Read Forever for Free Online

tightened
and he could barely get the words out. 'Pham found him hanging from
the chandelier in the bedroom.'
    'Oh God!' Stephanie shut her eyes.
    She could picture that heavy Dutch
chandelier as if it were right in front of her, and it occurred to
her that she'd never liked it - as if an object she liked would
have made a difference somehow. But try as she might, she just
couldn't picture her grandfather dangling from it. Not in a million
years.
    She said quietly, 'There's so much to do ...
so many arrangements to make . . . ' Trying to think of little
things to occupy her mind.
    Sammy squeezed her hand, told her all she
had to do was see this through. She didn't have to worry about a
thing. He would see to everything.
    She squeezed his hand in thanks.
    By the time they hit Manhattan, Stephanie
told him she'd decided to spend the night at the Osborne. 'But I
have to drop by my own place first.'
    Her building was in the Village, in a
converted meat-packing plant at the end of Horatio Street, right by
the river. She told Sammy to wait in the car while she jumped
upstairs. 'I'll be back in a few minutes,' she promised. 'I have to
get Waldo. And yes, I'll be all right by myself.'
    'There's no rush, Girlie,' Sammy assured
her. 'Take your sweet time.'
    When she let herself into her seventh-floor
triplex, she climbed the narrow spiral stairs which wound their way
from the living room up through a well in the two-storey rooftop
addition to her objective, the plant-filled study which led out to
the terrace overlooking the Hudson. For once, she did not stop to
hit the outdoor floodlights to inspect her lavishly planted green
fiefdom, which a landscaping firm watered and did their magic to
twice weekly.
    'Steph! Steph!' Waldo's strident voice
greeted Stephanie as she came up the stairs. 'How are youl How are
you? I love you, Steph!'
    Stephanie had never intended having a parrot
as a pet - she had acquired the bird by having it foisted on her.
Four years previously, an acquaintance had dropped Waldo off before
going out of town, never returning to reclaim him. Pet-sitting had
become pet-owning.
    So the giant Amazon parrot - named for the
Great Waldo
    Pepper-was hers.
    'I love you, Steph! Hiiiii. . . hiiiii
    'If your Steph isn't very responsive today,'
she murmured, approaching the big brass cage hanging by one of the
windows, 'it's because she's feeling real low. You'll have to bear
with me, Waldo.'
    Throughout the conversation, the bird
listened carefully, its head cocked to one side. Not understanding
a word, but liking the sound of her voice.
    'Did the neighbours take good care of you?'
Stephanie took a moment to give Waldo's beak a half-hearted stroke
with a fingertip.
    Waldo, ever greedy and hungry for treats,
said the magic words. 'Waldo wants a crack-er! Waldo wants a
crack-er!' And followed with wild squawking.
    'Soon,' Stephanie promised as she unhooked
the heavy cage and lifted it.
    'Wal-do!' the bird shrieked, 'Wal-do -1 love
you, Steph!'
    'Ssssh!' she told him. 'You're going to wake
the -'
    She bit her lip.
    She had been about to say dead.
    Once back outside, Stephanie handed the cage
over to the driver. He handled it warily as he deposited it on the
rear seat of the car, where it took up half the space. Without
being asked, Sammy got out and moved to the front passenger
seat.
    He twisted around as she climbed into the
back, beside the cage. 'Girlie, are you sure you want to spend the
night uptown? You'll be all alone.' He looked worried.
    'I won't be alone, Uncle Sammy,' she said
softly. She strummed the bars of the cage with her fingers. 'I'll
have Waldo here.'
    'A parrot.' Sammy Kafka rolled his eyes.
'She'll have a parrot for company, heaven help us!' Then he got
serious again. 'Are you sure, Girlie?' He looked at her closely.
'Really, really sure?'
    'I'm sure, Uncle Sammy.' She nodded.
    'There'll be a lot of painful memories,' he
warned her.
    'I want them,' she said softly.
    And thought, I need