"Sì, due biglietti per qualsiasi film vogliate e la prenotazione per un albergo”, annunciai con un sorriso."Albergo? " chiesero all’unisono."Sì,...e nessuna discussione! E’ il vostro anniversario, meritate una bella cena, un film romantico ed una notte da soli", dissi molto serio."Questo non è un piano per farci stare fuori casa per permettervi di fare una festa?" chiese sospettosamente il papà. Gli occhi di Matteo si allargarono e capii che stava sudando, ma io mantenni la calma e li rassicurai. Remember? This is just friends." I said.He quickly came back with "Well, friends can hold hands. Whatever though. I don't want to come between you and your husband. I'm fine being your side game." Side game? Wait. You're not my side game. You're my friend." A friend your husband doesn't know about." Not true. He knows about you." Oh, so he knows we're hanging out today?" Well, no. But I've told him about you." Why didn't you tell him we're hanging out today?" He wouldn't mind. I just don't want. ." I stutter, simultaneously praying to Yahweh,Allah, Krishna, Zeus, Odin, Ra, Marduk, Quetzalc?atl and every otherbenevolent deity whose name I can recall that she might take myadolescent drooling as a compliment and refrain from denouncing me as asex maniac.Unfortunately divine intervention is not part of today's special offer. Ican tell by the swiftness with which those ingenuous aquamarine eyes havenarrowed into feline slits. Then they slowly widen in recognition."Snapper...?"What the. She sat me down in the loveseat and I waited for her to do something. She sat down at her computer and in just a few seconds somebody started reading to us through the four speakers. She came back to the loveseat and sat down beside me and took my hand in hers. We listened for probably an hour and then took a break.When we sat down in the loveseat again, Alex surprised me. She cuddled up to my side and put her feet sort of under her and put my arm around her shoulders and rested her head.