More from the private files of Meaghan

Ben was good at working with spaces.

One of the awkward spaces at our Rathdowne Street flat almost beat Ben. There was a hole in the kitchen to fit a dishwasher. Ben found a dishwasher on hard rubbish that would fit the cavity and brought it over. I remember watching in silent awe as Ben solely dragged the dishwasher up the stairs on a trolley. The stair well was an awkward space. Too narrow and with too low ceilings to service moving in and out of the apartments well. The scars in the paintwork were evidence of the challenge. The dishwasher was big and cumbersome, and required a combination of careful maneuvering and endurance lifting. It was truly impressive to see it ascend the three stories without adding to the chipped décor.

Ben had measured the cavity and so the dishwasher would slide into place. Except it did not. There was a u-bend pipe sticking out from next to the sink. Ben was sweating and puffing from lugging it up the stairwell. I waited for the frustration to surface. Ben leaned on the dishwasher and looked at the floor tiles while he caught his breath. ‘Ok,’ he said and started the slow and heavy descent down the stairwell with the dishwasher.