuette of a Lothal tiger she got from one of her father's benefit concerts at one of the planets filled with wildlife.
"Daddy got me this when he did a benefit concert to raise money to help save the endangered Lothal Golden Tiger." Lamenta said. And she picked out a pretty seashell she'd gotten when Crescendo performed for the royal family of Mon Cala a couple years back before Lee Char's father was killed. "And then there was that time we performed for the griffins in Plumalas, but they were so attracted to the shiny lights and feathers flew all over the place."
Lamenta picked up a necklace her mother helped her make with some wooden beads and a few feathers.
"That's beautiful, Lamenta." Anakin said. "And you made that yourself?"
"Mommy helped me."
"Well, you both did a great job." Anakin said. He picked up a little red and yellow yo-yo and started to play with it. "Where's this one from?"
"I won that as a prize at a carnival Mommy and Daddy took me to on vacation." Lamenta said.
The yo-yo went down and up once, but then stayed down.
"Hmm. Must be defective." Anakin said.
Lamenta picked it up and made it go up and down five times.
"Nope. Still works good."
Anakin crossed his arms and said, "I must've loosened it up for you."
Lamenta giggled. It was true what Obi-Wan said; Anakin definitely did not like losing.
All the little things Lamenta had looked fun. But, she didn't seem to have many toys for a girl with a very wealthy pop star for a dad. But then again, they did move around a lot, so it made sense that they had to travel light. So, Lamenta had very small stuff. The biggest toy she had was her white lamb.
"So... what kind of things did you and your parents do when your parents weren't working?" Anakin said.
"Well, sometimes we watched movies in our hotel rooms after a concert." Lamenta said. "It depended where we were staying. Sometimes, we got to order room service, swim in a pool with a big waterslide, or play games in the game room. Once, we even got to go to a county fair, and I got to pet a real sheep and ride a merry-go-round. And they eve showed us how ice cream gets made from the milk get from cows. Farm fresh ice cream is really yummy."
Lamenta licked her mouth, remembering the sweet taste of freshly made ice cream.
"Well, I don't know how many farms are on Coruscant, but I do know a great ice cream parlor where my kids love getting ice cream." Anakin said. "What do you say we head on out for a scoop or two?"
"Yay!" Lamenta said.
So, Anakin took Lamenta to this great ice cream parlor called What's the Scoop? There, he was always welcomed, being the famous Hero With No Fear.
"Master Skywalker." said Carter, one of the workers. "Always an honor. And who's this lovely little lady with you?"
"This is my niece. Lamenta." Anakin said. "She and her parents just moved in."
Lamenta hugged her lamb shyly said hi.
The workers were very nice to Lamenta. It being her first visit and her being family of the Galaxy's greatest hero, her ice cream was on the house. And, as luck would have it, they just started serving a new flavor which happened to be Lamenta's favorite. Blueberry cheesecake.
Lamenta got three scoops with sparkly silver star sprinkles, while her uncle got chocolate.
Both of them ended up getting more ice cream on their faces than in their mouths.
"You have ice cream all over you, Uncle Ani!" Lamenta laughed.
"So do you." Anakin laughed. He cleaned himself off, then cleaned Lamenta's little mouth. "That's better. Now I can see your pretty face."
Lamenta giggled at her uncle being so sweet to her.
But neither of them noticed that someone was watching them, and snapped a couple pictures of them before making a call.
"Frank," said the man to someone on his phone. "I've spotted the Hero with No Fear with a new little girl here at What's the Scoop. I believe he said she was his niece when he walked in. I'm sending pictures now."
Anakin walked out of the shop with Lamenta and began heading down the street with her.
Lamenta seemed to like looking around at all the big building and all the vehicles flying by. There were lots of different apartment buildings, restaurants, shops. Anakin knew from experience with his wife and daughter that shopping tended to be a popular activity among women, especially mothers and daughters, teenage girl groups, and just anyone who loved clothes, shoes, and anything else you could find in a mall.
Anakin spotted Lamenta eyeing some things in the shop windows. A beautiful red dress, sparkly hair clips, a pair of violet boots with silver stars, and some toys. He'd missed four birthdays and four Life Days with Lamenta. So he thought, why not?
Lamenta found some great stuff that Anakin didn't hesitate to buy for her. The dress, the hair clips, the boots, a new ballet music CD. And then, they walked into a toy shop.
"Pick out any toys you like, Lamenta." Anakin said. "Think of this as all your birthdays and Life Days clumped into one big day."
"Wouldn't I be eight if birthdays worked like that?"
Anakin laughed, ruffled Lamenta's hair, and said, "You got my sense of humor."
Lamenta looked all around at all the different toys. So many possibilities. Bikes, stuffed animals, bouncy balls, water toys, frisbees, dress up costumes, toy instruments, bubbles, and so many other things.
"How am I ever gonna choose?" Lamenta said.
"Well, is there a toy you've always wanted, but your parents couldn't get you?"
"Well... there is one thing. A Galaxy Girl doll. They're this really cool doll that comes with her own book that tells her story. There are so many too. There's a doll for everyone. Princesses, sporty girls, rock stars, you name it. But they're always sold out everywhere. And there's this one I've been begging my parents to get me for a long time. But we never had time to get one because Daddy and Mommy were always working."
"Well, what does the doll you wanted look like?"
Lamenta said. And she spotted a magazine with pictures of dolls in it and flipped through the pages until she found a picture of a pretty doll. The doll looked like a dark-skinned girl with curly black hair like Lamenta's, a crown of purple flowers adorning it, and she was dressed in a purple ballerina outfit.
"Her name's Prima Lavendira." Lamenta said. "She's really pretty, and she talks and plays pretty music when you pull her string. And with a galaxy girl doll, you can brush her hair, dress them in different outfits, and everything."
Anakin looked at the doll. She was a pretty doll. He'd seen ads for Galaxy Girls before. Gabby even wanted one for her last birthday, but just like Lamenta said, they were sold out everywhere. He checked every toy store all over the city and the next one. He even asked some of the Jedi to help by splitting up and looking for one. But none of them could find a Galaxy Girl doll anywhere. Except for Master Koth. But then one of the crazy parents tackled him and got the last one.
Gabby was so disappointed when her father had to break the news that he couldn't get her the present she wanted.
But, a Galaxy Girl doll would make his niece super happy. And this time, he was determined to find one for her.
So, he checked the doll section, but didn't see any. And then, he asked someone who worked at the store if they had any Galaxy Girl dolls in the back. And the worker said they would check.
But then, Anakin and Lamenta got ambushed by photographers and reporters bombarding them with questions and flashing cameras.
"Master Skywalker! Is it true your niece is the Crescendo child?" asked one reporter.
"What?" Anakin said, trying to block the flashing from his eyes.
"Does your family know Count Crescendo's true identity?" asked another.
"Will you stop, please? I'm trying to get some shopping done." Anakin said.
Lamenta got scared as she was bombarded with the cameras and she screamed, which made some of them cover their ears. And she turned invisible and ran away. So did Anakin, minus the turning invisible part. But then he realized he couldn't see his niece anymore.
"Lamenta? Lamenta! Where are you?" Anakin called.
Lamenta turned visible again once she was sure the reporters didn't know where she was now. But then, she looked around and realized she didn't know where her uncle was, and he probably didn't know where she was either.
"Uncle Anakin?" Lamenta called. "Uncle Anakin?"
Lamenta looked around and began to get scared as she realized she was lost! But, she remembered what her parents always told her. "If you've found you've wandered too far, stay put so we can find you where you are."
Lamenta found it hard to stay calm. This was not how she wanted her day with her uncle to go, and she started crying.
Meanwhile, Anakin was worried and started to look for Lamenta. The store was really big and he had no idea where she could've been. He went to someone who worked there for help.
"Can you describe your niece?" asked the security guard.
"She's about this high," said Anakin, marking a short height with his hand. "Has curly black hair, purple eyes, and she was wearing a purple dress."
"Where did you last see her?"
"Near the magazine rack."
"We'll get right on it."
The security guard guided Anakin to the lost children's station. Anakin looked around and didn't see his niece among any of the lost kids. He got really worried.
"I'm a terrible uncle!" Anakin scolded himself.
Inconveniently, Anakin's phone rang, and he saw it was Carmine, calling to check in.
"Hey, Carmine. How's your day with Boba and Gabby going?" Anakin said.
"Pretty great, actually." Carmine said. "How's Lamenta doing?"
"She's... great. Very great." Anakin said, trying not to sound nervous.
"Anakin...?" Carmine said, noticing the edge in his twin's voice. "What's wrong? Is Lamenta hurt or sick?"
"No! She's not either of those things. I just... don't know where she is right now."
"You lost my daughter?!"
Anakin nearly dropped his phone when his brother yelled in his ear. He didn't choose the name Count Crescendo because he had a quiet voice.
"I know, you're furious." Anakin said. "I'm so sorry. We got ambushed by reporters and then we got separated and-"
"I'm coming over there! Where are you?" Carmine asked.
"At the toy store on Markins Street." Anakin answered.
"I'm not too far from there. Don't go anywhere."
Anakin face palmed. This was not how he wanted his first family date with his niece to go. And it started out so well.
"I just hope Carmine's date was going better than mine before all this happened." Anakin told himself.