(Star Wars) Gangsta #TheRiseAwards

Chapter Nine

"Hello?"

Vader stepped into Miss Thule's diner, the front door unlocked though the sign in the window said they were closed. "Padmé? Miss Thule?" He called, unsure if he should've come in yet. He looked around the establishment, taking in the surroundings.

The floor was tiled, a classic black-and-white pattern covering the floor. The walls were painted, a huge mural covering the walls; it was a peaceful world of green and blue depicted - most likely Naboo. There were leather-covered booths on the side walls, a medium-stained wood supporting the cushions. The tables - both out on the floor and at the booths - were made of the same wood; the patted chairs mirrored the booth benches. There was a bar facing the front entry, once again made out of the same wood; the countertops matched the wood. There was a wide rectangular window behind the bar with an analog clock above it, no doubt leading back to the kitchen.

"Wow, you're even more handsome during the daylight hours."

Vader whipped around to find a woman had come from the back hallway beside the bar. She had dark curly hair with gray spirals here and there as well as a warm set of hazel eyes looking back at him. A halter dress the color of the deep ocean made up her outfit, giving the woman a kind look to her. She looked like an older Padmé, there wasn't any doubt in the Sith's mind that this woman was her mother. "Miss Thule?"

"Jobal, please." Jobal walked the short distance between them and shook his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am." Vader gave her a smile, eager to make a good impression on her. "I'm Vader." She chuckled, crossing her arms. "Oh, I know who you are. I've heard quite a lot about you, young man - most of which didn't come from my daughter." She walked behind the bar, grabbing a few glasses from below. "What can I get you to drink? We have soft drinks, coffee, tea..." Jobal grabbed a sky blue kettle from a different cabinet. "I was just about to start boiling a pot of green tea for Mé, it's her favorite thing to drink."

"I'll have a cup of that if you don't mind." Vader smiled, taking a seat up at the bar. "So tell me about yourself, son. I'd like to get to know you for myself." Jobal encouraged him, disappearing into the kitchen. "I can hear you through the window."

"Well... what do you want to know?" Vader wasn't really sure where to start or rather where she wanted him to start. "How's about we start with your family? Any parents or siblings? Grandparents maybe?" Jobal called over the running water, unknowingly striking a sensitive chord. "Oh, uh... I was born to a mother but no father."

"What's she like?"

"She... she was amazing." Vader smiled, nostalgia hit him suddenly. "Her name's Shmi. She was born on the very distant world of Zygerria, a slave planet... She was on her own for the thirty years of her life and then she had me. When I was two, we ran away to Tatooine and farmed for moisture there." He paused, his mother's smile flashing in his mind. "When I was about eleven, my mom met the man that would become the only dad I've ever known. By my next birthday, Sheev was moving my mother and me here to Scarif... They got married the week we first got here." Jobal watched him through the window, noticing that he kept using words like "was" instead of present tense. Perhaps the boy didn't talk to his parents anymore? "Well, I'd love to meet them."

"I'd love for you to meet them too but... you can't." Vader suddenly came back to reality, staring down at his hands on the bar. "My father passed away a little over two years ago, a heart attack being the culprit. My mother passed away six months later and to this day, I still... don't know what happened." He bit the corner of his lip. "I went to go wake her up for breakfast and she... wouldn't."

Suddenly, he felt a hand on his. Vader looked up to see Jobal standing in front of him, a cup of tea in her free hand. "I'm so sorry to hear that, I didn't mean to start this off with such a sore subject... Please forgive me." She held out the cup; he took it from her with a smile. "Nothing to forgive, I don't mind talking about them." Jobal nodded before retreating into the kitchen once again. "I hope you're hungry, dear..."