"Our word for it has always been spirited," he says with a knowing grin. "She's ... okay. She's been telling me about everything that happened to her, showing me things. I get the feeling I showed up just in the nick of time. Poor kiddo..."

He sighs, genuinely feeling for his daughter and all she's had to weather since her arrival. Then he rallies back to the matter at hand. "But that's no excuse to hide a man's laptop, is it? I mean ... is it? I only came here because you were the only person I thought of who might know where I could get one. It's okay if you don't have one here, I guess."