COMPANY

‘Going down first,’ said the man in the lift as I got in and pressed the button to my floor.
‘But,’ I said, ‘this is Ground,’ as the lift started up.
‘Oh,’ he said. ‘Oh well.’
Two men had got out of the lift and a third had stayed and I saw his finger on the button holding the door open and assumed he’d got in a few floors up to go higher but had had to come down because it was already on its way.
‘I’ll have to come up with you,’ he said. ‘Keep you company.’
‘Thanks,’ I said. ‘It can get lonely.’
We mentioned the weather, that it was getting colder, then he said, ‘It’s much quicker than it used to be.’
‘About two thirds,’ I said. ‘I’ve timed it.’