Going through the motions

The scene: The dining table. Two parents seated, eating dinner. Child, sitting in high-chair, eating dinner.

The action: With no warning, child ralphs her dinner. It's carrots and peas, of course -- what else is disgorged? But in graceful, waterfall-like motion, puke conveniently lands only on high-chair tray and in catch-all pocket of child's washable bib.

The reaction: Parents, seemingly unfazed, watch without saying a word. Huh, they think to themselves, she looked just fine a minute ago. They look at each other, then look back at the child, who is staring at them. Parents get up and instinctively split clean-up duties, saying nothing.