"Oh, I'm annoyed, don't get me wrong," Susan said dryly. "But I understand how these things work, and shouting isn't as productive with children as it is with grownups."

Susan's patience with children had always been a source of bemusement to her adult acquaintances, several of whom had been on the sharp end of her temper more than once. Susan felt, on some level, that children hadn't had a chance to grow stupid yet, and therefore needed less of the raised-voice treatment.