The kid wanted to know about his dog. What else was he going to talk to Michael about? He had to keep things low-key. Part of me thinks that they whole 'I love you' was one of those wierd 'tests'. But my other part says that he was saying it because he wanted to tell his dad that he loved him. But I don't think that scene was staged.

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"To be a genius is to be misunderstood..." -Ralph Waldo Emerson