83
" I am worried Leon might be a serial killer,’ I announce.
‘Why? Has he tried to kill you or something?’
Rachel sounds a bit distracted. I am concerned that she’s not taking this seriously enough.
‘No, no, I’ve not met him yet.’
‘You’ve met his girlfriend, though, right?’
‘Yeah, why?’
‘Well, do you think she knows?’
‘What?’
‘About the murdering.’
‘Umm. No? I suppose not?’ Kay does seem very normal.
‘She’s a pretty unobservant sort of woman, then. You managed to spot the signs in just one evening alone in his flat. Think how much time she must have spent there, and seen the very same signs, and not followed them through to their only logical conclusion!’
There is a pause. Rachel’s point is deceptively simple but very well made.
‘You are an excellent friend,’ I tell her eventually. "
― Beth O'Leary , The Flatshare (The Flatshare, #1)
92
" I can barely walk into a room without someone helpfully informing me that I am very tall for a woman.
Sometimes it annoys people, like I’m purposefully taking up more room than I’m allowed, and sometimes it intimidates them, especially when they’re used to looking down at women they’re talking to, but mostly it just makes them compliment me on my “proportions” a lot. I think what they’re really saying is, “Gosh, you’re big, but without being particularly fat!” or, “Well done on being tall but not lanky!” Or perhaps, “You are confusing my gender norms by being very woman-shaped despite the fact that you are the height and width of an average male! "
― Beth O'Leary , The Flatshare (The Flatshare, #1)