‘Yes, I received the documents and we’re all ready for you on Monday, Hayley. We’re looking forward to you starting with us.’ Ronald Simpson’s voice had an unmistakably genuine smile in it, and Hayley struggled not to jump up and down.
‘Thank you, Mr. Simpson, thank you so much.’ She grinned like a maniac as she stood in the hallway of her parent’s house, ear pressed to the phone, cord wrapped tightly around her fingers. She could hardly wait to start her a training contract at their Westminster offices.
‘So, how will you spend your last weekend of freedom?’ he said.
‘I’m moving in with my best friend.’ Hayley grinned again. ‘She’s coming over to give me a hand with the boxes.’
It wasn’t just the beginning of a new chapter in her life, it was an entire new book. The thought of living with Ellen in her quaint two-bedroom basement flat on Avenue Road in Ealing was deliciously exciting. It had a small kitchen, a decent size living room that had a dining area with enough space to fit a table for four, and a bathroom that even had a proper shower. Ellen’s flatmate had left a few weeks ago to move in with her boyfriend, which Hayley had called ‘perfect bloody timing’.
‘What about Mark?’ Hayley had asked Ellen. ‘Doesn’t he want to move in with you?’
‘I’m not ready,’ Ellen had answered. ‘He’s the love of my life but I don’t want to play house yet.’
Hayley hadn’t argued, she herself felt far too busy for a steady boyfriend. She’d had a few encounters since she’d split up with Chris, but nothing really meaningful. And that suited her just fine.
‘Well,’ Ronald said, ‘in that case, happy moving.’
Right on cue, the doorbell proudly played its over-the-top Big Ben chime, and Hayley heard Ellen shouting, ‘Hello? Anybody in?’ through the letterbox. Hayley quickly said goodbye to Ronald while her father opened the door.
‘Here to steal my daughter away, are you?’ he said, hugging Ellen. ‘Do I have to pay you to take her?’
‘Yes and yes please.’ Ellen said, keeping her face straight. ‘Nah, not really. But never fear, I’ll keep her in check, Girl Guide’s honour. No alcohol, no men. We’ll live like nuns, honest Mr. A. Won’t we, Hayley?’
Stan put his head back and laughed. ‘I’ll believe it when I see it. I’ll get my shoes and help you with the boxes.’ He looked at Hayley with his hands on his hips. ‘Well, the day has finally come.’
Hayley smiled at him. When Ellen first moved into her flat and Hayley had turned into a green-eyed monster, desperate for her own independence, Stan had sat her down.
‘Sit tight for twelve months. Enjoy being at home, having your clothes washed and your food cooked, and save your money. Trust me,’ he said, and Hayley had begrudgingly agreed.
Now her time had finally come to live like an adult, pay rent, buy food and complain about the price of utilities.
‘Can’t get rid of me quick enough, can you, Dad?’ Hayley said, shaking her head at her father.
‘That’s right,’ Stan said. He gave her a squeeze before rolling up the sleeves of his blue cotton shirt. ‘I have to be sure you’ve really gone and then we’ll turn your bedroom into a gym or something.’
‘Hey.’ Hayley gave Stan a playful punch on the arm. ‘You’ll miss me you know.’
‘I know, poppet, I know. It’s going to be awfully quiet without you and Jackie. Make sure you come back for your mum’s Sunday dinner when you’re not too hung-over, eh?’
‘Come on,’ Ellen said as she bounded over to the stairs, her long ponytail swishing behind her. ‘I’ve only got Mark’s car for the next few hours. Let’s get cracking.’
Ellen, Hayley and her parents emptied her room box by box. She didn’t have much to take, mainly clothes, shoes and make-up, her LP collection, some CDs and books. A box of cuddly toys she’d kept over the years along with a few board games.
‘Are you sure you don’t want to take your bed and dresser?’ Karen asked, helping her put the remaining bits and pieces into a box, while Ellen and Stan carried the packed ones downstairs.
‘No, thanks Mum. Ellen’s lending me a mattress until I get something new.’
‘Well then,’ Karen fished around in her apron pocket, ‘you’d better have this to help you get started.’ She handed Hayley an envelope.
‘What’s this?’
‘Open it and see.’
Hayley pulled out a gift voucher for a hundred and fifty pounds for a big furniture shop. ‘Oh my goodness, this is fantastic. Thank you, thank you, thank you.’ She put her arms around her mum and held on tight, suddenly wondering if leaving was such a good idea after all. She swallowed. Time to grow up. ‘Thanks again, Mum. I’ll be able to get everything I wanted and still have some left.’
Karen smiled and smoothed a hand over Hayley’s hair. ‘You’re more than welcome. Now, let’s finish up or we’ll never get you unpacked and settled in at the other end.’
Hayley looked around her bedroom. She saw herself snuggled up in bed, listening to her Human League and Adam and the Ants LPs or swooning over her Duran Duran and Patrick Swayze posters with Jackie and Ellen. She’d spent hours in her room, swotting for her ‘O’ and ‘A’ Levels and, more recently, her law exams. She’d cried over boys and written in tear-stained diaries. She’d grown from child to teenager to young woman. But the time had come to start afresh. A delightful shiver of excitement spread through her body.
Something’s going to happen. Something big. I can feel it.