The staffed common room was still there. The door I meant to use wasn't open.
A work board stood across the inner gallery, with a notice directing residents around through the main stair. Beyond it, two workers had lifted a warped panel from beneath the window. A narrow piece of metal lay on the floor beside their tools.
I stopped at the board.
"How long?"
The nearest worker looked at the open frame.
"Until the panel is secured."
"Today?"
"We're waiting for the right fixing."
I could hear the familiar shape of the answer before he finished it.
The main stair still reached the common room. From my suite, it required going farther down the outer corridor and passing the service turn before I reached anyone on duty. The short route I had rehearsed yesterday now ended at a work board and a window somebody had partly taken apart.
"What failed?" I asked.
