WHEN MACHINES DON’T WORK

‘When the lift’s not working you have to call the repairs number,’ she said, ‘because if you press the alarm button they’ll only come out if you’re stuck.’
‘Oh,’ I said. ‘I phoned repairs but the message box was full so I thought I’d try pressing the button.’
We got in the lift and I said, ‘it’s breaking down a lot at the moment, isn’t it?’
‘Yes,’ she said.
‘It’s a hassle carrying stuff down the stairs,’ I said. ‘I feel for the people with pushchairs or the older women struggling up and down, you know?’
‘I know,’ she said, ‘and those people with weak hearts.’
‘True.’
‘My husband was stuck in the flat the weekend when it broke down the last time,’ she said. ‘Happened to be a time he couldn’t walk.’
‘Bye,’ I said as I got out the lift and she said, ‘bye,’ as she stayed in there to go one more floor down.
Later, when I phoned him and said, ‘can you pick me up the car won’t start and I’ve got a flat battery trying to get it going?’ he said, ‘I had trouble with my computer today and couldn’t do any work.’
‘You just start to rely on them,' I said, 'and they let you down.’
‘That’s machines for you,’ he said.