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Back The Woman on the Stairs Save as PDF
Chapters (83)
  1. Cover
  2. Also by Bernhard Schlink
  3. Title Page
  4. Copyright
  5. Part One
  6. 1
  7. 2
  8. 3
  9. 4
  10. 5
  11. 6
  12. 7
  13. 8
  14. 9
  15. 10
  16. 11
  17. 12
  18. 13
  19. 14
  20. 15
  21. 16
  22. 17
  23. 18
  24. 19
  25. 20
  26. 21
  27. 22
  28. 23
  29. 24
  30. 25
  31. 26
  32. Part Two
  33. 1
  34. 2
  35. 3
  36. 4
  37. 5
  38. 6
  39. 7
  40. 8
  41. 9
  42. 10
  43. 11
  44. 12
  45. 13
  46. 14
  47. 15
  48. 16
  49. 17
  50. 18
  51. 19
  52. 20
  53. 21
  54. 22
  55. 23
  56. 24
  57. 25
  58. Part Three
  59. 1
  60. 2
  61. 3
  62. 4
  63. 5
  64. 6
  65. 7
  66. 8
  67. 9
  68. 10
  69. 11
  70. 12
  71. 13
  72. 14
  73. 15
  74. 16
  75. 17
  76. 18
  77. 19
  78. 20
  79. 21
  80. 22
  81. Author’s Note
  82. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  83. What’s next onyour reading list?

“Working for both parties in a case is legal betrayal. Gundlach had pulled some strings. But not just for me. Your internship at the museum was finished too. The director said he lacked space, and funds, and that he would only keep on the interns he’d eventually hire. And contrary to what he had first believed, and told you, you weren’t one of them, to his great regret.”

“So on Monday evening we sat on the balcony and…”

“No, we didn’t sit on the balcony, we went to Sole d’Oro or whatever the best restaurant at the time was called. We celebrated, because nothing was keeping us in Frankfurt any more – and we could give our furniture to a used furniture store, pack our bags, and head into the world. We were free.”

5

“I like that.”

“And that’s exactly what we did. We gave our furniture to a used furniture store and packed our bags. The painting—”

“Was at my mother’s.”

“The painting was at your mother’s, and while I wondered whether we should go to New York or Buenos Aires, whether we should fly or go by sea, you booked flights to New York.”

Irene had lain there quietly the entire time, her hands beneath the blanket, her head on the pillows, and her eyes on me. Now she sat up, placed her feet on the ground, and tried to stand up.

“Wait, I’ll help you.”

“How long have we been sitting here? I have to…” She did not say anything else, but looked at me quizzically.

“You don’t have to do anything. Did I talk too long? I’ll stop and make supper. We forgot to have lunch.”

“I have to…If only I weren’t so tired.” She gave me the same questioning look, and once again I didn’t understand the question, or know if I should help her up or encourage her to stay in bed. But then her eyes fell shut and she started to fall over, and I caught her and laid her back in bed.

It was late, still light, but the sun had disappeared below the mountains and night would soon fall. I found a tap and a watering can under the balcony and watered Irene’s wilted garden; perhaps it would recover by tomorrow and give us a salad. Today there were still plenty of leftovers. In any case, Irene wasn’t hungry. Sleepily, without saying a word, she ate a couple bites and let me take her to the toilet then carry her up to bed.

“We have to go see Meredene tomorrow.”

“Because of the shopping? I can drive.”

“The diapers…”