much in restaurants,though, I guess. Im actually pretty surprised you never did itbefore, considering how well you two get along.Ihonestly never thought about it until my father mentioned that yourfamily does it. Its nice; you can have a normal conversationwithout twisting around in your seat the whole time. Jesse reachedover and squeezed Russ arm. Well do it this way from now on,I think.Idlike that, Sir. Russ gave Jesse a rather private-seeming smilethat made Henry blush a little.Martinsknee bumped Henrys under the little table and Henry returned thepressure, his blush deepening.Henryfinished his sundae while Martin still had nearly half his ice creamleft. It was his usual, strawberry with caramel sauce and whippedcream, and Henry stole bites, laughing, while Martin madehalf-hearted efforts to protect his dish and laughed, too.Aftertheyd all finished eating, they stepped back out into the chillbreeze; it seemed colder now than when theyd gone into the icecream parlor. It was nearly half-past three and Henry felt ready fora nap, maybe sex and a nap.Weshould probably be heading home, Henry said. If you want tostay downtown, I can give you some moneyNo,well go home, too. We do need the fare for the omnibus, though.Henryhanded Jesse dimes for the omnibus.Idont normally need to borrow money, Jesse said, slightlyembarrassed. Next time we see each other, Ill pay you back.Henryshrugged. If you remember, its fine. I dont need it back ina hurry. He didnt need it back at all, of course, but if Jesseneeded to pay him back, hed take the money. Henry felt that doinganything else would seem like he was rubbing it in Jesses facethat Henry was rich, that the Blackwells kept the Wiltons afloat.Just the fact of Henry not caring about money could be construed asan insult, he supposed.Theywalked to the stop and stood shivering in the wind a few minutesbefore the omnibus arrived. They boarded and Henry and Jesse sat, andtheir slaves stood beside the seat.Itsnice that they get along, dont you think? Jesse nodded at Russand Martin swaying in the aisle. I suppose it helps they haveGanymede in common.Itis nice, Henry agreed. It seems genuine, enough, too.Jesselaughed. Yeah, Russ will never admit to disliking anyone, evenwhen its obvious he does.Martinhas one enemy, Henry noted. Or, well, someone he dislikes,anyway. Enemy might be too strong a word for it.Russis pretty superstitious about disliking people, Jesse remarked.Even more so than other slaves in our household.Henrywas immediately curious what Jesse knew about Hetaeria and talismans,but did not think that a crowded omnibus was the place to ask suchquestions. Martin, he knew, would be horrified and embarrassed if hedid such a thing.Martinis, too, was all Henry said. But he and this Alex just hatedone another at first sight, I guess. There was no getting around it.Theomnibus neared Jesses stop, across the street from Hamilton &Sons.Jessesqueezed Henrys arm and leaned against him for a cozy moment. Itwas good to see you, Henry. Lets do it again soon, all right? Youcome to my house for lunch, or Ill come to yours. Ive neverbeen to your house, you know.Really?Henry hadnt actually realized this, and he was embarrassed.