there had never been any doubt in mary 's mind that her second oldest son had been born to be a star . `` it is my pleasure to make your acquaintance . the dog trotted past him , licking its chops . i found it tiresome to question every word i did n't understand . her means of doing this was apparently to drag me all over the city until i was so tired that by the end of the day the only thought on my mind would be to crawl back home and collapse into my bed . 