Chapter 30

Tom felt a little nostalgic as he entered his flat.

It had been his home for nine years. However, he felt that it was time to move on. He had the weekend to contemplate his future. Spending another year where he currently worked, didn’t appeal to him at all.

Tom carried his pack to the kitchen. The inside of his unit was 11.8m long and 3.8m wide. The bedroom was to the right and just inside the front door. It had a concertina type door/wall that could be closed if you had guests and wanted to hide the mess. Next to the bedroom was the bathroom/laundry.

A shallow study nook between the two rooms was accessed from the hallway. The hall ended in the open space. The kitchen benches took up the wall behind the bathroom and went down the sidewall for 3m ending at his fridge. Tom had put a small square dining table with four chairs in the open part of the kitchen area.

The 4m long area that was left was the living room. The living room had a two-seat lounge that was against the sidewall. It was bracketed by two Laz-a-boy^® rocker-recliners. A coffee table centred the seating, and small side tables sat in the two corners created by the seating arrangement.

Opposite the lounges was a shelving-unit that held his books, TV, DVD player, and his stereo system. At the end of the room was a set of glass doors that led to a tiny balcony. A large plate of glass over the top of the doors let natural light into the room.

As Tom looked around and refamiliarised himself with his home, he decided that the unit could do with a bit of TLC if he was going to sell it. After nine years it had that well lived-in look with marks and scuffs on the walls and the wooden flooring.

The speckled grey carpet in the living area looked downtrodden and had several stains he could never get out. The furniture looked shabby and well used. Not that it was new when he bought or acquired it.

Without really thinking of the consequences, he visualised his apartment, murmured a spell to refurbish the room, and then he waved his hand. He blinked several times as he looked around the room again to see everything gleaming like new. He swallowed as he realised what he had done.

“Shit!” Tom muttered. He was glad he didn’t have a lot of friends’ drop-in, or he’d have to answer some seriously hard to answer questions. The few friends that he did have, all thought he was a bit of a cheapskate since he hadn’t replaced anything for years. It was just as well he often went to their homes and not them to his.

Tom chuckled and thought, ‘Well, at least I have an excuse for the upgrade.’

He walked back to the bathroom and did the same spells and then went to his bedroom. Grinning, he did the spells for the third time. He ummed and ahed about the keep-clean spell, and then decided, why not! He could remove the incantation when he moved out.

Happy with his housekeeping, he decided to retrieve those items he wanted from his backpack. He happily unpacked the foods that could go into his clean and refurbished fridge. It had never operated so quietly.

Tom also added the things he wanted in his pantry and then decided what other items he would need from the shops to get him through the next week. While he had a corner store for the basics if he wanted to bulk-buy or get specialty items, he had to go further afield.

Not having a car could make shopping a bit of a pain in the arse, but it was a necessary evil. Tom decided that he could get what he needed from the corner store. He’d do it the next day after he visited the Real Estate Agency that was in his building.

Now that he had the next day worked out, he decided on going to a pub for dinner, after a bit of internet surfing. One idea floating around in his head prompted some research and him sending several emails over the next couple of hours.

A phone call helped him decide on a new direction.

Tom showered and changed into black slacks and a plain, light-blue, short-sleeved button-up shirt.

He’d had to modify the slacks a little because they were too loose around his waist and tighter around his thighs. The shirt was a bit snugger than he remembered across his shoulders, but when he looked into the mirror, he decided it didn’t do his new image any harm.

Tom was also glad Kat had given him a haircut before he left Dara. He put socks on with his loafers since he was walking. He checked he had his cash and cards in his wallet, his keys were attached to his belt loop, and his phone in a pocket.

Dropping a set of sunnies over his eyes, out of habit, he left his apartment. Tom loved seeing the city when the lights started coming on, as it took away that sterile, dirty look that most cities developed. Being Friday, quite a few other people had decided that dining out was the way to go.

Tom noticed other well-dressed people had started hitting the pavement from the multitude of apartment buildings that were in his vicinity. As he walked, he remembered that he should have rung ahead to make sure he got a table. He hoped that because it was only six-thirty, he’d have no trouble finding one.

His hopes were dashed as soon as he entered the restaurant side of his favourite pub, called 2.0. It seemed that a lot of people were still on their summer holidays, unlike him, and had decided to eat early. The restaurant was already done up for the Australia Day weekend that would happen in two weeks.

Contemplating what to do, Tom was surprised when arms went around his waist, and he was being hugged hard. He looked down at the feminine arms and grinned as he recognised them and what was being pressed into his back.

He waited for Amanda to release him enough so he could turn in her arms. He smiled down into the grinning face of his co-worker. Twenty-five-year-old Amanda Russo was considered cute. She was too buxom to be considered beautiful by him and most of his fickle male co-workers even if they did stare at her large breasts.

Amanda had long, thick, wavy, black hair that was normally worn as a huge bun on top of her head. Tonight, it was down and shone healthily under the lights. While her nose was a tad long, her cupid lips were often turned up in a smile.