The Waiting Room
~ Chapter Thirty-Five
Sparrow Spins His Tale
The
pirate grabbed a full bottle of rum and motioned for Spencer to have
a seat at the nearest table. The Commander slid into the chair
nearest the wall, glancing upward towards the ceiling.
Hanging
just above him was Sparrow’s cage, the one Kait had made. He could
not help but admire the handiwork. Jack saw him looking at the
beautifully made cage.
“Aye, she is a beaut, ye must agree.
Just like the lady who makes ‘em. Fine woman. Good with ‘er
hands.” Sparrow’s mind wandered a bit, then he cleared his throat,
returning back to the present, throwing back a gulp of rum as he
remembered Kait.
“Okay, now where was I? Ah, yes, Paris.
Gay Pariee. Wine, women, and whatever one desires.” He rolled his
hand about to emphasize the enormity that the city had to offer.
“And I...well, this pirate’s eye fell upon such a glorious
angel. Be sure, Commander, an angel she be. Fallen from heaven ‘cause
she lost ‘er wings, to be sure.” He smiled, the gold flashing.
“She might’a lost ‘er wings, but she still had ‘er voice.”
“Question, Captain,” the astronaut interrupted.
“Mm?”
Jack spun his head towards Spencer, surprised he was already
questioning his story.
“How did you come to be in Paris?
Not exactly close to your haunts in the Caribbean, now is it?”
Sparrow refilled his companion’s glass. “Ah..yes…good
question ‘tis. Well it be before I had back da’Pearl. I was still
in search of me ship and me travels brought me to that fair city. Was
in London when I heard rumors it had been careened near one of them
ports in the Mediterranean. Found myself crossing France to get
there. Made it as far as Paris before the news traveled back to me
that they were already gone.”
He swallowed a mouthful of
rum, choking a bit, opening and closing his mouth to clear his
airway.
“Argghh…anyways…there I be. Paris. Now I knows
that there be no pirates in that land locked city, so I tried to keep
a low profile so to speak. But hunger, drink and women are a strong
calling to a pirate and soon I be inside one of those fancy French
places where they got their songbirds hanging from swings.”
Armacost nodded letting the Captain know he understood.
The
pirate leaned back in his chair, holding his hands up as if drawing
attention to Kait’s cage hanging above their heads.
“Now
imagine me friend. A cage such as this fine one, but large enough to
hold the most beautiful girl I’d laid eyes on since I arrived in
the city.”
Armacost followed the pirate’s hands as he
drew them down towards the table.
“Down, down , down she
come. Sitting pretty as ye please inside the cage. It stopped just
above me head. I could’ve reached out and touched her. But, she was
above me.”
“Above you in the cage?” Spencer added.
Jack eyed him, shaking his head at the astronaut’s
misunderstanding.
“No…no…above me station. I was a
pirate. I knew that. She…she was a lady.”
Sparrow added a
flourished gesture with his hands
“What was she doing in
the cage?” Spencer asked, finishing his drink.
“Singing.
But mind ye, it was in French. Hadn’t a clue what she was saying.
But her costume was all lace and feathers and fluffy things. I guess
to make her look like a bird. A beautiful bird.”
“She
must have been quite a sight.”
“Aye she was. And around
her shoulders, a scarf…a long red scarf.”
Sparrow lifted
the end of the scarf that was wrapped around his head. “This
scarf.”
“She gave you her scarf she was wearing?”
Spencer raised an eyebrow in disbelief. “Or did you steal it?”
“Borrowed.” Sparrow corrected him. “I’ve borrowed her
scarf, so to speak.”