Since I work at home, I occasionally leave my office, go downstairs and see Arial and Frances (usually on my way to get a snack, which is why I'm not the slender, young fellow that I used to be). Sometimes when I go back upstairs, Frances protests my leaving. To try to get her to understand that I'm going upstairs (and that she needs to deal with that), I say "Bye-bye" and "I love you" a couple times.
On a couple occasions over the last few weeks, when I've gone upstairs I heard Frances say something that sounded like "I love you". It was in the same intonation that I use when I say it to her in that circumstance.
Now the question is this, are those her first words? Or am I just hearing what I want to hear like the lady whose dog "says" "I love you" but actually just howls three times?
Either way, it is neat that she picked up the intonation from one time and applied it to the next.
mwz
219
