I volunteered this morning for a few hours at Kenzie’s preschool. I got the opportunity to meet Prince Aidan. I had no idea of the depths of this relationship. Kenzie started talking about him on the way to school, “I hope Aidan’s going to be there!” As we were waiting for the kids to stroll in (he was the last to show, of course), she kept a careful eye on the door. When he arrived she ran to him and gave him a huge hug, to which he barely responded. “Hi Aidan!” she said. He said “hi” but then went to play with Luke. At this point I wanted to grab his little arm and have a chat, but I showed restraint.

As he was playing with Luke, Kenzie kept finding excuses to bump into him. “Oh Aidan,” I heard her say. Who was this kid? I had never seen her before. I certainly had never seen her eyes bat in the manner that they did when he looked at her.

As the morning wore on, Aidan warmed up to her. He didn’t object when she told the class that they had recently gotten married. (In China.) Ms. Janet asked “why did you get married?” Kenzie’s reply of “because we had to” caused Ms. Janet to give me a questioning glare. This is new territory to me too, I tried to explain. I clearly don’t know this child.

Kenzie quickly sat on the circular rug for story time. As Aidan was looking for a spot, Kenzie eagerly patted the place next to her. Oh geez. Soon Ms. Janet was reading the story of Curious George when Mr. Prince reached over to tickle my daughter. She was smitten by the gesture and said, rather insincerely, “Aidan, stop!” I was about ready to go stop him myself, but again showed restraint.

Then, before I knew what was happening, she picked up his hand and kissed it! He returned the gesture! I didn’t know what to do. Then they kissed square on the lips. Let it go…I argued with myself as I watched the events unfold.

Quickly I learned why he was so special. As he sat next to her on the circular rug, with one hand he was able to both suck his thumb AND pick his nose. Clearly, that’s the sign of talent and intelligence. He again reached over to tickle my daughter (yes, with the same hand that had recently been on a dig), and she giggled. Thankfully, Ms. Janet separated them. Kenzie was crushed. Before he moved away they hugged one more time.

Unfortunately, we had to leave early. Whether it was because I indeed had to get to work or because I had had enough of the scene, I’m still not sure. But when I summoned Kenzie, she went to Mr. Prince and gave him a big hug, walked three steps away, and then fell back into his arms for one final embrace. By this time I’m ready to enroll her in a nunnery. She’s three…she’s three…let it go…but note to self: "no more prince and princess books. Aladdin and Little Mermaid need to give way to The Big Tidy Up and Mr. Pine's Purple House, the classics from my childhood."

We got in the car. Her first words, “Mom, I’m so glad that you went to my school so you could meet Aidan.” Oh, me too.