“I told the twins, as tactfully as possible, that Hamlet was never barrowed in infancy, as he should have been. I had no idea the procedure was necessary, or I would have made certain it was done."
"Barrowed?" Kathleen asked, perplexed.
West made a scissoring gesture with two fingers.
"Oh."
"Remaining, er... intact," West continued, "has made Hamlet unfit for future consumption, so there's no reason to fear he'll end up on the dinner table. But he'll become increasingly aggressive as he goes through pubescence. It seems he'll become malodorous as well. He's now suited for only one purpose."
"Do you mean-" Kathleen began.
"Might this wait until after breakfast?" Devon asked from behind a newspaper.
West sent Kathleen an apologetic grin. ""I'll explain later."
"If you're going to tell me about the inconvenience of having an uncastrated male in the house," Kathleen said, "I'm already aware of it."
West choked a little on his toast. There was no sound from Devon's direction.”