DISTRACTIONS

Closing the door to the flat, heard voices then the door to the corridor opened and two women I’d not seen before walked behind my back and stood waiting for the lift after one of them’d pressed the call button.
Dark hair shorter said, ‘goodness that’s loud, is it safe?’
‘Yeh, I think so,’ I said. ‘Mind you it woke the man above the other night, it did, was so loud.’
They got in first and I said, ‘if you let me get the bike round the back of you...yes, that’s it, move forward...yeh, that’s it thanks.’
Stopped the next floor. Man there said, ‘going up?’
‘Going down,’ blond hair taller said.
‘You don’t want a man like me in there anyway,’ he said and we all laughed.
‘That one of the painters?’ said Dark Hair Shorter.
‘Lift engineer.’
Was going to ask the women if they’d moved in recent when I noticed Blond Hair Taller had A6 size leaflets, writing in Chinese, it looked like, in her hand and said instead, ‘delivering leaflets?’
‘Yes, don’t speak Chinese do you?’
‘No.’
‘You want one of these?’ offering one with English writing.
Hesitated...then took one, turned it over recognised the illustration...Jehova’s Witness literature.
‘The Bible’s got answers to things you probly don’t realise,’ she said, ‘unlike a lot of the distractions around at the moment like that book, “The Da Vinci Code.”’
‘You read it?’ I asked.
‘No,’ she said, ‘but...’ seemed excited.
‘I have,’ I said.
‘What’s it like?’ Dark Hair Shorter asked.
‘A real page turner, couldn’t put it down.’
We left the lift on the ground floor.
Blond Hair Taller turned slightly from in front said, ‘the film’s out soon as well, isn’t it?’
‘Yes,’ I said, ‘and I’m going to see it.’