 Why does Hank wait for Edith to leave before he changes clothes?
THE FIRST ONE By HERBERT D. KASTLE Illustrated by von Dongen The first man to return from beyond the Great Frontier may be welcomed ... but will it be as a curiosity, rather than as a hero...? There was the usual welcoming crowd for a celebrity, and the usual speeches by the usual politicians who met him at the airport which had once been twenty miles outside of Croton, but which the growing city had since engulfed and placed well within its boundaries. The crowd was quiet, and the mayor didn't seem quite as at-ease as he'd been on his last big welcoming—for Corporal Berringer, one of the crew of the spaceship Washington , first to set Americans upon Mars. His Honor's handclasp was somewhat moist and cold. Still, he was the honored home-comer, the successful returnee, the hometown boy who had made good in a big way, and they took the triumphal tour up Main Street to the new square and the grandstand. There he sat between the mayor and a nervous young coed chosen as homecoming queen, and looked out at the police and fire department bands, the National Guard, the boy scouts and girl scouts, the Elks and Masons. Several of the churches in town had shown indecision as to how to instruct their parishioners to treat him. It was obvious by now that they would have to adjust as they'd adjusted to all the other firsts taking place in these—as the newspapers had dubbed the start of the Twenty-first Century—the Galloping Twenties. He wanted a meal at his own table, a kiss from his wife, a word from his son, and later to see some old friends and a relative or two. He had traveled and he had returned and his voyage was very much like the voyages of the great mariners, from Columbus onward—long, dull periods of time passing, passing, and then the arrival. He saw that as soon as the official car let him off at 45 Roosevelt Street. They had rehabilitated, spruced up, almost rebuilt the entire outside and grounds.
 He doesn't want Edith to see the scars on his body. It will just remind her he died.
 Edith bought separate beds while he was gone. Undressing in front of her may make her uncomfortable.  The new bedroom arrangement put them in separate beds. He doesn't want Edith to feel uncomfortable by his undressing.  He doesn't want Edith to see the scars on his body. It will just remind her he died.  He doesn't want Edith to see the scars on his body. Scars may put a damper on the romance.