My 3-year-old grandson had bandages over his eyes during his birthday video call. “Grandma, I can’t see anything,” he said. When I asked what happened, his parents brushed it off. “We’re on a cruise. Stop prying.” They didn’t expect us to be waiting for them at the port when they got back.

For one second I honestly thought it had to be some awful birthday game. Children wear costumes. Parents make jokes. The human brain reaches for harmlessness first when the alternative is too ugly. Then Ollie turned his face toward the…