i 'm more than a little freaked out that i 'm on our kitchen floor trying to comfort a grown man , let alone my father . `` are we doing this , or what ? '' this man meant me no harm . then we lay quiet for a time , listening to the drip of rain outside . `` so they chopped off his tongue . '' my tablet wakes me up at six a.m. the following morning . the third day we had brunch with his parents at the country club . 