Trisha slipped quietly through the front door and dropped her keys on the hall table. She pulled off her shoes and headed into the living room, stopping short at discovering her dad in a chair with an unopened book in his hands.

Smiling, she walked over and sat by his feet to set her head in his lap, just as they used to when she was young. Before bed, she'd read to him from one of her storybooks and he'd brush her hair.

"Are you pretending to not wait up for ...