Matty's mom waves her arms and the colorful plastic bangles she has adorning her wrists jingle. She's wearing a colorful tunic dress and her long dark hair is peppered with silver streaks. Her wide smile makes her eyes look like little moons and she holds up a canteen in her left hand as she glides toward us. She swivels her hips as if dancing around her fellow moviegoers and then she stops at the blanket next to us.

"This is fun huh!" She says when she gets to us and then glances behind her, "Dotty should be here any minute. She's going to love this! And what great seats you got us, Matty!" She says as she drops her purse down onto the blanket next to us. I try and refrain from physically reacting as her eyes are suddenly looking at me.

"You must be Sadie!" She holds her hand out and when I give her mine, she shakes it enthusiastically.

"Oh my, you are pretty. My Matty is a lucky boy," she says and then laughs. Matty turns a shade of pink but before he can say anything, his mom says, "I'm Donna. Matty's mother. I mean obviously, he looks just like me." She laughs again and I try and feign a smile.

"My mom and her friend Dotty are joining us," he tells me and then looks to Donna, "Oh, she loved your crackers by the way."

Her eyes widen and she shoots her flattered look my way, "You did? They are so easy to make. I'll have Matty bring you over the recipe. Or! If you want, you should come on over and I can teach you!"

"Sadie also wants to learn to make jam," Matty adds and I have no idea what to say here.

"Oh, jams are easy honey. We can make a day of it. Make some crackers to eat with our jams. Personally apricot is my favorite, but we can start with grape if that's more your thing," she says with a wave of her hand, and then excitedly she says, "Grapes! Wine! I brought you some." She leans in close to me and then says, "But keep it on the DL because we're really not supposed to drink at these things." She then laughs loudly and then drops down to grab her canteen. I spot another woman dancing around people, wearing large, red circular glasses and a shirt that says, "If found, please return to Alan." By her spunk, I am guessing she is Dotty.

"Matty, Matty, Matty," she sings and Matty flits his eyes over to the woman. He gives her a quick hug while Donna unscrews the canteen.

"And this tall drink of water here must be Sadie," Dotty says and grabs my hand with both of hers. "You look nothing like your grandmother and I mean that in the best way." She winks at me and then swings her own canteen around her waist.

"This is Dotty," Matty introduces.

"She looks just like that actress," Dotty says to Donna and Donna's eyes light up.

"Oh she does, the one from Coronation Street!"

"Yes, Tina!"

"Doesn't she Matty?" Donna asks and he glances at me looking just as clueless as I do, yet shocked Donna was able to guess it just off Dotty saying "that actress."

"Have you gotten that before? Dead ringer," Dotty asks but I shake my head.

"Michelle Keegan! That's her real name! You look just like Michelle Keegan," Donna says, thrilled that she remembered.

"You watch Coronation Street?" Dotty asks me but Donna cuts her off by dropping the canteen in my hands.

"Are you a drinker? I know White Claws are all the rage with you young kids these days, but I prefer to sit and watch a movie with a nice bold red." Before I can answer she adds, "So try this. My own red blend. I call it the Grape Escape." She chuckles and then flips the top off. She wants me to try it right here out of the canteen. No glasses or aerator just chug from the spout. This almost feels like sneaking Boonsfarm in high school.

"Donna's wine is fabulous. We guzzle it down at book club!" Dotty says, encouraging me to try it.

"And while watching Coronation Street!" Donna adds with a chuckle.

I lift the opening to my lips and then tip the wine into my mouth. Donna, Dotty and Matty are all staring at me as I swallow and I try to refrain from shuttering. I've had moonshine that went down easier.

"Good stuff huh?" Dotty says as I lower the canteen and my watery eyes betray me.

"You made this yourself?" I ask because I have no idea what else to say.

"Yep! I have a white blend too. I'll have ya try it when you come over to make jam!"

"You make jam too!" Dotty says excitedly, "Your grandma made the best jam." I want to tell them I don't even know how to turn the stove on, but instead, I say, "Not yet, but I am eager to learn."

Who am I right now? Eager to learn? That's neat? I should add jolly good somehow into the conversation to really round out my absurdness.

Cooper comes down the aisle and looks at us rowdy bunch as he says, "Now, I know you guys are having too much fun over here, but the movie is starting, so I'm gonna need ya to take your seats."

"Oh, sorry Cooper. We'll settle in." Donna says and then looks at us like she just got reprimanded. "We were just so excited to meet Matty's new friend here." She winks at me and giggles before dropping onto the blanket next to us. Cooper wanders off as I hand Matty the canteen back and he says, "Oh this is for us. Dotty has theirs." He takes a swig and I have no idea how he is taking large gulps of that woodsy, spicy, potent concoction. He then drops it to his side and scoops up another cracker with hummus. I think he's going to eat it but instead, he flies it over to my mouth. He's actually trying to feed me. I reluctantly open my mouth and he pops it in.

"Fun that my mom can teach you to make jam right?" He says quietly now that the lights around the park have dimmed and the movie has started. I nod but don't say anything verbally. Donna reaches out to touch Matty's shoulder and she whispers something in his ear. He nods his head and then swings over to me.

"My mom thinks she left her keys at the snack bar. I'm going to go check, I'll be right back." He then pops up off the blanket and I watch him exit the reserved area. I'm worried Donna is going to crawl over to chit-chat so I quickly slide out my phone. I need to look busy so hopefully she won't try and engage. My thumbs hover over my messages, debating who to text. I decide to text Finn. If he's not busy, maybe he'll text with me long enough for Matty to return and create a physical barrier.

Me: Hey.

I know I hate short texts, but I don't know what else to say. I figure I'll see if he's busy and then tell him about this bizarre date. I would text Bellamy and Drew, but they'd then harass me for the rest of the evening. I think Finn will be thrilled knowing he was right about Matty.

Finn: Hey.

Ugh, Finn come on, give me more than that. But he replied quickly, so I think that's a good sign.

Me: Whatcha doing?

A photo of a bowling lane comes through and I forgot he was at bowling league. Shit. He's not going to want to text. I'm surprised when another text comes through.

Finn: What are you doing?

I take a photo of the movie screen and then hit send. I'm about to flip my phone over when it buzzes.

Finn: With another man but thinking of me huh?

I smile at the two smirky faces he adds and then slyly try to take a selfie with Donna in the background. I hope she doesn't notice, but she'll probably just think I'm vain and posting on social media.

I send off the photo and then add,

Me: I just thought you might want to know this WAS a double date.

Finn quickly sends back a dozen laughing faces and I bite my lip to keep from laughing.

Finn: Where's Matty?

Me: He took a break from scheduling a jam-making session to go help his mom find her keys. He has a thing for running off to help people.

Finn: Told you that he's a nice guy like that.

I smile and then flip my phone over. I glance off toward the snack bar and see Matty chatting with Layla. She drops her head back in laughter at something he says and then swats at him. He leans over the table and then he's laughing. Is he off flirting with Layla while I sit here with his mother? I would text Finn this information if Matty were doing that with anyone else, but I don't want to bring up his ex. Yet.

Donna notices my gaze and then looks over at me, "Oh they are just friends, honey. Don't you worry."

I give her a small smile and quietly reply, "Oh no, I wasn't worried. I was just wondering what was taking so long." I look back toward the veggie spread and pop a tomato in my mouth. That wine is sitting weird in my stomach and I think I need soak to it up with something. I feel my phone buzz and see Finn texted me again.

Finn: So besides leaving you alone and bringing his mother, how is the date going?"

I make sure Matty is still having a flirtfest with Layla before writing back.

Me: He bought us fancy tickets in the reserved section and literally fed me a cracker with hummus on it. So, I'm feeling pretty pampered.

Finn: When you say literally fed...

Me: He airplaned a cracker his mother made into my mouth like I was a toddler. It was hot.

Matty finally comes back over and plops down next to me. He leans into his mother and then she and Dotty both start emptying their purses.

"Mom's keys weren't at the snack bar," he says worriedly and I glance around as if they might magically appear on our blanket. I feel my phone buzz but I don't want to check it with Matty right next to me. Julia Roberts is still in full prostitution mode, but I haven't been able to watch at all yet. Everything else around me has stolen my focus.

Matty leans back into Donna and Dotty is now looking around their own blanket. Matty then goes to stand up again when I hear Donna say, "It's fine honey. We'll look after the movie. Enjoy your date."

"No mom, I don't want to try and look in the grass while a hundred other people are leaving. I also don't want someone to find your keys and steal your car," he mutters like he is the parent in this situation. I want to laugh at the absurdness of Matty thinking someone will find her keys and then wander around the hundreds of cars parked around here and try to steal it with a hundred people watching. He leans into me and says, "I'm going to trace my mom's steps back to her car. I'll be right back." He pops up and I can't believe he is leaving again. Donna looks at me as I watch Matty wander off and says, "He can be stubborn. When his mind is made up...there's no reasoning." She takes a swig of her canteen and I look back toward the movie screen. This has to be the most awkward first date.

I finally feel like I can check my phone again, so I flip it over to read what Finn wrote.

Finn: Very thoughtful of him seeing you are incapable of feeding yourself.

I bite back a grin and write,

Me: He's very thoughtful. So thoughtful in fact that he just left again to go find his mother's keys somewhere in the park.

Donna literally "pssts" at me and I turn to face her, "Are you done with the cheese? Dotty here wants to try the goat cheese."

"Oh yeah, here," I tell her and then hand her the entire cheeseboard.

"Matty was so excited for tonight," she says before popping a ball of cheese into her mouth. "He loves that you have a connection to the market."

"Oh? Does he?" I ask, surprised that that's a thing to get excited about.

"Oh yes, you understand how demanding his job can be. Early mornings, late nights. Working weekends. You know," she says and I want to tell her I understand that more than she knows and those are some of the reasons I am going through a divorce.

"Ah, yes. I do remember Sadie was a workhorse," I tell her and she nods while inspecting another cheese ball.

"Well, Sadie had to be right? Supporting herself all those years and living in that big ol' house up on the hill." She finally eats the cheese and then asks, "Oh what do you do? Matty didn't say?"

"Oh, I'm a designer, an interior decorator," I reply and the fib just comes out so naturally now.

"Well, la de dah. A fancy working girl," she says with a wink. She then raises her canteen up to cheers and waits for me to grab mine. I hold mine up so she can clink it and then we raise the spout to our lips. She watches me and I try to take the smallest of sips since the first sip still has my stomach burning. Dotty then smacks her shoulder to tell her something and my attention goes back to the screen. I really don't mind Donna, she and Dotty actually seem like a fun pairing, I just wish Matty were here to buffer. He goes through all this trouble and then bounces.

I look over at the snack bar and see him talking to Layla again. I'm officially over it.

I flip my phone over and see a text from Finn.

Finn: So you're on a date with his mother?

Me: I am. Matty is currently off flirting with some girl now.

I glance up at the screen and now Julia Roberts is living large. It reminds me of LA and I want to giggle in disbelief over giving all that up to be here in Arkansas. My phone buzzes and the most exciting thing about this evening is texting Finn.

Finn: Should I come save you?"

My heart races at the thought of him coming here to take me away. Do I want that? It's probably not appropriate. I should stick it out. Also what if he was joking and I say yes and he writes back, oh I was just joking. Then I made it awkward. I don't think I should run off with another guy in front of Matty's mother either. Even though he has no problem flirting with Layla in front of the whole town.

Me: No it's fine. I'm drinking homemade wine from a canteen.

Finn: Shit is that Donna's wine? That stuff laid out half the town at my brother's BBQ.

Me: It is. The Grape Escape blend.

Finn: Don't drink too much. You'll wake up with chest hair.

Finn: Also, let me know if we need a code word for me to come save you.

I laugh out loud and Donna flicks her gaze over to me. I apologize and then quickly type,

Me: I didn't think it was possible to actually drink it. Anyway, did you bowl a turkey? Or a rooster? Or whatever the fuck it's called when you get a perfect score.

Me: Also, Rooster will be the code word.

I tuck my phone in front of me when I feel footsteps on the blanket, Matty drops down next to me and says "Sorry, turns out Mary tucked the keys into her coat pocket for safekeeping. They were at the other snack bar." I watch Donna tuck her keys into her purse and she looks at me with a shrug like whoopsadaisy.