“Uh—Dad?” Ryan said hesitantly. “Dad, is there something in your office? Something bad?”

For a moment, Toni would have sworn that Rod was startled. But the next minute, she thought she must have been seeing things. He wore the same bored, impatient look he always wore when he had to deal with Ryan or Jill. “No,” he said shortly. “There is nothing in my office, bad or otherwise. What makes you say something that stupid?”

Ryan winced, but continued bravely on. “It’s just that—Jill and me—”

“Jill and I,” Toni corrected, automatically. Ryan gave her an “Oh, Mom!” look, but corrected himself.

“Jill and I, we’ve been getting nightmares. About something in your office, something awful—”

She suppressed a wince, knowing what was going to happen. When the kids said or did something out-of-line, it always came back to her. And as expected, Rod rounded on Toni, frowning. “What the hell have you been telling these kids?” he asked, accusingly.

She shook her head, helplessly, and spread her hands placatingly. “Nothing,” she protested weakly. “Nothing at all! I don’t—”

“Then you’ve been letting them watch too damn many horror movies on cable,” he interrupted irritably. “Stephen King, Dracula, aliens; Christ Almighty, no wonder the kids are having nightmares! Every time I turn on the TV, there’s a bucket of blood spilling across the screen. Don’t you ever check to see what they’re watching? What kind of a mother are you, anyway?”

It was no use to protest that the kids only watched what he approved, that he himself was the one who selected the programs. He’d simply accuse her of letting them watch things behind his back, and she had no way to prove that she wasn’t doing anything of the kind.

“That’s it,” he said, slamming his hand down on the tabletop, making them all jump. “No more cable TV unless I’m here to supervise what you’re watching.”

Jill opened her mouth to protest, but fortunately Toni managed to silence her with a look. Poor Jill; no more afterschool Nickelodeon.

“What are we allowed—” Ryan began timidly.

Rod hit his head with the heel of his hand. “Do I have to tell you kids everything? You can go outside and play, dammit! You kids spend too much time in front of that thing, anyway. You can play Nintendo if it’s bad. You can even watch a movie from your special cabinet.” His voice became heavy with irony. “You might even actually read a book for fun. I know that may sound impossible, but people do read for fun. But no matter what, no more cable TV unless I’m here to supervise!”