Canonical version
A Cake for John Bosch
Many Californians had come to Chicago to see ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. He called them all to Him and they were with Him about an hour.
Just before leaving for the West Coast—John did not give me the date; I assume it was May 2, a day when the Master had delivered five public addresses—he was paying his hotel bill at the Plaza when ‘Abdu’l-Bahá came in. ‘One of the Persians in His party called to me. The man at the desk said, “Those people want you.” I stepped over to the elevator, and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá seized my hand and wouldn’t let go, and pulled me into the elevator and up to His room on the fifth floor.’ Nobody was there except Dr. Baghdádí. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá did not speak until they were in the room. Then He went to His bed, lay down, and began talking with Baghdádí; He told how He had addressed four hundred women . . . Then He said, ‘Now it’s time for you to go.’ Somebody had given Him a big cake. He put that in John’s arms, with apples and bananas, so many that John had to get somebody else to push the elevator button, and John left.
Source: Marzieh Gail, Dawn Over Mount Hira and Other Essays (George Ronald, 1976), “‘Abdu’l-Bahá: Portrayals from East and West”, p. 210.
Collected from bahaistories.com (Subject: venting).