Lucky 33 (Love in the District #2)

11. Wookie Sighting

CHAPTER 11

WOOKIE SIGHTING

A my was glad that she didn’t work on Sundays. That had been a tough decision for her when starting her business, and it was paying off now. Drew had texted back last night within minutes to say he had secured two tickets to the National Symphony Orchestra. They would be playing the music from Star Wars. Not her top choice, but she’d tour a garbage dump just to hang out with that man.

She was glad to have a chance to wear her new dress again. She made it less bridal party-ish with sandals and her hair down and straight. Amy smiled at her reflection in the mirror. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been on a date where they got dressed up and went to something classy like the symphony.

The look on Drew’s face when she opened her front door was everything. She’d already felt pretty, but she felt special now.

“You’re so beautiful,” Drew declared.

“Thank you,” Amy replied, spinning to show off. “You clean up well, too.”

Drew looked dashing in his grey suit. His open collared blue shirt complimented his gorgeous eyes. He jingled his keys and said, “Let’s get a move on. Our seats are in the second-row center, and I hate crawling over people. ”

Second row center? How much did he pay for these? I’m not going to worry about that. Nope. I’m the new Amy who accepts magic.

As they crested to the top of the escalator from the parking garage, Drew marveled over the red carpeting and golden details and said, “Well, there were certainly some design decisions made here.”

“If you hate that, wait until you get a load of the giant bust of JFK that looks like it was constructed out of elephant dung.”

Drew cheered at that and followed Amy, gasping when he saw the bust.

“Well, I’ll be. It does look like it’s made from elephant poo. Ooh, a snack bar. Want to get plastic cups of wine and share some overpriced gummy bears before we go in?”

“It’s the symphony pregame of champions, so of course.”

After enjoying their refreshments and some excellent people-watching, they headed in. Drew craned his neck to look at the front row.

“Good news and bad news. Good news: We’re still early enough for an easy approach. Bad news: I’m going to make you sit next to that old lady who looks like a Wookie.”

Amy snorted a laugh. “Not very gentlemanly.”

“That snort wasn’t very ladylike, so I stand by it.”

Though the movies had never interested her, the music was captivating. Or maybe it was just being there with Drew. Either way, Amy had the best time listening to the symphony with her hand in Drew’s.

At intermission, she impressed Drew by pulling two granola bars out of her purse.

“You’re a magician,” he declared as they got their crumbs all over the outdoor balcony. Not a magician, but I seem to be attracting magic these days.

“No, I’m just a planner. Thinking about being hungry and not being able to get food stresses me out.” Amy wiped the bar crumbs off her dress and decolletage .

“Kind of a weird choice for a maid,” Drew said, brushing off his crumbs.

“I do usually eat them outside or over a sink. They remind me of my childhood, so I like them.”

“I loved these as a kid, too. My mom always got mad at me for making a mess, though. She said she could follow the trail of crumbs to find me anywhere,” Drew added.

“It probably won’t surprise you that I was a very tidy little girl,” Amy began. “I remember one of my favorite Christmas presents was this toy cleaning set with all the essentials: broom, dustpan, cloth, bucket. Oh! It even had a squeegee, which was as fun to use as it was to say.”

Drew looked at her in awe. “What child wants cleaning toys?”

“This one,” she responded proudly. “It was the start of my cleaning empire.”

“Silly me. My memorable Christmas present was a box of firecrackers and illegal fireworks from my questionable Uncle Skeet over the South Carolina border.”

"I’m surprised you have all of your fingers,” Amy said, lifting his hands to be sure.

“That’s a stereotype. I’m not some kind of hillbilly. I’m missing a few toes, like a proper Southern gentleman.” Amy glanced wide-eyed at Drew’s dress shoes.

“I’m kidding,” Drew pulled her close as they enjoyed the evening view of the Potomac River and Rosslyn on the other side.

“What do you think of the music?” Amy asked Drew, closing her eyes as a warm breeze fluttered her hair.

“Magnificent. Not as good as the movies, but it's a close second. You?”

“I’m having a perfect night. Good music, good company, and the Wookie finally let me use the armrest just before intermission.”

Amy could feel Drew's deep laughter from where she was nestled. “Be aggressive, Amy. Use the Force.”

Amy laughed weakly. “Okay, I’ll Force her. ”

“I’m sorry, did you just use that as a verb? It’s a noun. A powerful noun representing the mysterious energy field created by life that binds the galaxy together. Miss Mansfield, have you not seen a Star Wars movie?”

Uh oh. She made a pathetic face at him and shrugged.

Drew looked flummoxed like he couldn't find words. “That’s absurd. You’ve never watched any of the movies from the most famous franchise of all time?”

“Oh, I’ve seen all the Fast and Furious movies,” she responded playfully.

“That’s a disrespectful comparison. I thought you were into pop culture. How do you miss out on Star Wars?”

“It’s never come up?” she ventured.

“It has now. Let’s go. You haven’t earned the second half of this performance. We’re watching the original movie tonight. I have the entire collection.”

“Nerd,” she taunted, letting him lead her to the car. Only Drew could get me to agree to watch Star Wars. I’ll still complain all the way.