Can See Right Through Your Age Gap

(I am 23, and my husband is 28. I am playing with my three-year-old niece during a family get together when my husband walks up to say he’ll be outside for a while with my step-dad. He gives me a hug around my shoulders, then continues walking on. My niece watches us intently.)

Niece: “Are you and Uncle married?”

Me: *smiling, thinking I am about to be a good example for her* “Yep!”

Niece: *frowns, looking down at her toy* “My daddy says I can’t get married until I’m 45.”

Me: *suppressing a giggle* “Aw, your daddy just cares about you a lot and wants you to make a good choice! He loves you very much.”

Niece: “Yeaaah.”

(After a short pause, she raises her head to meet my eyes with a studious expression. She stares at me a moment before she raises one eyebrow.)

Niece: “How old are you?”

(My jaw dropped, as I couldn’t believe how bright she was to ask, and not knowing how to answer.)

Me:  “Oh, w-well, I, ah… 45.”

(My niece raises both eyebrows in an expression that was not of childlike disbelief, but of an adult who knows a lie when they hear it.)

Niece: “Really. So… you’re 45…” *tilts her head in the direction my husband had walked* “…and he’s 45?”

Me: “Yes. Together… we are 45.”

Niece: “Huh.”

(After a very brief pause, we went back to playing and she was a kid again. It was so obvious that she’d seen right through that, realized why I lied, and decided to let it go. She’s nine now, and she still sees right through people.)