If you've ever loved a mermaid, you know how it goes.

There's enchantment, sure, but your bathtub is never your own,

and the mackerel bills are sky high.

I'm Meg Wallitzer, and this week on Selected Shorts,

infatuation and fish tails with reader Hugh Dancy.

Stay with us.

You're listening to Selected Shorts, where our greatest actors transport us through the magic of fiction, one short story at a time.

Thank you. through the magic of fiction, one short story at a time.

I want you to entertain a thought experiment.

Just promise me you won't run away screaming.

Deal?

Okay, here it is.

Imagine moving.

No, not just walking to the kitchen for a cup of coffee, but really moving.

You know, excavating your possessions from every cupboard, closet, and drawer, sorting them,

wrapping them, packing them into boxes, and you still there? I won't push it any further,

but just the thought is a little terrifying, isn't it?

When you change addresses, you really learn just how much stuff you're holding on to.

Even if you're not a pack rat, it adds up.

One dusty exercise bike, two mountains of fancy dishes, and why do you have three corkscrews?

My family and I moved into our current place 10 years ago.

The only bonus I can think of about moving is that once everything is in those boxes,

...