When Henry Came Home by Josephine Bhaer Page A

good."
                  "Oh, they're wonderful! I'll have to make you one."
                  "I thought you said your eggs could kill."
                  She laughed. "Well—the hotel cook, then. –You're shivering." Both of them were thoroughly soaked.
                  "So are you," he said. Little spherical raindrops dripped from his hair and down over his face like beaded pearls.
                  "Well, let's just hurry then." And so they did, with Henry only slipping once more.
                  The back door, as they had supposed, was not locked, and they went in to find the little boy waiting for them. "I saw you out the window," he said, handing Mary a heavy red blanket.
                  "Thank you." She shook it open, threw it over Henry's shoulders, and got under it herself, feeling little bumps raising on her arms under the sleeves of her dress.
                  "I thought—maybe you'd want a hot bath."
                  "What?" asked Mary, although she had heard perfectly.
                  "It's just next to your room—"
                  "Oh, you wonderful boy!" she exclaimed. She reached out to hug him but pulled back, realizing she was sopping wet. "Thank you, thank you! Hen, do you--"
                  Henry was already reaching into his pocket, and flipped the boy a coin. The child held it for a moment between his fingers, looking at it almost hungrily, then slipped it into his own pocket, warm and dry. He nodded a thanks. "This way," he said, and they followed. In the large washroom, he pointed out the soap and towels and departed quickly, followed by another "thank you" from Mary.
                  When the door closed, Mary stripped to underclothes and then tugged off Henry's pants while he was unbuttoning his shirt, both of them gazing eagerly at the steam rising from the tub. "You go first," said Henry. The tub was rather small.
                  "No, you go. You're turning blue."
                  "So are you."
                  Mary put her hands on her hips. "Well then, if neither of us is gonna have a nice time in a hot bath while the other freezes, we'll just have to squeeze in together. Before the water gets cold, anyway." Henry looked a little dubious, but let Mary help him in over the edge. After a moment she slid in the other way, facing him, sighing contentedly with the just-under-scalding water. "Oow!" she cried seconds later, her brow wrinkling. She wiggled her feet. "My toes! I got pins-and-needles from them coming unfrozen!"
                  Henry smiled and rubbed her feet under the water.
                  She tipped her head back and closed her eyes. "Mmm. That's better." They basked for a long while, their bodies turning lobster red in the steaming water. At last, however, it began to mellow down to room temperature. Mary sighed. "We better get out," she said reluctantly, "or we'll get chilled again." The room was warm now, from the heat of the water soaking into the wood, and they dried and dressed comfortably in dry clothes Mary found just outside the door. "I feel like I been ironed," said Mary, hot now. She opened the door and went out in the hall. "I wonder if they're done yet." Entering the vacant room, she crossed the floor and peered out the window. "I don't see anyone," she said, turning to Henry, who had followed her in. She went back to the window and lifted the shade a little more, boldly. "Nope," she said after a minute. "Nobody. Shall we go look? I expect they're waiting for us inside."
                  "All right." He looked distinctly unhappy, but Mary skipped over and took his arm.
                  "Don't be upset. We'll do a nice turn for them sometime, or for their young'ns, when they get married. That's how it goes."
                  "—All