Who's on first

Lately when I play games with Archer and Cady Gray, I've been doing the old "guess how many fingers I've got behind my back" routine to decide who goes first. In actuality, I rig the game to make sure that Cady Gray always wins, because she crumples into a weeping, quivering mass if she doesn't get to go first. It's the appearance of fairness that keeps Archer satisfied with the outcome.

Tonight Cady Gray announced that she wanted to play "twiddlywinks" with me. "Do you want to go first?" I asked.

"No," she announced, "the person who guesses the number closest to the number behind my back gets to go first."

I was amused. "OK, I'll guess four."

"I'll guess ... ten," she said. Then she pulled her hands out from behind her back. "It was ten! I'll go first."

Fast forward to the next game.

CG: Guess the number to go first.

Me: OK, this time I'll guess nine.

CG: I'll guess ten.

(pulls closed fists from behind back, laboriously raises nine fingers)

CG: The number was nine!

(I smile at her magnanimous gesture of fairness, but --)

CG: I go first. Again.