Only For A Season: Chapter 11: A New Season

Only For A Season

Chapter 11

A New Season

    For the next three months Luke worked off his punishment for his uncle. There were extra chores, no use of the landspeeder or speederbike, no trips off the farm, and of course he wasn’t to so much as look at his skyhopper. There was a time when Luke would have thought that a four month grounding with its associated loss of privileges and inherent boredom would have been a death sentence. At the very least he fully expected that having to see the state his skyhopper was in every day without being able to repair it would be a slow and steady torture. But this time the grounding was different. He was no longer being separated from the things he most wanted.
    With his skyhopper wrecked and Biggs gone there was no reason to frequent Beggar’s Canyon, and no fun to be had at Tosche Station. The one bright spot in his existence was Breanna. Luke had expected Uncle Owen to forbid him from seeing her (along with anyone else) during his grounding; Luke couldn’t leave the farm anyway, but that didn’t prevent Breanna from coming to the Lars farm at least once a week for some cause other than seeing Luke. What surprised Luke was that he was allowed to visit with her. He looked forward to seeing her – and her visits kept him sane, kept him from dwelling on the sudden downturn his life had taken since Biggs had left... maybe his aunt and uncle recognized that.
    Luke worked harder than he had at any time before, grounded or not. Uncle Owen was thrilled to see Luke finally applying himself as his uncle had been imploring him to for years; he was so impressed with the change in his nephew that after three months’ time he gave Luke a reprieve from the final month of his grounding, and just as shockingly not much changed. Responsibility had made a mark on Luke. He did his chores without being told to, worked hard on the farm alongside his aunt and uncle, and all his spare time was spent with Breanna. Luke had even discovered that he preferred seeing Breanna to starting on the daunting task of rebuilding his skyhopper.
    “Besides,” he told her, “who am I gonna race it against, Fixer?”
    “Then you’re not going to rebuild it?” she asked disbelievingly.
    “I don’t know. I’ll rebuild it,” just not yet. It was like the skyhopper had become a symbol for his loss, his mistakes, and his recklessness. He wasn’t in a hurry to repeat those mistakes, besides he had Brea to think about.
    Luke’s fourteenth birthday was a couple of months away and that worried him a bit. Still more than two years away from marriageable age, the two of them wanted to be together every second, and it was hard to behave just as friends when what they felt for one another ran so much deeper than friendship alone. The experience in the cave had changed them both. They were ready to be married.

    With the two young people falling in love hard their families decided to begin the betroval a year early, when Breanna turned fourteen a month after Luke. Today the two families, their neighbors, and friends were gathered at a point halfway between the Lars and Stargazer homesteads, waiting for the betroval ceremony to begin.
    Luke and Breanna walked side by side through the gathered crowd, each of them followed by their families. Once the two parties were assembled the crowd took their seats. Then the magistrate and the cleric took their positions to mediate the ceremony, standing alongside Luke and Breanna who stood facing one another, their families standing behind each of them.
    The cleric spoke first. “Is it the wish of both families to proceed with the match between these two young people?”
    Owen Lars and Dyllan Stargazer each came forward and confirmed that it was.
    “Very well then,” the cleric conceded kindly, and he motioned to the magistrate.
    The magistrate spoke next. “You understand that this match is now governed by the initial terms settled upon by the two families fourteen years ago. But once today’s betrothal ceremony is completed the couple will enter into a courtship period – for the next year and a day the families will have a window in which to renegotiate any terms of the initial agreement.
    “The importance of this time period cannot be understated. These negotiations will lay the groundwork for a lifetime of partnership to come, between the couple, and also between their respective families. You have the right for the next year and a day, and only during that time, to reach compromises. You may dissolve the agreement if compromises cannot be reached, or you may decide to carry out the terms of the initial agreement. I ask you to enter into this period with all reverence and seriousness for the task, for much is at stake. The bonds that will thereafter be created will be unalterable and unbreakable, except by natural death.”
    The magistrate gave serious stares in the direction of each party to match his weighted words, then he stepped back and allowed the cleric to continue the ceremony.
    “Now that you have been reminded of the seriousness in this time of negotiations between your two families, and the heavy weight of decisions that will shape the future, it is my duty to remind you of your obligations in the present. Luke and Breanna, until now your futures have been intertwined in a common destiny, but a destiny not of your own choosing. Now you must take responsibility for your reality in the present and your destiny in the future. Are you each willing to proceed with this match?”
    They each answered that they were.
    The cleric smiled. “Understand,” he advised them, “that this period of courtship is not without restriction. While marriage is a balance of right and responsibility, courtship is a time of discovery and possibility, a journey always undertaken with guidance and restraint.” Then he spoke something in the ancient tongue, paused, and carefully translated his own words. “Rob not selfishly from the joys of marriage, but prepare yourselves with all diligence to assume the roles of husband and wife.” He paused to let those words sink in, then spoke further in the ancient language. “Where the heart is pure will there be honor. Where the mind is pure will there be righteousness. And where the spirit is one of truth a life of honor and righteousness will bring much joy.
    “Are each of you willing to use this time of courtship, of preparation, to begin pursuing that life of honor?”
    Luke and Breanna looked at each other, then they each nodded their agreement.
    The cleric turned next to their families. “Do you agree to guide and to support these young people throughout the courtship, so that they might prepare themselves not only for the joys of marriage but for the heavy demands and great challenges inherent in a lasting union between them?”
    The families both agreed.
    Then the cleric had the couple join hands, he placed his hands over theirs, and he said a final blessing over them in the ancient tongue.
    “The ancient proverbs tell us, ‘where the heart lies, so the flesh will also follow.’ May your hearts be pure and true, that you may know much joy and live always in pursuit of honor and righteousness.”
    For a moment Luke and Breanna stood there smiling, each looking longingly at the other, their families surrounding them. Then the audience applauded in approval, and friends and neighbors came forward to offer their congratulations on the match.

    With the betroval made official, Luke and Breanna continued to spend all of their free time together, but the nature of their visitation changed subtly over the next year. What had always been an easy friendship now took on more of a family atmosphere. They were often in the company of her parents or Luke’s uncle and aunt, learning more about their new extended family, learning more about their future roles.
    The negotiations between the families had been short. The decision had been made long ago that since Luke was their only child the couple should remain with the Lars’s once they married. There were no further matters to quarrel over, no gifts to exchange as was the case in many arrangements. For the Lars and the Stargazer families, they were each offering what was most important to them, and what they gained in return was more valuable than any monetary offering or precious family heirloom. They knew that Luke and Breanna would be happy with one another, and that the two would get a good start with Owen and Beru Lars.
    Today Luke and Breanna sat outside in the Stargazer’s courtyard, shaded from the fading heat of the lowering suns. Britt and Cairina were nearby, encouraging their toddler son to walk back and forth between them. Breanna smiled as she watched her nephew negotiate a few shaky steps before his father or mother would scoop him up to avoid a fall.
    Luke watched in silence for a few minutes. “I guess they’re getting along better now,” he suggested cautiously. Luke wouldn’t have characterized their relationship as lovestruck, but in the time he had spent alongside the Stargazer family Luke had noticed that Britt and Cairina seemed to have developed a more amicable and less combative relationship since the arrival of their first born child.
    “They finally have something in common,” Breanna agreed softly. “They both love Bryce.”
    Luke took that in. He knew that Breanna had never told him all the gristly details of heated arguments and stony silences that had characterized the first six years of her oldest sister’s marriage. And he also knew that growing up in plain view of that tortured relationship had affected her more than she let on.
    “It won’t be that way for us,” he assured her gently. The words came out without his really thinking about them; it was the truth, and Luke could tell that she needed him to say it.
    Breanna gazed at him for a second, startled. Then she smiled. “I know. We’ve always been friends.”
    Luke looked down, and Breanna’s smile widened as she tried to figure out what about that admission had caused Luke embarrassment.
    “We have, but I didn’t mean just that,” he confessed, and reached for her hand. “I love you, Brea.”
    She held her breath for a second, her eyes shining. “I love you too, Luke,” she whispered.
    Britt and Cairina cheered as their son managed to walk on his own for several steps before losing his newfound balance and landing soundly on his bum. Little Bryce seemed to think about crying for a second or two, then laughed with his parents.
    Inside the homestead Dyllan Stargazer stood behind his wife, who was watching the courtyard from the kitchen window.
    “You’ll never finish diner at that rate,” he teased, bending down to kiss her cheek, which was wet.
    She wiped the tears away self-consciously, and Dyllan gave the scene outside a second appraisal to reassure himself nothing was amiss.
    “We’ve done all right by them, haven’t we,” she decided, satisfaction and relief at equal parts in her voice. I know I’ve had my doubts....”
    “I don’t mind confessing, I had many a sleepless night worrying over what kind of environment that child would be coming into.”
    Dywn smiled knowingly; her husband tossed and turned all night when he was worried. “But they’ve made good parents. Bryce has made them less selfish.”
    Dyllan laughed. “Selfish is a hard thing to be when a baby’s crying to be fed at two in the morning.” He followed his wife’s gaze out the window again. “Breanna looks happy.”
    “She has reason to be. Luke just told her he loves her.”
    “You learn to read lips, have you?” her husband asked jokingly.
    “I don’t have to read lips. It’s all over their faces,” Dywn said softly. “He’s a fine young man, and he loves her. We couldn’t ask for more than that.”
    “You’re right, as usual.”
    “And the Lars’s will take good care of them.”
    Dyllan nodded. His perceptive wife had just hit on the cause of his hesitation, and she put her arm around him. “First Annalis, now Brea.”
    “We have to let them make their own ways.”
    “I know. It’ll just be a little emptier without her.”
    “But her life will be fuller,” Dywn whispered, and kissed her husband.

    Their year of courtship passed quickly, and the day before the wedding the Lars homestead was busy with activity despite the extreme early hour of the morning. Farmwork still had to be done in addition to the wedding preparations. Uncle Owen called from the hall outside Luke’s door just as Luke pulled on a shirt and sat down on his bed.
    “I’ll be ready in a minute, Uncle Owen,” Luke called back, pulling on his boots. Usually that was enough assurance that Luke was awake and ready to start the day, but today his uncle surprised him by coming inside and looking around aimlessly for a few moments before he also sat down.
    “Actually I was thinking you and I should talk for a minute before we go out today.”
    “Okay,” Luke answered curiously. He finished pulling on his other boot then turned his attention to his uncle.
    “Luke, I’ve been very proud of the way you’ve handled yourself over the past few years. You’ve grown up a lot. I see you becoming the man you’re going to be for the rest of your life, and I’m impressed. You’ve shown yourself to be a man of honor, especially when it’s come to Breanna. I don’t expect any of that to change tomorrow, but a lot of things will change,” he hesitated, “starting with the wedding night.
    “We’ve had a lot of talks about responsibility. I know you take it seriously, and that’s a testament to your character. You and Breanna are still young, but the two of you are ready to take on responsibilities that people a lot older than you have difficulty with. And how you start out is very important. A husband has special rights to his wife and vice versa, but a good husband needs to have a lot of understanding and patience, especially for a young bride. You understand what I’m trying to tell you, Luke?”
    Luke nodded uncertainly. His uncle had had the conversation with him years ago explaining the facts of life. And at various times since they had talked further, always about marriage and family. Luke wasn’t so naive not to know that the act sometimes happened outside of marriage, but on Tatooine that wasn’t spoken of except in hushed and scandalous tones or about shady establishments in Mos Eisley and the other spaceport towns.
    His uncle had made it clear to him that that risk was unacceptable. A man was defined by how he shouldered his responsibilities. For Luke, having never known his real father had cemented those responsibilities. He understood the disservice of having a child out of wedlock, and he understood what was expected of him under his aunt and uncle’s roof. They had made a match for him and he had assured his uncle that he would not dishonor them or Breanna by deliberately ignoring or circumventing that commitment. Luke couldn’t help but notice that Uncle Owen looked far more nervous today speaking in terms of what to do instead of what not to do.
    “How do you know,” Luke tried, “when you’ve never–” he trailed off, then took a breath and tried the question again before he lost his nerve. “How do know what to do or what not to do?”
    Owen looked away uncomfortably, and he also took a deep breath. “Luke there’s no right or wrong answer for those kinds of questions. It’s something you and Breanna have to figure out for yourselves. That’s part of being married. You listen to each other, you trust each other, and you find your way through together.”
    Luke looked unconvinced, prompting Owen to sigh.
    “Luke, even if I could give you all the answers, tell you exactly what to do and take away all the awkwardness and uncertainty, I wouldn’t do it. This is something only the two of you will ever share and it’ll only happen for the first time once. That’s something very special.”
    Luke nodded reluctantly. He knew his uncle was probably right but the more he thought about it the more mortified, terrified, and worried he became.
    “What if I mess everything up and it’s a total disaster, then what?”
    Owen chuckled. “Do you trust Brea?”
    Luke blinked. “Yes.”
    “Then trust that she’ll forgive you when you mess up, and know that she’ll love you regardless.”
    Luke swallowed hard and worked up the courage to say the next thing that worried him. “What if she doesn’t, you know, want to be with me the same way I want to be with her.”
    Owen surprised him by smiling kindly.
    “Breanna loves you, Luke, and I don’t think she would deny you anything that was in her power to give. But whether this part of marriage is a duty for her – something she reluctantly allows – or something that she wants to share with you depends a lot on you.”
    Luke frowned. “What do I do?” he asked helplessly.
    “Go slowly. Give her time to be comfortable with you as a husband,” his uncle told him. “A marriage is a partnership. The difference between a good marriage and a bad match is trust. You have to trust your partner, and you can’t trust a partner who hurts you or who puts their own needs ahead of yours.”
    “You– don’t think I–” Luke stammered, hurt by the suggestion.
    Owen smiled. “I know you’re a good man, Luke; I know you love Brea and would never purposefully hurt her. I’m just telling you to be patient. These things are different for a woman than they are for a man, but give her time and treat her tenderly and you’ll be fine.”
    Luke nodded hesitantly and a brief silence fell.
    “You and Breanna have a strong friendship,” Uncle Owen reassured him. “I don’t expect that to change tomorrow. When the cleric gives you the vows, take them seriously; they say a lot of good things. But understand that they’re only a beginning. The vows talk a lot about what is owed and what is expected. That all has its place, but you’ll find married life much richer and much easier if you learn to ignore what you should be owed and concentrate on what you have been given.
    “When a man talks about how his needs are not met, his orders not followed, or how his wife otherwise fails to fulfill the vows – usually it’s because those are the only things that concern him. The failure is his. The loss is his. Never forget, Luke,” Owen admonished his nephew, “that as a man and as a husband, Breanna’s safety and well being are your responsibility. At some point in your marriage all the unimportant things will fall away. What she owes you as your wife will mean nothing. What she feels for you as her husband will mean everything.
    “If the two of you have built a strong foundation and you have acted toward her in a way that causes her to trust your intentions and respect your judgement, then no matter how life tests you, your marriage will be a source of comfort and strength. And your wife will always stand by your side, as a friend and an equal partner, in the good times and the bad.
    “I hope your aunt and I have taught you well, in our words, in the way we’ve raised you, in the example we’ve set. We’ll try to do the same for Breanna when we bring her into our home tomorrow, and into our family.” Then Uncle Owen hesitated. “You and your aunt are the most precious things in my life, Luke; I’d protect you each with my life. And Brea will have the same protection in this house, as a daughter.”
    Luke gave a half nod and swallowed hard. He understood. It went unspoken that in Owen’s mind that made Luke a son. Uncle Owen placed a hand to his shoulder and Luke nodded in response. The matter was settled between them that simply.
    When no further questions on married life followed, Owen stood and walked to the door, reminding Luke that breakfast would be ready by now. The butterflies that had started to torment Luke’s stomach unexpectedly calmed down a bit. Soon Breanna would be a fixture here at breakfast. Morning and night she would be here with him. She would be his wife; she would also be part of the family, his family.
    That thought boosted his uncertain emotions and encouraged him. Luke wanted that, and he would do everything in his power to make sure Breanna was happy here with him. With that thought in mind he grabbed his cloak and hat and headed for the kitchen. There was a lot of work that had to be done early today. This evening the preparations for the wedding would begin in earnest.

    Later that day, one year exactly from the day of their bethroval ceremony, Luke and Breanna stood in the living area of the Lars homestead. The families had gathered on the eve of the wedding to go through a rehearsal of the ceremony. Now, their part in the proceedings finished, the bride and groom-to-be had retreated to a quiet corner.
    “Are you sure these flowers...” Luke tuned out Annalis’s latest worry. She hadn’t stopped fussing with the decorations since the moment she had arrived. “This is my sister’s wedding, you know?”
    Breanna ducked playfully behind Luke’s arm, hiding her face in mock embarrassment.
    “Why don’t you just tell her it’s not that big a deal?”
    Breanna sighed and leaned her head against Luke’s back between the shoulder blades. “She is my matron of honor, and she means well.” Breanna shrugged. “Besides, she’s already disappointed that she didn’t get to help choose the dress.”
    Luke smiled knowingly. He knew that Breanna was not disappointed over that fact. Wearing her mother’s dress meant more to Breanna than wearing some fancy, store-bought dress, and it would be much simpler than anything Annalis would have chosen for her. Plus Breanna and her mother had been working on it for months, trying to get it just right. Luke would routinely ask them how it was coming simply because he knew they were both sworn to secrecy. They would smile and give him vague answers with a few sewing terms thrown in for good measure, but they seemed to enjoy keeping him in the dark about their work.
    Luke watched the scene in front of them for a few minutes. It was chaos. And even if Annalis was the source of some of the chaos, he understood Breanna’s feelings about having her sister there. Having family to stand with you at a time like this, it was important. Luke deeply appreciated his aunt and uncle, all that they were doing to help him and Brea, and to prepare for the ceremony... but he found himself thinking more than usual about his parents. They couldn’t be with him, but it would have been nice to have a second....
    Breanna knew Luke had transmitted word to Biggs at the Academy almost immediately after their families had granted the couple permission to marry a year earlier than usual, but he had gotten no reply from his best friend. A few months ago Luke had written again, asking Biggs to stand up with him at the wedding. At first Luke had worried to her that Biggs wouldn’t be able to come. More recently, as the wedding day neared and there had still been no word from Biggs, Luke seemed to have accepted the loss, but Breanna knew it still disappointed him.
    She slipped her arm through Luke’s. “Let’s get out of here for a few minutes,” she whispered.
    Luke grinned and nodded, eager for a short escape from the chaos. They made it past Annalis, walked out into the courtyard where still more preparations were underway, and climbed topside.
    “Biggs!” Luke did a double take, seeing Biggs standing there in his Imperial Fleet uniform.
    “I got your transmission, Luke, and I wanted to surprise you,” Biggs confessed. He and Luke hugged like long lost brothers. “So I swore Breanna to secrecy.”
    Luke looked back to Breanna. She was grinning as widely as he and Biggs were. Luke shook his head in speechless amazement.
    “You didn’t really think I’d miss this, did you?” Biggs insisted.
    Truthfully, Luke hadn’t known. They had parted on rough terms and... “I thought after two years of the big time you might not be up for another round of this place.”
    Biggs only grinned. “I haven’t changed that much, Hotshot. I just hope that best man’s slot is still available.”
    Luke nodded enthusiastically. “Sure it is. Who else is gonna fill it.”
    Biggs nodded in approval. “I’ve only got a couple day’s leave between graduation and the start of my furlong, but I called in a few favors and pulled a lot of strings to make sure Tank and I could get back here. Now, if your new bride doesn’t object, I believe it’s one of my duties to help celebrate your last night as a bachelor.”
    Luke shifted his feet nervously; he had heard about those kinds of parties. Biggs could see exactly what Luke was thinking; his reddening ears were a dead giveaway, causing Biggs to chuckle in amusement.
    “I really haven’t changed that much, Luke,” Biggs whispered secretively before turning his attention to Breanna. “I’ll keep this small and tame, on my honor. I won’t let him do anything you wouldn’t approve of, I’ll get him home in one piece, and even at a decent hour.”
    Breanna nodded, trying to stifle a giggle at Biggs’s negotiation tactics, but she was also relieved. She trusted Luke, but that didn’t mean she wanted him getting into trouble. Biggs’s promises kept her from having to be the spoiler to their fun, and set her mind at ease that Luke wouldn’t find himself having to choose between her and any compromising situations.
    “My house tonight then,” Biggs decided. “Father’s decided now that I’m an officer of the fleet there’s profit in the stature, and why let two years of silent disapproval stand in the way of profit and status,” he concluded with a smug grin. “He’s got a party in the works and I doubt I’ll want to see anyone there. Give him a half hour to parade me around to everyone, then you and I can spend some time catching up.”

     Luke and Biggs managed to spend most of the evening hold up on the Darklighter’s outdoor patio, sitting under the stars while the partygoers inside enjoyed food, drink, and entertainment in honor of Biggs’s graduation and Luke’s wedding. None of them seemingly noted or cared about the guests of honor’s early disappearance from the party.
    Appropriate, Luke thought to himself as he heard Fixer loudly raising another toast “to Big Head and Wormie.”
    Biggs laughed his low chuckling laugh and studied his friend curiously. Two years hadn’t changed Luke much. He was about the same height and build, same brushy blonde hair, same bright and eager blue eyes. But there was something very different in the way he carried himself. He looked comfortable in his own skin and content with his place in life, something Biggs had never imagined he’d see in Luke, at least not while outside the cockpit of a fast-moving ship. He shook his head warily; Biggs knew that looks could be deceiving. As his best man Biggs needed to assure himself that this wedding was truly the right thing for his friend.
    “You know,” Biggs suggested cautiously, “if you have doubts you can always call this thing off.”
    The easy smile that had carried Luke’s expression for most of the night vanished, and he shook his head. “I love her, Biggs,” Luke confessed. “I never knew how lost I felt, always wanting more than I had, more than my life, the farm, this planet.... Brea makes those feelings go away.” He grinned. “She makes me feel like I can do anything, just by the way she looks at me. And I believe it,” he laughed at himself for admitting that, “as long as I have her by my side.”
    Biggs nodded, taking in his explanation but looking a bit skeptical.
    “I know it’s not what I thought I wanted,” Luke said softly, “but I’ve never wanted anything more than I want to marry her tomorrow and spend the rest of my life as her husband.”
    Biggs nodded and placed a hand to Luke’s shoulder. “Then I can stand with you tomorrow.” He raised his glass. “No regrets.”
    “No regrets,” Luke repeated, raising his own glass.
    They each took a sip of their drinks, and Biggs fell into an uneasy silence.
    Luke watched him stare between the floor and his drink, thinking that behavior was very much out of character for confident and self-assured Biggs. He continued looking down for a moment before he confided to Luke that the Academy wasn’t what he thought it would be.
    “Aside from flying, and a few close friends, I don’t fit – and I don’t want to fit.”
    Luke took that in. He knew it took a lot to rattle Biggs, and Biggs was rattled.
    “What about Tank?” Luke questioned.
    “Ah, you know Tank. He’s a good enough guy but he doesn’t think for himself, Luke. He’s a follower, does what he’s told, always has.”
    Luke nodded.
    “He fits,” Biggs said softly. “My father was right. I see it now. The Empire is recruiting another generation into service, and brainwashing them into obedience.”
    “What will you do?” Luke asked worriedly.
    “Same thing I have until now. Keep my head down, pull my weight, and keep my opinions to myself.”
    “You’ll still have to do your stint.”
    Biggs nodded. “It’s only two years. They’ll put me on as a fighter pilot somewhere.”
    Luke paled at the idea of Biggs going into combat.
    “I’ll be flying escort for some big wig most likely; it won’t be too bad.” He smiled, feeling guilty for unloading his troubles on his friend at what should have been a happy time for Luke. “Luke, listen, if you’re still up for it, we’ll open that business when my time’s up. I’ll have some credits saved up by then and I can borrow some more from my father. That should be enough to get us a transport ship and a hangar. I’ll take the long runs. You take as many or as few short flights as you want and hold down the fort here with Breanna.”
    Luke smiled. “That sounds great, Biggs,” he admitted honestly. But Luke felt a hesitation, like a heavy weight had settled in his gut. Why were both of them doubtful that would ever happen?

    Luke told his family about his and Biggs’s plan when he got home that night. Owen’s reaction surprised his nephew. He sat back in his chair for a few moments, considering. Then his gaze focused on Luke.
    “Sounds like a reasonable business plan,” he decided, “and a good idea to have a source of income apart from the farm. Help ease out the rough patches when the harvest is weak.”
    “Really?” Luke asked, dumbfounded. This was exactly the sort of suggestion that would have so enraged Uncle Owen a couple of years ago that he would hear nothing of it.
    Sometimes it was still a little hard for Luke to grasp the change that had taken place between the two of them. Uncle Owen treated him as an equal, a man whose character and opinions he respected, not an unruly nephew who was constantly testing his patience with things Owen considered inconsequential. But then Luke had changed too. The things that were priorities to him now were the same things that had always been priorities to his uncle. He thought about the farm completely differently than he had before; now it was directly linked to his future and a family that Luke was responsible for providing for.
    “After a few more seasons we should be able to hire enough hands to make it work,” Uncle Owen assured Luke, “if that’s what you want.”
    Luke nodded and thanked his uncle. But again Luke felt that feeling of hesitation deep in his gut. This time he brushed it off and went to bed. Tomorrow would start early, and he didn’t expect to get much sleep. He was certain that every time he closed his eyes tonight he would see Breanna standing there, looking more beautiful than ever, waiting to promise herself to him.

~ ~

Star Wars fan fiction