Page 111 of Alice Carver Manifests Her Perfect Life
‘Isn’t that Kent?’ I asked.
‘Pretty much.’
Fuck. ‘How long does it take you to get into work?’
‘Over an hour each way.’
Once she’d shown me photos and told me the rent, the whole thing was even more unappealing. I mean, it’s shit. Totally shit. But I can afford it on my salary. Just.
Drunk Stephen told me I was mad.
‘You’re not going to be less posh just by living somewhere hideous, Alice,’ he said. ‘You’re just going to be less happy. Don’t do it.’
Astrid told me I was mad.
‘You won’t cope, Alice. And even with that amount of rent, you’ll struggle. You know you still have to spend money on bills, and food, and loo roll, right? I don’t think you realise what a good arrangement you’ve got here… ’
Guy told me I was mad.
‘Looks like a fucking halfway house,’ he said.
‘It does,’ I agreed.
‘Stay here more,’ he said. ‘I can probably get you a key card. Especially if we have to disclose to HR… ’
I’m moving in with Yaz on Sunday.
I am grateful for:
Yaz organising the rent agreement for me.
The time I spent living in Astrid’s beautiful house – it’s been a dream come true. I will always, always be grateful that my first manifestation came into fruition on New Year’s Day (even if I’ve paid in other ways).
Date: Monday 10 AprilTime: 6.30pm
My thoughts and reflections:
I’ve been living in Sidcup for one full week. It’s actually perfectly pleasant. I don’t have a Land Rover for anyone to steal, so that’s an advantage. It has a restaurant that was shortlisted in the British Kebab Awards. And a reliable train connection to London Bridge. Don’t, however, make the mistake of catching one of the supposedly late trains: if you miss the 23.35 you end up in a walking, busing, train-less nightmare.
Harry Piles’ replacement from Montague Place turned out to be a friend of my ex Bloomsbury colleague Gabriella, and she is amazing. Genuinely inspirational. Kelly believes in growing people and creating opportunities and listens to what you say. And she thinks big too; she says that diverse publishing starts at ground level and that actions speak louder than words and that until we make visible the invisible nothing will change. She’s already roped Drunk Stephen into giving a talk at a local secondary school about publishing and has loads more schools lined up. She’s keen to start a scheme with City University where graduates can apply for a year in publishing as part of their course. Plus she wears limited-edition Adidas trainers so she’s cool too.
I’ve made an appointment with Kelly for Thursday andI’ve decided I’m going to do what Clare Atkins recommended – tell her some of my ideas and show that I’m interested in career progression – I’m literally going to manifest a better job.
I’m staying over with Guy tonight – haven’t seen him since Friday when he again mentioned talking to HR about our ‘relationship’. I’m going to suggest to him that we don’t. Not yet. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still into Guy and it would be amazing, in one way, to be dating him publicly. Amazing. Charlotte would be completely jealous. And I can think of a few other people too (Amelia and Anika) but also, it would change things. Yaz would watch what she said. And Cara, well, Cara wouldn’t be super impressed. She was cross about the way Guy treated Charlotte. And whilst that’s not my problem, I think it would be best for Guy to finalise his divorce before we declare an interest in each other. Plus it’s not like we’re going to hang out with my friends anyway, so what’s the point in a way?
It’s weird, but I didn’t get a response from Matthew Lloyd after I emailed to say thank you about my job and Guy’s. What’s even weirder is that Mum says he’s probably not coming for lunch on Sunday. Mum was upset. ‘I kept the Chinese wall, Alice, so I know it’s not my fault. And Matthew says it’s nothing to do with that and he’s got a lot of work but it’s Easter! He should be here. When are you arriving?’
‘Sunday morning.’
‘I don’t know why you’re not coming for the whole weekend.’
‘I told you, Mum. I’ve got plans.’
And I did. Me, Yaz, Drunk Stephen and Cara were going for spa treatments on Friday. And on Saturday, finally having heard back from him, I was meeting Ollie for morning coffee.
I am letting go of:
The past – it’s a different country. Now I live in Sidcup.
