Chapter 7: Don’t Tell the Boss

Sunday morning Lewis reached the shop at five to ten to find a lady waiting outside. She looked to be around eighteen to twenty, a similar height to Lewis and slightly overweight.

She gave him a nervous smile as he approached. ‘Hi, I’m Lewis,’ he said holding his hand out, ‘I presume you’re Pauline?’ ‘Yes,’ she said quietly, ‘Thank you for seeing me.’

Lewis had opened the shop, so they went in. Locking the door behind him, Lewis showed her his keys in the lock. ‘With them in the lock, no one at all can get in,’ he said, ‘So no one will hear anything you tell me. But if you decided you wanted to leave, you can unlock it anytime you want to.’

They went through to the back room. Lewis made them both a coffee and switched the heating on. They sat at the table whilst Lewis explained all the procedures and confidences. After their coffee Pauline went over and sat on the settee. Taking her shoes off she lay down.

‘Are you ok if I sit here?’ Lewis asked pointing to the edge of the settee. ‘Yes,’ she said but not sounding too sure about it. ‘Derek told me I could trust you completely and I would be perfectly safe here,’ she said. ‘I believed him then and having met you I am even more sure. But I can’t stop being nervous, so please don’t think it’s you.’

‘Don’t worry,’ Lewis told her with a smile, ‘Everyone who comes here is nervous to start with. Nothing that happens here will hurt you and we move along at your speed, not mine. I won’t spring anything on you unexpected. I’ll tell you what we’re going to do next, then we won’t do it until you say ok.’

‘In a moment I’ll ask you to turn over, then I will massage your back from head to foot and back again. Whilst I do that, I will ask you questions. Not about your problem, but about you and your life.’

‘You probably feel that your problem is so unique and so embarrassing that you couldn’t possibly discuss it with anyone, let alone such a young lad.’ Pauline blushed because the exact thought had just gone through her mind.

‘So, we’re going to avoid any questions connected with your problem until you do feel relaxed enough. Believe me that will happen. But in the meantime, as I know nothing about your problem, some of my routine questions might intrude on it. If any do and you don’t feel able to answer them just yet, all you need to do is to say ‘Pass’ and we’ll move on.’

Pauline thought that sounded good and relaxed a little. She had been expecting a third degree from the start. She was now convinced that all the things Derek had told her about Lewis were true and she relaxed even more.

‘Turn over when you’re ready,’ Lewis said. Pauline turned immediately. Once she was settled, Lewis rested his hands gently on her head and as he massaged, he said, ‘I won’t move down or ask anything until you say go.’

Pauline lay still enjoying the relaxing effect of Lewis’s massage then giving herself a mental push, she said clearly, ‘Go.’

As Lewis moved down over her shoulders he said, ‘Remember that all I know about you so far is your name, you have a serious problem, and you are a friend of Derek’s. So, try and give me as much information about you as you can.’

‘Tell me first about where you live and who lives there.’ ‘I live in a one bedroomed flat on the top floor of a three-story block of flats,’ she told him. ‘I live there alone. I’ve lived there for just over a year. When I first started work, I lived at home with my mum and dad.’

As Lewis reached her waist, he said, ‘Well done, that was a complete and informative answer. As he moved up onto her jeans and massaged her cheeks, he asked, ‘Why did you move out from home?’ ‘I just wanted my independence,’ she answered, ‘Plus it was much closer to work.’ She showed no tension as Lewis finished massaging her cheeks and moved on down her legs.

‘What is your job?’ Lewis asked. ‘I am a secretary and general dogsbody for the manager of a small building firm,’ she told him as he reached her feet then started back up again. ‘I’ve worked there since I left school.’

As Lewis moved back up over her cheeks, he asked, ‘How do you get on with your boss?’ ‘He’s lovely,’ she said, ‘We get on well, he’s more like a good friend than an employer.’

Moving on up her back Lewis asked, ‘How often do you see your parents?’ ‘Every week,’ Pauline said, ‘Usually I visit at the weekend, often on a Sunday. But they drop in to see me on occasions too.’

Reaching her head, Lewis massaged it for a moment or two then told her to turn over. As she settled on her back, she smiled at him. ‘That wasn’t as bad as I expected,’ she said. ‘Good,’ Lewis said, ‘That means you’re relaxing already. That’s always a good sign.’

‘I’m going to massage your front now, exactly the same as your back,’ he told her. ‘If you experience any problem with me doing that, just call out stop. If you do, I’ll return to massaging your head right away. I’ll stay on your head until you say go, then I’ll try again. Say go when you’re ready.’ He placed his hands on her head and massaged. Then as he moved his hands to her temples, she said, ‘Go.’

Lewis stayed on her temples for a while then as he moved down onto her shoulders, he asked, ‘Who do you socialise with?’ ‘When I first started working, I went out for a while with Barry, one of the apprentices from work.’ she told him. Then as Lewis moved his hands down over her breasts, she tensed slightly but didn’t stop speaking. ‘But after about six months we drifted apart.’

As Lewis moved down onto her stomach her tension faded. ‘But whilst we were going out together, I became good friends with his sister and we still go out occasionally, to the pictures or a club.’ ‘Do you have any hobbies?’ Lewis asked as he moved up onto the front of her jeans. She went very tense and didn’t speak as he massaged all over, then as he moved onto her legs she relaxed and said, ‘I like walking, I belong to a walking group. There are about ten of us. We go out into Wales at least once a month in two cars, then we go for a long walk and have a picnic.’

‘How old are the other members?’ Lewis asked as he started back up the front of her legs. ‘All ages,’ she said, ‘The youngest is a lad of seventeen the oldest is a lady of sixty-eight.’ ‘How do you get on with them all?’ Lewis asked as he returned to the front of her Jeans.

Pauline went tense again as he massaged over the area above her hairs, but then she started to relax as soon as he moved up over her abdomen. At the same time, she answered, ‘We all get along well. Everyone is different of course and I don’t know how we would get on in other circumstances, but on our walks and when we occasionally meet up at someone’s house to make plans, we all get on fine.’

As Lewis approached her breasts, he asked, ‘What about all the other staff where you work, how do you get on with them?’ As he finished his question, he was halfway up her breasts. There had been no sign of tension, indeed from her face she seemed to be enjoying it.

Then she answered, ‘Most of them are lovely, they’ve always been friendly with me and when we have had a Christmas party, in the past anyway, I’ve danced with everyone during the evening and we’ve always had a lovely time.’

As he reached her head Lewis massaged her temples. He had picked up on the ‘in the past,’ so he asked, ‘Have there been any new staff since the last Christmas party?’ As he moved up onto her head, Pauline said, ‘Yes, two, a plumber and an electrician.’

Lewis detected a change of tone as she answered. He explained the link between uncovering your body and your mind then said, ‘Whilst I pop to the loo, I want you to turn over so I can go down your back once more. If you feel relaxed enough with me, I’d like you to take your top things off. Then I can massage your back on your skin which would obviously be much more relaxing. If you don’t feel ready for that just yet, stay as you are, and I’ll go down your front again.’