She chose the place herself.

The first time I saw it, she was assembling a secondhand bookshelf while Mason and Bryce investigated the empty carton.

The windows faced a small courtyard where children had drawn chalk stars on the pavement.

“Do you want help?” I asked.

She handed me an Allen key without ceremony.

“The diagram is wrong.

Don’t force the long screws into the short holes.”

I obeyed.