Potential suitors

Tonight at dinner, after Julia mistakenly interpreted Ethan's comment about his marinade as a comment about marrying, I asked Julia who she plans on marrying. Her response? "Um, I fink, Daddy." Whoa, slap in the face for Ethan - a few months ago her choice was always unequivocally Daddy. When he asked about the potential new candidates for the job, she thought for a minute, then gave us a huge, coy smile and said, "Fad." (For those of you who don't speak Julia, "Fad" would be Thad, Neva's husband.) Ethan then asked if there were others threatening his position as future husband, and it turns out Charlie and Mark are on the short list too. Which Mark? "Um, the Mark that's with Loula." Why not the other Mark? "Because I love the Mark that's with Loula." A few people we inquired about got a big fat no. Patrick was nixed - the reason being that "he already lives with Auntie Shannon." (Apparently not an issue with the other candidates, though, all of whom already live with their wives and children.) And when I asked her if she was going to marry Nate, who in my opinion is the best candidate of the bunch, seeing as he's almost exactly her age, one of her dearest and oldest friends, and currently unattached, her answer was an emphatic no. Why? "Because he's not a daddy!"

Hmm... all I can say is that Neva, Jen, Amy and I had better watch out...