Episode 18: Rearranging the Living Room — 5,000 Core English Words

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Chapter eighteen. Moving the furniture.

It is Saturday afternoon. Ryan and Emma have lived in the house for a few months, and the living room still looks the way the last owners left it. The sofa is in a dark corner, the lamp is far from every chair, and the room feels dated.

Listen to the small, exact words we use when we move things: where, here, there, next to, under, across, and a little to the left.

Emma: Can I say something about this room?

Ryan: Is it a bad thing?

Emma: It's an honest thing. It doesn't work. Why is the sofa under the window, facing the stairs? When we sit there, we look at the bathroom door.

Ryan: I thought it was the latest style. Toilet views.

Emma: Very funny. I have an idea. We move the sofa across the room, against that wall. We put the TV in the opposite corner, and the lamp goes beside the big chair.

Ryan: And the table?

Emma: In the middle, on the rug. Then the room opens towards the garden, and we get the morning sun.

Ryan: That means moving everything.

Emma: Everything. Are you willing?

Ryan: I'm not opposed. My contribution will be to lift heavy things and complain softly.

Emma: That's all I ask. Thank you.

Emma: Okay. Can you give me a hand with the sofa? You take that end.

Ryan: Got it. Where are we going with it?

Emma: Straight back, then left. Lift on three. One, two, three.

Ryan: It's heavy! What's in this thing?

Emma: Keep going. A little more. A little to the left. Watch your fingers on the door frame.

Ryan: I can't see where I'm going. Is there a step?

Emma: No, you're fine. Now turn it. No, the other way. Towards me.

Ryan: Here?

Emma: A bit further. Stop! Put it down here. Gently.

Ryan: How does that look?

Emma: It's not straight. Push your side in about ten centimeters. There. That's the exact spot.

Ryan: I found three pens, a sock, and some old garbage under it.

Emma: And my earring! I lost that a year ago. It was hidden there the whole time.

Ryan: What's next?

Emma: The bookshelf. It goes next to the bedroom door, halfway between the door and the window.

Ryan: It won't fit. The ceiling is lower on that side.

Emma: It will. I measured it. Take the books off first. Put them on the floor, in a line.

Ryan: You're a very organized reader.

Emma: And the painting. I want to hang it above the sofa. Can you bring the ladder in from outside? It's in the yard, near the garbage cans.

Ryan: Sure. Do we have a hammer?

Emma: In the kitchen drawer. And bring a cloth. This lamp is covered in dust.

At four o'clock, there is a knock at the door. A woman with a warm smile is standing on the step with a plate in her hands.

Neighbor: Hello! I hope I'm not disturbing you. I'm Rosa Lopez, from next door. I've been meaning to come by for months.

Emma: Mrs. Lopez! Please, come in. We're in the middle of moving furniture, so don't look at anything.

Neighbor: Call me Rosa. I brought you some cookies. Welcome to the neighborhood, even if it's a little late.

Ryan: Thank you so much. That's very kind. Please, sit. Anywhere you can find a chair.

Neighbor: What a difference! The room looks so different. The last owners never changed a thing in thirty years.

Emma: Have you lived here long?

Neighbor: Since I was a young blonde with big ideas. Now I'm grey. My husband Carlos and I came from a small village in the eastern hills, and this street was just a lane then, at the edge of town.

Ryan: It's a lovely area. Very quiet.

Neighbor: It is. It's well situated, too. Downtown is ten minutes away, and you can walk to the harbor. On a clear evening, you can watch the sailing boats from the top of the street. That old church is a landmark. Sailors used it to find their way.

Emma: What do you do, Rosa?

Neighbor: I was a psychologist for many years. Now I'm retired, and I do evaluations for the school board from time to time. My daughter is a businesswoman in the city. And my son is a climber. Mountains. I don't sleep when he's away.

Ryan: I can imagine.

Neighbor: You two are a nice sight. Each of you is always carrying something. Carlos says the man with the beard is always smiling.

Ryan: That's a new beard. I'm still deciding.

Neighbor: Keep it. Now, a few things you should know. Garbage is collected on Thursday morning. There's a guideline about noise after ten at night, though nobody minds much. And every year in the spring there's a street party. Everyone has to submit a dish.

Emma: We'd love that. I'll paint a sign, if you need one.

Neighbor: I'll remember that. One more thing, for your safety. Don't leave your car on the street when it snows, or the machine that clears the road will bury it.

Ryan: Good to know. Thank you.

Neighbor: Well, I won't stay. I just didn't want to be a stranger any longer. It felt like an invasion to come without calling, so I greatly hoped the cookies would help.

Emma: They help very much. Come any time. We mean it.

Ryan: She's nice.

Emma: She's lovely. I had the wrong idea about her. I thought she was watching us. She was just shy.

Ryan: There's no badness in her at all. And now we know the pronunciation of her name. I was saying it awkwardly for months.

Emma: Okay. Last thing. The painting. Hold it up, at the height of your shoulders. A little higher. Left. No, my left.

Ryan: Here?

Emma: Perfect. Don't move. I'll mark the wall with a pencil.

Ryan: It's a good painting. Is it one of yours?

Emma: I did it last year. It's the inner harbor, on a winter evening. I wanted something pointed and dark against a soft sky.

Ryan: It's the best thing in the room. Besides you.

Emma: Good answer. Now stand back, and look at the whole thing. Sofa, lamp, chair, table, painting. What do you think?

Ryan: It's a different room. It's satisfying. I have a new understanding of furniture.

Emma: And you thought moving a sofa wasn't a sport.

Ryan: It's the only sport I've ever won. Also, the sofa is unbreakable. I dropped it twice.

Emma: I know. I heard. Come and sit down with me. Or lie down. We deserve it.

Ryan: With pleasure. Is there a famous singer who wrote a song about sitting on a sofa?

Emma: If not, I'll put on a dress and write one.

That is the end of chapter eighteen. The sofa is against the wall, the painting is above it, and Mrs. Lopez is no longer a stranger.

Keep these with you: "Can you give me a hand?" "Lift on three." "A little to the left." "Put it down here." "How does that look?" "Welcome to the neighborhood."

In the next chapter, the house is ready for guests, and Ryan and Emma invite eight friends to dinner.

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