"Max, huh?" Josephine said. "Great name. My name's Josephine, but you can call me Jo if you'd like."

The girl kept her eyes down and gulped down the rest of her milk.

"So, you got any brothers or sisters?" Josephine asked, trying to make conversation with the child.

She nodded, "Many."

"Where are they?"

The girl, Max, pointed out the window, "Somewhere," she answered vaguely.

Josephine shrugged. "Are you the youngest or oldest?"

"I am the baby sister."

"Me, too," Josephine, put her hand over Max's, who jerked hers away. Okay, so the kid doesn't like to be touched. That's fine. "I have two older sisters."

"Five sisters," Max informed. "Four brothers."

Wow. "I don't have any brothers, but I have three nephews," Josephine told her. Max shivered and nodded.

"Cold," she said.

Josephine was afraid to make contact with her again, but said, "I can draw you a hot bath. I bet you'd like that. Come with me." She stood up and led Max to her upstairs bathroom. Max seemed in awe of the shiny silver fixtures and blue décor. She peered inside the bathtub and felt the towels. She picked up Josephine's electric toothbrush and pressed the button. It whirred softly and vibrated. Max jumped, dropping the toothbrush. She looked at Josephine with mournful eyes.

"It's okay," Josephine assured her, picking up the cracked toothbrush. "I was getting ready to throw it away." She withdrew the batteries and threw the brush into the trashcan. Max sat on the marbleized floor while Josephine turned the knobs on the big, round white bathtub. She made sure the water was hot enough to take the chill out but not so it would burn her.

"Would you like me to give you privacy?"

Max shook her head. Josephine had no idea that this child had never heard of privacy. There was no such thing where she was from.

"Okay, then. Um, would you like a towel to sit on if you're going to stay on the floor? Would you like to use the toilet?"

Max glanced at the porcelain bowl and nodded. Josephine stepped out while the girl did her business.

What a strange kid. Sits on the floor, never seen a cookie, never saw an electric toothbrush or a bathtub? I wonder what kind of poverty she lived in, to run around in the snow with no shoes.

"Done," Max called. Josephine heard the flushing of the toilet and stepped back in. Max was watching the water swirl into the pipes as she flushed it two more times.

"You like that?" Josephine laughed. "I used to do that when I was little."

Max's smile dropped and gave Josephine a cat-who-ate-the-canary look.

"It's okay," Josephine assured her. "Look, the bathtub's nearly full." She pointed and Max peered in. She stuck her finger in the water and smiled. She has a very pretty smile, Josephine thought. If only she didn't have that buzz haircut and that black mark on her neck. "Take off your clothes and step in. Would you like me to leave?"

Max looked down at the clear water warily. Such a big tub, she thought. I'll drown. "Stay," Max insisted.

"Um…o-okay," Josephine said nervously. She sat down on the closed toilet seat lid. Her eight year old niece bathed by herself. What is this girl afraid of?

Max stripped slowly and put a foot in the tub and withdrew it sharply. "Hot."

"I made it hot so you could warm up quicker," Josephine explained. "Ah, I guess I made it too hot, huh?"

"No…it's nice," Max forced a smile. Did the woman expect her to sit in boiling water?

"It's too hot," Josephine insisted and stood up.

"No, don't," Max insisted. "I can do it. Sit."

This kid has very persuasive attitude. She reminds me of a little Jo. "Okay."

Max lowered herself into the hot water, steam rising up from its surface. All the chills melted from her body. She slid in up to her neck and closed her eyes. This was nice. Jo was nice. She might want to stay here for a while.

Josephine watched Max enjoy her bath and a soft grin played on her lips. She was a very quiet girl. From what she could see, Max was truly very pretty, with a slim little body and the beginnings of a woman's figure. As quietly as possible, Josephine got up from her seat and carefully crept behind Max. That black smudge on her neck, wasn't a smudge at all! It was what looked like a barcode! As if sensing what Josephine was staring at, Max whipped her hand up out of the water and covered her barcode with embarrassment. She shifted in the tub so her neck was to the wall and glared at Josephine with daggers in her eyes.

"Where did you get that barcode? It's not a tattoo is it?" Josephine asked.

Max remained silent. She pinched her nose and dove underneath the water of the tub and curled into a fetal position. She could stay underneath for hours if she felt like it. Josephine was alarmed when Max didn't surface after five minutes. She peered into the tub. Max's eyes were open and there were bubbles escaping from her nose. Good, she was alive. Using her lesser judgment, she left Max alone in the tub and went into her own bedroom. Josephine went into her walk-in closet and pulled out a pair of heavy cotton socks from a drawer in a compartment. Then she went to a lower drawer and withdrew a soft cotton T-shirt that would easily reach to Max's knees. She went into the adjacent bedroom to hers that had served as an office and began to fix up the sofa-bed for her uninvited surprise.

What the hell are you doing, Jo? She though to herself. This kid has nine siblings at home and most likely a set of parents—no doubt that's more of a family you've ever had. You're expecting her to stay the night? Don't say I didn't warn you.

When Josephine returned to the bathroom, Max had surfaced and her cheeks were bright red.

"You left me," she said.

"I was…I had to…" Josephine stuttered. Why am I so intimidated by this kid? "You ready to get out?" she asked, changing the subject. "Give me your hand."

Max looked at her newfound savior as if she'd spoken a foreign tongue.

"I need to see your fingers, kid," Josephine insisted, "to see if you should get out of the tub or not." When Max relented, Josephine reached into the tub and grabbed her hand, inspecting it. Her fingers were starting to shrivel like plums. "Thought so. Stand up, I'll hand you a towel." Josephine pulled two of the plushiest towels on her shelf and held them in her arms as Max stepped out of the tub and onto the rug placed in front of it. Josephine handed the towels to Max. She wrapped one around her body and the other she draped around her shoulders.

"Come with me," Josephine said. "I made up a room for you."

Max held her head down and shuffled behind Josephine, who led her to a small room which held a desk, a computer (not at all like the huge ones she saw at Manticore) and shelves upon shelves of books and picture frames. A stereo was wedged in a corner along with three floor lamps for room lighting.

"You write?" Max asked, gesturing towards the leather-bound editions.

"No, I read," Josephine explained. "I'm a secretary for a living."

"Secretary?"

"Yes…I answer phones and type documents all day. It's hell but it pays good," Josephine forced a laugh. "Here. You can wear these," she held out the long T-shirt and socks. "I'm sorry I don't have underpants for you. My bum is about three times bigger than yours."

Max dressed in record speed. Josephine barely blinked before the towels were on the floor and Max was in her "pajamas". As Josephine made sure the room was kid-proof, she noticed Max was admiring her pictures.

"You like my photos?" Josephine asked. Max nodded.

"All yours?"

"Yeah, everyone in these pictures are my family. Oh, except for this one," Josephine reached for a picture of a man posed on a motorcycle. He was blond, slightly chubby. "My ex-boyfriend, Marco. What an ass. I'm not sure why I still have his photo here. Maybe for moral support."

"Who is that?" Max pointed to Josephine's favorite. Her sister Kelly Ann was posed with her husband, Josephine's brother-in-law, Paul, along with Zack and Rachael against a white background, dressed in formal-wear.

"One of my sisters and her husband and my niece and nephew. Rachael is eight and Zack is ten."

"Zack. My brother is Zack."

"You said you had four brothers."

"Zack, Ben, Krit, Zane."

"My sisters' names are Kelly Ann and Lola. What about you?"

"Jondy, Tinga, Jace, Brin, Syl."

"And you're the baby, huh?"

"Little sister," she corrected.

"Right. Little sister."

"They are gone."

"Who are?"

"They are."

"Your siblings?"

"Yes. They are gone. We separated."

"Is that why you are here?"

Max paused before continuing. "I followed Lex."

"You did. And I like you, kid. A lot. You don't say much, unlike my nieces. Say, how old are you, anyway?"

"Nine years."

"And you're the littlest sister? Wow…your parents must have their hands full, huh?"

Max didn't answer, but she crawled into the sofa bed and yawned. She fell fast asleep. Josephine kissed her finger and pressed it to Max's barcode. Poor little thing, so tired. She had a sweetness buried deep inside her.

Josephine readied for bed herself and crawled underneath the covers of her own bed. Her eyes weren't closed for more than ten minutes when she heard her back door open. Max. Josephine tiptoed out of her room and caught Max trying to leave but Lex the dog was holding her back. Max sensed Josephine behind her and whirled around, a surprised look on her face.

"If you're going to leave," Josephine said softly. "I'd appreciate a good-bye first."