Lauren and I went to see “American Beauty” (1999) last night, our last night together before her trip to the States, where she and the children will stay three full weeks. Skeptical about the five Oscars, we expected to be disappointed, but we found most of the movie to our liking. “Do you find a bit of yourself in these characters?” I asked innocently when we came out of the theater. Lauren saw some connection with the colonel’s son, and I agreed that there was something there. Her appreciation of beauty is something I love about her, too. “However,” I ventured naïvely, “don’t you see a bit of yourself in the wife?” She was not amused. “Don’t you see a bit of me in the husband?” I tried to defend myself, surprised by her reaction. She was even less amused. It took me until her departure today to get a real hug.