"We need to have a house meeting abut this" Miranda declared. Rona though that it was a very Miranda-like thing to say. "We can't make a decision about what we're gonna do like this, just standing around here now."

"We can't make a decision when it's just the two of us, either" Rona pointed out.

"Yeah, I know." Miranda picked up her mobile from the kitchen counter and texted their other housemate: "Rent increase. House meeting tonite."

Then they had to wait for their housemate to respond. It didn't seem like the right time to talk further about the rent: the house meeting had been called, and it seemed to Miranda and Rona that they should leave all further discussion of the issue until then. But there didn't seem to be much else to talk about, while they were waiting.

"So . . . You going back to work tomorrow?" Rona asked Miranda.

"Yeah" Miranda nodded; then, realising that some effort might be expected from her to fill the otherwise empty air, she asked: "You?"

"On the weekend" Rona said. "On Saturday. Not on Sunday, though."

"That's good."

"It is."

"Hmm." Miranda checked her 'phone, as if it might have received a message but neglected to let her know. It hadn't. "Do they pay you by the hour there?" she asked. "Or are you on salary?"

"By the hour" Rona said. "It's a retail job."

"Of course." Miranda didn't know why she'd even asked the question.

"You gonna stay at your job for a while, d'you reckon?" Rona asked her.

"Yeah, I guess so." Miranda hadn't thought about it previously; neither had Rona. "I mean it pays. And it's not a good time to be looking for a job right now. I mean I wouldn't think it is."

"No, right."

They lapsed back into silence. Rona was just about to ask if it was too early in the day to have a beer, when Miranda's 'phone buzzed against the kitchen counter and the display lit up.

"Okay, she's coming home" Miranda said, checking the message.

"Now?"

"No, later. I told her the house meeting was at six."

"Okay, cool." Rona nodded. The silence loomed again. "You wanna go see what's on T.V.?" she suggested.