"I thought so," I said, smiling and nodding at him. "Why?"
"Ash Adams was asking, and I told him you were coming."
"Ash who?" I said, even though we both knew I knew I had heard him.
"Adams," Alex said.
But I said the same name at the same time as him, and we both smiled.
"What other Ash do you know?" Josie said, with a silly face.
"When'd you talk to Ash?" I asked, staring at the eggs that were poaching on my stove. I had timers set and a specific process for each pot that I was watching and each plate that Iwas completing. I listened for Alex's answer without looking at him. I was instantly nervous at the mention of Ash's name, and I looked down, tending to the food and trying to appear normal.
"Just now. I saw him a few minutes ago at the hardware store."
"Why were you at a hardware store?" I asked, plating some eggs. I rang the bell for Carly to let her know an order was ready.
"Ash was there because he's doing construction on a flip house, and I was there getting a new showerhead."
"For me?" I asked. I looked at Carly when I saw her come to get the plates. "Thank you, Carly. Can you ask Cal to make two scrambled eggs for Josie?"
"I heard her!" Cal called from the other side of the kitchen.
"He heard you!" Carly said, teasing me.
I cracked three more eggs into pots, and then I was at a place where I could coast for a minute, so I looked at Alex again.
"I hope you didn't get a showerhead for me. I'm so sorry that one wasn't working. I should've got a plumber to come out before you guys got here. Luna always takes a bath, so I don't even think about it."
"He was up this morning, so I asked him to replace it for you," Josie said.
"Yeah, you don't need to call a plumber for that. It took me five minutes to switch it out."
"Well, thank you. and let me know what I owe you," I said. I leveled Alex with a stare. "You ran into Ash there?" I asked, since I was too curious to drop the subject.
"Yes. He was asking me what I was doing in town, and I told him about Henry's wedding tomorrow night, but he already knew because he's going to it."
"Ash is?" I asked, looking confused.
Alex shrugged and nodded. "Yeah, I guess Henry's mom asked him to play the guitar during the ceremony. He wassurprised that I had come all the way from L.A. for it. He also told me about a gig he has tonight with his band. They're playing in town."
"Pub Station," I said, nodding since I knew about it. Ash had mentioned it to me, and his band was popular enough locally that I had heard three different people talk about it.
"What's his band's name?" Josie asked, snapping her fingers and making a face like it was on the tip of her tongue. "It's something about a day of the week," she said. "Tuesday something?"
"No, that was his other band. This one is called Down the Hatch."
"Yeah, that's it," Alex said to me.
I had cooked these dishes so many times that I didn't even think about it when Cal came into my space, placing four plates under my warmers. I thanked him and went right on cooking and talking to my sister.
"Do you want to go to the show tonight? That might be fun," Josie said.
"I have play practice," I said.
"Just until six, right?"
"I'm surprised you guys are even doing that this close to Christmas," Alex said.
