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It was a beautiful, sunny Saturday afternoon at Takodana Village - one of south Florida’s many 55+ retirement communities - and Leia Organa-Solo and her husband, Han Solo, were holding court at the Crait development’s swimming pool. It was, after all, the place to see and be seen every single weekend.
“Hey, did you hear that we’ve got a new one in 335?” Obi-Wan Kenobi said as he leaned back in his pool lounger.
Leia opened her mouth to speak, but Han beat her to it. “You do realize you’re talking to my wife, don’t you?” he said. “She’s the Queen of Crait. Knower of all. Snooper of the snoops.”
Leia swatted her husband on the arm. “You’re a pain in the ass, you know that, right?”
“But I’m
your
pain the ass. Go ahead, do carry on, Your Worshipfulness.” Han punctuated with a wink.
“As I was trying to say, yes, I have met him briefly --” but just as Leia started to speak, 335 walked in, as did a much younger looking version of him.
Oh, this was about to get
interesting
.
--
Poe Dameron swore that the moment he arrived at Takodana Village he brought the average age down about 30 years or so. At 32, he was undoubtedly the youngest person there and that only meant one thing - a barrage of endless questions. They’d start the marriage talk. The relationship talk. The “how are you still single?” talk. He got enough of that from his father who, as well-intentioned as he was, drove him up the wall with all of his “I just want to see you settled down with a nice girl” talk. And now that he was in
A LITERAL VILLAGE
of people...of a certain age...well, that conversation didn’t change - it just amplified. Suddenly, he was confronted by 20 people who had single daughters, granddaughters, nieces, and cousins who ever-so-conveniently lived about 2 minutes away from him. Luckily, Poe was just in the midst of getting his father settled in his new place and Kes couldn’t have gotten to know all of the people on his floor yet, let alone the whole building. Or community complex.
Could he?
As he trailed behind his father as they walked into the pool area, he could hear “hey, 335, pull up a chair!” being shouted from across the enclosed space. A grey-haired, gruff-looking man was sitting next to a woman with an elegant, almost regal look about her, a circle of occupied lawn chairs surrounding them. Poe was contemplating an escape plan, but his father was already waving him down.
And so it began.
--
His dad was a 10 on the Dameron Enthusiasm Meter. This couldn’t be good.
Poe followed his dad to a cluster of chairs and took a seat behind him outside of the main circle. He had fully intended on reading his book and getting some sun, but he soon learned that no distraction, no signals of disinterest, could affect this group. The regal-looking lady started to talk.
“I’m Leia and this is my husband, Han. Cliffs Notes - we’re in 132 and the floor captains of Crait B’s first floor, been retired from local government in Alderaan for the last 10 years, we have son and daughter, and we’re big fans of the New York Mets so, naturally, we’re also gluttons for punishment.” The surrounding group broke out into laughter. Poe couldn’t help chuckle himself - the two of them exuded charm, no doubt about it.
“So Kes, right? What brings you down to Takodana?” Leia asked.
“My wife passed many years ago and with this one --” he tilted his head towards Poe, “out of the house for a while now, and having retired myself almost five years ago, I thought I might downsize rather than live in a big house all on my own.”
“Well, we’re a good group of people here, Kes, if I do say so myself, and we take care of our own - that now includes you and your son, of course. Speaking of ‘the son,’” Leia turned her head towards Poe, “tell us a little bit about yourself…?”
“Poe, ma’am.”
“Ah. And what do you do for a living, Poe?” There was a glint in her eye - you know,
that
glint in her eye. The “ah! You are eligible and of marriageable age”-glint in her eye.
Here it goes.
“I’m an aeronautical engineer, ma’am.”
“Impressive! And where do you live?”
Almost there.
“Chandrila.”
“What a small world. That’s where my daughter, Rachel, lives!”
Oooooh, so close!
“Small world, indeed, though it’s a pretty big city. Lots of people, hard to see the same one twice.” Poe knew where this was going and he had enough of this from his father and his other family members.
“You know, perhaps you two should get together - either back in Chandrila, or maybe the next time you’re both here. It could never hurt to have another friend in this world. Kes, don’t you think we should set this up?” Leia said.
DING DING DING DING DING. Jackpot!
“Uh, honey, don’t you think it’s a little too early to foist our daughter onto a guy you’ve only spent five minutes with? No offense, son, but I know she can be a little, dare I say, pushy?” Han said with an affectionate tone.
“None taken, sir.” Poe realized that, in that moment, he really liked this Han guy.
“Actually, son, I think it’s a great idea.” Kes turned around to Poe. “I’m always telling you that you need to put yourself out there more!”
“Daaaaad…” Poe whined quietly.
“What, Poe? It’s not like you’ve had any luck so far.” Kes reiterated for the umpteenth time.
“Jeez, thanks Dad.”
“Well, then, that settles it. I’ll make sure you get her number - I really do hope you use it.” Leia sat back and tented her fingers together over her lap - Poe thought it made her look like an evil genius. Having just seen what she’s capable of, she just might be.
Poe was most certainly
not
going to call this girl. Right? Right. Nothing against her at all, really, but he could get a date on his own if he wanted to. And he’s sure she had no interest in blind dates and being set up, either. Of course he wanted to settle down one day, if the ring weighing heavily against his chest was any indication - being passed down to him by his father after his mother died. Poe knew deep down that his father’s insistence that he couple up stemmed from the deep loss he felt after the love of his life, Shara Bey, passed, but he wanted to do it on
his
terms.
He’d been set up before, so what are the chances that this one would work anyway?
--
Rey Organa-Solo was packing up after a grueling day of grad school classes (yes, she knows getting her PhD in botany was her
choice
, but that doesn’t mean she wasn’t ever allowed to grumble about it) and all she wanted to do was go home, eat some pizza, and watch some mind-numbing television. Was that too much to ask?
Rey was in the midst of drooling over the possibility of adding mozzarella sticks to her order when her cell phone began to ring obnoxiously. How rude.
Ah. It was her mother, which meant one of two things - “are you eating enough?” or “I have a guy for you.”
“Hey mom, what’s up?” Rey was betting on the latter and she was usually right.
“Oh, nothing much. Just wanted to see how you were doing.”
Lies, absolute lies.
“Uh uh, I know that tone. You want something from me.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Stop playing coy and come out with it.”
“Excuse me, I think we’re having a Freaky Friday moment - this sounds like a conversation I would have had with you in high school, Rey.”
“That alone should give you pause, mother.”
“Yes, yes, anyway --”
“Ah, here it is.”
“--there’s this boy--”
“Yes, let me guess - he’s perfect for me?”
“Actually -- ”
“In what way?”
“-- well he’s really cute, if I do say so myself --”
“Stand down, Mom. You’re married.”
“-- and he’s a reader? And you like to read!”
“I also like to breathe - don’t tell me, Mom, does he breathe, too?”
Her mother huffed into the receiver. “You and your mouth, my little stingray.”
“Well, I learned from the best.”
“You mean your dad?”
“Ha ha. And anyway, how am I supposed to be meeting this guy?”
“He lives in your area. I gave him your number and told him to give you a call!”
“Mom!”
“What?”
“How could you do that without asking me first?”
“Well, would you have said yes if I had?”
“No, my point exactly!”
“Okay, but what’s the harm in going out with the guy?”
“I just wish I had some say instead of everyone else making my decisions for me.”
“Fair, fair. I promise, no more setups from now on.”
“You
always
say that, you know.”
“Just promise me you’ll give him a chance, Rachel.”
Whoa. Full name usage? She’s going full-on Mom.
“Fine, fine, fine,” Rey relented. “What’s his deal?”
“He’s 32, an aeronautical engineer...oh, and his name is Poe! Poe Dameron.” Damn, her mother hadn’t sounded so excited in ages.
“Poe? What kind of name is Poe?”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Three months later
It had been a few months since his last - and only - trip down to Takodana Village...and he was avoiding a certain Leia Organa-Solo. She had given him her daughter, Rachel’s, number the last time he was here and he
still
hadn’t used it. Thankfully, the first floor captains of Crait B were away for the time being - as far as he was aware - but as long as he called Rachel before he saw the Organa-Solos, he should be okay, right?
Right?
Poe pulled his cell phone out of his back pocket and scrolled through his contacts until he landed upon Rachel Organa-Solo. With some trepidation -
would she call him out for waiting so long? was she as apprehensive about these forced mating rituals as he was?
- he pushed the call button.
--
Rey’s cell phone ringtone blared from the inside of her backpack. She’d just arrived at her parents’ place in Takodana Village and she was waiting for them to return from a three day cruise to the Bahamas. Thinking it was her mother letting her know their ETA for the day, Rey answered her phone without paying attention to the number.
“Hey, when are you going to be here?” she said with a slight edge to her voice. She’d been waiting a long time and, frankly, she was hangry.
“Excuse me?” That voice wasn’t her mother’s - unless, that is, her mother’s voice was now deeper and most decidedly of the male variety.
“Uh, I thought you were my mom,” Rey blurted.
“Not since the last time I checked. Is this Rachel?” The voice on the other end of the line? That was some voice. Keep talking, voice
.
“Yes, yes, um, this is Rachel? Uh, that is, what I mean to say, is that I go by Rey.”
Dammit, Rey, pull yourself together.
“Hi, this is Poe Dameron. Your mom gave me your number - okay, maybe not the best thing to say to a girl the first time you speak to her, but it’s the truth and my dad was super into this, too, because he’s just dying to have me married off…”
Oh. Cute (if not slightly too much information).
“Poe! Yes, of course, my mom told me all about you. Well, kinda.”
“I hope all good?” He said, with what sounded like a hopeful expectation to his voice.
“Well, I hear you’re a reader.”
“Is that all?” My god, it’s like she can hear him smiling. Is that possible?
“Among other things.” In this moment, she could curse herself for refusing to sign up for Facebook because, dammit, she could have really used a visual right about now.
“Well, the reason I’m calling - aside from our parents being parents and figuring that they know what’s best for us in all aspects of our lives as adults, that is - is that I was, uh, wondering if you’d like to, I don’t know, maybe grab a coffee? Something super casual?”
“Sure, I’d love to. Can’t do this week, though, I’m out of town. What about next week? How does Wednesday night sound - Canto Bight Coffee? 7pm?”
“Works for me. I can’t do this week, either, since I’m away, so this works out pretty perfectly. I really look forward to meeting you, however it was that we got to this point.” And, amazingly, it really sounded like he meant it.
“Same, Poe.”
Dammit, Mom.
--
Poe hung up, not only feeling like he did the right thing by finally calling Rachel - that is,
Rey
- but also feeling genuinely excited at the prospect of the date. Or meeting. Or whatever this undefined entity was. And so, with a little pep in his step, he grabbed his book and wandered down to the pool.
He was about 25 pages into
Dune
when the most beautiful woman he’d ever laid eyes on walked into the pool area. Her dark brown hair was pulled back, a pair of sunglasses perched upon her head. Her black one-piece suit was lightly obscured by a colorful cover up, but left plenty of freckled skin on display.
Calm down, Dameron.
He must have been staring for a while because said beautiful woman was suddenly standing right in front of him, blocking out the sun.
“I said, it’s not so often I see another one of my kind.” She speaks! Oh, speak again, bright angel!
Oh, god, enough of the Shakespeare references, man, you’re embarrassing yourself and you haven’t even said a word to her yet.
“Uhh, um, excuse me?”
That’s better, Dameron, wow her with your masterful use of words.
“Young people! It’s not so often I visit here and there are other young people! Usually it’s just me and my brother, but I’ve had him for 25 years and he’s starting to get on my nerves.”
Speak, Dameron, speak!
“I, uh, thought the same thing when I came to visit my dad here for the first time, too, a few months back. Definitely brought the average age here down by a few decades at least.”
Good making words into sentences! This is progress!
“Oh, at least.” She smiled. He decided he liked it when she smiled. He hoped that wasn’t creepy, I mean, they
did
just meet.
Or did they
?
“Don’t freak out, but I feel like we know each other? Is that even possible?”
“I’m not so sure how? I think I’d remember if I’d ever met you.” She blushed, then rubbed her hand over her face.
Poe gestured for her to take the seat next to him. “Where are you from?”
“I’m originally from Alderaan, but I currently live in Chandrila - I’m getting my PhD in Botany at Chandrila State.” Rey spread out her towel on the pool lounger and took a seat, facing him.
“No way! I’m from Chandrila, too. Well, actually, I’m from Yavin, but I moved to Chandrila for work. Maybe that’s how I know you? It’s a big city, lots of people.”
WAIT
.
Wasn’t that the exact thing he said to…
Leia.
Organa-Solo
.
But that might mean --
“Um, so who do you belong to?” The words just kind of slipped out of Poe’s mouth without thinking.
“Excuse me?”
“That is, I mean to say, whose apartment are you staying in?” Poe’s heart rate kicked up - there’s no way this could be the Rey. He legit just spoke to her on the phone, my goodness, he was so confused. But also excited?
“I’m Leia and Han’s daughter, Rey. And you are?” Her face took on a wary expression, no doubt a direct result of his odd outburst.
“Uh, I’m Poe. I think I just got off the phone with you, like, 45 minutes ago?”
--
Rey, suffice to say, was a bit confused.
“Poe? Poe Dameron?”
“One and the same.”
“But you said you were away!”
“I am, and so are you?”
“Oh, right. Um.” She swung her legs over the lounger and sat to face Poe who, without a doubt, had some of the most gorgeous eyes she’d ever seen. Deep brown with flecks of caramel in them. They were nice eyes. He had nice eyes and a nice voice and a beautiful smile and --
“Rey, wanna go get that coffee?” Speaking of his smile, his bloomed the second the question came out of his mouth.
“Make it ice cream and it’s a deal.” Rey smiled right back.
“You got it.” Poe made a move to get up, stretching his hand out to offer to Rey.
“And Poe?” Rey grabbed Poe’s hand and hauled herself up.
“Yeah?”
“Don’t tell my mom she was right. I don’t want her getting a complex.”
“As long as you don’t tell my dad.”
--
Kes, Leia, and Han crowded around the window of 335 where they had a perfect view of the pool. Poe and Rey were laughing and all was right with the world.
“Leia, we should have been back hours ago. How do you expect we sneak back into our apartment?” Han said as he pulled away from the window. “And you, Kes, claiming you had a headache and wanted to nap. Am I really the only adult around here?”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Seven years later...
Rey was sprawled on of one of the loungers in the Crait development’s pool area, an iced tea in one hand and the latest in her favorite series of historical romance novels in another. She had just gotten to the part where the hero, hair asqew after running to the church to stop the wedding of the woman he loves to a less worthy man, confesses his love to the heroine. Rey sighed wistfully, accidentally dripping some of her tea onto her new two-piece. She wiped away at the drops absentmindedly with the corner of her towel, too absorbed in the hero’s efforts to woo his beloved to pay much attention to what was going on around her. She was about to find out what happened next when a shadow loomed over her, blocking out the light.
“What’s a young lady like you doing in a place like this?” said the shadow.
Rey pushed her sunglasses down the bridge of her nose and grinned. “Visiting my parents, getting some sun. What about you?”
The shadow/man squat down next to her lounger and sat back on his haunches, a smile lighting up his entire face. “Much of the same. You know, you’re pretty cute. But don’t tell my wife I told you so.”
Rey rolled her eyes, but couldn’t help but mirror his grin. “You’re such a nerd, Poe.”
“What, for trying to flirt with my wife? This is the first time we’ve been alone the entire trip down here, all I want to do is enjoy, well, you.” Poe stroked Rey’s arm, his fingers leaving a trail of goosebumps in their wake despite the warm weather. He stood up and pulled off his t-shirt, leaving him in his swim trunks, grabbed a neighboring lounger and it next to Rey’s to create one large surface. He grabbed Rey’s tea and book, setting them both off to the side and crawled next to her, stretching out beside her so that they were face to face.
Rey cupped Poe’s cheeks, stroking at the scratchy stubble - he never bothered to shave on vacation which, she had to admit, had its perks. She tilted her head up, leaving a short and sweet kiss on the underside of his jaw.
“To think, the one time I manage to take my mother’s dating advice - here of all places - and, I mean, I think it turned out okay in the end.” Rey winked at Poe, a wide grin lighting up her features.
As it turned out, Leia and Kes were right -
who would have thought?
- and Poe and Rey hit it off. An ice cream date in Takodana, Florida, turned into coffee in Chandrilla, which led to dinner and a movie, and more and more and, ahem,
more
, and, well, here they were. Poe proposed two years after they “met,” married six months later, and had their first daughter, Shara (named after Poe’s mother), two years later.
“Just okay? I’ll show you
okay
, Mrs. Dameron.” Poe stopped Rey’s exploration of his face, leaning in to kiss her ever so slowly, ever so thoroughly. His hands skimmed the length of her side, pausing at the expanse of skin exposed by her bathing suit and rubbing soothing circles there.
“Ah, now
that
feels good,” Rey cooed as she pulled back from Poe’s very thoughtful examination of her lips. “Why did we agree that staying here with our parents was better than staying at a hotel?”
“The hell if I know,” Poe muttered as he dove in for another languid and equally meticulous kiss.
The sound of the gate latch opening echoed across the pool. “Would you two just get a room already?” Han shouted as he spotted his daughter and son-in-law.
Rey broke away from Poe and pointed at her father. “Hey - this,” she circled her finger around herself and Poe, “is
your
fault.”
“Don’t look at me, this was all Kes and your mother’s doing!” Han replied as he made his way over to set up his lounger.
“What did I do this time?” Leia said, following her husband into the gated area. Han gestured vaguely at Rey and Poe, and plopped down in his seat.
“Well, that’s one thing I’m
very
glad to take the blame for,” Leia said with a face of motherly pride. “After all, look what it got me!”
“Mommy, mommy, MOOOOOOMMMMMY!” A bright flash of purple whooshed into the pool area, a weary Kes trailing after her.
“Uh, uh, uh, Shar-bear, what are the pool rules?” Kes reminded his granddaughter softly.
“No running!” Shara slowly made her way to her parents’ seats, climbing on up onto the lounger and over her father, and nestled between them.
“Oh no, mama! Shara Monster incoming, take cover!” Poe rolled on his back and lifted Shara over his head, causing a mellifluous round of giggles. He lowered her down and blew raspberries on her tummy, causing another peal of laughter.
Rey ran her hands over her stomach, the bump signaling baby #2 just recently visible. Poe set Shara down between them and Rey pressed a kiss to the tip of her daughter’s nose.
Shara snuggled into her mother’s side. “I love you lots, mommy.”
“I love you, too, sweetie, ‘til the end of the galaxy.” Rey said, breathing in the sweet scent of Shara’s hair.
“Daddy too?” Shara looked up to her father, eyes wide.
“Daddy, too. And the little munchkin in there.” Poe reached out and gently placed his hand on Rey’s stomach.
And in that moment, Rey realized that she didn’t mind her mother being right
that one time
.
(Just don’t tell Leia that.)