two

"What if I want to marry them both?" He is 8 years old and already considering polygamy.
"I don't think either of them would be too happy about that," I tell him.
"But here is my problem mom." He sits at the kitchen table with his head in his hands, like he has to decide by tomorrow. "They are both smart. They are both funny. But Lillian is just an all-around good person. She is always nice, she gives good hugs and she cares about animals a lot. She is just a great girl - ya know?"

I do know - Lillian is an amazing soul. I met her before the Jester did - and she is one of my favorite students ever. They have shared a stage more than once, and share secrets all the time. No doubt about it - Lillian is a great catch.

"Buuuut, he says, "Hannah is great too. She makes me laugh so hard, and she makes up the best stories." He thinks for a minute, gazing out the window. "Sometimes she gets us in trouble though."

His dad pipes in, "The good ones usually do."

I know exactly what the jester means. . . it is in Hannah's company that he has been thrown off a mechanical bull, gotten way too close to a very hungry python, and nearly fallen out of a moving car.

But she cracks us all up. The girl is whip smart, a bit sarcastic and has no trouble speaking her mind. She is like a female version of the Jester.

He looks at me with his hands folded on the table and says this, "Lillian is the smart choice. She is good at all the things I am not. It's like she is the rest of the puzzle." Honest to God - that is what he says.

And then this, "But Hannah - man, there is is just something about that girl I love."