Beware the Bread!

Today as I was loading the kids into the car to rush them somewhere, a neighbor flagged me down. She was holding a stale piece of bread in her hand. She was a new neighbor, having just bought a foreclosed house on the block. Had I seen anyone trying to get in to the house? she wanted to know. She waved the bread and said, "Someone's coming in. Someone left this for me on the windowsill. I don't eat bread." She told how she'd found chocolate chips on the table another time. And yes, some bags were missing. As she went on about her various theories about who might want in and why, I started to worry about the little ears that were perked up in the back seat. My daughter and her friend are 4 years old. they love watching Scooby Doo but worry incessently about ghosts. Would they have nightmares now of burglars? For that matter, would I?

I promised to keep an eye on the place and made a mental note to start using my alarm system. I pulled away and looked worriedly in the rear view mirror. Sure enough, both kids looked pensive. "Did you hear that?" my daughter said, wide-eyed. "She doesn't eat bread!"