"Are you okay?" "It's okay, dear," Bryan said to his daughter. "She has just had a really hard day. I think she needs to lie down. I am going to get her into bed." "Uh, ok, dad. I will just go do my homework." Brian almost told her to not bother, but, to Miranda, that would be almost as bad as her mother crying. Then, she would know something was wrong. Carrying his wife up to their bedroom, Brian left his daughter to her homework. It took almost three hours for Louise to calm down. By then, she was so wrung out that she fell asleep. Brian, feeling the need to get drunk, headed down to the kitchen. As he passed his daughter's bedroom door, he could hear her snoring inside. Looking at his watch, he realized it was almost midnight. Realizing that the morning was going to come too soon, he decided to forget about getting drunk and went back to his bedroom. Lying down beside his sleeping wife, he doubted that he would be able to sleep. . ...