“ A what? ” Billy said.
“ His skin was just like a baby’s ”
There was a pause. Billy picked up his teacup and took another sip of his tea, then he set it down again in its saucer. He waited for her to say something else, but she seemed to have lapsed into another of her silence. He sat there staring straight ahead of him into the far Conner of the room, biting his lower lip. “ That parrot,” he said at last. “ You know something ? It had me completely fooled when I first saw it through the window from the street. I could have sworn it was alive.