Page 4 of Love Me Till Wednesday

‘Let’s aim for £3.5 million to give you more to spend on your next home.’

She waved Noah off, promising to confirm whether he would be putting the property on the market by the end of the week.

You better start thinking about your new home.She made tea, grabbed her iPad and began searching for suitable flats. The screen filled with luxury apartments far more expensive than her current house. She tweaked the price range filter. That was better. Now, the flats looked affordable, though not as inspiring.

An advert popped up in the middle of the list for a retirement property. What were they implying? Then she realised that with a minimum age of 55, she’d be eligible for the cosy flat with optional nursing care in less than a year.It’s all downhill from here, Lisa.

She closed the ad and flicked through several pages of oddly converted ground-floor properties, many with old bathroom suites and furnishings that wouldn’t have looked out of place in her grandma’s bungalow thirty years ago. It dawned on her that once you moved into a ground-floor flat, you stayed there until an undertaker took you out in a body bag or an ambulance whisked you off to the nearest old folks home. She was still too young for that.

She took “ground-floor” out of the filter. First and second-floor flats might be more inspiring.

4

Lisa usually went running with her friend and former flatmate Mel on Tuesday evenings, but it was throwing it down with rain so they’d decided to bring forward their Thursday evening gym session instead.

Lisa brought Mel up to speed with the house situation.

‘Cheeky bastard,’ Mel said.

‘But it’s what we agreed,’ Lisa said. ‘If it had been the other way round, I’d be pissed off if he tried to do me out of my share.’

‘I guess. It’s about time you had some good luck with a male of the species, though.’ Mel dismounted her recumbent bike.

Lisa got off her bike, too, and followed Mel to the weight machines. ‘I’m not risking it. I’m perfectly happy on my own, thank you.’

‘What about that guy over there?’ Mel said, nodding towards a man doing bicep curls in the free weights zone. ‘He’s always checking you out. I could have a go at fixing you two up.’

‘No,’ Lisa whispered. ‘He tried to chat me up at the bar a few months ago. He’s got terrible teeth. They were really distracting.’

‘You’re too fussy. At our age, we’ve got to be realistic. We’re picking over other women’s rejects.’

‘Exactly, which is why I’m not even trying.’

Mel set the weights up for her leg exercises. ‘Have you started looking for a new house yet?’’

‘Yeah, I’ve found a lovely cottage on the Isle of Skye. I could live the peaceful life of a recluse there.’

Mel looked horrified.

‘I’m joking. I’m thinking a decent three-bedroomed flat in Hampstead will do. I’m looking at one on Saturday. It’s got enough space for Elise to have her own room. And Sam, if he ever comes back from Australia.’

‘I thought he’d be back by now?’

‘So did I. He’s managed to extend his year away to nearly two. He’s happy, though. That’s all that matters.’

‘But why Hampstead? That’s miles away.’

‘Three Tube stops is hardly miles away. It’s not like I’m planning to move to a different country. And it will be nearer to Jim.’

‘Further from me, though,’ Mel said thoughtfully.

‘Not that much further. We can still come here every week. And you’ll have finished your Great North Run by the time I move, so we don’t have to do regular runs unless you still want to.’

‘Hmm.’ Mel didn’t look convinced.

5

‘Congratulations on delivering another successful project, everyone,’ Kash, the project manager, said, raising a glass of champagne to the rest of the team crammed into a cosy room in the back of a pub in the heart of Manchester.

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