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passionately.
    As she returned his kisses with equal fervour Karen forced all thoughts about the drawbacks she might encounter living in Dalrymple Street or when she started her new job from her mind.
    She was in love with Jimmy and he was crazy about her and that was all that mattered, so of course it was going to be worth it, she told herself.

Six
    Jenny Langton felt stressed. She had thought long and hard about having lodgers before eventually capitulating, and now that she had decided to take such a momentous step, she wasn’t at all sure that she was doing the right thing.
    There were several reasons why it was necessary to do so. One was that she simply couldn’t manage to go on living in her beloved house on her meagre income without some form of additional help. She had practically used all the money Eddy had left her and if she had to fork out for any more essential repairs she’d have to start selling some of the furniture or some of her precious ornaments in order to meet the ever increasing bills.
    Another reason was that she was desperately lonely. She was not used to living on her own with no one to talk to or look after.
    Much as she loved her beautiful home, being on her own in a four-bedroom detached house could be quite frightening at times. It was bad enough in the summer months if there was a high wind blowing in off the Mersey but in winter when there were fierce gales or the occasional snow that had to be cleared away it was even worse.
    She made a list of people who might be considered suitable as lodgers or as paying guests. After a great deal of deliberation she began striking out those who would not be acceptable.
    She didn’t want elderly ladies or schoolteachers who might be bossy or demanding; she didn’t want very young women because she would feel too responsible for them.
    She eventually decided that men would be the most suitable as lodgers; her list included bank managers, civil servants, retired army colonels, doctors and even lecturers at Liverpool University.
    She hoped to find at least two, possibly three. She visualized them all sitting down with her to an evening meal that she had cooked and then relaxing over coffee in her comfortable lounge and conversing on their various topics in a friendly group like one big family.
    With this in mind she wrote out a carefully worded card detailing the home comforts she was offering and added her address and telephone number. Then she set off to ask the newsagent in Wallasey Village to see if he would display it in his window.
    ‘Yes of course I will, Mrs Langton. How many weeks? It’s fifty pence a week payable in advance.’
    ‘Oh, I think two weeks will be more than adequate,’ Jenny said smiling confidently.
    Feeling much more light-hearted about the matter now that she had taken some positive action, she returned home, prepared the rooms in readiness and waited expectantly.
    At the end of the two weeks there had not been a single applicant. There was, however, a pile of bills on her desk that had to be paid immediately, which meant that once again she would have to make more inroads into her meagre savings.
    The newsagent shrugged when she asked how it was she had not had any response to her advert. ‘Not many people in Wallasey Village looking for accommodation,’ he told her. ‘Perhaps you should try placing your advert in the
Liverpool Echo
. I can arrange that for you if you like, Mrs Langton.’
    Three days later she had two replies. One was from a Liverpool docker who arrived unshaven and in his dirty working clothes. To Jenny’s relief he decided it was too far to travel from Wallasey to Liverpool each day. The other one was from a young man who said he was the manager at an office in the city. Jenny thought he looked far too young and brash for this to be strictly true and decided he was exaggerating. However, he was clean and friendly, well spoken and smartly dressed, so Jenny decided he was suitable and agreed to rent