Devious

So Spills says to me during dinner, "You should call Grandma tonight."

I said, "I already called Grandma when I got home this afternoon. Remember?"

"You should call her again. Tonight." The eyes looked a bit shifty.

"Why exactly should I call her again tonight?"

"You should call her right before bedtime." Now she was concentrating on her plate, moving food here and there, not meeting my face at all.

"Why?"

And then I clued in. Slow Mommy. On Monday night, at the end of Spilly's TV time (she watches George Shrinks or something similar at 7:30, before going upstairs for book and bed), the phone had rung. It had been Spilly's friend Simon's Mom. We had fallen into an extended catching-up gabfest.

This meant that Spilly had had a little time on her hands, at a time when she was supposed to be going upstairs, brushing her teeth, etc. She had, not surprisingly, wasted no time in finding the next installment of Sanjaya's new show at 8:00. And happily, oh-so-quietly, she'd continued to watch for about half an hour afterward.

"You want me to call Grandma so you can watch Sanjaya."

"Hee hee hee," said Spills.

"Don't you???"

"Maybe. Yeeeesssss."

"Well," I said.

She smiled at me winningly.

It is hard to resist that smile, particularly when it's aiming to be winning. And since the kid has already watched the show on the sly more than once...

"I guess," I said, "I could possibly tape it for you, and we could watch the good parts the next day. We could fast-forward through the things that aren't Sanjaya."

"Oh, Mommy!" She threw her arms around me. "You're the best!"

"I know," I said.