Chapter 62

After leaving the museum, we took the Green Line back to a station at the opposite end of the Common from where we’d boarded it, and Charles led me to the downtown shopping district, where he pointed out the former site of what he said had arguably been the most famous bargain basement in the country, Filene’s Basement.

Filene’s, I learned, was a chain of New England department stores, and the downtown Boston store had once possessed a gigantic bargain basement. It was now part of a different chain, and the famous bargain basement only existed as a small chain of separate stores.

We returned to the hotel with about an hour to spare, a portion of which we spent in bed. Diversions notwithstanding, we were freshly groomed and downstairs in the bar well before William and Henry arrived. As before, their arrival coincided with our having just finished our drinks, and as before, they declined an offer for another round.

Henry was curious and said, “Where are we going tonight?”