"If you had to choose between me and him, who would you pick?" She asked, eagerly, as she watched their faces.

Without any hesitation, even before the last word escaped from her lips, she heard a chorus of voices exclaim, "HIM!!"

She paused for a minute, took some breaths and gathered her thoughts.

She had her retort, and she felt it could guarantee her the win. It would definitely get them to reconsider, and change their answer.

She felt very confident.

"Remember I can cook and he can't? Remember I make all your favorite foods?"

"Him," came their response, this time not as emphatic, and with a slight pause.

She felt a surprising sting from their answer. She couldn't believe it. She made the most delectable meals. They praised her cooking all the time. She was so certain they would pick her just for a guaranteed lifetime of scrumptious meals. She was crunched by how wrong she misjudged her position.

"But I broke my rules for you today!! I let you eat all your favorite snacks. I let you play Minecraft without a timer! I even let you wear beach clothes to school!"

Goodness Gracious! She sounded ridiculous to her own ears, like a whiny toddler.

They sensed now that perhaps her feelings were hurt. They thought they were just playing a game.

"But he is funny...?" came their final answer, almost apologetic.

She couldn't deny it. He was funny.

He had an air of lightness about him that made being around him easy. He gave silly answers to serious questions that tend to lighten the gravity of situations in a way that was soothing, not condescending. He rolled on the floor, he jumped in the air, he made goofy faces, he sang silly made up songs.

She just couldn't compete with that.