Delia decided to keep it a secret that her little Ashley would be staying with her from now on. Ash was eatting the cookie that Delia had broken up for Ash; it was little more than crumbs, but Ash didn't mind. A crumb of cookie was about the size of a small car compared to him. He ate silently as he saw Misty, Casey and Sabrina trying to hold thier laughter.
Ash had always hated that nickname that only his mother used. It was embarrasing to be called Ashley in front of his friends...especially Misty. He just wanted to crawl under a table and never come out again until his friends left.
"So...Ashley" said Sabrina, then all the girls round the table burst into laughter. Even Delia smiled. "is that your full name?"
"It's only a nickname" said Ash.
"It's your real name, Ashley" said Delia. "Ashley is a boys' name, you know"
"In what twisted mind..?" muttered Ash, much too softly for his mother to hear. All the girls seem they would die of laughter...and Ash hoped they would. Ash continued to eat his cookie while the women eat thier cookies.
"So" said Misty. "where are all the shrinkees if people don't eat them?"
"Oh, we keep them in our houses" said Delia. "we don't use them as food...we use them for...." at this point, Delia blushed and said no more. Ash blushed as he thought what his mother was going to say.
"Mom, can we not talk about the uses for shrinkees other than food?" asked Ash.
"Oh sure, Ashley" said Delia. Misty laughed, although Sabrina and Casey didn't.