Dinner for Four (Rhea)

[Corias Bonaventure]

It was a little-known fact that, at any given time, there were only about ten planets in the galaxy experiencing a perfect day. Of course, the figure was padded a little by Acheron IV, for whom every day was a perfect day except for its two solstices, during which it suffered cataclysmic electromagnetic storms that wiped out all life on the surface of the planet. Corias had been fortunate enough to discover one of the caves where Acheron's inhabitants fled to escape the storms--but he'd told Rhea that story already.

For the moment, he was more interested in enjoying one of Coruscant's very rare perfect days. The weather-controllers couldn't manufacture one; there were far too many variables for even the finest meterological computers to handle. They could manage a good day--maybe even a beautiful day. But for a perfect day, they still needed nature's help.

Corias had met Rhea on a plaza a short distance from the temple grounds. It was the only day that week that both of them could make it--the last day they could spend together before Corias launched on another four-month prospecting tour. They had planned to take a cab to a corner cafe for lunch, but the weather was pleasant enough that they'd just decided to walk. Now they were strolling back toward the Temple District, and taking their good time doing it.

"You sure you can't skip this meditation seminar of yours?" Corias tried once more. "I'm sure your Master Tondry would understand."

Rhea chewed her lip. She wanted to skip it as much as Corias wanted her to. "Understand? I doubt it." She looked down contemplatively, her brow furrowed. "But, I did do well in our last training exercise. And I've been putting in a lot of hours of practice and volunteer work..." Her brown eyes shifted sideways to half-look at Corias' face. "Maybe he'll let me out of it. I don't know."

Corias gave an ephemeral smile--the kind that was hard to read. "See what he says," he replied with a shrug. "I certainly don't want to get you in trouble, but it sounds like you've been working hard enough as it is... I mean, if it doesn't work out, it'll give me a little more time to get dinner ready, but I don't want to keep you out too late with your 6:00 AM practice calls and all..."

He trailed off suddenly. Something, or rather, someone, in the crowd ahead had caught his attention, and now he was staring in shock.

"I don't believe it..."

The man had seen them both and was carving a path through the pedestrians to intercept them.

[Sheridan Bonaventure]

"Cor! Cor!"

He held up a hand to make sure he'd been seen, and then he thrust his way forward with such determination that passers-by scurried out of his way. He was as tall as Corias, but not so thin, and he wore a charcoal business suit with more grace than most monarchs wore their crowns.

He stopped two paces in front of the pair and smiled. "Benit mon âme. J'ai su que tu étais sur Coruscant, mais je n'ai pas prévu de te voir avant ce soir. Comment va-tu, garçon?"

Corias gaped for a moment as if he'd been socked in the gut. "Pappa?" he managed. "Qu'est-ce-que faîtes-vous ici?"

The man laughed. "Je viens tout le chemin de Proxima à Coruscant, et c'est tout que tu peux dire? Pas, 'Ah, Pappa, si bon à vous voir,' ou, 'Quelle suprise merveilleuse'? Peut-être 'Comment ça-va,' ou même 'Bonjour,' quelquefois avec un peu amitié humaine?"

Corias cleared his throat. "Pardon, Pappa... mon amie ne parle pas Français."

"Ton..." the man turned toward Rhea as if only now noticing her. Without a hitch, he transitioned into fluent Basic. "Oh, I beg your pardon, Miss..." He paused questioningly, glancing between Corias and Rhea.

Corias took a deep breath and answered, "Rhea Kaylen, this is Sheridan Bonaventure... my father."

[Rhea Kaylen]

Rhea blinked in surprise and nearly took a step backwards. Corias'...father? Her friend had told her so much about his father that, to Rhea, Sheridan Bonaventure was almost a storied character, and somewhat unreal. Meeting him face-to-face, and in such a candid setting and such a serendipitous manner, was like sitting next to someone in Yog's and realizing they're a Jedi you've only ever read about in textbooks.

Quickly, however, Rhea came to herself and extended her hand automatically. She immediately saw that the Bonaventure men's noses and jawlines were absolutely identical, and that Sheridan had the same expressive eyebrows Rhea had grown used to seeing on Corias' face.

"A pleasure to meet you, Sir Bonaventure," Rhea said without thinking, then winced at her infernal habitual language slip. But she quickly smiled to cover it, lowering her head a little in a small bow.

[Sheridan Bonaventure]

"The pleasure is mine, Mademoiselle," Sheridan replied. He took Rhea's hand and kissed it lightly.

"I'd like to say Cor has told me all about you, but he's been a bit lax in his correspondence lately."

[Rhea Kaylen]

There was that strange hand-kiss, again! Once before, Corias had kissed her hand like that, a gesture she found endearing but perplexing. However, for Sheridan Bonaventure to be doing it now meant that it was not peculiar to Corias. Maybe it was a Bonaventure thing...

Rhea chose not to respond to that last statement directly. She knew very well that the relationship between Corias and his father was strained, at least. She also knew that Corias was trying very hard to make his way on his own, which would explain him not keeping very closely in touch with his parents about his day to day dealings.

So she smiled lightly and replied, "He has told me much about you and your wife. But, please explain this lovely gesture you and your son use." She squeezed the man's fingers by way of indication, then released them. "I've never encountered it before."

[Sheridan Bonaventure]

Sheridan raised his eyebrows. "Oh, just a common tradition for greeting a lady. However, I was not aware that my son still practices it."

[Corias Bonaventure]

Corias winced slightly. "So, Dad, uh... What brings you to Coruscant?"

"Contract negotiations with Incom," Sheridan replied, "as well as a few other odds and ends. We're only here three days, but I heard you were on-planet, and we wanted to see you."

"Wait--we?"

"Yes. Your mother and I. We've got a penthouse in the Velorum District, and we were hoping you could come to dinner tonight."

Corias was shocked. "Tonight?"

"It's the only night that'll work, Cor," Sheridan replied. "I'm booked solid with appointments for the next two days--not to mention that once the Incom contract is announced, I'll be lucky if I can take a crap without five reporters following me into the stall. So how about it?"

Corais sighed. "Dad, I wish you could have contacted me earlier."

"I would have if I could, but it's like tracking a spice smuggler trying to find you," Sheridan huffed. "It's lucky Ange chose this trip to come along, or who knows the next time she'd see you?"

"Mom's here?"

"Yes, and the moment she heard you were on Coruscant, she started planning the menu."

Corias shook his head slowly. "I really wish you had contacted me earlier, Dad," he said. "My comm. frequency's always been the same. It's not like I'm running silent; if I'm in range, I'll hear a signal. I'd love to have dinner with you and Mom, but I have plans tonight that I made in advance."

"What sort of plans?" Sheridan asked.

"Dinner plans," Corias replied.

"Business or pleasure?"

"I--" Corias glanced toward Rhea, and said, "I'm sorry, Rhea, could you excuse us for a moment?"

He turned back toward his dad and picked up the conversation in French. "Does it matter? It's an appointment. I have four days before I ship out for another tour. I can't reschedule."

"Maybe I could help," Sheridan replied, "or are you so set against seeing the two of us that you don't want to try?"

"Please don't make this an argument, Dad," Corias said. "I've been planning for the last week and a half to have dinner with a friend, and I don't want to disappoint her."

"Friend?" Sheridan repeated. "You mean Rhea? Oh, well, that's simple enough. Just bring her along."

"Dad, that's not what we planned," Corias insisted.

"Maybe you should ask her before you throw my invitation in my face," Sheridan replied evenly. "You really think she'd prefer whatever it is you can afford to a bit of your mother's cooking? She's making your favorite, you know. Would you rather disappoint her?"

Corias took a step back, crimping his brow in disbelief. Sheridan merely motioned expectantly toward Rhea.

"Dad, please," Corias muttered.

"Oh, of course." Sheridan turned and walked off a few paces.

Corias returned to Rhea and leaned against a handy park bench. "Rhea, I'm really sorry about all this."

[Rhea Kaylen]

Rhea looked at Corias' troubled face, bewildered. She hadn't understood a word of the preceding conversation, of course, but her friend's tone of voice had been strained. She glanced over at Sheridan standing easily several paces away, a calm and pleasant look on his face.

"Sorry about what, Corias? What's wrong?"

[Corias Bonaventure]

"Well, it..."

Oh, frell. There wasn't any way to extend the invitation without putting pressure on her.

"Sometimes my dad can be just a little... well... socially overbearing. Anyway, he wants me to invite you to dinner with him and my mom. But I don't want you to feel pressured into an uncomfortable situation. It's my problem, not yours. Don't get me wrong, I love my parents, but I figured out a long time ago that, even if we were born on the same planet, we're from completely different worlds."

[Rhea Kaylen]

Rhea blinked, surprised. She wasn't quite sure what to say. Corias had put her on the spot, though not in the way he may have assumed.

It wasn't that Rhea didn't want to go, not at all. Any time she could spend with Corias was time well-spent, in her opinion, and knowing she would also be sharing dinner with his parents did not bother her in the least. She was actually rather more accustomed to big Imrani family dinners than to small two-person affairs, and she had no problem at all with chatting over good food with newfound friends.

No, it wasn't that. Rhea's concern was that she would be a nuisance. She knew there would be a distinct possibility that the atmosphere among them could degenerate quickly if Corias and Sheridan had a disagreement, and her presence would only make that more awkward. Also, Rhea was aware that it had been some time since Corias had spent time with his parents. She did not want to be an intruder onto a family gathering which all three of the Bonaventures probably needed after so long a separation.

On the other hand...if Corias felt he had to do as his father requested, he may have really wanted Rhea to be with him to temper the stress or diffuse an argument. She had no way of knowing, without asking him directly, and to do so would be to insult his pride.

Rhea gnawed her lip a moment, sidling closer to Corias and half-glancing at Sheridan over his shoulder. The other was still at a discreet distance, waiting for the two of them to decide.

"What would you like me to do?" she asked quietly, voice lowered. She reached out and gently touched his shoulder. "I would be happy to accept your father's invitation, but I'll do whatever you think is best."

[Corias Bonaventure]

Corias took a deep breath. Part of him, in a very childish way, was annoyed that Rhea had shifted the decision back to him. But the rest was grateful that she was being so sensitive to the situation--of course, he didn't realize how deeply she'd assessed the situation in just a few moments. He smiled softly at her.

"If you really don't mind..." he started. "You know, I really should see them when I have the chance. And if you ever want to meet them, well, there's no time like the present."

[Rhea Kaylen]

Rhea mentally breathed a sigh of relief. She was very glad Corias had decided for her.

"Then just tell me when, where, and what I should wear," she smiled.

[Corias Bonaventure]

Without realizing it, Cor echoed Rhea's mental sigh. "Thank you, Rhea," he said. "I'll find out the rest from my dad."

---

The perfect day had turned into the perfect evening. Corias wistfully reflected on how things might have gone if his original plans had held, but there was no sense in worrying about that now. He was sitting in the backseat of a cab clad in a burgundy shirt and muted dress slacks with his hair more tamed than usual and his beard neatly trimmed. Even though it wasn't terribly formal, this was the first time he'd dressed up, so to speak, to meet with Rhea. It was a strange feeling.

The cab drifted to a stop on the street in front of the anterior entrance to the Temple complex, near the Jedi living quarters. Corias reached across the backseat and lowered the passenger-side window, letting the cool breeze in. He was about two minutes earlier than the rendezvous time he'd given Rhea.

[Rhea Kaylen]

Rhea Kaylen was frantic.

Despite Rikki's best efforts and assurances, Rhea was absolutely sure she looked like a walking nightmare. Or at least a Lavendar Light drag queen. When she'd flown, panicked, back into the LQ earlier that afternoon, breathlessly yammering to her ever-patient roommate about needing a new evening dress now for dinner that evening, Rikki had calmly bundled her into an air taxi and taken her across town to do a little shopping.

They'd breezed through several shops (which all seemed, annoyingly, to cater to the ultra-tall and well-endowed) until they'd hit upon success, and then they'd returned to the Temple, where Rikki proceeded to mastermind Rhea's entire outfit, including makeup and hair, like a fearless military commander organizing a multi-front invasion.

The last time Rhea'd been "dressed up" had been a year and a half ago, on Imran. But, of course, that was no preparation at all for wearing nice clothes on Coruscant. Somehow, she doubted a full-length aqua summer dress trimmed in white and a wreath of white flowers in her hair would be quite appropriate.

So she let Rikki do her worst. And though she'd repeatedly told Rhea that she looked fantastic, Rhea was rather wishing she'd just told Corias no and hidden under her bed all afternoon.

Too late now, though.

She fought the urge to pull at the dark blue sweater again as she nervously endured the lift ride down to ground level. Instead she fiddled with the drop-crystal necklace Rikki had bought to relieve the expanse of skin left bare by the sweater's v-neck. She would have bought the matching earrings, too, except that Rhea'd never had her ears pierced.

The lift finally stopped and opened, and Rhea hurried past the group of Jedi waiting to board, keeping her head lowered. She tried to ignore the glances that followed her, mortified that she should be seen in such a ridiculous state--mascara-darkened eyelashes and blush-defined cheekbones and glittered hair pulled into a French twist all accusing her of her absurd charade.

The wispy trim on her navy blue skirt fluttered when she stepped outside the LQ's relative protection and into the terrifyingly open concourse that ran parallel to the building. Hurriedly she glanced around and finally spotted the waiting cab. She all but ran toward it, nervously looking around as if she expected there to be a waiting crowd of onlookers grinning at her behind their hands. But there was no one; the street was nearly empty.

[Corias Bonaventure]

Rhea was never too hard to pick out around the Temple, even from a distance--you didn't see zebra-striped hair very often, even on Coruscant. But Corias was still surprised when he opened the cab door for her.

"Wow. You look nice."

Truth be told, she would have looked nicer if she didn't look so self-conscious, but Corias chalked that up to a few jittered nerves. His father could be intimidating, especially at first meeting.

[Rhea Kaylen]

Rhea couldn't help but feel disappointed at something in the tone of his compliment, but she mustered a smile she did not feel and thanked him quietly.

As soon as her door was shut, the air taxi took off, following previously-given instruction, and Rhea glanced out the open window, her eyes drifting shut with relief as the cool air washed over her face. She tried hard not to be so stiffly nervous, tried to relax and ignore her clothing, and looked over at her companion, noticing his outfit for the first time. This time her smile was sincere.

"You don't look so bad, yourself, spacer."

[Corias Bonaventure]

Corias chuckled. "Just something I had lying around. But thanks. How are you feeling?"

[Rhea Kaylen]

"Fine," she fibbed, then amended, "Well, I feel a little strange to be so dressed up. I don't wear clothes like this very much. But I'm looking forward to this evening. Where are your parents staying?"

[Corias Bonaventure]

"Floor one-one-twenty-eight of the Asimov Tower in the Velorum District," Corias replied. "My dad bought a penthouse up there... he must be thinking of spending more time on Coruscant, probably has something to do with that Incom contract."

He chewed his lip for a moment. If Rhea knew anything about the Velorum District, she probably knew an upper-level penthouse there could easily run seven figures. After the years she'd spent in the Plaza Cueva de Luce, he knew it had to seem like gaudy extravagance.

"It's, uh... it's going to be a nice place. My dad tends to be a bit ostentatious. My mom's really good at keeping things tasteful, though. But you might have to put up with a little grandstanding where my dad is concerned."

[Rhea Kaylen]

Rhea was a little bewildered, as much by Corias' warning as by the information regarding the penthouse's location.

Velorum District? Is he serious? That was one of the most expensive areas of the entire city. Rhea had never even been there, let alone been inside one of its residences. She had known that the Bonaventure Starfreight Conglomerate was highly successful, knew that Sheridan Bonaventure owned real estate on several worlds, but she had never before had such a realistic, tangible idea of his actual wealth.

She felt her stomach twist nervously again. She looked down at her lap, smoothed at a nonexistant wrinkle in her skirt with cold-fingered hands.

"I'm sure it will be fine," she replied lamely.

[Corias Bonaventure]

Corias could tell she was daunted. Of course, once they actually got there and were settled in, it'd be easier.

He hoped.

"Now, don't be intimidated by either of them. You're a guest, so they're going to try to make you feel as welcome as possible. They're a little old-fashioned... My mom's probably going to greet you by kissing both your cheeks. That's just another of our, um, traditions. But feel free to talk to them. The only thing is that I'd prefer you don't mention anything about what happened in the Veil... or really, anything that makes my line of work sound dangerous. I don't want either of them worrying. Other than that, just be casual... ask about the furniture, or the food, or shipping tariffs... my parents are real good at talking."

[Rhea Kaylen]

Rhea nodded, feeling a little better.

"That's good," she smiled. Still, she was troubled by something.

"Um, Cor..." Rhea swallowed. "What will they think of me? I'm...I'm nothing like them. Like you. I'm not used to the same things they are." I'm not used to money, to expensive things. How should I even act?

[Corias Bonaventure]

"Oh, I don't know," Corias replied. "When we were on Imran, I couldn't help thinking my mom would fit in pretty well. Always socializing. Always cooking, making things, decorating, designing... She's about as domestic as a woman can be. My dad's a wild card, but then... no one's like my dad."

[Rhea Kaylen]

Rhea couldn't help laughing.

"Well, I'm sure he's like no one I've ever met." She looked over at Corias. "I am looking forward to meeting your mother, and getting to know the both of them. Thank you for letting me come."

[Corias Bonaventure]

Corias smiled back--he was relieved he'd been able to set her in a good mood. The last thing he wanted was for her to be intimidated.

"I feel like I should be the one thanking you. Short notice and all. Listen, I want you to enjoy yourself. And don't be shy about the food. Knowing my mom..." He quirked his head to the side. "It's probably going to be a lot better than what I could've offered you."

[Rhea Kaylen]

Rhea perked up a bit. His mother was cooking the food? That was lovely; she hadn't been expecting that.

But then, she had no real idea what to expect. Now that she had a moment to quietly think about it, she realized the whole situation was a bit surreal--having such a chance encounter with Corias' father on the street and instantly agreeing to attend dinner with two people she barely knew, one only by word-of-mouth. But, though she was a little nervous, that mostly sprung from being dressed in nice clothes, and from wondering what kind of lifestyle she was about to see lived by those with the good fortune to inhabit the Velorum District.

But even her fantastic imagination could not have conceived of it.

She watched out the window as the cool sterility of the Temple District washed away in a rainbow burst of neon. Slowly the bright color dimmed to a soft sort of gold, and Rhea saw the duracrete and transparisteel buildings climb taller and taller yet, glittering and imposing. And it wasn't all duracrete, either: she noticed the beautiful shades of marble and granite and other incredibly rare stone more and more frequently.

And then the cab stopped, and, taking a deep breath, Rhea climbed out. Before her was a sort of pale stone archway in a high wall, more decorative than practical, and, in a moment, Corias was leading her through it. Beyond, a broad courtyard flagged with smooth grey stones was spread out between them and the ornate entrance to an impossibly tall residential tower. A magnificent fountain held pride of place in the middle of the courtyard, which was lined with ornamental trees hung with tiny fairy lights.

Suddenly Rhea felt acutely out-of-place. True, there were spaces inside the Temple every bit as beautiful and expansive as this, but Rhea knew she had a right to enjoy those, because she lived there, and because she knew that the gardens and rooms of the Temple had not been built to flaunt wealth.

This place had been. It shone in the building's marble facade and coolly whispered in the water and trees. The Imrani woman felt even more strongly, like the twist of a knife in her gut, that she was just playing at being something she was not. What did she think, a little makeup and a skirt would make her good enough for a place like this? For the people who lived here?

You should not have come.