Free Moving On by Rosie Harris

Unfortunately there wouldn’t be room for another wardrobe so, it would mean that a great many of her clothes would have to go to a charity shop because there most certainly wouldn’t be room for all of them when she moved.
    Right, so that meant disposing of all her existing bedroom furniture, she decided. She still intended to have a double bed but she made a mental note to look for a divan that had storage drawers underneath it because that would be more practical. And instead of a dressing table she’d have a chest of drawers with a large mirror on the wall behind it.
    Her existing lounge and dining room furniture would certainly take up far too much space in the living room. She needed more modern compact furniture and possibly a dining table that partially folded down when not in use.
    The only things she could bring with her, she thought unhappily, would be her cooking utensils, china and glassware. Even some of those would have to go because there wouldn’t be enough storage room for them all in the compact little kitchen.
    Karen was absolutely right, she reflected. None of her existing furniture was going to fit into the apartment so she really was going to have to make a clean sweep of everything. It really was going to be a completely new start.

Eleven
    Moving day came all too soon. Jenny had barely had time to contact the saleroom and agree which pieces they would take and then get in touch with a house-clearance firm to take the rest, as well as shop for all the new furniture she needed and arrange a date for them to be delivered to her new flat.
    She had hoped that Karen would be on hand to help but she explained that she would be away on business for the next ten days. Tired and weary, Jenny wondered whether this was true or whether Karen simply didn’t want to get involved.
    Brian Hardy was outstandingly helpful; in fact Jenny didn’t know how she would have coped without his helpful advice. He even came to the house on the day she was to move out to collect the keys so that she wouldn’t have to travel all the way into Liscard Village to hand them over to him.
    Karen kept well away and didn’t even telephone to see if Jenny needed any assistance. She did, however, send a magnificent bouquet of flowers and a bottle of champagne to Merseyside Mansions as a welcome gift.
    It was almost midnight by the time Jenny had finally arranged her new furniture, made up the bed and unpacked several large boxes of clothes and china and glasses. Exhausted, she took a shower and collapsed into bed.
    She felt so disorientated in her new surroundings that she didn’t expect to sleep, but she was so tired that the moment her eyes closed she knew no more until morning.
    When she woke she wondered for a moment where she was. Then, very slowly, as she recalled the long strenuous move she’d made the day before, it all came back.
    Pulling on her dressing gown she padded through to the kitchen and switched on the kettle. As she waited for it to boil she moved into the living room, pulled back the curtain and, opening the French doors, stepped out on to the small balcony.
    It wasn’t the view she was used to but if she strained her neck then to her left she could just see the misty blue outlines of the Welsh mountains. They seemed to be so far away that they almost disappeared into the distance and merged in with the skyline.
    Immediately in front of her window was the promenade separating the block of flats from the shoreline. She could see New Brighton pier and wondered if she would hear the noise of the fairground in the nearby Tower grounds when it started operating later on in the day.
    On the other side of the Mersey, slightly to her right, were the Liver buildings and the Liverpool waterfront where at that moment a huge liner was being pulled by tugs towards the Landing State at the dockside.
    The whistling sound that indicated the kettle was boiling claimed her attention and she went back into the kitchen to make her