August 1997
As the summer of 1997 wore on it became pretty clear that I was not going to survive financially. I had already contacted Catherine and handed back the Sofa’s we had bought together and that I had resolved to keep and pay her for but every month saw things becoming more difficult. Everything seemed to stack up against me but I somehow managed to stay afloat by using credit cards and bouncing payments from one card to the other. It was a losing battle however and I soon found myself cutting back on everything but still managing to overspend. It’s easy to convince yourself when things aren’t going so well that you deserve the treats and pick me ups that you buy. Despite all the difficulties however the summer I was having with Jemima was good. She was getting out for plenty of walks, despite the long days waiting for me to come home, and she seemed to be always happy and uncomplaining. It was Jemimas seemingly inexhaustible supply of energy and happy vibes that kept me relatively optimistic looking at the big picture. In the short term however something had to give.
The break through eventually came during August. I had been meeting up with my old college friend Alan during the summer at various points and on one occasion he mentioned that he was looking to potentially move out from where he was living. It escapes me whom mentioned it to whom first but the suggestion was made that Alan could move into the house. It would be a lot more convenient for his job and would also do me a favour. Alan sorted everything out with his existing accommodation and a date was set. He would move in during September! We discussed how much he would pay in a very short conversation and agreed how much he would give me each month. Suddenly all the dark clouds that were looming seemed to vanish and everything would be ok after all. My only worry was how Alan would take to living with a Dog in the house. Looking back I need not have worried as all turned out just fine and although one might describe Alan as a cat person he and Jemima got along just fine. He wouldn’t get involved in the walking of course but him being around took the pressure off me a little as Jemima would have company if I needed to go anywhere that I couldn’t take her.
