Alone Once More - Chapter 2

Chapter 2
Mara Jade smiled as she watched her son use the Force to make a tower of building blocks. That kid sure was talented; because with the exception of Luke, nobody but a Skywalker would be able to make a tower 3m high without it falling down. It was the first time in a long while that she had seen Ben smiling. He still didn't understand why he hadn't seen his dad in such a long time. He knew nothing about the long nights his mother had waited anxiously, hoping that her husband was not in trouble or her anguish when she discovered his affair with one of his Padawans. When she burst into his room, holding two small suitcases and took him outside where an air taxi was waiting, the only harried reply that the young boy received was, "We just need a holiday, Ben." For most of the ride, Ben still didn't know their destination. He became excited and started talking about where they could be going. They'd swim every day in the lakes of Naboo, or live in a cool underground cave on Tatooine. He was almost disappointed when the taxi pulled up at the Solo apartment.
But Mara knew that her son enjoyed himself when he was around his cousins. Ben was up to his cheeky antics again; she laughed as her son purposely abandoned the Force power and sent the tower of wooden blocks crashing down on his cousin Jacen Solo's head. Yet Mara’s emotions were mixed. She knew that she could not go back to Luke; it had been the 3rd time she had caught him cheating on her. Twice before she had put aside all but her love for him, and taken him back, but she knew that this time she would have to put her foot down. She and Ben would not be going back. Of course she would let Ben see his father when he wanted to, but for most of his childhood he would live with her. Mara would find a well-paid job; she had plenty of other skills. She couldn’t continue being a Jedi, not with her husband, or soon to be ex-husband, as the Grand Master.
They would buy a small, cozy apartment, perhaps close to Leia’s, and live a perfectly normal life. She would have to decide whether Ben would continue his Jedi training with Luke. Perhaps she could train her son herself, in the evenings after she’d come home from work. Mara stared out the window, into Coruscant’s atmosphere, thick with vehicles carrying happy people going about their happy lives. Tears started to roll down her cheek as she remembered all the wonderful times she and Luke had together, and how it could possibly have come to this.