13 to Life by Shannon Delany Read Free Book Online

Pietr muttered in my direction.
    “Dude,” Hascal whispered, “I think you’re bleeding.”
    Madge handed him a pack of Band-Aids. “She’s always so sweet to the old folks. . . .”
    Pietr carefully held Victoria by the nape of the neck, up and out in front of him.
    She twisted and batted. Snarled. Spat—she was a whirlwind of fur and whiskers.
    Pietr looked her directly in the eyes and said, “This is ridiculous behavior,” in a totally parental tone. I heard the faintest hint of an accent in his carefully chosen words. “I know you don’t like me, and—and frankly—you aren’t doing anything to encourage my potential interest in cats.”
    Victoria spat again.
    “But we have a job to do,” Pietr pointed out. “I would appreciate your assistance.” He blinked at her. Once.
    And then Victoria just stopped hissing and growling and, instead, mewed. She turned from crazed to cute in a heartbeat.
    Pietr said, “Thank you,” and, resting her in the crook of his arm, suggested we get started before she changed her mind.
    Madge said, “If you can do that consistently, boy, do I have a job for you.”
    Pietr shook his head as the other guys chose animals, too.
    Once inside, we boarded the elevator to begin our rounds. My boys got the first two floors; Pietr and I got the third and fourth. As the elevator doors opened, he wrinkled his nose.
    “It reminds me of a hospital,” I confessed.
    “I hate hospitals,” he replied.
    “As much as you hate
Romeo and Juliet
?”
    He smiled at the comparison. “Almost exactly.”
    “Let’s start at Mrs. Feldman’s,” I said, leading the way. I knocked on her door.
    “Come in, come in!”
    I ran my hand across the chimes that hung from her doorjamb, enjoying their sparkling sound. “I just don’t understand why you hate
Romeo and Juliet,
” I said as we entered.
    Mrs. Feldman’s eyes grew wide. “Who hates
Romeo and Juliet
?” she asked, her gaping mouth accentuated by the stretched and ghostly wrinkles of laugh lines. She set aside the strange cards she was shuffling, tucking them into one of the folds of her voluminous and colorful skirt.
    I looked at Pietr accusingly, then moved a small, wheeled table covered with a variety of stones and colorful crystals out of my way to stand beside Mrs. Feldman so she could pet Tag. “
He
hates
Romeo and Juliet.
”
    “Well, finally!” she exclaimed. “A sensible young man!”
    Pietr beamed.
    “Close your mouth,” she instructed me. “You’ll only catch flies that way.”
    I obeyed.
    “Why anyone finds that play romantic is beyond me. Both Romeo and Juliet are so”—her jaw worked silently, pushing herexpression around until she found the word—“naïve! Instead of enlisting their friends’ help, they go behind everyone’s backs, lying.” She snorted.
    “The cat, please,” she said, her fingers twinkling with gaudy rings set with chunky stones. “Why you must always bring cats and dogs eludes me,” she whispered as Pietr stepped to her other side. “Why not a little bunny? They’re so cute and innocent. Cats are always thinking up trouble.” But she petted Victoria, her hands relaxing at the feel of plush fur. Victoria purred so loudly Tag wiggled around to watch.
    “Hmph. Romeo and Juliet. The boy—Romeo!” Mrs. Feldman shook her head. “Hardly a romantic hero. He was head over heels for Rosaline, and then—poof! She’s out-of-sight-out-of-mind as soon as Juliet comes into view.” She grimaced. “And why does he really want Juliet?” She looked at me, waiting for an answer. “Why?” she prompted.
    “He thinks she’s beautiful,” I said softly.
    “Pah! She’s unattainable! He knows he can’t truly have her, so he wants her even more! They’re so blinded by hormones—
hormones
!” She set Victoria on her lap and petted her. “They think love will be
easy.
” Putting her lips together, she blew, reminding me of my horses. “Pah! They wouldn’t know love if it—if it”—she