speaking from the heart

"i love you," liam said from his chair at the kitchen table. my back was turned as i washed a few dishes while he finished his lunch. "why, thank you," i replied, touched at this out-of-the-blue declaration of feelings. i was intent on scrubbing some dried-on morsel of food off the bottom of a pot, so i remained focused on the sink. "i love you too." a few seconds later, he said, "you're cool!" i smiled to myself. i wonder how much longer he'll think that, i thought, but thanked him again. and then, he followed up with, "kiss me!" i immediately felt guilty about not even making eye contact through this entire exchange, so i stopped what i was doing and turned to go give him a big smooch. that's when i realized that he wasn't quite as extemporaneous as i was giving him credit for. lined up on his plate were the contents of his conversation hearts box that he had received at his preschool valentine's day party. i'd like to think that i would have caught on had he gotten to the next one: "fax me". but i'm not complaining -- i'll take what i can get. especially from an "all star" four-year old "lover boy" engaging in "sweet talk", sitting at my kitchen table.