At dinner one evening Tommy misbehaved. His father, always a strict disciplinarian, reprimanded him saying, "Tommy, if you do not behave you will be sent to your room!" Tommy did not listen. Ordered from the room, he heard his father 's last words: "And there will be no more food for you tonight!"

Later, in bed, Tommy's thoughts of his behavior began to bother him. He was hungry. He couldn't remember ever having felt more alone or alienated. He began to cry. Then he heard a noise on the stairs. Footsteps came closer to his room. His door opened, and his father came in. Closing the door, he came over to Tommy's bed and said, "I love you, Son, and I've come to spend the night with you."