Chapter 7: An Accidental View

‘You seem sure I’d return.’ Mark said looking surprised. ‘You’re here now,’ Lewis said. ‘That tells me you really want your problem sorted. It also tells me that there’s no one else you know that you feel able to discuss it with.’

‘So, whatever it was that made you decide to leave, you would soon realise it was nowhere near as bad as suffering with your problem. So, you’d want to come back before long.’

‘Is that what usually happens?’ Mark asked smiling. ‘No,’ Lewis said, ‘Never.’ As Mark looked surprised, he added, ‘No one’s ever left yet.’ Mark laughed. ‘That has to be a good sign then.’ he said. ‘Ian said I’d feel at ease with you as soon as I met you and he’s right.’

‘Ok.’ Lewis said, ‘All I know about you so far is your name, age and that until recently you shared a flat with Ian. Plus, you have an unknown problem. So, let’s get to work.’

‘In a moment I’ll ask you to decide if you want to stay or go. If you stay, I want you to go over to the settee, take your shoes off and lie down. If you don’t, you know where the door is.’ ‘I’m staying,’ Mark said firmly, ‘Shall I go over there now.’

‘Yes, please.’ Lewis told him. Mark got up and as Lewis put the cups in the sink, he kicked his shoes off and lay down. Lewis went over and sat at his side. He explained about nothing hurting or surprising him and reminded him about ‘Stop’ and ‘Pass.’

‘What we are going to do is two things. One is I’m going to ask you lots of questions, but not about your problem, about you and your life. Two is I want you to turn over, then I will massage your back from head to foot and back again.’

‘The combination of the two will tell me all about you and at the same time help you to feel even more relaxed with me. When you turn over, I’ll massage the back of your head. But I won’t move down or ask any questions until you say the magic word, which is, ‘Go.’

‘Take as long as you like, then turn over.’ Lewis instructed. ‘But always remember, everything in here moves at your speed not mine. It doesn’t matter how long it takes, just as long as we succeed in the end.’

Mark gave him a smile and turned over. Lewis rested his hands on his head and massaged gently. Mark enjoyed it for a moment then said, ‘Go.’

As Lewis moved down onto his shoulders he asked, ‘Tell me about the places you’ve lived since you started at secondary school.’ The massage on his shoulders felt lovely and relaxing, it took Mark a moment to start.

‘When I started at secondary school,’ Mark began, ‘I lived at home with my mum and dad, an older brother and sister and a younger brother and sister.’

‘Then when I was fifteen, my elder sister and I moved into a flat which we shared for three years. Six months ago, my sister was wanting to move in with her boyfriend and Ian was wanting a flat of his own, so we got one together.’

Lewis had moved up onto his cheeks and was massaging them. There had been no reaction and Mark seemed to be making some quiet happy noises.

As he moved on down the back of his legs Lewis asked, ‘How did you get on with your mum and dad?’ ‘Up until a few weeks before moving out, reasonably well.’ Mark said.

‘What about all your siblings?’ ‘We all got on as well as any group of youngsters,’ Mark said, ‘We all had minor squabbles occasionally, but never anything serious and we all looked after one and other.’

Lewis had reached his feet and was part way back up his legs as he asked, ‘Can you tell me what happened between you and your parents?’

‘Mum and dad are Catholic,’ Mark told him. ‘So that meant we all were too. It was something we were never given a choice about. I had decided long ago that the idea of there being a God was ridiculous and sis felt the same.’

‘I didn’t know it, but she had been planning on moving out and had got a flat lined up. So, when I had a row with mum and dad involving religion,’ she asked me if I wanted to go and live with her. I agreed and we both left that weekend. To all intents and purposes, neither of us has a family anymore.’

Lewis reached his head and told him to turn over. As he settled in place Lewis said, ‘You’re doing well, I can understand your situation, you’re not the first person I’ve advised who had experienced problems over religion.’

‘Now, I’m going to go down your front exactly the same, with more questions of course. Say ‘Go’ when you’re ready.’ he reminded him as he started massaging his head. Then he moved to his temples. That was a new experience for Mark who paused a while to enjoy it. Then giving himself a push he said ‘Go.’

As Lewis massaged down over his shoulders he asked, ‘Was the row with your parents the beginning of your problem?’ ‘Sort of,’ Mark answered as Lewis’s massage passed over his chest. ‘But it wasn’t the very beginning.’

‘We’re not going to delve into that just yet,’ Lewis told him, ‘But can you just answer yes or no to the next two questions. Did your problem begin with the actions of a member of the church hierarchy?’

‘Yes.’ Mark said surprised, thinking how on earth could he have guessed that. ‘And did those actions involve some sort of sexual activity?’ Lewis asked as he massaged over Marks flat firm stomach. ‘Yes.’ Mark answered feeling even more surprised.

‘Thank you for feeling able to tell me that,’ Lewis said, ‘Have you ever told anyone else that?’ ‘I told my mum and dad.’ he said sounding sad. ‘When I did, my older sister and brother were in the room.’

‘Let me guess,’ Lewis said, ‘They were more interested in how your revelation would affect the Church, than how your experience had affected you.’

As Mark looked totally amazed Lewis was massaging over the front of his trousers. Mark was showing no sign of concern and as his hands passed over his bulge, it remained soft. Lewis judged it was a reasonable size but smaller than his own.

‘How could you possibly have known that?’ Mark said finding his voice. ‘I’m afraid you’re far from being the only one it’s happened to,’ Lewis told him. ‘You’ve paid a terrible price, but although it has cost you your parents, you’ve broken the chain. Your children and all your heirs will be free of it for generations to come.’

As he reached his feet and started back up, he smiled at him, ‘We’ll leave that there for now,’ he said. ‘Tell me how you got on with the boys at secondary school.’ ‘When I started at secondary school, I got on well with most of them,’ Mark told him. ‘It was a Catholic school, and everyone was the same.’

‘But as I started to put my brain in gear and think about what we were being taught, it must have shown in my general demeaner. I knew better than to be openly anti religion. But it must have been clear to the lads my own age that I had become should we say, less than enthusiastic about the religious side of school, of which there was a lot.’

Lewis moved up onto the front of his trousers once more. Mark just lay relaxed watching his hands. When they passed over his cock, he couldn’t stop himself giving a happy cry. ‘You’re very gentle,’ he said, ‘If I’m not careful I’ll get excited and lose control.’

‘Don’t worry about it,’ Lewis told him. ‘It’s perfectly normal, especially when someone else is massaging over it. If it happens let it. Fighting it will be counterproductive to getting you relaxed. If someone else was massaging me there, mine would stiffen up as would most boys.’

As he moved on up his stomach, Mark continued, ‘Some of the boys were fine, supportive even, but several of them started picking on me. No doubt prompted by the priests, because any threat to the status quo was always jumped on.’

‘When I moved in with my sister I changed schools. What a difference. No religion unless you wanted it. But more than anything I started to learn more. I hadn’t realised before then how much of my schooling revolved around teaching me to be a good Catholic rather than any useful life skills. It became clear why so many of my ancestors where labourers.’

‘But then, when the teachers were priests and the school was controlled completely by the church, it was hardly surprising.’ Lewis had moved over his chest and onto his head. He massaged briefly and took his hands away.