Anakin was worried because Palpatine had seen him and Padmé embracing. Actually, there was nothing to see, but the husband might be jealous and he didn't want to hurt Padmé.
Now his beloved mother had to be buried. He was absent when she died and blamed himself. On the other hand, he couldn't have helped her.
It was a sad day, the saddest in a long time. He couldn't remember the last time he cried, maybe the day Padmé got married. He had locked himself in his room and cried all day. At the time, he lived in the same apartment with Rex and Cody; it was his last year as a graduate student. They asked him why he locked the door; it was not like him. He made up an excuse, didn't want them to see his red, swollen eyes. It would have been embarrassing. Men don't cry.
Now he let the tears flow.
Anakin didn't stay long in Toronto. Everything reminded him of his mother and she was gone. He said goodbye to his stepfather Cliegg, his stepbrother Owen and his wife Beru and flew back to Washington D.C.
After returning from Toronto, the days were hard, he was alone. Now, as a highly educated man with a well-paying job, he could afford a small apartment with all the amenities. The best thing about the apartment was that it was only 0.3 miles from where he worked. The downside was that it was expensive, two thousand dollars a month.
Despite the nice apartment, he was alone and constantly thinking about his loss. There was no one to comfort him. Padmé.
He saw her every day at the office, but there was still work and colleagues. There was nothing like the wonderful togetherness of the expedition in Alaska. They all ate lunch together, but remained strictly professional.
The only one who kept teasing was Aayla. Either she suspected something or she wanted to win Anakin over. Probably the latter.
"I saw you yesterday, Padmé. You were about to enter La Fayette with your husband..." the emphasis was on husband "... What about us, Anakin, at La Fayette?"
"I've been there before, not my thing."
"Then somewhere else... maybe?"
"Not anywhere else, either. You know, Aayla, this kind of relationship between colleagues is not tolerated."
"If you don't take the risk, you'll never get married."
"It's a risk I'm willing to take."
It was such a clear refusal that it was embarrassing... but Anakin didn't want to date Aayla, so he had to be clear.
"Too bad, you're such an attractive man, Anakin. Isn't he, Padmé?"
"Yes, you're right." And looked away.
"But your husband is even more attractive. His money makes him one of the most attractive men in the United States."
"Aayla, this discussion is getting destructive. Let's drop the subject of attractive men."
"Too bad, I have so much more to say."
"Aayla, keep your mind open to other possibilities, don't focus so much on one person." Adi Gallia said and looked at Anakin who grinned.
It had become a habit for the colleagues to go to Denizen's Brewing for a beer almost every day after work in the summer and to the Quarry House Tavern in the winter. The tavern was not at all elegant, but sometimes there was live music, and no one knew them, no one addressed them by their title. Of course, Sheev knew about this little pleasure with colleagues, but he was fine with it. She should have fun, too; as long as all her colleagues were there, he had no objections. After all, he went to the men's clubs without her.
Anakin also went to this tavern, except on Fridays. No one knew why he was absent on Fridays, why he went home in the afternoon; no one knew except Padmé.
One Friday in mid-February, after a hard day of comparing jet stream data from the past five years, Anakin left at 3:00 p.m. At home, he quickly showered, shaved, and changed into clean clothes. A dash of Sauvage and he was satisfied with his appearance. He took one last look in the mirror and left the apartment. Downstairs in the garage, he got into his new Grand Cherokee and was on the way to the Marriott Marquise downtown to enjoy his tea time.
As he sat there alone, he wondered if he would ever be able to let another woman into his heart. He had to admit, not at the moment. Padmé was there and he couldn't get her out of his mind. Many attractive women had tried, including Aayla, but he just couldn't give in. The bad thing was that he saw Padmé every day and she was so... nice to him, maybe a little more distant than before the expedition, but that was understandable. All he could think of at the moment were opportunities.
All the waiters in the hotel lounge already knew him.
"What kind of tea would you like today, Mr. Skywalker?"
"Lapsang Souchong would be fine."
"Very well, Mr. Skywalker, the tea will be ready in three minutes, as usual."
After three minutes, tea arrived in a teapot, milk in a creamer, a pre-heated teacup, and a teaspoon. The typical étagère was not missing, the lower plate was full of sandwiches and scones, and there was an extra bowl of jam and one of clotted cream. On the upper plate of the étagère there were also some sweets, some muffins and even macaroons. The étagère was filled differently each time because Anakin came regularly, they wanted to keep things interesting for him.
He had just started to eat a sandwich when a young woman joined him, or rather forced him to join her. She was young and attractive, but Anakin recognized her as a professional. So, he kept her at distance, pretending he was expecting someone, which did not stop the young woman from staying seated. Anakin thought he wouldn't be able to enjoy his tea time that Friday if the woman couldn't be driven away.
Every day that week, around five o'clock, Padmé thought of Anakin sitting in his office, enjoying his tea. She wanted so much to be with him, but it wasn't possible, not at all. So, she recalled the memories.
On that Friday in February, Padmé went to Anakin's office to get the results of his jet stream comparison because the file was not on the server. He wasn't there anymore. She wondered why he had left so early. Yes, it was Friday, and all of a sudden she felt an irresistible desire to be with him. To hell with all the taboos and no-go's, she had to see him now. She packed her laptop, grabbed her bag and called Quarsh.
"Hello, Quarsh. Wait for me outside the entrance, I'll be down in about ten minutes."
"Yes, Ma'am."
Quarsh Panaka was her bodyguard and chauffer. As the wife of a billionaire, she couldn't walk around unprotected, at least not in Washington, D.C. Being the wife of Sheev Palpatine also had many disadvantages. When she married him, she insisted on choosing and paying for her own bodyguard. Sheev agreed. What she didn't know was that Quarsh Panaka had been on Sheev Palpatine's payroll for a long time. So Sheev always knew where she went and who she met, and some conversations were even recorded because Quarsh was always nearby, sometimes with Gregar Typho or someone else.
She got into the limousine, "To the Marriott Marquise."
"Yes, Ma'am."
After a forty-minute drive, she got out in front of the hotel. "Take a break, Quarsh, I'll call you when I'm done."
"Yes, Ma'am."
Padmé walked through the revolving door and Quarsh got out. A second car, belonging to one of Sheev Palpatine's employees, followed behind to avoid being noticed. Quarsh instructed him to record everything, visually and acoustically. Then he drove away. The other bodyguard, Gregar Typho, whom Padmé did not know, got out, handed the car key to the hotel valet and went inside. He followed Padmé, positioned so that she would not suspect she was being followed, but still in a position to take the desired pictures.
Unsuspecting, Padmé went to the lounge, hoping to catch a glimpse of Anakin. Sure, he was there, but not alone. She stopped for a moment, not knowing if the woman was his date or just one of the many Anakin had told her about. Seconds later, she walked in his direction; she wanted to know now.
When Anakin saw her, he stood up quickly and a happy little smile spread over his face. He turned to the young woman who was still sitting in the chair.
"So, here is my date... if you'll excuse us," he said, running to Padmé and opening his arms.
Without thinking, and somehow as a reaction, she put her arms around his neck and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
The young woman got up and left.
"May I ask who the woman was who kept you company?"
"I don't know her, I was sort of ambushed... as I often am," he laughed. "I told her I was waiting for someone, hoping she would leave me alone, but as you saw, I had to think of something."
"Glad I could help... by the way, I looked for you this afternoon, but you left a little earlier than usual. I still wanted to get the evaluations of the jet streams for the last five years, I wanted to compare something..."
"Come, Padmé, let's sit down. I have Lapsang Souchong today, as if I knew you were coming," he laughed.
"A premonition?"
"Maybe it was, but what did you want to compare?"
And so, the conversation went, mostly about business. Occasionally, colleagues were mentioned, the annoying Aayla, and Padmé just smiled. Then there was another discussion about Lapsang Souchong, growing areas, manufacturing processes, storage and so on. The two knew their stuff. It was fun to discuss, even more fun to drink tea, and the étagère emptied. The sandwiches were all gone and most of the sweets.
Around half past six they got up and headed for the exit. Gregar Typho thought his work was done and turned off his recording equipment for now.
Padmé called Panaka to pick her up in front of the hotel. Anakin waited with her in the lobby for her chauffeur.
"I have really enjoyed this time, Padmé, it has been so good to be with you. I missed our tea time so much."
"Haven't you flirted in a while?... But I have to be honest, I missed our tea time too."
"And the flirt?"
"Anakin ! I'm married."
"You've said that a thousand times, I know... and here's your car, unfortunately."
"Why unfortunately?"
"I could have hours of conversation with you."
"Thanks for the tea, it was really nice." She smiled at him.
"See you Monday, have a nice weekend."
"Thanks, you too."
"Yeah, a lonely one, bye, Padmé."
Even though Panaka was nearby, he opened the door and helped her inside. It was being filmed.
"Bye, Anakin." Her look was full of longing, it was clear in her eyes.
It was so painful to see her go, especially knowing she was going into the arms of another man. Sheev was her husband, but she didn't love him, and that hurt even more.
He stood there and watched the fancy, narrow tail lights of the Cadillac Escalade until they were nothing more than a blurry red line and then disappeared. Then he put his hands in the pockets of his coat, turned left, and walked to his own car, which was being driven up to him.…
….
Best regards from Germany