Well, that's not the only time it hurts, but that's when it hurts the most. And with Brad and Jolie around, that's often enough.

Yesterday, after the two had begun preparing the traditional feast, Brad started telling Jol how he's been training Sophie to lick Jackson's head. He explained that this is necessary because Jackson misses the way his buddy Joe carressed his head. (I insisted Joe find a new home when he hadn't stopped lashing out at the natives months after he and Brad and Jackson had moved in.) Jolie was dubious, so Brad demonstrated his methodology. I happened to shuffle into the kitchen just in time to see the sanguine Sophie enthusiastically licking a glob of peanut butter off the phlegmatic cat's fat black head.

Normally I would have rolled my eyes at Brad, said something like "stop tormenting small animals", and moved on. But, when I looked up from the scene on the floor, I saw Jolie laughing so hard tears were rolling down her cheeks while she shook breathlessly. That's when I started laughing, which hurts worse than coughing or blowing my nose, so I had to bend over even more than I'm already hunched while shuffling from room to room. Jolie noticed my state and implored her dad, while gasping for air and still laughing, "Stop! You're hurting Mommy!", which only made me laugh harder. Ouch.

Sophie finally got as much peanut butter out of the short black coat as a dog's soft tongue will allow, and looked from one biped to the next, happy to be the center of attention. Jackson, who rarely tolerates Sophie's buoyancy, continued to loll unperturbed at her feet. Anyone would have thought they were dear friends. That is, until later that afternoon when Jackson stepped between Sophie and a perfectly roasted bit of turkey – rather than a sweet massage between his ears, Jackson nearly lost his head.