But like so many things in his life lately, his feelings on doing laundry had somehow shifted; for some reason it didn’t seem like such an unpleasant chore for him anymore. It was for that reason he offered to do the wash that Jessie hadn’t been able to do on her own since her injury. Once finishing the ranch chores, and spending time with the gray colt that morning, Henry set to doing the laundry. After taking the clothes from the washing machine that stood by itself in the little room off the kitchen, Henry brought the heavy basket to the clothesline and hung each item of her clothing carefully, using the old wooden clothespins that Jessie kept in a bucket near the machine.

He hung several shirts and three pairs of jeans, as well as a number of pairs of socks. After everything else was out of the basket and hanging on the line, he took from it one of the items of clothing he had subconsciously been avoiding—a pair of Jessie’s panties. Embarrassed about handling the tiny and frilly things, Henry looked in all directions before putting his hand in the basket. With a pained expression on his face as if it hurt him to handle something as personal as her underwear, he drew the first of four pair out and gingerly held them up between two fingers of each hand. He slowly raised them to the clothesline.

“Good morning, Mr. Henry,” came a cheerful voice from behind him. Startled and as if having been caught with his hand in the cookie jar, Henry swung around, quickly hiding the underwear behind his back.

“Dang, ma’am!” His voice seemed higher than normal. “Don’t sneak up on a fella like that—you scared me half to death.”

“I’m sorry,” Mrs. R. shrugged. “I thought you seen me. How she’s doing today?”

“Who?” Henry was still a little shaken.

“Jessie,” she chuckled. “Who do you think?”

“Oh…um…good. Fine. She’s doing good.”

“Good, then.” Mrs. R. started for the house. “I go see her now. I bring her some things.”

“Yes, ma’am. That’d be fine. She’s…a…she’s just up in the house, there.”

“Yes, I know, Mr. Henry. Thank you.” Mrs. R. was amused by Henry’s fluster. She walked nearly to the back porch before looking over her shoulder back at him. “Mr. Henry, there’s no need to hide them. I have seen women’s underwear before.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Henry sighed, keeping the delicate panties in his leathered hand behind his back.

He finished hanging the rest of the laundry, then went inside and started on Jessie’s lunch. Today it was a grilled ham-and-cheese sandwich, small green salad, two chocolate chip cookies he had bought at the store, and a glass of milk. He arranged all the items neatly on a tray, placed a small vase with one purple wildflower he had picked, and carried them all up the stairs. He rounded the corner into Jessie’s room to see her sitting up in bed and looking much more alert. He eased over to her, making sure not to disturb anything on the tray, and gently set it across her lap. He then took a seat in the chair next to the bed.