“It’s hot, right?” Hooker said, nodding.
“It’s…something,” Mom said finally.
“Thanks?” I shook my head then turned to Hooker. “So where do you want to start? Technically, Episode One: The Phantom Menace is the beginning, but one through three was pretty much crap in comparison to four through six. I say we start with Episode Four: A New Hope. That’s the best, original cast, first to hit theaters. What do you think?”
“I, ah…” Hooker looked to Mom.
“Oh yeah,” I said. “Mom, you can watch, too, if you want. Hooker had this whole idea for a Girls Night, and we’re going to watch Star Wars.”
“Well…” Mom said, placing the last cookies onto the rack to cool. She refused to meet my eyes. “I’ve kind of got something...”
“What?” I asked just as the doorbell rang.
“I’ll get it,” Hooker and Mom said at the same time.
Slowly, I followed them to the door, suspicion gnawing at me.
As Mom opened the door, my fears were confirmed.
“Hello,” Mom said, reaching out, “you must be Ash?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Ash said as they shook hands. “And you must be Sally’s mom. My dad told me you were beautiful.” Looking over her shoulder, he waved. “Hey, Spitz.”
Mom blushed and tittered while I pulled Hooker aside.
She looked so downright pleased with herself; I wanted to slap her.
“Hooker,” I growled. “What is this?”
“I told you,” she said coolly, “it’s an intervention. Martha agrees with me. You’ve got to get back on that horse.”
“I’ve never ridden a day in my life.”
That got me an eye roll. “I mean dating. We’ve got to get you over Becks, and the only way it’s going to happen is for you to find somebody new. “
“But it’s only been a few days,” I argued.
“And that’s plenty of time to wallow in self-pity. We’ve got to snap you out of this funk,” Hooker declared, then said again, “Your mom agrees.”
“Mom?” I repeated, watching her and Ash out of the corner of my eye. It looked like they were old friends.
“She knows Ash’s parents from high school.” Hooker shrugged. “When she asked me about him, I said he was alright, good soccer player, great looks, decent car. We decided you two would make a good match.”
I stared at her in horror. I’d had my suspicions, but this was my first time seeing them in action. Hooker and my mother, two matchmakers on a mission. My worst fears confirmed.
“I won’t do it,” I said, crossing my arms—or at least trying to. This shirt was so tight I couldn’t even do that without ripping a seam. Instead I settled for fists on hips.
“Yes, you will,” Hooker countered. “If you don’t, you’ll hurt Ash’s feelings—and just look at how good he is with Martha.”
When I looked over, Mom had her head thrown back, laughing at something Ash said like it was the funniest thing in the world.
“Fine,” I said, snagging my fleece from the coat rack. “But I’m wearing the snuggie.”
Hooker paled, opened her mouth, but then Mom said, “Come on, Lillian. Let’s leave Sally and Ash to their date.” When she winked at me, I tugged the snuggie over my shoulders in retaliation. Mom simply shrugged, stepping out onto the porch with Hooker bringing up the rear.
After they were gone, Ash stepped forward and nodded at my attire. “Yoda. Nice.”
I rolled my eyes and led him into the living room.
Being alone with Ash wasn’t really so bad. Not bad at all, actually. He told me he’d seen all the movies, didn’t get mad when I quoted lines and didn’t even comment on my singing along with the credits. He was pretty much silent throughout—which was how I liked it. That way we could pay attention to the movie. We talked some afterward, but he seemed to be a bit pre-occupied. I pulled out all my tricks, talking about the nerdiest, most annoying tidbits I could think of (“Did you know Luke Skywalker used to be Luke Starkiller?” “Were you aware that Chewie’s appearance was based off of an Alaskan Malamute?” “You know, John Williams also composed the scores for the first three Harry Potter films. My favorite was Hedwig’s theme. It goes like this...”), but nothing seemed to put him off.
As I walked him out, Mom and Hooker pulled into the driveway. They didn’t get out of the car, and I knew they were watching us. Ash seemed to know it, too.
“So,” he said, glancing over his shoulder then back at me, “what do you think they expect us to do?”