"Can I sit by Ruthie?"

At our recent ward Christmas party we were sitting with a family that has a little girl in Talmage's sunbeam class. Her name is Ruth. After getting our food Talmage said "I want to sit by Ruthie." Her mother (from Panama) looked at Talmage and faking seriousness asked him if he was planning on going on a mission, and if he was living worthy to go to the Temple. Talmage was just staring at her and she though it had all just gone over his head. After a minute of thought Talmage responded with "We just had tithing settlement with the Bishop!" This surprised Ruth's mom. She started laughing and laughing and told Talmage, "You can sit by Ruthie." Not much gets by Talmage. What a blessing and a curse.