Oh Fuck!

DVDs and CDs

Sort out into two piles, one to take with you one to store.

DVD player and hi-fi system

He read the list back to Sarah.

"You make it seem so simple," she said.

"Well actually, that's the easy bit, the hard bit is still to come and I'm afraid I can't help you with that."

"Oh, what have I got to do?"

"Work through the list and sort things out. I suggest you go through all the cupboards, wardrobes and dressers etc checking all the drawers because there are bound to be things that we've not thought about...in fact things like birth certificates, financial stuff -- bank account and insurance documents and the like -- and personal things like photos and family things that you want to keep. You could do with getting a set of those storage boxes that stationers sell so that you can put stuff in. It'll make it easier to store and easier to find later."

"I'll see what I can do in my lunch break tomorrow," Sarah replied looking slightly overwhelmed.

"Remember, if you've got to be out by Monday, you haven't got much time; it's Wednesday evening and you've still got to find somewhere to live too."

"It's going to be a big job sorting my stuff out."

"Why don't you make your bedroom the place to put the upstairs stuff for keeping and the other one the place for stuff that's going, and the same sort of thing down here. That way you should be able to empty everything tomorrow and Friday, ready for, hopefully, clearance people to come and look at on Saturday." And once again Ben heard himself saying that he'd come back tomorrow and Friday evening to help despite saying a couple of minutes previously that he couldn't help.

It was now nearly 10 o'clock and he was worn out. So, by the look of it was Sarah...poor Sarah. Ben didn't envy the task she had in front of her. "I really ought to be going, I have one or two things to do when I get home. I'll be back about seven tomorrow evening if that's OK. Another three hours should see some good progress."

"Ben, I really appreciate this. I know you're still getting over Melanie and it's a bit unfair to put so much on you, but I don't know who else to turn to." Sarah showed him to the door and lightly kissed him on the cheek. It was a surprise he wasn't expecting.

The door closed behind Ben and he walked back to the car. It was now dark and had started to drizzle. As soon as he got home he made for the lounge and collapsed in a daze on the chair. Ben struggled to keep his eyes open and quickly fell asleep. He woke just after midnight and managed to get himself to bed for, hopefully, a longer sleep.

Thursday soon dawned, but at least Ben woke refreshed. It was just as well because it was a hectic day at the office. He had no time for lunch and no time to think about Sarah's problems. 5 o'clock came round quickly and Ben was relieved that he had managed to finish the project he'd started the previous morning.

When Ben remembered that he'd promised to help Sarah tonight he inwardly groaned. What he needed was a quiet evening to chill out, but a commitment was a commitment. As he drove home he decided that tonight tea was courtesy of the chip shop on the way home. Any extra calories would be burned off helping Sarah.

When he got in his first priority was food. Ben hadn't managed lunch and he was hungry enough to eat the proverbial horse. The chips went in minutes and then he raided the fridge for afters and settled on a slice of apple pie and custard that he could microwave.

Inner needs met, Ben turned his thoughts to getting ready for the trip to Sarah's. Jeans and an old t-shirt seemed to be the best option. He grabbed some spare bin bags, some string, tape, and marker pens and set off.

Ben parked and walked up the path to number 32 expecting the door to open. Instead he had to ring the bell. No-one came so he rang it again. Ben was just about to go when he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. "Sorry, I was up to my eyes in old clothes," Sarah offered as she brushed some fly-away brown hair away from her face with the back of her hand. She had her hair tied back and wore old jeans and a faded t-shirt.

"Lead the way!"

"Come upstairs and see how I've done so far."

Ben was surprised how far Sarah had got and how practical she was. She'd put notices on the two bedroom doors. One read "Junk" the other "For Keeping" and inside the 'For Keeping" room two further notices taped to the walls read "For Storage" on one wall and "Going With Me" on the wall opposite.

Sarah admitted that she'd phoned in sick this morning and the extra time had given her a flying start, "After all, I'm stressed out by all this, so it was not too dishonest."

"Have you had any calls from the letting agencies?"

"One which might be available next week, but if that doesn't work out I don't know what I'm going to do. I could stay in B&B for a week but that's all I could afford."

"Well there's still tomorrow. Don't give up hope yet. Let's get going, remember you've got three people coming at various times on Saturday to have a look at the stuff you're hoping to sell. Don't take the first offer!"

Sarah had managed to get hold of some storage boxes and assemble them. She'd marked them up saying what they had in them and Ben noticed that she'd got one labelled financial documents and another for personal possessions. He had a quick walk round and noticed that she'd taken his advice and emptied all the drawers, cupboards and the other places that he'd told her to.

Ben said it might be a good idea to put the junk items outside to give more room. Sarah agreed and he spent half an hour working off his tea taking them downstairs to the back door. Ben found an old plastic sheet and some bricks so he covered them up in case it rained.

Sarah was clearing the bathroom of toiletries, medicines, first aid bits and pieces and the like that she needed. A Sainsbury's carrier bag solved the storage issue.

At just after eight-thirty, Sarah pronounced upstairs done. To give her room to get into bed, Ben moved the "For Storage" and "Going with me" items and their labels into what had been the "Junk" room which now read "For Keeping".

"Have you thought where you're going to store the items that you don't need immediately?"

"N-o-t r-e-a-l-l-y," she admitted, "I was hoping something would turn up."

"You do need to be proactive."

"I know" she said with a sigh.

Sarah declared she was desperate for a drink and went downstairs leaving Ben to switch out the lights and follow her downstairs to the kitchen. "I'm having a glass of wine, what would you like Ben?" she said pointing to what seemed to be a sizeable portion of stock from the local off-licence.

"Same for me please."

"Apart from the wine, all this is going as I'm not keen on beer or spirits. Most of the bottles are almost full. Do you want them?"

"If you're sure Sarah."

"It'll only go down the drain."

Ben found a couple of small boxes and filled them with the cans of beer and bottles of whiskey, port, rum, vodka and brandy. Whilst Sarah was relaxing for a few minutes he took the opportunity to have some quiet time and ferried the boxes to the car.

Ben couldn't see what Sarah was going to do. There was little chance of her getting a bed-sit any time soon, and if she went into B&B it would need to be for longer than a week unless she was extremely lucky...and then there was the matter of storing her stuff. Still there was just a chance that tomorrow might be good to her.

Ben went back in and took his glass of wine and joined Sarah on the sofa. "How do you think it's going then?" he asked.

"A lot better than if I hadn't had your help last night. Your plan has been spot on so far."

"What have you done down here?"

"Just gone through all the drawers and cupboards like I did upstairs."

"Are you having another sick day tomorrow?"

"I'm still stressed," Sarah joked.

"I think the extra time will help you."

"I don't suppose there's any chance of you coming over again tomorrow night is there?"

"I was thinking it might be helpful. If I come over straight from work, I can get all that stuff I put outside into the car and down to the tip."

"You could bring something in from the take-away on the way back. Indian would be nice!"

"Settled then."

"I'm going to have to go soon, but first let's take a quick look at what you've done down here."

They inspected the back room which was also labelled "JUNK". There was as much here as there was to go in his car tomorrow after work. There would be at least one more trip and probably two. A lot of things remained in the lounge to be sorted, bagged and labelled. Ben was resigned to coming over on Saturday too.

"Tomorrow, when I get back from the tip, I'll put another load in the car and take it with me when I go home. I'll take it to the tip for you first thing Saturday morning."

He finished the last of his wine and said "Time to go," as he turned to head for the door.

Sarah clasped Ben's left arm as he turned, "You've been a tower of strength Ben. Thank you very, very much," giving him another peck on the cheek as she opened the door.

As he walked down the path, the door didn't close. Ben unlocked the car and turned to see Sarah standing in the doorway; she gave a wave and waited to see him drive off before going in.

Ben washed, changed and crashed out on the bed as soon as he got in. He was tired, but not ready to sleep. There was a lot going on in Ben's head...what had to be done at the office tomorrow, planning out what had to be done tomorrow night at Sarah's, what options still might exist for Sarah and was he getting too involved?

It was difficult to switch off but in the early hours the exhaustion won and Ben fell asleep.

Ben woke with a start when the radio alarm came on. Ben hadn't rested very much, but a cup of strong coffee fortified him. It was Friday. The thought of two days off cheered him even though Saturday belonged to Sarah.

Work wasn't too challenging. Ben had a report to write, a couple of meetings to attend and a project brief to read through. The morning went well enough for him to get a full lunch hour and the afternoon was dedicated to one meeting. As luck would have it, some people -- mainly those who liked to sound of their own voices -- weren't able to attend so the meeting finished quite quickly. Ben gave the project brief another glance over and decided that he could afford to leave an hour early. Ben cleared it with his line manager who seemed happy and Ben almost ran out of the office at three-thirty.

Back at his flat, after a quick shower, and a change into something scruffy, Ben was ready to face Sarah again.

Sarah wasn't expecting Ben quite so early, but it was noticeable that she had made more of an effort to be presentable. It was a warm evening and Sarah was wearing a pair of tight yellow shorts and a v-neck vest which showed her figure to very good effect.

"Have you had any joy with a bed-sit?"

"I went to look at one and the agent is quite positive. He thinks I could get the keys early next week. There's still one agent who hasn't called back. I'm hoping for a call tomorrow morning."

"Well let's try and be positive. A lot can happen in a day," Ben said more in hope than expectation.

Sarah was up to her eyes in sorting so Ben had to load the car single-handed. It took a while to get the first load of stuff for the tip into the car. There was a point when Ben didn't think it would all go in one trip. With some rearranging and squashing down and emptying of the boot he managed it. It was a good job Ben had a large estate care. Luckily, the tip was quiet when he got there and he was on his way back within minutes.

The takeaway was just starting to get busy but Ben managed to get a couple of meals without too much delay.

When he got back Sarah had just finished sorting the ground floor into a pile for the tip, bags and boxes for storing and a pile for taking with her. It was a good point to break off for food. "Mmm, I didn't manage to stop for lunch," she volunteered, "I'm famished. How about you?"

"Fortunately, I wasn't under much pressure at the office today so I got a lunch hour. The afternoon meeting was over in no time and I managed to finish early! Now eat up before you pass out."

After they'd cleared the plates, Sarah disappeared into the kitchen and returned with some chocolate éclairs which she'd slipped out to buy earlier when she wanted a break from sorting out the remains of her past.

"Indian takeaway and chocolate éclairs are an unusual combination Sarah!"

"I grabbed the first thing I thought of...and anyway I like them."

They demolished the éclairs in silence.

"When I've wiped the cream from my t-shirt, I'll put the next load in my car."

Once the car was loaded, they moved everything else into the backroom downstairs, all the things to be stored into one corner and those that Sarah would need immediately into the other. Amazingly, the sum total was quite small. Sarah had clearly been very ruthless. At a guess, there were about twelve bin bags and Ben counted seven boxes, though they were quite heavy.

"Right Sarah, that's about it. I'll take that car load to the tip tomorrow morning. You've got three people coming round before lunch to look at the furniture. Don't sound too eager and don't accept any quote until you've got all three...and don't forget, they must collect on Sunday or first thing on Monday...and don't forget that they must pay you hard cash -- no cheques."

"I think I've got that."

"I'm not planning to do anything tomorrow so if you need to, give me a call."

Sarah showed him to the door, "Thanks Ben," followed by a hug and a peck on the cheek, "You've been great, I owe you."

Ben caught a wisp of perfume that he'd not detected on earlier visits, "When you've got settled you can do my ironing for a month!"

Sarah waited at the door for him to squeeze himself in amongst the second load for the tip and then waved him off as he drove away.

On the journey home, Ben felt relieved that Sarah seemed to be sorted out and at the same time hoping for a few days to catch up with things at home.

His first thought was to open a can of beer, one of the free ones from Sarah. Ben finished it in the short time it took to get washed and changed into something fresh. He grabbed a second can and settled to watch a football match on TV. He didn't care who was playing, it was sufficient just not to have to exert any effort.

The match over and another couple of cans later, Ben undressed and rolled into bed, falling almost at once into a deep sleep.

The neighbour's dog barking madly stirred Ben at just after eight on Saturday morning. He got up and made a coffee, bringing it back to bed. A leisurely morning was ahead. A shower followed by a full breakfast and a walk down to the shop for a paper. After that, he'd go wherever the fancy took him.

Early afternoon, Sarah called to say that she'd accepted the best offer. It was over £100 higher than the next best one. There was only one catch. They couldn't collect on Sunday or Monday as they were too busy, but they could do it today. "It seemed too good to pass over, so I said yes. I've got the money and they're moving everything out now!"

"What are you going to sleep on tonight? Bare boards?"

"With the extra money, I thought I'd treat myself to a couple of nights at the Travelodge in town. There's just one problem...I don't have anywhere to put any of my stuff."

"I suppose I could manage to squeeze it into the spare room for a few days if that would help."

"Ben, you're a star"

"When do you want me to come for it?" he said in a tone of exasperation that was only half jest.

"Whenever you like. I'm going to check all the rooms thoroughly after the stuffs been cleared. They won't be finished for an hour at least they said."

"OK, its one forty-five now...say about three fifteen?"

"OK Ben, see you then! Hey that rhymes", she giggled girlishly.

Sarah seemed happy at last. He supposed being able to put him and the house behind her made a big difference.

Ben set about moving things around in the spare room. From what he'd seen of the two piles that Sarah was keeping, there should be sufficient space though not enough left for swinging the proverbial cat.

Just before 3 o'clock, Ben set off for 23 Spring Street for the last time. Pulling up, he noticed the front door was ajar so he walked straight in. Ben was greeted with the sight of Sarah sitting in the corner of the front room on the floor against the wall. She was in tears.

"What's happened? Did one of them..."

"No, nothing like that, I've just had a phone call from the letting agent. The bed-sit isn't available after all. The owner has given it to member of his family...what am I going to do?"

"Oh fuck," Ben thought.

He helped Sarah up and gave her his handkerchief. "Good job it's a clean one," he thought. Sarah wiped her eyes and sniffled into the hankie. She continued to sob giving Ben a few moments to gather his thoughts and psyche himself up for the inevitable.

"Sarah, there's no point in you wasting money on the Travelodge when you've nowhere to go afterwards. There's only one thing for it...you've got to spend a week or two at my flat. It'll be a squeeze, but the bed in the spare room is comfy and I'm sure it won't matter if some of your stuff is in the living room."

Sarah turned her face towards him, "Do you really mean it?"

"We'll it's not going to be a bed of roses for either of us but, yes, I do mean it. Any way I'm sure that with the pressure off, you'll find it easier to concentrate on looking for somewhere more long term."

Sarah gave him a tight hug, "Thank you," she said as she started to sob again.

"Get in the car. Let's go and have a look at my flat and see what you think."

Ben followed her to the door, unable to help noticing how nice she looked in the revealing yellow shorts and mauve figure hugging sweater she wore.

They were both quiet on the drive over, Sarah unable to believe her good fortune and Ben unsure of what he'd let himself in for. Sarah stayed in the car when they arrived at the flat, so he went round to open the door for her. She swung her legs out and leaned forward and in doing so Ben noticed that the strap of her shoulder bag lay diagonally between her breasts accentuating them perfectly.

Ben escorted Sarah upstairs to the flat and in particular to the spare room which she would be using. "It's a bit snug, but you should be able to get quite a bit of your stuff in here."

"It's nice, I like it. I'm sure I'll be very comfortable."

Leading Sarah through to the lounge, he showed her where he thought the rest of her things could go, "I think that the bags could go behind the settee. As they're clothes, we could move the settee out, fit as many bags behind as we can, and the move the settee back, hiding them against the wall. Some of the boxes can go in the corner behind the TV and a couple can go on top of my wardrobe. I'll clear my things out of the wardrobe in the spare room -- I should be able to fit them in mine -- and your everyday things can go in there."

"You sound as though you've thought it through well."

"Spatial awareness, men have it, women don't!" he joked.

"Hmm."

Ben made a pot of coffee and they sat down to talk over the plan. Sarah felt sure it would be only for a couple of weeks and neither of them could see any problems that couldn't be overcome for such a short time. Sarah was now much happier, Ben, privately, more apprehensive but a deal was a deal, so they set off back to Spring Street to start collecting Sarah's belongings.

It took two trips to get everything back to the flat. On the first trip, they brought all the bags and as many boxes as they could manage to get in the estate car. Before they returned for the remaining boxes, they tried the bags behind the settee. The idea was sound, but there were still three bags that needed to be hidden. Ben took his spare clothing out of the wardrobe in 'Sarah's' and they managed to get the bags in the bottom without encroaching on the hanging space. The boxes had to wait until they got the rest back.