Lost in the web about what reply to give and avoiding to speak yet further, Brian had a gulp of water, dropped his cutlery and stood to his feet.

“What?” grandma asked, “Are you down eating?” she asked, seeing that a morsel of Pecan Pie and extra BBQ were in his dish, and Brian being a lover of BBQ chicken platter, had never left that meal uneaten or half-eaten. She must have gotten on his nerves with that question about his father, she thought.

“I think I have lost my ...