Janie remembered the night she couldn’t sleep and went down to the kitchen for a glass of milk. There was a light in the library, and Daddy sat with papers strewn all over, his hair rumpled, and lines on his forehead making Venetian blinds of worry.
“Daddy! It’s almost one o’clock!”
He looked up in surprise. “Oh, hello there, puss. Why aren’t you asleep?”
“I came down for a glass of milk. I stubbed my toe playing soft ball in the gym, and it was hurting me a little. I woke up, and then I couldn’t go back to sleep.”
“What were you intending to do with the glass of milk, drink it, or bathe your injured toe?”
“Daddy! What a silly thing to say! Drink it, of course. Shall I pour some for you?”
“Yes, by all means, but don’t make any noise. If your mother hears us we’ll both be spanked for staying up past our bedtime.”
Janie brought two glasses of milk and sat down opposite her father at the desk. “Daddy, I wish you wouldn’t work so hard. Mom worries about you, too. Couldn’t you let that old case go if it’s such a bother?”
“Perhaps I could if I had no one depending on me, but I have a wife and a dear family, and the man that this case concerns has a wife and family that he loves just as much as I love mine. It’s my particular responsibility to finish this job, even if I’d rather not.”
He arose and came around to where she was sitting. “Come, my broken-toed beauty. It’s high time you were asleep.”