"It's our last one, and then we have two weeks off," I said.
"Well, Ash said the show doesn't start until nine," Alex said. "But I told him you might be tired after work. I had forgotten you have a rehearsal. He'll be bummed."
"Wh-he specifically asked about me?" I asked, carrying on cooking.
I dropped my sister's and Alex's eggs into their pots as I listened nervously for his answer.
"Is it okay for me to move these?" Josie asked, talking about something on the table where they were about to eat.
"Of course, move it all," I said in a quick tone before looking at Alex.
"Yes, he specifically asked about you," he said with a grin. "I thought you two might… I don't know what I thought, but he asked if you were coming tomorrow, and then he asked about us coming tonight, and he mentioned you again. At least twice in the conversation."
I thought about how I didn't have Luna for the next two nights, and knew it would be fun to go to the gig. Seeing Ash's band wasn't the worst decision I could make. I was way too affected by the news of him asking about me, and I pretended to be busier than I was in the kitchen, leaning and stirring and plating in a more exaggerated way to distract both them and me.
"Do either of you want to go to that?" I asked in an even, measured tone that I hoped was super normal sounding. "Oh, never mind. It's sold out, I think. I heard somebody talking about it at rehearsal the other day. I heard it's sold out."
"I didn't know he had so many songs on Spotify," Josie said, looking down at her phone.
"He said he would leave our names at the door," Alex said.
I glanced at Josie, but she was still looking at her phone.
"He's got three albums with this band," she said, telling me something I already knew. I focused my attention on cooking.
"So, are we going?" Alex asked.
"I think it would be fun," Josie said, causing my heart to beat faster. I wanted to say something to agree without seeming overzealous.
"I mean, as far as sleep goes, we can sleep in tomorrow, right? I don't have work in the morning, and we don't have to be in Deer Lodge until tomorrow evening, right? Amelia has to drive from California."
"Yeah, that's what I'm thinking," Josie said, putting her phone down. "It would be fun to go see Ash play tonight. I'venever heard any of this music. I only got to hear that old-timey stuff you had him playing on the series," she said, talking to Alex.
"It's good, I've listened to it before," he said. "They had one or two albums out before I ever even asked him about doing the series. I had listened to it before I met him. He's really versatile. I think Sam's talking to him about being in a movie—or at least auditioning for it. "
"Yeah, I think I heard Sam say something about that," my sister said, answering him.
I had no idea what they were talking about, and I was glad my hands and my brain were busy with the food. I was mostly busy. I had enough brain capacity to explore thoughts of Ash auditioning for a movie. I tried not to be curious about him or what he was doing, but it was useless. I liked him, and I wanted to know.
"What did you say about a movie?" I said. "Ash is auditioning for a movie in L.A.?"
"That's what I heard," Alex said. "Sam's in a movie, and I think they need his co-star to be someone who fits Ash's description—singer, guitar player, and everything—right down to the long hair and blue eyes."
"Is he moving to California?" I asked, nonchalantly. I glanced up, and Alex shrugged and shook his head.
"He's not even sure if he's auditioning right now. I think Sam's telling him more about it at the wedding."
"When are Sam and Judd getting here?" I asked.
"They'll fly in tomorrow in time to follow us to the wedding."
"What about Cameron?" I asked.
"She'll be with them," Alex answered, nodding.
I plated their eggs and came around my work table to deliver them to the small table that shared my workspace.
"Oh, you don't have to serve us, you should've told me those were mine," Josie said, half-standing when she noticed me coming over.
