Chapter 9: I Hope That Something Better Comes Along
As the group continued to drive on, Mara couldn't help starring at Luke.
"Wow, Luke." Mara said, a little nervous. "You were really brave and courageous."
"Gee." Luke said, equally nervous. "I-I don't know what to say."
"Say I was magnificent." Wedge said, slightly resentful over Mara's praise to Luke. "I did the driving."
"And you and I helped Luke catch Han." Leia pointed out.
"Yeah." Han agreed. "You all helped me out there. I owe ya."
"Thanks." Mara asked as she couldn't stop staring at Luke.
"Gee." Luke said as he blushed badly.
"Oh brother." Wedge groaned.
"Um..." Mara said as she looked around. "Why don't we stop somewhere for the night and have a quiet little dinner?"
"Terrific!" Han said enthusiastically. "I know this great place on Ryloth!"
"Uh... I mean along the way." Mara pointed out.
"Oh." Han said, his eagerness deflating slightly. "My mistake."
"Well, that might be nice." Luke agreed.
()()()()()
Stopping at the first restaurant they saw, the group split up to give each of them some room to breathe after spending several days stuck in the car. As such, Luke and Mara had a table all their own outside on a porch in sight of a crescent moon.
"Oh wow." Luke said as Mara returned from the ladies room, dressed in a simple black dress with red lining. "Hey Mara. You look lovely tonight."
"Thank you." Mara said with a smile as she sat down next to Luke. "I'm so sorry if I kept you waiting."
"It was worth it." Luke said with a nervous chuckle.
"How charming of you." Mara said with a smile.
"I uh... Took the liberty of ordering us some wine." Luke said, half afraid he'd been too forward, relieved when Mara seemed more impressed. "Oh waiter?"
The waiter, a slim man with graying hair came up.
"Yes?" The waiter asked impatiently. He seemed to have either had a rough night or was just unpleasant by nature. "May I help you?"
"Uh..." Luke said, caught off-guard by his rudeness. "The wine, please?"
The waiter looked at the basket the wine was in and pulled it out and showed it to Mara.
"Ooh, you mad impetuous fink, it's champagne." Mara said with a smile as Luke knew she was joking when she said that.
"Not exactly." The waiter said plainly. "Sparkling Marceltell. One of the finest wines of Idaho."
"Uh, you may serve us now, please." Luke said, unsure of how restaurants like this worked.
"Oh, may I?" The waiter asked sarcastically.
He then quickly undid the wrapping.
"Look how he does that." Mara said, apparently just as impressed with Luke over how he undid the wrapping around the nozzle since neither had ever really had champagne before.
"Yeah, very suave." Luke agreed.
The waiter then tossed the wrapping away and undid the top with a bottle opener. He then held the cap to Luke.
"Don't you want to smell the bottle cap?" The waiter asked.
"Oh." Luke exclaimed as he sniffed the cap. "Smells alright."
"Would you like to taste it first?" The waiter asked.
"Uh..." Luke said as he didn't have the money to afford another bottle as Mara turned to him.
"I think he's supposed to." Mara whispered in his ear.
"Oh." Luke said with relief. "Uh, would you taste it for us, please?"
The waiter rolled his eyes and took a sip from a spare glass and quickly spit it out.
"Excellent choice." The waiter said robotically.
"It oughta be for ninety-five dactari." Luke told Mara, which impressed her to no end.
The waiter then poured out two glasses with the wine.
"Oh, may we have straws please?" Luke asked.
"Yes." The waiter said. "I expected that."
The waiter then unwrapped a pair of straws and placed one in each glass.
"Thank you." Luke said sincerely. "That'll be all for now."
"Oh, thank you!" The waiter said dramatically as he bowed down. "Thank you very much! Thank you."
He then left, leaving the two alone.
"Here's to you, Mara." Luke said as he lifted his glass, Mara lifted hers, and they clinked the glasses together. "Drink up."
The two drank the wine as it tasted like a generic, carbonated juice as the two sat there nervously.
"This stuff's making me a bit giggly." Mara said with a nervous smile.
"The wine?" Luke asked.
"Everything." Mara said as she and Luke looked at each other intently. Luke's mind quickly became a blank as he'd never felt this way about anyone before.
"I-it's a beautiful evening, isn't it?" Luke asked as he began sweating.
"Yeah." Mara said in a way that told Luke she was just as nervous as he was.
"The moon is just lovely." Luke said, unaware what he was really talking about at this point.
"Yeah." Mara agreed again.
"But you know, Mara, the moon isn't as lovely as you." Luke said, finally getting enough nerve to say what he'd been thinking since he saw her.
With that, the two were just about to kiss when the waiter called out.
"Mara Jade?" The waiter called out in general. "Mara Jade?!"
The waiter walked out to their table.
"You Mara Jade?" The waiter asked.
"Yes." Mara asked confusedly.
"Telephone." The waiter said as he walked off.
"Oh." Mara said as she got up. "Luke, I placed a call to my agent. It'll just take one teeny-tiny moment."
"What the hey." Luke groaned over his luck.
()()()()()
Half an hour after Mara left, Luke was still waiting at the table, unsure of what to do as he heard piano music from almost nowhere as he followed it to find a slim man with black hair playing the piano.
"Evening." The slim man said. "The name's Galen. Sit yourself down."
"Thanks." Luke said as he sat down in a chair. "I'm Luke. Luke Skywalker."
"Pleased to meet you." Galen said, not missing a beat on the piano. "I'm no Mozart, but I get by."
"It was very nice." Luke said sincerely, though his mind was still on Mara.
"Broken heart, right?" Galen asked as he glanced over at Luke.
"Does it show?" Luke asked, surprised at Galen knowing what was wrong almost at once.
"Listen pal, when you've been around the block as many times as I have, you've seen it all, and you've done it all yourself too." Galen said plainly. "A broken heart for every drop of rain, and a shattered dream for every falling star."
"Exactly." Luke agreed. "She just walked out on me."
"Yeah, typical." Galen sighed. "That's why I live alone."
"You do, huh?" Luke asked.
"You bet." Galen answered. "I finish work. I go home. I read a book, have a couple of beers and take a walk for a breather. Then I go to bed."
"Nice and simple." Luke said plainly. He was beginning to regret leaving his old home back in Maine.
"Stay away from women." Galen concluded. "That's my motto."
"But I can't." Luke pointed out.
"Me either." Galen confessed. "That's my problem."
You can't live with 'em, you can't live without 'em.
There's somethin' irresistabullish about 'em.
We grin and bear it 'cause the nights are long.
I hope that somethin' better comes along.
"I see what you mean." Luke said as he listened to the song and decided to join in.
It's no good complainin', and pointless to holler.
If she's a beauty she'll get under your collar.
She made a monkey out of old King Kong,
I hope that somethin' better comes along.
As the two were singing, Luke began to feel better already and also began seeing the bright side of having someone special in his life.
Still, it's fun when they're fetchin'
And agree to see an etchin'
That you keep at your little pad.
There is no solution, it's part of evolution,
You'll soon hear the souls,
The little feet of tadpoles!
"What?" Luke asked.
"Metaphor." Galen explained.
There's no limitation to mixin' and matchin'
Some get an itchin' for a critter they've been scratchin'
A skunk was badgered the results were strong.
I hope that somethin' better,
I hope that somethin' better,
I hope that somethin' better comes along.
"Phone call for Luke Skywalker!" The waiter called out as he walked over to the duo. "You Luke Skywalker?"
"Yeah." Luke admitted.
"Telephone." The waiter said as Luke walked over and took it.
"Not often you see a green horn have the blues so bad." Galen said to himself as he went for his dinner break.
As Luke grabbed the phone, he heard noise from the street and wondered who could be calling as everybody was in the restaurant.
"Hello?" Luke asked.
"Luke, hang up!" Mara's voice called out from the phone. "Hurry! Hur-"
"Mara, is that you?!" Luke called out in alarm as his eyes widened, and he quickly realized he was set up and wasn't at all surprised to hear Gunray on the other end of the phone just as Mara was cut off.
"Yes, that's her." Gunray said calmly. "And this is Nute Gunray. Now you listen, Skywalker and listen well. Step outside the restaurant, right now. My guys will meet you there.
"Well what if I don't?" Luke asked, trying to sound braver than he felt.
"Then your girlfriend will be singing with the angels." Gunray said as Luke heard Mara continue to struggle.
"Luke, don't do it!" Mara said. "Forget about me, get out of here! Don't-"
The line went dead as Luke distinctly heard Gunray hang up, fuming over the gloating laughter he was sure Gunray was doing right now.
With no other option, Luke walked out of the back of the restaurant as Gunray ordered. Just as he closed the door, several men pointed guns at him.
"So, you the guys I'm supposed to meet?" Luke asked coolly.
And thus, the plot thickens... When we're already two thirds through it.