Issue

Mrs. Eden took a deep breath and said that she did have one issue to bring to their attention; the parents nodded. "Neil sings a little song to amuse himself and the other children sometimes," she started, and the parents laughed. "That's adorable," the mother said. "Very, and also," Mrs. Eden gently took back the narrative, "it's about how his grandma makes cookies and poison, cookies and poison, and cookies plus milk makes you ding dong dead." A moment of silence hung between them before the parents started laughing again. "Mom is going to flip out when we tell her!" the father said, grinning from ear to ear (and this made Mrs. Eden wonder if she'd made a mountain out of a mole hill). "You just ... never think kids pay attention like that," the mother added eventually. "I mean ... you forget that they see everything. SO freaking adorable!" They returned their full attention to her without an explanation, and a chill began to creep over Mrs. Eden - ever so tiny, starting at the back of the neck.