Momma was right. She gives me and Bill a laundry basket's worth of vegetables for us to take to Henry's house. I wouldn't have been able to take it all by myself. It's too heavy and too big for me, so Bill takes it. It's still dark out. Clouds all over the sky, like Pottersville is underwater and we're looking up. It smells like rain. The air is dry in my throat.

People are at Henry's house already. The house inside is gold and bright, and people are talking on the frowning porch. The gramophone in the living room is playing jumpy and brassy music, and it makes me want to dance a little. It's such a beautiful sound. We go in, and Mr. Walker sees us first. “Charlie!” he says, giving me a hug. “Oh, isn't it marvelous? Henry's alright! He'll be healthy and running around with you and everyone again in no time! What's that? Is that for us? Thank you so much, boys. Tell your momma we really appreciate everything she's given us.” He laughs, swings the basket into his arms like it's a pile of pillows, and walks away.

Henry's gramma and grampa ask Bill something, but I don't really care. I find Mrs. Walker in the dining room, straightening out a place setting on the table, and touch her hand. She looks at me. “Can I see Henry? I just want to say hi.”

She smiles and crouches down to look at me. “Not today, Charlie. I want to make sure Henry gets enough quiet time to himself. He was very sick yesterday. Dr. Tucker says he is a miracle. Maybe you can come over tomorrow, or after school on Monday.”

I nod. It leaves this bad taste in my mouth, but I still nod. “Is there anything you need me to do?”

Mrs. Walker touches my head. “You're a sweet boy.” She ushers me out of the dining room and blocks it, like I'm going to go in and mess it up. “No, you don't need to do anything. You can stay for a little while longer, and I'll let Henry know you stopped by when he next wakes up, okay?”

I nod.

“Still, thank you for coming over.” She wipes her hands on her apron and goes into the living room. Mr. Walker comes back and rubs my hair. I put it back in place.

I walk around the room, but it's mostly a lot of adults Momma and Papa know. They don't really know me. They ask about school, anything happening. Sometimes they ask about Papa, but since I don't know, I don't tell them much. I wonder what Papa would think about everything that's happened. What would he say to them? Papa knew how to handle everything. Momma and Papa together could take over the world and make it look easy.

I begin listening. I wander around the living room, trying to stay quiet, like I'm invisible. Sometimes being invisible can be good. Like right now, I want to listen to people and find out if they know anything about Henry. They talk in puzzle pieces to be put together. “It was out on River Rock Road.” That's the street that runs to the next two towns and then to Mill Creek. It's the only one the streetcar runs on. “I heard he was bleeding.” “There was a mark on his neck when they brought him him in.” “Poor thing.” “Did you see all of the cloths the doctor used to clean him up?” “I heard even Mrs. Vaughn's offered to do her washing.” Really? The witch offered to help? That seems weird.

“I need to use the bathroom,” I say, but I don't really say it to anyone in particular. I go up the stairs. Listening to them gets boring after a while. And I know I'm not supposed to, but I want to see Henry now that he's awake again. Playing with Lionel and Arthur is not really something I like doing. They're fun, but they don't pretend the same way Henry does. They're all about shooting people and tying people up like they're the Lone Ranger. They don't like exploring or solving booby traps and finding treasure. Henry does it easily. He makes it more fun. One time, Dr. Green and Mr. Mistoffelees were exploring castle ruins, and then Henry said we were being attacked by wolves. We fought them off, but I got bit in the neck and he made sure I wasn't going to turn into a werewolf. It's when a human is cursed to turn into a man-eating wolf. I wasn't going to. Mr. Mistoffelees made sure Dr. Green would live another day.

Henry's room is right next to the bathroom. The gramophone music is beautiful and far away sounding, and no one is really around. I go to his door and knock. Not too loudly, because I don't want to be caught, but so many things are happening right now that I think I should be okay. I knock again, a little harder, but I still don't hear anything.

“Henry?” I whisper. I knock again. I hear someone coming, and I open Henry's door enough to slide in and close it without being noticed. I didn't think, but I don't want to get in trouble.