HOME HUNTING PART 19: EXCHANGE DAY

I was standing there with my nose buried into my scarf. To the right, by the pen-on-a-chain, was my wallet, stacked neatly on top of my passport. To the left, my folder of all the housing stuff I've been sent by the triumvirate of estate agents, financial advisor and solicitors.

This was the moment, perhaps of all the other moments, I'd been thinking about the most. I peered through the glass. The cashier was studying her screen and tapping numbers into a keyboard with long painted fingernails.

I started wondering whether the glass was bulletproof, well, bullet-resistant I suppose - apparently there's no such thing as truly bullet-proof glass. The pane separating the money from the rest of us, was catching the reflections of the ceiling lamps behind me and there was a tiny wobble. Probably not then. I came scarily close to asking: "Is this glass bullet resistant?" but immediately thought better of it. Some questions you don't ask inside a bank.

"That's all done for you then, sir," she said, sliding a piece of photocopied paper into the tray. "That's one copy for you, and that will go out later today."

I was relieved. I'm not sure why. Probably because I'd just emptied my bank account. I had to close my eyes at the cashpoint the other day when it flashed up my balance, just in case I got scared by the numbers. There is no going back from this point.

The cashier's smiles helped me out. She seemed interested in where I'm moving to, and the address had been stamped all over my paperwork.

"Oh I know!" she said, beaming, "Right at the back of the park. Nice long garden then? And does it back on to the park?"

I smiled and imagined a comfy garden chair on a cool summer's day; the wind in the tall trees and the distant sound of children laughing on the other side of the fence. I imagined fairy lights and summer's evenings, glasses of something smooth and the smell of woodsmoke crackling and twirling into the stars.

"Yes, that's it," I said.

"You must be quite excited!" she said.

"I am!" I said before thanking her for her help. And I meant it. I actually am.