AdaThere's a lift round the back. It's slow and it smells like a hospital, and it's the reason I can live here.

She says it without any weight at all, the way you'd mention the weather.

AdaYou don't have to say anything about yours. That's rule one. Rule two is the kettle's mine after eight.

You sit down on the bench. It's a long bench. There's room.

That, you will understand later, is the whole point of the bench.