She opens the door to a deliveryman, and the Machine, which has come in three parts, all wrapped in thick paper. Each of the parts is too big to get through the door.
We'll have to try the window, the man says.
She shows him which one it is, along the communal balcony. It's already at its widest, to let some air into the flat, to try and counteract the invasive heat from outside. Still not wide enough, so the men — the first has been joined by another from the van, having just heaved another tick cream-paper wrapped packet the size of a kitchen appliance from the van, and left it leaning against the bollards — tell her that they'll have to take the window out.
We've got the tools for it, this other man says.
Beth stands back and watches as they unscrew the bolts on the attaching arms, and then lift the whole sheet down. Others in the estate have stuck their heads out of their windows, or come out of their front doors to watch. Next door, the woman with all the daughters stands and watches, and her girls run around inside. The littlest one stands at the woman's legs, clutching onto her skirt.
Gawpers, the first man says. Always wanting to know what we're up to.
The deliverymen don't know what's inside the packages. They're just paid to deliver them. Beth wonders if she's going to be able to assemble it herself, or if she's better off asking them for help. Slip them a fifty, they'd probably stand around with her for an hour and figure it out. She doesn't know how easy it will actually be: if there will be wires, or if it's just a case of plugging the pieces together. The man she bought it from said it would be simple. They struggle up the stairwell with the first piece, stopping to mop their brows. They still wear dark-blue overalls, in this weather, and their now-sweaty palms leave dark-brown prints on the paper wrapped around the Machine's pieces. The first piece makes it through the window maw, twisted in the frame as if this is one of those logic games. Manipulate the pieces.
Right, the first man says. Where do you want them?
In the spare bedroom, Beth tells him. She indicates it through, pointing the way past the living room. The room is light and airy — or as airy as it can be nowadays — and decorated like it's a master, with an expensive-looking bed. Wallpaper not paint, with a different dado rail, a thick yellow colour contrasting with the impressed pattern cream of the walls. The room looks untouched, like nobody's ever lived in it. The bed is made, the sides of the duvet tucked in below the mattress. There's potpourri on the dresser in a simple golden metal dish, but not enough to stop the faint smell of dust. The sunlight, through the window, hits the dust, a cone of it floating in the air.
Anywhere?
By the back wall. I've cleared a space for it. She rushes past, ducking down in front of him, making sure that the space is still clear, then helps him lower the first package.
What the bloody hell is this thing? the man asks.
