Lynne and 'Mantha are having coffee. Lynne tells 'Mantha that Ben has been delivering their paper for years. 'Mantha asks her if he is their newspaper boy. Lynne replies that he is more like their newspaper old boy because he is old.
Once again we join the action right in the middle of a conversation. How has Lynne got onto the subject of her newspaper boy? They must have been discussing how long they've lived in the neighbourhood or how long different people have been doing their jobs. Lynne assumes that 'Mantha knows who Ben is, but she does not.
The coffee shop that Lynne and 'Mantha have decided to visit is an odd place. It serves the smallest cups of coffee known to man and has a large selection of ferns. It is also situated on the first floor right in the middle of a housing estate. Perhaps the area is up and coming and they have turned some ex-council houses into a gym and coffee shop.
Whoever employs Ben should really think about giving him retirement. It's not right to let a man of that age hobble about with a stick delivering papers. The fact of the matter is that Ben is a curmudgeonly old miser who owns the newsagent and has steadfastly refused to hire any staff for the last 40 years, getting up at 5am to deliver the papers himself. He then goes and opens his shop and will only allow one school child in at any time. By refusing to hire any staff, Ben is quite well off but very tired.
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