Chapter 6: A Calamity for Christine

Saturday morning Lewis arrived early at the shop. Mike wasn’t there yet so he let himself in, went through to the back and put the kettle on. Just as he finished making two coffee’s Mike arrived. They sat at the table drinking them. Mike told him that he and Valerie had decided on a wedding date, three months hence.

‘It won’t be a big do,’ he said, ‘It’ll be at the registry office. Valerie’s sister and her husband will be the witness’s. Valerie will have a total of five guests. My guests will be you and Ella, My sister, Danny and Lorraine. So, there will be twelve of us dining. We’ll have a meal at a local hotel afterwards. You’ll be our best man of course.’

Time ran out then, so they went through and opened up the shop. After their usual hectic morning, as lunchtime approached, Mikes cousin Leo arrived with a young lady in tow who didn’t look very much older than Lewis. Waiting until Mike was free, he asked, ‘Can we join you for lunch, I’ll explain everything then.’

Agreeing, Mike got Lewis’s lunch order then sent Leo and his companion off to the chippy. Returning a few minutes before closing, Mike sent them through to the back room.

Once the last customer had gone, Mike locked up, then the two of them went through to find Leo and the young lady sitting at the table. The food was all set out and a mug of coffee stood by each plate. As they sat down, Leo introduced his companion as Christine. Mike and Lewis smiled at her and said, ‘Hello.’

‘Let’s eat first,’ Leo said, ‘Then I’ll explain why we’re here.’ They all tucked in chatting generally between mouthfuls. Lewis concentrated on Christine feeling sure she had been brought to see him. By the end of the meal, he had discovered that she lived locally, was older than she looked at nineteen, used to go to his school and now worked for the same firm as Leo where she had become friendly with Maureen.

When they had finished eating, Mike looked at Leo expectantly. ‘Christine here is a good friend of Maureen,’ he began. ‘She works at the same place as we do. The other day Maureen and I both noticed she was very unhappy. We still don’t know why, but it was very clear to us that it was something serious.’

‘When we couldn’t get her to tell us anything, I immediately thought of Lewis here. I told her all about how wonderful he is at solving other people’s problems, so eventually I persuaded her to come and meet him.’

Mike chipped in at that point and explained why he let Lewis use the room. He also told her that he was never told anything about it. Christine was looking a bit overwhelmed at all the attention, so Lewis said, ‘Why don’t you come over and sit on the settee with me and have a chat.’

They moved over, Christine sitting at one end and Lewis in the middle leaving a couple of feet between them. Once they were settled, Lewis smiled at her, ‘Don’t worry,’ he said, ‘We’re not going to discuss your problem with all these people around, even though they are both very nice people.’

‘I’m just going to tell you a bit about what would happen if you decided to let me solve it for you. Then I’ll answer any questions you might have, ok?’ He asked with another smile. Christine gave a brief smile back and nodded as she said, ‘Ok,’ very quietly.

‘What I would like you to do,’ he told her, ‘Is to come back here on your own at five o’clock as we are closing. Then once Mike has gone home, you and I can sort it out in private. How we will do that,’ he continued, ‘Is by not discussing your problem at all to start with.’

As she looked surprised, he grinned at her saying, ‘First, we’ll chat about everything in your life apart from the problem. As I get to know you and you start to feel relaxed with me, then we can talk about your problem and find a solution between us.’

‘At any time at all,’ he told her, ‘You can get up and go. No explanation needed, just walk out. No one’s done it yet, but if you do, you can come back any time you want to.’

Lewis pulled his phone out, ‘What’s your number?’ he asked. Putting it in his phone he tapped a few buttons then Christine’s phone pinged in her pocket. ‘I’ve just texted ‘Lewis’ to you,’ he said. ‘The only commitment I ask of you is if you decide not to come back, just text me. All you need to say is ‘Not coming’ No explanation is necessary, ok?’ ‘Yes, thank you.’ she said. ‘One last thing,’ Lewis said. ‘If you do come back, neither Leo nor anyone else will ever know. Neither Mike nor I will ever tell anyone.’

Lewis stood up and offered her his hand. As she stood up, Mike said, ‘All sorted?’ As he showed them out, Mike and Lewis both said, ‘Nice to meet you, Christine.’

Most of the lunchtime now gone, Mike and Lewis had a brief chat about the forthcoming wedding, then it was time to open up for the afternoon rush.

SATURDAY EVENING

Ten minutes before closing, Christine came quietly into the shop and stood just to the side of the door. Finishing serving a customer, Lewis looked up and spotted her. Giving her a big smile, he beckoned her over. ‘Hi, glad you could come,’ he told her, ‘Come on through.’

At the door to the back room, he told her, ‘I’ve just got to stay in the shop for ten minutes. Make yourself at home and if you could make you and me a coffee, I’ll be in soon.’ He opened the door for her. Then went back to serve.

Soon they had finished, Mike locked the door and put the closed sign up whilst Lewis went through to Christine. She was sitting at the table with the coffees all ready.

Before Lewis could say anything, Mike came in, said, ‘Hi Christine,’ picked up his coat and headed out. As he passed her, he said, ‘You’re in good hands here,’ he said, ‘Good Luck.’ As he went out Lewis said, ‘I’ll just go and lock the door.’

He and Mike had a hug and a kiss in the shop, then Mike set off home. Lewis locked the door leaving his keys in the lock and returned to Christine.

As they sat sipping their drinks, Lewis explained the procedure and again stressed that it was at her speed plus she could leave anytime she wished. Once they had finished, Lewis said, ‘If you’re ready to try, go over to the settee, take your shoes off and lie down, then I’ll tell you what we’re going to do.’

Christine had come back because she had felt that Lewis was nice and kind. Also, Leo and Mikes praise of him had convinced her that it was worth a try despite his youth. She got up and settled herself on the settee.

Lewis went over and stood looking down at her. ‘Nothing will happen in this room without you knowing about it first and agreeing.’ He told her. ‘Are you ok if I sit on the edge here?’ He indicated the settee by her knees. ‘Yes,’ Christine said nodding.

Sitting down Lewis said, ‘There are two difficulties to solving problems. One is that the person with the problem has first to admit to themselves that the problem exists. Two, they have to start the process of doing something about it.’

‘By being here and lying there talking to me, you have passed both those hurdles. Now together we can solve it. The only thing that will stop you going from here without a problem is you. If you can’t open up to me and tell me what it is, I can’t advise anything.’

‘So, the first thing we have to do, is to get you feeling relaxed and at ease with me enough to be able to tell me what happened to you. Believe me most people have come here thinking like you are doing. That that is something they could never do because their problem was far too embarrassing.’ Christine blushed, that was exactly what had just crossed her mind.

‘But you’re here now,’ Lewis said with a grin, ‘So you may as well give it a try. In a minute I’ll ask you to turn over onto your front. Then I will rest my hands on your head. Only when you say go, I’ll massage down to your feet and back to relax you whilst I ask you questions about yourself.’